Most Popular
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Yoon, Marcos agree to upgrade military, infrastructure, nuclear ties
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'Culinary Class Wars' producers deny trying to spice up results
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Ex-president's daughter investigated for drunk driving accident
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Seoulites celebrate coexistence at Wellness Seoul 2024
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Netflix, streaming platforms come under fire for loose ratings
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S. Korea, Singapore seal supply chain agreement
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North Korean troops killed, wounded in Ukraine war: Seoul defense minister
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20 minors registered as CEOs making over 100 million won
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Yoon honors veterans of Korean War in trip to Philippines
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K-pop CEOs sidestep key issues at National Assembly audit
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Car insurance fees must be revised: association chief
The new chief of the General Insurance Association of Korea said he would make it his goal to improve the business environment for automobile insurance in the domestic insurance industry. “An accumulated deficit and an excessive loss ratio has put undue pressure on insurance companies since the early 2000s,” said Chang Nam-sik, the former CEO of LIG Insurance, who took office as the association chairman early this month.The new chief said it is necessary to readjust automobile insurance fees so
Sept. 11, 2014
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Samsung heirs' gift taxes down on faltering share prices
The heirs of de facto head of Samsung Electronics Co. Lee Kun-hee, who has been hospitalized since May, faced a nearly 10 percent cut in their inheritance taxes over the past three months on a fall in the company's share prices, data showed Thursday. If Lee's shares in Samsung Electronics are transferred to his offspring -- his son Jay-yong, who is forecast to be the heir apparent, and his two daughters, Boo-jin, and Seo-hyun -- their gift taxes are estimated at 3.71 trillion won (US$3.62 billio
Sept. 11, 2014
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Second Lotte World unveiling fails to calm safety concerns
Lotte Group, the country’s fourth-largest business group by assets, created a buzz during the Chuseok holiday when it opened up the lower part of its 123-story second Lotte World retail complex in Jamsil-dong, southern Seoul, to ordinary citizens. The event, part of Lotte’s desperate attempt to win the Seoul city government’s approval for a partial opening, drew mostly negative responses and further raised concerns over safety and traffic congestion. In a bid to let citizens experience firsthand
Sept. 10, 2014
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Hyundai Motor chairman stresses localization to win new markets
The head of South Korea’s biggest automaker, Hyundai Motor Group, emphasized localization to win over new overseas markets as he toured company plants in India and Turkey that have undergone a shift in focus.“The greatest competitiveness comes from localization,” Chung Mong-koo was quoted as saying in company press releases. “The plants in India and Turkey should win over new markets in India, the Middle East and Africa as the two pillars in localization,” he said. Hyundai Motor Group chairman C
Sept. 10, 2014
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Foreign investment center to open for Gaesong park
A foreign investment support center for an inter-Korean industrial park will be opened this week as part of efforts to help internationalize the joint project, Seoul officials said Wednesday.The center, to be opened on Friday and put under the administrative support agency for the Gaesong Industrial Complex, will be tasked with publicizing the industrial zone overseas and providing consultative services to prospective foreign investors, the unification ministry said.“The support center will prov
Sept. 10, 2014
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Korea to enhance car emissions regulation
South Korea said Wednesday that it will strengthen vehicle emissions control by 2020 in order to meet global standards for greenhouse gas reduction targets. The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will lower the carbon dioxide emissions target to 97 grams per kilometer for the 2016-2020 period, from the 140 grams per kilometer target for the 2012-2015 span.In terms of fuel consumption, the 2020 target is equivalent to 24.3 kilometers per liter, compared with th
Sept. 10, 2014
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Hyundai Motor chief visits India, Turkey over Chuseok holiday
The chairman of South Korea's largest automaker Hyundai Motor Group is on a trip to India and Turkey over the five-day Chuseok holiday to check production and sales of the carmaker's "strategic" mini vehicles.Chung Mong-koo's trip to India is his first since 2010, and his third foreign inspection tour this year, after visits to Europe and the United States.The tour of the Chennai plant comes as automotive think tanks like the Korea Automotive Research Institute predicted car sales on the subcon
Sept. 7, 2014
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[Herald Interview] Korea faces household debt crisis
The vexing debt problem has come back to haunt the Korean economy. Back in the late 1990s, the economy suffered from humongous corporate debts, but this time, the mounting household debt has set alarm bells ringing. “South Korea’s surging household debt can trigger serious economic crisis,’’ Jun Sung-in, an economics professor at Hongik University told The Korea Herald in an interview Thursday.“The government’s latest push to ease regulations on home mortgage will increase household debts, which
Sept. 5, 2014
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Foreigners remain net buyers in August
Foreigners continued to invest in Korean stocks in August, extending their buying streak to a fifth consecutive month although the amount of their net purchases slipped from a month earlier, the country’s financial watchdog said Friday. Offshore investors scooped up a net 2.5 trillion won ($2.45 billion) worth of local shares last month, compared with a net purchase of 3.6 trillion won in the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The value of their shareholdings came to
Sept. 5, 2014
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Korea, Australia agree to hasten FTA ratification
South Korea and Australia have agreed to step up efforts to expedite the domestic process for the early ratification and implementation of a bilateral free trade agreement, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Friday. Seoul and Canberra signed the free trade deal in April, but the legislatures of both countries have yet to ratify it. The agreement came as Lee Kyung-soo, deputy minister for political affairs, held a strategic dialogue with his Australian counterpart, Gillian Bird, in Australia, the mini
Sept. 5, 2014
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Daewoo founder Kim: Victim, hero or outlaw?
Who is Kim Woo-choong? He is the former founder and chairman of the now defunct Daewoo group. That’s his official title, but a debate is brewing on whether he should be known as a victim, a hero or an outlaw following his recent public appearance. Breaking a 15-year silence, the former chairman recently came out with a new book. In it, he argues that the Korean government forced Daewoo group to shut down in the wake of the 1997 economic crisis. Kim argues that if the government had not tak
Sept. 5, 2014
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Hyundai Motor offers new app for 2015 Sonata owners
Hyundai Motor America, the U.S. sales and marketing arm of Korea’s largest automaker, said Thursday it has made available a new app that can enhance the owner’s experience of the 2015 Sonata in the United States. According to the carmaker, the Hyundai Assurance Car Care in-vehicle app can be used on all models of the seventh-generation Sonata equipped with a navigation system.The app can be downloaded into the multimedia system of the car that started reaching consumers only a few months ago and
Sept. 5, 2014
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Hyundai E&C completes 1st phase of Singapore’s underground oil cavern
Hyundai Engineering & Construction, a leading local builder, has completed the first phase of construction of the Jurong Rock Caverns in Singapore. It is Southeast Asia’s first underground oil storage facility for liquid hydrocarbons, the contractor said Thursday. The $950 million Jurong Rock Caverns project is to meet the growing demand for storage for crude oil and condensate, in an island nation where industrial land is scarce.It is located 150 meters below Jurong Island, the energy and chemi
Sept. 4, 2014
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Bid for KEPCO property raises concerns about ‘winner’s curse’
Real estate development experts are dissuading bidders in a tight race to buy the property of state-run Korea Power Electric Corp. in Samseong-dong, an affluent district in southern Seoul. KEPCO put its 79,342-square-meter plot of land and headquarters building up for sale last Friday. The competition for the property is escalating, with the nation’s top two conglomerates ― Samsung and Hyundai ― both expressing interest in bidding.“From an investor point of view, the deal is not an attractive on
Sept. 4, 2014
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Samsung’s IT affiliates lose nearly W20tr in market cap
Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung Group’s IT affiliates lost nearly 20 trillion won ($19.6 billion) from falls in their share prices since July, data showed Thursday, amid worries that the lagging performance of the group’s mainstay unit, Samsung Electronics Co., may continue this year. The combined market capitalization of Samsung Group’s four listed IT firms totaled 214 trillion won as of Wednesday, down 8.4 percent from 233.7 trillion won registered on July 1, according to the data compile
Sept. 4, 2014
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Lotte Duty Free launches in Japan with Kansai outlet
Lotte Duty Free Shop, the world’s fourth-largest duty-free chain, said Thursday it has opened a store in Japan’s Kansai International Airport as part of its global expansion drive.Lotte Duty Free and Kansai Airport Agency will jointly operate a 330-square-meter store at the regional airport near Osaka, Japan, until March 2020, the company said in a statement.The duty free store operator said it has merchandised its first Japanese outlet with a focus on Korean cosmetics brands to cater to Chinese
Sept. 4, 2014
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Korea’s automobile exports plunge in August
South Korea’s auto exports dropped sharply from a year earlier in August as output equally fell, the trade ministry said Thursday.Outbound shipments of cars fell 18.8 percent on-year to 182,795 units last month, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.“Exports plunged on-year due to a drop in supplies caused by a cut in the number of working days, as well as labor strikes in August,” it said in a press release.The ministry earlier said that automobile exports, in terms of value,
Sept. 4, 2014
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Viral video evoking family bonds hits 800,000 views
Cheil Industries’ family-themed promotional video for Everland attracted 800,000 viewers within one day of being posted online Tuesday. (YouTube)Cheil Industries’ viral video to advertise its theme park Everland hit 800,000 views on YouTube a day after its release.The 90-second-long clip featuring a father and a teenage daughter was posted on the firm’s Facebook page and YouTube on Tuesday, raking in more than 300,000 viewers in less than 12 hours.The viral video starts off showing the father sa
Sept. 4, 2014
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Korean economy grows 0.5% in Q2: BOK
South Korea’s economy expanded 0.5 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier but at the slowest pace in over a year, central bank data showed Thursday.Korea’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic performance, slowed from a 0.9 percent growth logged in the previous quarter, according to the revised data by the Bank of Korea.The seasonally adjusted figure also slipped from an earlier estimate of a 0.6 percent growth made in late July.Asia’s fourth-largest economy
Sept. 4, 2014
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Korean households earn less from interest profit
South Korean households saw their income from interest-paying financial products drop by 13 trillion won ($13 billion) over the last nine years, data showed Thursday, reflecting the country’s low interest rate and ballooning household debt.Households’ net interest income, the excess earned from the spread between their interest income and interest payments, came in at 4.3 trillion won in 2012, shrinking from 17.4 trillion won in 2003, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea.The sharp
Sept. 4, 2014