Most Popular
-
1
Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
-
2
S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
-
3
Military aircraft evacuating S. Koreans in Lebanon returns home
-
4
Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
-
5
BTS-themed moon jar to be unveiled on Hangeul Day
-
6
Market uncertain on Korea's October rate cut despite slowed inflation
-
7
Samsung unveils 'personalized AI' for all devices
-
8
1,430 minors investigated for drug offenses from 2018 to 2023: police
-
9
[Robert Fouser] Why the US election looks so close
-
10
Special counsel bill to probe first lady scrapped
-
Korea to accelerate restructuring of shaky industries in 2017
South Korea will accelerate its corporate restructuring drive in shaky industries like shipbuilding and steelmaking in 2017 in a bid to gain a foothold for the future industrial revolution, the government said Wednesday.At a ministerial-level meeting in Seoul chaired by Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho, the government reviewed action plans on revamping four key industrial sectors -- shipbuilding, steelmaking, shipping and petroleum -- and came up with detailed schemes for this year. South Korea's Fina
Jan. 25, 2017
-
Premium gifts still popular despite overall sales drop in holiday gifts
Retailers whose sales of gift sets for the Lunar New Year holiday dropped this year said Wednesday that the top-end presents, priced well over 1 million won ($857), remained highly popular, a sign economists say attests to the economic gap in the country.Lotte Department Store annually markets its "prestige L" limited gift sets, packaging premium-class beef, wine, fish and other foods. Twenty of 30 sets available for dried yellow croaker fish, priced at 3.6 million won, have already been sold, a
Jan. 25, 2017
-
Auto exports to US sink amid Trump woes
South Korea's auto exports to the United States fell for the first time in seven years last year amid concerns that the Trump administration may take protectionist measures on vehicle imports, industry data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, automakers here shipped 964,432 cars to the US last year, a 9.5 percent on-year fall. (Yonhap)The cars were worth $15.58 billion, also down 9.8 percent.In contrast, US vehicle imports here surg
Jan. 25, 2017
-
LG to unveil two smartwatches with Google's new operating system
LG Electronics Inc. plans to unveil two smartwatches featuring Google's new watch version of its operating system next month, an industry source said Wednesday. Co-developed with Google, the two smartwatches with the Android Wear 2.0 operating system will be released at an annual technology fair, the Mobile World Congress show, in Spain, according to the source. This photo shows LG Electronics Inc.'s Urbane Luxe smartwatch (Yonhap file photo)It would be the first time that LG and Google debut t
Jan. 25, 2017
-
Hyundai Rotem set to win W490b train supply deal from Egypt
Hyundai Rotem Co., the train making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, may soon sign a 490 billion-won ($420 million) deal to supply train cars to Egypt, the company said Wednesday.The South Korean firm has been named the sole preferred bidder for the deal to supply 256 train cars, according to a company official. South Korea's high-speed train developed and built by Hyundai Rotem (Hyundai Rotem)"The company will sign the deal as soon as its receives a letter of offer and acceptance from the Egyptian
Jan. 25, 2017
-
Ex-Daewoo Shipbuilding chief additionally charged with breach of trust, bribery
A former CEO of cash-strapped Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. was additionally charged with breach of trust and bribery on suspicions of inflicting some tens of billions of won in losses to the shipyard, prosecutors said Tuesday.The prosecution accused Nam Sang-tae, 66, of allegedly causing some 26.3 billion won ($25.5 million) in losses to the company by making business decisions based on his ties to certain acquaintances. Nam, who headed the company from 2006 to 2012, is currently
Jan. 24, 2017
-
Serviceplan Korea names new CEO
The Korean arm of the global advertising agency Serviceplan Group said Tuesday that it has named Julie Kang as its new CEO. Kang has been with the company since 2009 and managed relationships with companies such as Ikea, Absolut, BMW and local brands. Before joining Serviceplan, Kang worked for Interone, the digital arm of BBDO Advertising and Grape Communications, creating advertising campaigns for LG Electronics and Electrolux. Julie Kang (Serviceplan Group)Kang is the first woman and first Ko
Jan. 24, 2017
-
Korea needs central consumer safety control tower: panel
The Korean government must create a more focused control tower for identifying and handling consumer products that can pose health and safety risks and implement stronger penalties for corporations that sell such products to prevent future crises, a panel of experts said Tuesday.Academics, representatives from consumer groups and government representatives gathered for the 44th Future Consumers‘ Forum at the National Assembly Members’ Hall to discuss ways to reform the consumer safety management
Jan. 24, 2017
-
Samsung to focus on memory, display
Samsung Electronics, whose traditional cash cow used to come from smartphones, said it would focus on its components businesses -- chip and display, projecting slow smartphone sales this year in a regulatory filing Tuesday.The world’s largest memory chip and smartphone maker said it posted 53.3 trillion won ($45.7 billion) in sales and 9.2 trillion won in operating profit in the fourth quarter, a 50 percent jump year-on-year.“The fourth quarter earnings were driven by the components businesses -
Jan. 24, 2017
-
Samsung BioLogics’ 2016 sales double
Samsung BioLogics, a contract manufacturer of biologic drugs under the Samsung Group, on Tuesday posted a revenue of 294.6 billion won ($253 million) in 2016, a 223 percent increase from the previous year. Samsung BioLogics in Songdo, west of Seoul (Samsung BioLogics)With a focus on the contract manufacturing business, the company also saw an operating loss of 30.4 billion won last year, an 85 percent decrease from 2015, it said in a regulatory filing.Last year’s performance is significant, a c
Jan. 24, 2017
-
Samsung Electronics offers W9.3tr to buy back shares
Shortly after disclosing a record-breaking earnings report for the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it would buy back shares worth 9.3 trillion won ($8 billion) and offer 3.8 trillion won in dividends.The 9.3 trillion won is the sum of the remaining amount of shareholders’ return resources in 2015 and 2016. The South Korean tech giant plans to repurchase and cancel the shares over three to four phases.The South Korean company said earlier in the day it had posted 7.1
Jan. 24, 2017
-
Passenger car exports rebound for first time in 2 yrs in Q4
South Korea's passenger car exports made a turnaround in the fourth quarter of last year for the first time in more than two years on the back of rebounding oil prices, the latest customs data showed Tuesday.The total value of exported vehicles reached $10.73 billion in the October-December period, up 0.2 percent from $10.7 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. (Yonhap)It is the first time that the quarterly figure finished in positive terrain since
Jan. 24, 2017
-
Mobile operators likely to report decent earnings for 2016
South Korea's three telecom operators are likely to have racked up decent earnings in 2016, helped by curbs on their marketing spending and a growth in their fixed-line Internet businesses, industry data showed Tuesday. The combined revenue of SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus is expected to have expanded 1.1 percent on year to 50.77 trillion won ($43.67 billion) last year, according to the data compiled by industry tracker FnGuide. (Yonhap)Their combined operating profit is likely to have risen 4.7
Jan. 24, 2017
-
IT, refinery workers enjoy hefty bonus on record performance
Those in the IT and refinery industries here are expected to receive hefty bonuses after their firms enjoyed a record year in terms of sales and profit, market observers said Tuesday.Many are expected to be paid as much as half their annual salary in one-time incentive pay, they added. (Yonhap)Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest supplier of mobile phones, posted an operating profit of 9.2 trillion won ($7.9 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2016, up nearly 50 percent from the same perio
Jan. 24, 2017
-
M&A deals in 2016 halves in value due to political scandal: report
The value of merger and acquisition deals in South Korea in 2016 almost halved from the previous year due to the lack of mega deals amid the influence-peddling scandal, according to M&A information provider Mergermarket on Monday. The country recorded 352 M&A deals worth $46.8 billion during 2016. While the number of M&A deals saw a slight decline from 36, the total value plunged 44.8 percent from $84.9 billion in the previous year. The steep decline in value was mainly due
Jan. 23, 2017
-
[Photo News] Amorepacific-SK Telecom agree on smart beauty services
BEAUTY GETS SMART -- Cosmetics maker Amorepacific signed an agreement with SK Telecom Monday at the SK Telecom headquarters in Seoul. Under the agreement, the two companies will collaborate in creating Internet of Things-based smart beauty services and share big data. Pictured are Amorepacific Head of R&D Han Sang-hoon (left) and SK Telecom Head of IoT Cha In-hyuk. (Amorepacific)
Jan. 23, 2017
-
Korea Airports Corp. announces vision for 2025
Korea Airports Corp. announced its midterm goals for 2025 on Monday, focusing on improving infrastructure, strengthening security and training more pilots.The corporation will invest about 1 trillion won ($856.5 million) on expanding infrastructure at major airports such as Gimpo International Airport to accommodate increasing passenger numbers by 2018. It is also working to renovate old airport facilities nationwide by 2019. File photo of Sung Il-hwan, the CEO of Korea Airports Corp. (Yonhap)Ai
Jan. 23, 2017
-
No. of ‘effectively unemployed’ Koreans tops 4.5m in 2016
The number of South Koreans “effectively unemployed” topped 4.5 million for the first time in 2016, according to new data released by Statistics Korea on Monday. According to the state-run statistics agency, the number of “effectively unemployed” Koreans -- including those without a job, prospective job seekers and people who work less than 18 hours a week -- surpassed 4.54 million last year. (123RF)That number is around 4.5 times higher than the number of “officially unemployed” Koreans formal
Jan. 23, 2017
-
Daewoo Shipbuilding to implement W2.5t self-rescue plan this year
Embattled shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. plans to implement 2.5 trillion won ($2.14 billion) worth of self-rescue measures this year, larger than last year's 1.6 trillion won, as it strives to stay afloat amid a sharp fall in new orders, company officials said Monday.As part of the measures, the shipyard plans to cut its workforce by some 2,000 this year to some 8,500 in total by the end of the year, and accelerate its move to spin off its non-core business units such a
Jan. 23, 2017
-
Hyundai Heavy relegated to 3rd place in order backlog
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major shipyard here, was relegated to third on the list of order backlog in December amid a fall in new orders, while a Japanese rival climbed to second place, industry sources said Monday.According to the data compiled by global research firm Clarkson Research Services, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., another South Korean shipbuilder, ranked first in terms of order backlog as of December with 6.79 million compensated gross tons to build 104 ships, f
Jan. 23, 2017