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 C&T mulls giving up right to Yongsan project
Samsung C&T, the construction and trading arm of Samsung Group, said it is considering returning the right to build a landmark building in Yongsan to state-run rail operator KORAIL to join collective efforts to revive the faltering Yongsan property development project.“The company is in internal discussions on whether to give up the construction right worth 1.4 trillion won ($1.2 billion) as KORAIL requested, which will make it possible for the railroad operator to restructure the Yongsan projec
March 21, 2013
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Coffee guru teaches tasting skills to professionals
A man wearing a black apron savors the aroma of a cup of coffee, and then loudly slurps the liquid so it spreads to the back of his tongue. He is one of five active Q Grader instructors in the world, and visited Seoul this week to supervise a test to accredit professional coffee tasters, or Q Graders.With Korea consuming the most coffee per household in Asia, a Q Grader is an emerging career.“Worldwide, there are close to 2,000 Q Graders now and about 15 percent of them are in Korea,” Mane Alvez
March 21, 2013
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Korea celebrates International Forest Day
Thursday marks the first International Forest Day that the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed in December last year to encourage all U.N. member countries to organize forest-related activities, including tree-planting campaigns.This new annual global celebration of forests builds on the success of the International Year of Forests in 2011 and provides a platform to raise awareness of the importance of forests and trees outside forests.On the first International Day of Forests, countries
March 20, 2013
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Korean consortium wins Uzbek power plant order
Daewoo International Corp., a trading company affiliated with steelmaker POSCO, won an $819 million contract to build a thermoelectric power plant in Uzbekistan, company officials said Wednesday.The company, in a consortium with Hyundai Engineering & Construction, signed the deal with state-run Uzbekenergo on Tuesday. The three-year project involves the construction of two 450-megawatt steam power generation complex units in the southern Talimarjan area. The construction will be implemented on a
March 20, 2013
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SK C&C taps Chinese mobile commerce market
SK C&C, one of the nation’s biggest IT service companies, on Wednesday said it secured an order to provide solutions for a mobile wallet for China Unicom Pay to pave the way into the Chinese mobile commerce market.With the deal, SK C&C has added a Chinese business partner to its list of counterparts in the U.S. that includes Google, FDC, PayPal and the Dunkin brands. China Unicom Pay is an affiliate of one of China’s top three mobile communications providers, China Unicom, which handles all paym
March 20, 2013
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LS Cable develops thinnest communications cable
LS Cable & System, a leading Korean wire and cable maker, said Wednesday it has developed what it claims is the world’s thinnest communications cable as part of its drive to target overseas markets.The cable, which measures 7 millimeter in outer diameter, is the world’s thinnest, compared with existing products that measure 7.2 to 8 millimeters in diameter, LS Cable & System said in a press release.The cable maker said the thinner diameter is easy to install and saves installation space, which c
March 20, 2013
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Hanwha E&C wins $270m Saudi order
Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corp., a South Korean builder, said Wednesday that it has signed a $270 million deal to build facilities to produce gold bars in Saudi Arabia.Under the deal with Ma’aden, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned mining company, Hanwha E&C will construct the facilities as well as a residence and research center near Al Humiyah, about 450 kilometers southwest of the kingdom’s capital Riyadh.The facilities, to be built in two years, will be capable of processing 2 million tons o
March 20, 2013
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Samsung to drop LCD patent suit against LG Electronics
Samsung Display Co., the world's biggest display maker, has decided to drop a patent suit against LG Electronics Co. over liquid-crystal display technologies, paving the way for both sides to end a long-running legal battle, industry sources said Wednesday.The two display giants have been embroiled in a patent tussle over organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and LCD technologies that broke out on the heels of a police investigation into an alleged leak of technologies from Samsung Display to LG D
March 20, 2013
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Liberia, Dongwon in $6m fishing dispute
The Republic of Liberia in West Africa and a local fisheries company are caught in an escalating dispute possibly worth $6 million over illegal fishing in Liberian waters. Liberia recently said it would press criminal charges against Dongwon Industries ― Korea’s largest tuna brand ― for fishing with a forged license in its waters, according to both the Liberian government and Greenpeace. A Dongwon-owned tuna fishing vessel had been caught fishing with the fake documents in 2011 and 2012. License
March 20, 2013
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Charmzone ready to springboard into Russia
Skincare product maker Charmzone is eyeing Russia as its newest export destination on the recent success of its high-end cosmetics line that contains patented ingredients.The 29-year-old company, which made headlines in 1991 for becoming the first Korean cosmetics firm to obtain approval from the Japanese government to sell its products in the neighboring country, has built a reputation for solid quality.“Trade Representative of Russia in Korea Mikhail Bondarenko was so greatly impressed by our
March 20, 2013
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Creditors OK 170 bln won debt-to-equity swap for Ssangyong
Creditors of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. agreed Tuesday to rescue the troubled builder through a debt-to-equity swap program worth 170 billion won ($152.9 million), creditor bank officials said. The builder's creditor banks, including Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank, held a meeting headed by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the country's financial watchdog, later in the day to discuss the matter and agreed to the plan, they said.The swap will prevent the cash-strapped builder fr
March 19, 2013
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FKI to tap civic groups for reform
The Federation of Korean Industries is seeking to mend its ways to regain public trust and become a more reliable business representative. The organization, which traditionally represents the nation’s richest and largest companies, is now even considering joining forces with People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, one of the most liberal civic groups in Korea. The move comes following a statement from the federation last week, saying that it had decided to operate a separate committee t
March 19, 2013
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Samsung C&T takes over U.K. LNG specialist
Samsung C&T, the construction and trading subsidiary of Samsung Group, took over a leading liquefied gas handling firm to take the lead in the prosperous natural gas market.The company last month signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire Whessoe, a U.K.-based firm specializing in the storage and regasification of liquefied natural gas, officials said Tuesday. The estimated amount of the buy is around 20 billion won ($18 million).The acquisition was completed on Monday, after Samsung C&T clear
March 19, 2013
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Samsung-LG battle looms over Galaxy S4
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are arguing over the eye scrolling technology that was embedded in Samsung’s latest Galaxy S4, unveiled last week.LG claimed Tuesday that it had rights over the scrolling technology that recognizes eye movements, stating that it applied for a related patent in Korea in December 2005.The Seoul-based electronics maker said it also applied for its “Smart Video” patent in August 2009, which puts a video on hold when the user is not looking at the screen ― a fea
March 19, 2013
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Supercars spice up secondhand market
Old Maybach or Lamborghini cars used to be rarely traded in the nation’s used car market. But largely driven by their recent strong sales, they are expanding presence in the secondhand market here. According to SK Encar, the nation’s largest used car dealer, on Tuesday, the most expensive car for sale was the 2008 Maybach 62S with a price tag of 450 million won ($405,000). The five priciest cars at SK Encar were all from the ultra-luxury German brand Maybach, whose vehicles were last manufacture
March 19, 2013
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Hanjin Group mulls Korean Air split-up
Hanjin Group said Tuesday that it is considering dividing its flagship subsidiary Korean Air into two firms as part of its recent move to finally adopt a holding company system. The group, however, made it clear that any specific plans have yet to be finalized, according to its regulatory filing on the day. Earlier news reports said that Korean Air will be divided into two entities, with one of them becoming a holding company to oversee the whole group. Last year, Hanjin, the nation’s 10th-large
March 19, 2013
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Heungkuk Life sanctioned for irregular practice
The Financial Supervisory Service on Tuesday issued an “institutional caution” against Heungkuk Life Insurance for glossing over irregular practices at a sales branch.“While the Heungkuk branch attracted policyholders via unauthorized practices, the headquarters did not take any disciplinary action despite internal detection,” an FSS official said.Ultimately, the headquarters suffered losses worth 1.22 billion won ($1.1 million) -- as extra costs for resolving unfair contracts between the branch
March 19, 2013
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Coca-Cola puts fizz, flavor in new Glaceau water
Coca-Cola is taking bottled water and doing what it does best _ giving it some bubbles and flavor.The Atlanta-based company confirmed Monday that it would introduce a line of zero-calorie, carbonated, fruit-flavored waters called ``Fruitwater‘’ starting April 1. The drink will be part of Coca-Cola‘s Glaceau unit, which makes other pricier bottled waters such as Vitaminwater and Smartwater.Unlike the zero-calorie version of Vitaminwater, which is made with the natural sweetener stevia, Fruitwater
March 19, 2013
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Kim Yu-na boosts lipstick’s sales overnight
A video clip of South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na wearing lipstick at a press conference in 2013 World Figure Skating Championships in Canada went viral on the Internet, sparking keen interest about the brand from internet users.The lipstick is Dior’s Addict Lip Glow lip balm. Released in 2009, it is one of Dior’s top-selling items with its daily sales volume reaching 1,000.Thanks to the publicity generated by Kim, the product is now enjoying an unprecedented boom in the local cosmetics marke
March 19, 2013
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AmorePacific’s major brands
Sulwhasoo Sulwhasoo is AmorePacific’s high-end, herbal-based cosmetics lineup. The priciest among the products released by the cosmetics maker, Sulwhasoo lines the boutiques at premium department stores around the world, including in the U.S., China, Hong Kong and Singapore. LANEIGE LANEIGE, which gets its name from the French for “snow,” is AmorePacific’s hit brand in the Asian region, particularly in China, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand ― emerging nations where the demand for Korean cosmetics
March 18, 2013