Most Popular
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North Korean troops killed, wounded in Ukraine war: Seoul defense minister
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S. Korea, Singapore seal supply chain agreement
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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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Korea added to key bond index
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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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Samsung’s Q1 operating profit jumps 52.9%
Samsung Electronics’ first-quarter operating profit surged 52.9 percent from a year ago to 8.7 trillion won thanks to its strong IT and mobile business performance.Preliminary estimates showed that the tech giant’s sales in the first three months of this year climbed 14.9 percent on-year to 52 trillion won, Samsung said in a regulatory filing on Friday.Samsung did not disclose its earnings by business divisions, but analysts assume that two thirds of the company’s operating profit came from its
April 5, 2013
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Reactor at Gori power plant halts operation
A nuclear reactor on South Korea's southeast coast was shut down Thursday afternoon, but the cause was not immediately known, plant operators said.No immediate threats of a radiation leak were detected, according to the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co.The Gori Nuclear Power Plant, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, halted operation at around 4:34 p.m., only hours after it resumed operation following a two-month maintenance that ended Wednesday.An investigation was underway to identify the
April 4, 2013
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Top 30 conglomerates to invest W149tr this year
Korea’s top 30 conglomerates pledged to increase investment in their respective sectors such as electronics, automobiles and displays by 7 percent to 149 trillion won ($132 billion) this year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a meeting with corporate executives on Thursday.They also plan to increase hiring of new employees by 1.5 percent to some 128,000 in 2013, of which some 47,000 high school graduates will be recruited.“We are happy to hear of the investment and employment p
April 4, 2013
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[Graphic News] Korea ranked No. 3 originator of spam emails
Korea was ranked the world’s No. 3 source of spam email in February, data showed.According to a report released by Russian firm Kaspersky Lab, Korean sources sent 13.7 percent of spam emails worldwide last month, following the U.S. and China, recording 16.9 percent and 14.4 percent, respectively.Spam emails are among the most frequently used methods to spread malicious codes for cyber attackers.Korea was ranked No. 10 last November. However, it rose as one of the most leading sources of spam wor
April 4, 2013
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SKT tops average annual salary: data
Mobile telecommunication operator SK Telecom had the highest average annual paycheck for employees among major Korean companies last year, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday. The data showed that SK Telecom’s average per-capita salary of its more than 4,000 employees was about 98.8 million won ($88,000). The country’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and foreign exchange specialist Korea Exchange Bank were listed at No. 2 and No. 3, with the average annual sa
April 4, 2013
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Imported car sales jump 13% in March
Sales of foreign-made vehicles in South Korea spiked more than 13 percent in March from a year earlier, boosted by steady-selling models, a trade association said Thursday.A total of 12,063 foreign brand cars were sold here last month, up 13.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.In the first three months of 2013, a total of 34,964 foreign vehicles were sold in the country, also up 19.4 percent from a year earlier, the association
April 4, 2013
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Lower-cost vacuums outperform premium
The Korea Consumer Agency on Thursday listed a number of vacuum cleaners ranging from premium to low- and mid-cost products to better inform consumers of their efficiency relative to their price.Premium brands such as Nilfisk’s X300C, Dyson’s DC37 and Siemens’ VSZ61240 cost more than 700,000 won with a wide range of functions, but they lack efficiency in terms of suction power and noise when compared with Samsung Electronics’ VC-UBJ937, which costs around 382,000 won, or other lower-cost brands,
April 4, 2013
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Samsung’s Galaxy S4 to roll out in Korea this month
Samsung Electronics’ new flagship smartphone Galaxy S4 will be rolling out in Korea on April 25 following its launch in a number of European countries including the U.K., industry sources said Thursday.With the world’s biggest smartphone maker scheduling its media event on the same day as its roll-out, the new 5-inch Galaxy S4 equipped with octa-core mobile processors will be hitting local shelves in the next three weeks, they said.The company’s new smartphone was unveiled for the first time in
April 4, 2013
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Aspire to entice with premium services
Aspire Lifestyles has launched in Korea as a premium concierge, hospitality and brand marketing servicer, the U.K. and Singapore-based company said on Thursday.Aspire Lifestyles offers incomparable lifestyles, services and luxury reward programs. This creates memorable services and lifestyle experiences for customers' needs ranging from travel assistance to lifestyle experiences, the company said.Aspire also specializes in brand marketing, consisting of creating and revamping brands for corporat
April 4, 2013
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Hyundai, Kia recall 19m cars in U.S.
The world’s fifth-largest automaker Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors will be recalling 1.9 million vehicles in the United States for malfunctioning brake light switches and airbags, the companies said on Thursday.There were no accidents or injuries due to the defects, but Hyundai said it is conducting the recall to ensure customer safety.“We hope to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” said Chung Jin-haeng, the Hyundai CEO. “We’ll do our best to prevent the situation from escal
April 4, 2013
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Hyundai-Kia recalling nearly 1.9 million vehicles
DETROIT -- Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are recalling almost 1.9 million vehicles to fix problems with air bags and brake light switches. The brake light recall covers the Hyundai Accent, Elantra, Genesis Coupe, Santa Fe, Sonata, Tucson and Veracruz. Also affected are Kia's Optima, Rondo, Sedona, Sorento, Soul and Sportage. The vehicles are from the 2007 through 2011 model years. U.S. safety regulators say a faulty switch can stop the brake lights from illuminating when drivers press t
April 3, 2013
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‘Starcraft 2’ championships kick off
Online game developer Blizzard Entertainment launched the World Championship Series on Wednesday, featuring a showdown of top players of its “Starcraft 2.”The WCS will narrow down the best players in regional contests in Korea, the U.S. and Europe, who will then meet at the final round to be held in California in November this year, according to Blizzard.Among the three regions, Korea’s league will start first on Thursday, and GomTV and Ongamenet will alternate to operate WCS Korea seasons and w
April 3, 2013
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STX Group may face another liquidity crisis
STX Offshore & Shipbuilding’s request for help to creditors indicates that STX Group may be facing another liquidity crisis, analysts said on Wednesday. They said the future of STX Group, the nation’s 13th-largest conglomerate in terms of revenue, is seemingly murky as it faces a series of credit downgrades, following the self-restructuring plan proposed by the shipbuilding unit, its core affiliate, to its creditors on Tuesday. STX Offshore, the world’s fourth-largest shipbuilder, asked creditor
April 3, 2013
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Lotte-Shinsegae war takes new turn
Retail archrivals Lotte and Shinsegae are clashing head-on all across the country ― in Busan, Incheon and regions northwest and southeast of Seoul. Shinsegae’s premium outlet in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, is scheduled to open its expanded section to host some 52 new brands next Friday, adding to its existing 167 labels.The suburban outlet was enlarged by about 30 percent to 40,182 square meters.“We cannot confirm the names of the new brands until our press conference next Thursday,” said Shinsegae
April 3, 2013
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Will Peter Schreyer magic work again?
GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province ― Kia Motors’ new Carens, significantly the last Kia car to benefit directly from the toughness of Peter Schreyer’s design philosophy, has made its Korean debut. The All New Carens, the newest generation of Kia’s flagship seven-seat minivan, comes seven years since its previous model launched in 2006. The Hyundai affiliate poured 220 billion won ($196.7 million) and 51 months into its development. Minivans are gaining popularity here with the rise in popularit
April 3, 2013
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Hyundai Oilbank completes 2nd BTX plant
Hyundai Oilbank, the nation’s fourth-largest oil refiner, started operations of its second BTX plant, in Daesan, a coastal city 137 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Wednesday, the company said. BTX is a composite mix of benzene, toluene and xylene.The company completed the plant construction with its Japanese partner Cosmo Oil. Back in 2008, the two companies created a strategic alliance to cooperate in various areas, including the BTX business. The two companies completed the first BTX product
April 3, 2013
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Korea’s big-business reliance grows
Korea’s economic dependency on top conglomerates has continued to rise, posing a challenge to the incumbent President Park Geun-hye administration seeking to restructure the country’s economic landscape.A report by Korea’s Fair Trade Commission showed that sales generated by the top four private conglomerates, or chaebol, accounted for more than 53 percent of the total in the first quarter of this year, up from 52 percent a year ago.The top four industrial groups sanctioned by the antitrust watc
April 2, 2013
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[Graphic News] Music digitalization bodes well for K-pop
The music industry reported global sales growth last year for the first time since 1999 on rising online sales, prompting analysts to paint a rosy picture for the K-pop industry.The increase, 0.3 percent, was minimal, and the total revenue of $16.5 billion was nothing comparable to its peak of $38 billion over a decade ago, figures reported by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry showed.But the digital revolution, which appeared to be killing the music industry with rampant
April 2, 2013
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Hyundai Rotem wins 1 trillion won deal in India
Hyundai Rotem, a local train maker affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group, said Tuesday that it recently won India’s largest-ever train project worth about 1 trillion won ($900 million). The company is to deliver a total of 636 trains by 2017 to the state-run Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for the city’s two new subway lines, Nos. 7 and 8. The competition to win the lucrative deal was fierce, with global big names such as Canada’s Bombardier, France’s Alstom and Germany’s Siemens heating up the race.
April 2, 2013
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Ssangyong escapes capital impairment
Ssangyong Engineering & Construction narrowly escaped total capital impairment status but should improve its financial condition by the end of the second quarter to avoid shutdown by the local stock market, company officials said Tuesday.The troubled builder said through a public announcement on Monday that it submitted a report to the nation’s stock trader Korea Exchange, proving that it was bailed out of its capital impairment.Boosted by the creditors’ debt-to-equity swap program, the company’
April 2, 2013