Most Popular
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North Korean troops killed, wounded in Ukraine war: Seoul defense minister
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Korea added to key bond index
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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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Will Apple quit smart ring race with Samsung?
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Kim Jong-un vows to thwart S. Korea-US 'nuclear alliance'
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[KH explains] Will CATL’s Korean push reshape battery alliance with Hyundai, Kia?
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More deaths in ICU following doctors' mass walkout: lawmaker
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Watchdog fines steelmakers for price fixing
The nation’s state-run antitrust watchdog said Sunday it has imposed a combined fine of almost 300 billion won ($281 million) on seven steelmakers for fixing prices of their steel products. Companies subject to the fine worth 291.8 billion won include POSCO, POSCO C&C, Union Steel, Dongbu Steel, Hyundai Hysco, Seah Steel and Seil Steel, according to the Fair Trade Commission.Seven companies are said to have been involved in separate price-collusion cases between 2004 and 2010 through shady meeti
Dec. 30, 2012
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A hard case to crack: Samsonite
Luggage literally turned over a new leaf when a young new chief executive by the name of Suh Boo-suk took the helm of Samsonite Korea in 2005. Branding is always a challenge for new chief executives, but Suh had his job cut out for him at Samsonite, where the challenge was bigger because of what the 100-year-old brand had stood for: a rugged solidness. “It used to be that luggage was luggage, period. Durability was all that mattered and sidelined the design element. But the younger generation wa
Dec. 30, 2012
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Storms brew for export-driven industries
As global economic growth is expected to remain tepid in 2013, the nation’s major industries will find this year harder than the last, with the exception of the smartphone industry, according to a recent export forecast by the Korea International Trade Association. KITA forecast that the smartphone and related-parts industry was likely to be the sole sector to have a good year, enjoying double-digit sales growth in and out of Korea. New models of flagship smartphone brands like Samsung’s Galaxy
Dec. 30, 2012
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Watchdog fines 7 steelmakers for price fixing
South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Sunday it has decided to fine top steelmaker POSCO and six other industry players a combined 291.7 billion won ($273.5 million) for colluding to fix prices of some steel products.The Fair Trade Commission also said it plans to lodge a complaint with the prosecution against six steelmakers, including POSCO and Hyundai Hysco.According to the FTC, they colluded to fix prices of cold-rolled plates, galvanized steel sheets and color steel sheets between 2004 and
Dec. 30, 2012
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Asiana Airlines helps typhoon-hit Palau
Asiana Airlines supported global rescue efforts to help the typhoon-devastated Palau by sending an airplane carrying solar lanterns to the western Pacific island country on Thursday.Company officials said the 350 lanterns were donated by the charity organization, International Peace Sports Federation in Seoul. They said the lanterns will be directly delivered to the incoming president Thomas Esang Remengesau Jr., who is scheduled to take office early next month.Asiana Airlines CEO Yoon Young-doo
Dec. 28, 2012
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Hyundai names foreigner CEO
Peter Schreyer, vice president and chief design officer of Kia Motors, was promoted to president of the automaker, Hyundai Motor Group said Friday.This is the first time that Hyundai Motor Group has appointed a foreigner as president of one of its business units.Schreyer has been hailed as one of the top car designers with his contribution to the K series of Kia Motors. His K series has been praised as having created a signature automobile design for the nation’s second-largest carmaker.Beginnin
Dec. 28, 2012
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Diesel models reach 50% of import car sales
Fuel efficient vehicles with a diesel engine are projected to account for the majority of the total sales of 25 import brands this year.Diesel-powered import models are posting 50.8 percent, or about 61,000 units of foreign brands’ collective vehicle sales so far this year, while the ratio stood at 35.2 percent in 2011 and 25.4 percent in 2010.According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, the number of imported diesel car registrations continued to surge ― 36,931 units
Dec. 28, 2012
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Business leaders urge vigilance against uncertainties in 2013
December is the month when the nation’s top conglomerates customarily unveil their management visions for the new year. This year, the companies were given a double burden of preparing for the heightened uncertainties of the global economy, while also preparing for the incoming government of Park Geun-hye. Samsung Group on Thursday held an annual year-end seminar, with some 30 chief executives in attendance, including Choi Gee-sung, the head of corporate strategy office to discuss such plans. Wh
Dec. 27, 2012
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LGD files another petition against Samsung Display
LG Display said Thursday that it filed a lawsuit against Samsung Display for infringing on its liquid-crystal display patent for the Galaxy Tab 10.1.LG asked the Seoul Central District Court to order Samsung to immediately stop producing and selling the firm’s 10.1-inch tablet PC. It also requested that Samsung must pay 1 billion won every day if it choose not to follow its demand.The filing of the suit comes as LG claims that the display technology used for the building of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 i
Dec. 27, 2012
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Experts call for setting up of ICT ministry
A group of scholars Thursday urged that the new administration should establish a government branch that exclusively deals with issues related to the Information and Communications Technology sector.In a press conference, a group of 25 different academic organizations involved in ICT said a government ministry that takes full charge of content, platforms, and broadcast and telecom should be set up at the earliest date.“President-elect Park Geun-hye must revive the sectors of information, broadca
Dec. 27, 2012
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Korean traditional alcoholic beverages go global
More and more foreign buyers are focusing on Korean traditional alcoholic beverages as Makgeolli, a rice-based alcohol product, has been gaining growing popularity in the overseas market.Amid the movement to revitalize the traditional alcoholic beverage market, more than 240 brands nationwide participated in the Korean Traditional Beverage Fair last October.The annual contest is aimed at elevating the quality of Korean alcoholic beverages by promoting taste competitions of representative brands
Dec. 27, 2012
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Kwang Dong raises price of Korea’s top mineral water brand
Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical Co. raised the price of Jeju Samdasoo, right after the company took over the sales rights for Korea’s leading mineral water brand from its previous owner Nongshim.Retail industry sources said on Thursday that Kwang Dong, the new nationwide distributor of Jeju Samdasoo, verbally announced it hiked the prices of 500-millileter and 2-liter products by 10 won and 15 won, respectively.The move is expected to prompt other mineral water makers to follow suit. Kwang Dong argued
Dec. 27, 2012
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S. Korean manufacturers' biz sentiment for Jan. rebounds
South Korean manufacturers' business confidence for January rebounded from a 44-month low tallied in the previous month as some economic data showed improved performances, the central bank said Thursday.The index of manufacturers' outlook on business conditions came in at 70 for January, up from 67 tallied for December, according to a monthly survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' expectations for the coming month.A reading below the benchmark 100 means pessimists o
Dec. 27, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Korail accused of overstating KTX safety
Local passengers raised their eyebrows when the state-run railway operator Korail claimed the safety and on-time operation of its trains as global No. 1 in a report submitted for evaluation in June. At the time, Korail was suffering from public condemnation after a series of frequent breakdowns and delayed schedules of the nation’s KTX bullet trains.Korail explained that it had cited official data from the International Union of Railways, or UIC, and then the agency was designated as one of the
Dec. 26, 2012
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DSME wins $1.56 billion submarine order
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering won a $1.56 billion order to build two 3,000-ton KSS-III submarines from the nation’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration.The submarines will be built based on DSME’s own technology and be delivered to the Korean Navy by the end of 2022, the company said in a statement. DSME started building submarines in 1987 through technology transferred from Germany and has strengthened its market leadership, with a total production of 17 submarines. Three of t
Dec. 26, 2012
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Tobacco exports surge 3.7-fold in decade
Korea’s tobacco exports have increased by 370 percent over the past 10 years while imports remained steady, resulting in a tobacco trade surplus since 2004.In 2002, the country’s tobacco imports amounted to more than double its exports. Last year, exports rose to 1.7 times the imports, data from the Korea Customs Service showed.“Much of the domestic demand for imported manufactured tobacco appears to have been replaced by demand for Korean-made products as their quality improved,” said a KCS off
Dec. 26, 2012
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Korean liquors charm foreign consumers
Diluted soju, a cheap alcohol product, has been taking up a great portion of the nation’s liquor market over the past few decades.As Jinro and Lotte actively made inroads into the overseas market, more and more foreign drinkers could easily access the diluted soju along with makgeolli, a rice-based Korean drink.While soju ― cheap through mass production ― has been playing the role of “placating ordinary citizens,” the Korean Traditional Alcoholic Beverage Development Association expressed worrie
Dec. 26, 2012
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Large firms suffer from increased intellectual property violations in 2011
Violations of intellectual property rights held by South Korea‘s large conglomerates grew in 2011 though the overall number of intellectual property violations dropped from a year earlier, a report showed Wednesday.The portion of large companies whose intellectual property rights were infringed upon grew from 3.2 percent in 2010 to 5.3 percent last year, according to the report released by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.The portion for all companies and institutes with intellectual properties
Dec. 26, 2012
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Debit card issuance tops 100 mln this year
The number of debit cards issued in South Korea surpassed 100 million in the first 11 months of the year as a growing number of consumers used them because they offer more tax benefits than credit cards, industry sources said Wednesday.The number of debit cards issued in the January-November period reached 100.2 million, up 1.46 percent from 98.7 million for all of last year, according to the sources.The increase was attributed to greater tax incentives provided by debit cards. The income tax de
Dec. 26, 2012
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Telecoms unveil new tool to fight Kakao Talk
The country’s three mobile carriers will team up and introduce a new communications service named “joyn” on Wednesday to compete with top mobile messenger Kakao Talk.SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus all announced Tuesday that they will release the Rich Communication Suite, which allows people to use a number of communication services ― such as Rich Call, Rich Messaging and Rich Phonebook ― in an integrated manner.Users who have downloaded the joyn service will be able to send messages up to 5,000 cha
Dec. 25, 2012