Most Popular
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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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Korean language teaching expert says demand has outstripped supply
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Conscripting women to lead to 'more babies,' claims military think tank
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[KH Explains] Samsung chief says he is still ‘hungry’ for foundry growth
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Who is pollster roiling politics with claims of government string-pulling?
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Taking away phones during school hours not a human rights violation: watchdog
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Kim Jong-un vows to thwart S. Korea-US 'nuclear alliance'
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Korea launches antidumping probe into Chinese steel
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Korea added to key bond index
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[Graphic News] Turkey becomes Korea’s 9th FTA partner
The Korea-Turkey Free Trade Agreement, which comes into effect on Wednesday, is to be Korea’s ninth FTA, as well as the first to take effect under the new Park Geun-hye administration.Under the FTA, all tariffs on industrial goods, including automobiles, plastic and home appliances, will be eliminated within seven years, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea International Trade Association.As of last year, Turkey was Korea’s 25th-largest trading partner with $4.55
April 29, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Business success story close to bankruptcy
Kang Duck-soo, 63, chairman and founder of STX Group, the nation’s 13th-largest conglomerate by assets, is facing his biggest-ever crisis as some of the company’s major affiliates are suffering from financial crunches. Cornered by liquidity problems, Kang has handed over his controlling stakes in STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, a core affiliate of STX Group, to creditors. “His decision came amid creditors’ due diligence on the group’s money-losing shipbuilding unit before the creditors decide wheth
April 29, 2013
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Galaxy S4 emits least radiation among new smartphones
Samsung Electronics’ new smartphone Galaxy S4 showed the lowest radiation emission levels among the latest handsets in the local market, a recent government study showed Monday. According to the National Radio Research Agency, Galaxy S4’s SAR, or its Specific Absorption Rate, was 0.55 watt per kilogram for an SK Telecom model, 0.438 for KT and 0.353 for LG Uplus. The SAR is a measure of the amount of radio frequency energy absorbed by the body when using the handset. The LG Uplus model of LG Ele
April 29, 2013
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Hyundai to invest $1 billion in automotive material development
Hyundai Motor Group on Monday announced a new investment plan worth 1.12 trillion won ($1 billion) as part of its efforts to elevate its competitiveness in next-generation automotive material development. The Korean auto giant, which owns the Hyundai and Kia brands, said it would build two factories that produce specialty steel and high-quality iron powder ― the two key materials used in vehicle engines and transmissions. The latest investment plan, the carmaker said, comes as a growing number o
April 29, 2013
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BASF to set up R&D center for electronic materials in Korea
BASF, the world’s largest chemical company, said Monday it would build a regional research and development center for electronic materials in Korea, a month after announcing it would move its Asia-Pacific headquarters for electronic materials business to Seoul.“The regional R&D center will be BASF’s first electronic materials R&D center in Korea and will serve the Asian region,” Shin Woo-sung, managing director of BASF Korea, said in a press conference.“When it comes to where to invest, there ar
April 29, 2013
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Chaebol hoard earnings over economic slump
Ever since the global financial crisis, the country’s chaebol have been bent on hoarding their retained earnings instead of investing them.As a result, the combined retained earnings of listed firms under Korea’s 10 largest conglomerates has amounted to over 14 times their paid-in capital.The retained earnings-to-capital ratio of 69 companies that balanced their books in December reached a highest-ever 1,441.7 percent last year, up from 923.9 percent in late 2008, data from the Korea Exchange an
April 28, 2013
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[Photo News] Yummy yogurt
April 28, 2013
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Gaeseong firms plead for government support
Companies that withdrew from the inter-Korean industrial park in Gaeseong urged the Seoul government on Saturday to come up with plans to protect the products and raw materials left in the enclave and help them get back on their feet.They also called on the government to allow them to visit the North on Tuesday and continue trying to hold talks with the North.“The companies are perplexed at the government’s abrupt decision to have all the (South Korean) staff pull out (from Gaeseong), and we are
April 28, 2013
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[Photo News] Lotte chief on trial
April 26, 2013
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Samsung Heavy’s net profit jumps 19%
Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a major South Korean shipbuilder, said Friday that its first-quarter net profit soared 19 percent from a year earlier on the back of increased demand for high-priced ships.Net profit reached 301 billion won ($272 million) in the January-March period, compared with a profit of 253 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales gained 10 percent on-year to reach 3.89 trillion won in the first quarter, and operating income also spiked 34 perc
April 26, 2013
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Ssangyong Motor’s net loss narrows on strong sales
Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of Indian sport utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Friday its first-quarter net loss sharply narrowed from a year earlier on strong sales in the domestic market.Ssangyong’s net loss narrowed to 9.7 billion won ($ 8.7 million) in the January-March period, from 31.5 billion won a year earlier, the Seoul-based company said in a regulatory filing.The carmaker said operating loss also narrowed to 17.3 billion won, from 30 billion won a year earlie
April 26, 2013
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SK Innovation’s profit falls on weaker won
SK Innovation Co., the holding company of South Korea’s No.1 refiner SK Energy Co., said Friday that its first-quarter net income fell 54.8 percent from a year ago due to non-operating loss by a weaker won.Net profit came to 293 billion won ($264.2 million) in the January-March period, compared with 648.4 billion won a year ago, SK Innovation said in a regulatory filing.Sales fell 3.9 percent to 18.1 trillion won in the period, with operating profit dropping 5.5 percent to 738 billion won.“The d
April 26, 2013
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Kia Motors’ net profit tumbles
Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, said Friday its first-quarter net profit fell 34.7 percent from a year earlier due to decreased profits from its equity investments.Kia’s consolidated net profit fell to 783.9 billion won ($706 million) in the January-March period, from 1.2 trillion won a year earlier, the Seoul-based company said in a regulatory filing.The carmaker said operating profit dropped 35.1 percent to 704.2 billion won, as revenue fell 6 percent to 11.08 trillio
April 26, 2013
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Samsung Q1 net jump 42 pct on Galaxy boom, higher chip prices
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of computer memory chips and smartphones, said Friday its first-quarter profit spiked 42 percent from a year earlier, buoyed by robust shipments of its flagship Galaxy S3 handsets.Net profit came to 7.15 trillion won ($6.44 billion) in the January-March period, compared with 5.05 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Revenue soared 16.8 percent on-year to 52.87 trillion won in the first quarter and operating profit cli
April 26, 2013
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Creditors agree to provide STX Offshore with 600 bil. in emergency loans
Creditors of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding agreed Thursday to provide the ailing South Korean shipbuilder with 600 billion won (US$540 million) in emergency loans, the main creditor bank said. STX Offshore, the shipbuilding unit of STX Group, a South Korean shipping and shipbuilding conglomerate, has been suffering a credit crunch as demand for new ships has fallen sharply in the past few years. A senior official at Korea Development Bank (KDB), the main creditor, said that seven creditor bank
April 25, 2013
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Panel recognizes FTA damages for SMEs
The Korean Trade Commission ruled that three small-sized companies last year suffered direct trade losses from the effectuation of the Korea-EU or Korea-U.S. free trade agreements, officials said Thursday.The three corresponding firms were a pork processor, a spinning machine accessory producer and a wine manufacturer.The first two experienced a drastic fall in sales in the first half of last year due to the increase of imports from Europe. The wine company was hit by the mass imports of U.S. wi
April 25, 2013
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POSCO sees 53.5% rise in Q1 operating profit
The nation’s top steelmaker POSCO recorded 14.6 trillion won ($13 billion) in total sales, 717 billion won in operating profit, and 292 billion won in net profit in the first quarter of the year, company officials said Thursday.The holding company of POSCO alone recorded 7.7 trillion won in sales and 581 billion won in operating profit, which was a 4.8 percent fall and a 53.3 percent rise from the previous quarter, respectively.“Though the total sales level fell slightly due to the fall in globa
April 25, 2013
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Hyundai Motor: Can manage currency effects
Hyundai Motor said Thursday that its operating profit declined 10.7 percent to 1.868 trillion won ($1.679 billion) in the first quarter despite increased car deliveries globally. Sales reached 21.36 trillion won, a 6 percent increase from a year ago.The nation’s largest carmaker sold 1,171,804 vehicles globally between January and March, up 9.2 percent from the same period last year. In Korea alone, its sales decreased 0.7 percent to 153,728 vehicles.The company said that currency effects, coupl
April 25, 2013
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Daewoo Int’l net triples on equity investment profits
Daewoo International Corp., a leading South Korean trading company, said Thursday that its net income more than tripled in the first quarter from a year ago, boosted by a sharp increase in profits from its equity investments. Net income came to 24.9 billion won ($22.4 million) in the January-March period, compared with 7.6 billion won a year ago, the trading company said in a regulatory filing. Sales, however, fell 10.8 percent to 4.07 trillion won in the same period, with operating profit dropp
April 25, 2013
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Affiliates of STX suffer liquidity crunch
Major affiliates of STX Group, a South Korean shipping conglomerate, suffered a liquidity crunch last year, data showed Thursday, raising concerns over the firms’ deteriorating financial status.According to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service, four out of the business group’s five listed firms saw their current ratio, the key barometer of liquidity, fall below 100 percent in 2012.The current ratio refers to a firm’s ability to repay debts maturing in one year, with higher numb
April 25, 2013