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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Korea added to key bond index
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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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North Korea notifies UN Command of plans to fortify border with South
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Taking away phones during school hours not a human rights violation: watchdog
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Who is pollster roiling politics with claims of government string-pulling?
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Kim Jong-un vows to thwart S. Korea-US 'nuclear alliance'
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Ssangyong E&C turns to overseas sales
Driven into a corner by the protracted slump in the local housing market, the nation’s No. 13 builder Ssangyong Engineering & Construction is struggling to survive while anticipating a boom in the overseas high-end construction market.Ssangyong E&C’s net loss last year was around 400 billion won ($369 million), snowballing from a 157 billion won net loss in 2011, according to officials on Thursday.The net loss has impaired Ssangyong’s capital worth 148.8 billion won, which means that the builder
Feb. 14, 2013
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Samsung chief’s stock value tops W12tr
Lee Kun-hee, chairman of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co., has retained his position as the wealthiest shareholder in the country thanks to a surge in share prices of the company and a key affiliate, industry data showed Thursday.Lee held 12 trillion won ($11 billion) worth of shares as of Wednesday, up 31.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Chaebul.com, which tracks the country’s conglomerates.The researcher said the rise came as shares of Samsung Ele
Feb. 14, 2013
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No room for small firms in canteen business
One of the perks of working in a big-enough company or institution in Korea is getting balanced meals from cafeterias at relatively low prices compared to nearby restaurants.The operation of most of these canteens is consigned to large firms ― Samsung Everland, Our Home (which spun off from LG Group in 2000, but is still entirely owned by the founder’s grandchildren), Hyundai Green Food, Shinsegae Food, Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, CJ Freshway, Dongwon Home Food and ECMD (of Pulmuone). These compani
Feb. 14, 2013
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Samsung chief Lee's stock value tops 12 tln won
Lee Kun-hee, chairman of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co., has retained his position as the wealthiest shareholder in the country thanks to a surge in share prices of the company and a key affiliate, industry data showed Thursday.Lee held 12 trillion won (US$11 billion) worth of shares as of Wednesday, up 31.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Chaebul.com, which tracks the country's conglomerates.The researcher said the rise came as shares of Samsung E
Feb. 14, 2013
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Samsung Electronics most popular among jobseekers
Samsung Electronics was chosen for the fifth year in a row as the No. 1 company that college students and jobseekers wish to work in.Eighteen percent of the 2,644 people surveyed by online recruiting information provider Saram In picked Samsung Electronics, followed by Hyundai Motor (7.7 percent), Korea Electric Power Corp. (6.9 percent), POSCO (5.2 percent), CJ CheilJedang (4.1 percent), Korean Air (3 percent), SK Energy (1.9 percent) and LG Electronics (1.7 percent).High salary was the reason
Feb. 13, 2013
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Daewoo E&C-led group wins $765m order in Nigeria
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., one of South Korea’s leading builders, said Wednesday that its consortium has won a US$765 million order to build a fertilizer plant in Nigeria.Under the deal with Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemicals Ltd. on Tuesday, Daewoo E&C and its consortium partner Toyo Engineering Corp. will build the facility at Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria.Daewoo said it expects to complete the plant 34 months after starting construction but did not specify when the projec
Feb. 13, 2013
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Hyundai Sonata tops J.D. Power quality survey
Hyundai Motor’s flagship Sonata sedan has recently topped the J.D. Power vehicle quality study in the midsize car segment, the carmaker said Wednesday. According to study results by the U.S. marketing firm J.D. Power and Associates, the Sonata model received the fewest complaints on reliability, outpacing its Japanese rivals such as the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Nissan Altima. Hyundai’s Verna compact and the Soul box car of Hyundai’s affiliate Kia Motors came in third within their respectiv
Feb. 13, 2013
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Market slump weighs down on local builders
Some local mid-sized construction companies are experiencing severe financial difficulties due to the protracted slump in the housing market, stoking concerns that they may be forced to undergo workout programs or get delisted from the local stock market.The financially troubled companies include Hanil Engineering and Construction, Ssangyong Engineering and Construction, Doosan Engineering and Construction, and Keangnam Enterprises Ltd.Market sources said Hanil, under a debt workout program, pos
Feb. 13, 2013
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SPC branches into online music service market
By Kim So-hyunSPC Group, which runs bakery brand Paris Baguette, is jumping into the online music service business.“We have reviewed the business for a long time in a bid to find new sources of profit, and we will start the service soon,” an SPC official said on Wednesday, a week after new restrictions against bakery franchises were announced.SPC Networks, a subsidiary that manages membership service points from the franchised bakeries, will run the online music service named Helium.Members can
Feb. 13, 2013
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LG to feature new L Series smartphone lineup in Barcelona
LG Electronics said Tuesday it would introduce its new smartphone lineup called the Optimus L Series II at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, later this month.The three gadgets that belong in the new series ― Optimus L3 II, Optimus L5 II and Optimus L7 II ― feature four new design elements, which are a seamless layout, laser cut contours, radiant rear design and smart LED lighting on the home button. The devices, all running on Google’s Android mobile operating system, have 3.2-inch,
Feb. 12, 2013
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Hyundai Motor’s U.S. sales hit new high on large, pricier units
Hyundai Motor seems to be gaining appeal among its high-end customers, with large-car sales in the United States last month hitting a new record, industry sources said Tuesday. The Korean auto giant sold 3,522 units of its larger, pricier models such as the Equus, Genesis, Genesis Coupe and Grandeur in the U.S. market in January.The sales made up 8.1 percent ― the highest-ever ― of its total car sales at 43,713 vehicles in the month. Last year, Hyundai sold a combined 46,376 vehicles in the U.S.
Feb. 12, 2013
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Lee Jay-yong to serve as director on Boao Forum
Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong is expected to be appointed this April as director of a key Asian economic forum, according to industry sources on Tuesday. Lee is to be named as director of the Boao Forum for Asia at their 12th assembly meeting which is scheduled to be held in Boao, Hainan province, China, in early April, sources said. Chey Tae-won, the embattled chairman of SK Group, currently serves as director but his four-year term expires this year. The Boao Forum for Asia is
Feb. 12, 2013
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[Power Korea] Lotte snacks, drinks tickle taste buds worldwide
With all-time favorites like the Choco Pie and Milkis, Lotte Confectionery and Lotte Chilsung Beverage have dominated Koreans’ tastes for the nibbles.The two are not just the largest Korean companies in their respective industries, but their stocks are also the two most expensive on the local bourse, traded at over 1.5 million won per share.And they are now pleasing the palates of people worldwide.Lotte Confectionery’s overseas sales are estimated to have grown from 450 billion won ($410 million
Feb. 11, 2013
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[Power Korea] Leap from chewing gum maker to nation’s No. 1 retail empire
When Shin Kyuk-ho founded Lotte in 1948, he began with selling chewing gum to children in post-war Japan.Dispelling doubts over the sweetened chicle business at a time when people were starving, Shin’s bubble gum became a major hit in Japan.He went on to start a trading firm, a real estate company and outstretched to the retail business, eventually building one of the biggest conglomerates in Japan.Shin, also going by Takeo Shigemitsu, then expanded business to his native Korea by establishing L
Feb. 11, 2013
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Diesel car sales double in 2012
Korean carmakers saw their combined diesel sales, excluding those for sport utility vehicles, more than double last year to 29,626 units, according to industry data released on Monday.Diesel car sales still make up a small fraction of total car sales in Korea, where a total of 1.54 million vehicles were sold last year. With their popularity growing among import car purchasers here, the acceptance for diesel-powered cars is spreading to Korean-brand cars. For Hyundai’s i30 hatchback, for instance
Feb. 11, 2013
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Hyundai-Kia extend support for suppliers
Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that it would extend financial support for suppliers and their subcontractors which are expected to face difficulties in the coming months amid slowing car sales and volatile foreign currency rates. As part of efforts to seek shared growth with smaller firms, the Korean auto giant has decided to expand beneficiaries of existing financial benefits from the current 300 suppliers to 5,000 or so subcontractors from this year. Hyundai had operated four support programs
Feb. 11, 2013
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Smartphone subsidy war intensifies during holiday
The smartphone subsidy war rose to a new high over the three-day Lunar New Year weekend with mobile carriers KT and LG Uplus attempting to take a greater number of customers from SK Telecom.With SKT, the country’s top mobile carrier, banned from taking new customers for 22 days until Feb. 21, its competitors launched marketing activities offering up to 800,000 won ($730) in subsidies for various handsets such as Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S3.The legal limit for subsidies set by the government i
Feb. 11, 2013
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Imported tobacco products see market share decline
Three major foreign cigarette producers in Korea have yielded some of their market share to Korean brand KT&G, following their hike of prices for their products.According to cigarette industry data, the three players ― Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International ― posted 35.3 percent in combined market share in January, down from 40.4 percent from a year before.Philip Morris reported a drop from 22.7 percent in January 2012 to 19.3 percent in January 2013. The shares
Feb. 11, 2013
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Mahindra and Korea’s foreign investment dilemma
Thursday will be a big day for Ssangyong Motor, as a critical board of directors’ meeting is scheduled to review Ssangyong’s 2012 performance.More importantly, it will be the day Ssangyong’s largest shareholder Mahindra & Mahindra of India decides on whether to perform a capital increase of up to 1 trillion won ($890 million).The capital injection, to be endowed over a period of four years once approved, is more or less symbolic: It’s chiefly about Mahindra’s commitment, or lack thereof. Mahind
Feb. 11, 2013
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Samsung to collaborate with Alexander Wang: report
Samsung will seek partnership with fashion designer Alexander Wang to create a new print based on doodles, sketches, and photographs sent via smartphone by fashion celebrities around the world, The New York Times reported on its Saturday edition.The designer's collaborators will participate in the project by sending ideas on Samsung Galaxy Note II smartphones to design "a limited-collection bag," it said.Proceeds from sales of the bag will be donated to an art charity for children in New York, i
Feb. 10, 2013