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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Smartphone hotel check-in service debuts
A 30-year-old Korean woman checked in at a hotel in downtown Seoul, but did not receive a room key. Instead, she got a hotel-owned smartphone for her reserved room.The woman, whose family name is Lee, used the smartphone to unlock the door and control the indoor temperature as well as the lights and television.Lee was also able to call maintenance to make up the room or ask them not to disturb her by simply activating a mobile application and touching the screen, without having to make a call or
Dec. 25, 2012
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Daewoo Shipbuilding wins 1.9tr won order
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, said Tuesday that it has obtained a 1.9 trillion won ($1.8 billion) order to manufacture a fixed platform from Statoil ASA of Norway. Under the deal, Daewoo Shipbuilding will complete the fixed platform, a type of offshore platform used for the production of oil or gas, by the end of 2016, the South Korean shipbuilder said. The 31,000-ton fixed platform, which will produce 80,000 barrels of crude a day, will be installed o
Dec. 25, 2012
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Hyundai-Kia’s hybrid sales surpass 100,000 units
Hyundai Motor Group has seen its accumulated sales of eco-friendly hybrid cars surpass the 100,000 mark recently, a milestone that comes just three years after their launch. According to industry sources on Tuesday, Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors sold 106,450 hybrid vehicles both in the domestic and foreign markets as of November since July 2009. This year alone, their hybrid car sales reached 56,203 units, a 69.1 percent jump from the same period last year. The two carmakers have in
Dec. 25, 2012
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Park backs voluntary shared growth push
Following is the fifth in a series of articles on President-elect Park Geun-hye’s key policies. ― Ed. Political parties, regardless of their political inclination, have called for better protection of neighborhood mom-and-pop shops, namely those who are struggling to compete against franchise stores owned by large conglomerates. After numerous failed attempts by past and present governments, President-elect Park Geun-hye has also come up with diverse measures to support small businesses. In a se
Dec. 25, 2012
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Zodiac sign of the snake spells good luck for execs
Ancient oriental wisdom says having a snake in the house is a good omen because it means the family will never starve. The snake in this case indicates individuals born under the zodiac sign of the “snake,” and if the saying is anything to go by, it looks as though there are some snake-borns who most definitely won’t be starving anytime soon. Analyses of the local stock markets showed that there were some 456 billionaires in Korea who were born under the sign of the snake, according to Chaebul.c
Dec. 25, 2012
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Samsung reaches world’s top spot, spearheaded by Galaxy S3 smartphone
With Samsung Electronics recently selling over 100 million mobile phones around the world every quarter, its flagship smartphone Galaxy S3 has taken the leading position.Since its launch in May this year, a total of 30 million units of the Galaxy S3, which comes with a 4.8-inch display, have been purchased worldwide in its first five months on the market, according to U.S. market research firm Strategy Analytics.Boosted by its flagship smartphone, Samsung’s global share took up 27.2 percent of t
Dec. 25, 2012
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Renault Samsung seeks leap with new SM5
Renault Samsung Motors is eyeing a new leap with its flagship midsize sedan, the SM5. The carmaker recently unveiled the New SM5 Platinum, a facelift version of the third- generation 2010 model. First launched in 1998, the car has been one of the best-selling models in the midsize sedan segment here. The latest model sold 2,200 units only a week after its official launch on Nov. 7.The overall exterior of the new SM5 represents the steady-seller’s futuristic and dynamic makeover. The car has fres
Dec. 25, 2012
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Three major mobile carriers slapped with suspension, fines
The Korea Communications Commission decided Monday to slap business suspension penalties and fines on the nation’s three telecoms for having offered excessive subsidies to attract customers.The state telecom regulator agreed on Monday during a general meeting to penalize the three mobile carriers ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― which gave out more financial subsidies to the customers than entitled by the law, despite the regulator’s continued warnings.Starting from Jan. 7, the business ban will
Dec. 24, 2012
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Imports of Japanese sake, beer surge: data
Imports of Japanese rice wine sake increased 70 percent this year to a record-breaking level, according to the Korea Customs Service on Monday.Imported beer to Korea also amounted to $68 million, surpassing total local beer exports for the first time, KCS officials said.In data on trade of major liquors unveiled by the agency, total imports of whiskey, wine, beer and sake recorded a total of 115 million liters in January-November, up 15.3 percent fromlast year.With sake being widely recognized b
Dec. 24, 2012
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Hyundai-Kia on road to world’s No. 4
Hyundai Motor, including its affiliate Kia Motors, is closely vying with Renault Group for fourth place in yearly global auto sales.While Hyundai-Kia ranked fifth in 2010 and 2011 in global vehicle sales, auto industry insiders raised the possibility on Monday that the Korean automotive group would overtake Renault-Nissan Alliance, the long-standing No. 4 player, this year.Their prediction is based on the sluggish sales of Paris-based Renault, which suffered a drop of about 20 percent in the wak
Dec. 24, 2012
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Foreign banks cut benefits for credit cards
Credit cards issued by foreign banks are expected to lose many benefits they used to offer customers, industry sources and banks said this week. Standard Chartered Korea and Citibank, two of the top foreign banks in Korea, said they would be reducing credit card benefits by up to 50 percent starting next year. The reduced benefits will be mostly in the form of exempting fewer customers from membership fees and offering fewer discounts or card points. The move comes on the heels of the local cred
Dec. 24, 2012
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KOGAS sees best share gains of 2012: Daeshin Securities
Korea Gas Corp., the state-run natural gas importer and supplier, had the best-performing stock of the year, according to a report by Daeshin Securities on Monday. In a survey of stock gains between Jan. 2 and Dec. 18 on the top 100 stocks by market value, shares of KOGAS, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas importer, gained the most, rising 82.3 percent. Shares of Amore Pacific, the nation’s largest cosmetics brand, and Orion, the second-largest confectionery company in Korea, followed, u
Dec. 24, 2012
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Park opting against radical chaebol reform
Following is the second in a series of articles on President-elect Park Geun-hye’s key policies ― Ed.Revamping the conglomerate sector was one of main campaign issues among presidential hopefuls amid the widening profit gap among industries and irregularities by their mammoth business groups.Most candidates designated their proposed reform of chaebol ― Korea’s family-owned conglomerates ― “economic democratization.” While liberal candidates had pledged to overhaul family-owned ownership structur
Dec. 23, 2012
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Hyundai Heavy Industries wins 5 LNG ship orders
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, which includes the world’s largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., said Sunday that it has won orders to build five liquefied natural gas carriers for $1.05 billion.Hyundai Heavy Industries, the group’s flagship company, won a bid from a state-run energy company in Brunei on Friday to build a 155,000-cubic-meter LNG ship, the group said.Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., a unit of the shipbuilding conglomerate, also received orders on Thursday to build
Dec. 23, 2012
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China holds test run on world’s longest high-speed rail line
China tested its 2,298-kilometer (1,428-mile) high-speed rail line, the longest in the world, as it prepares to start passenger service on Dec. 26. Bullet-trains on the line from Beijing to southern Chinese city of Guangzhou can run at an average speed of 300 kilometers per hour, the official Xinhua news agency said. It will shorten the rail travel time from the capital to the Pearl River Delta to about eight hours from the previous 24 hours. China is accelerating railway investment again after
Dec. 23, 2012
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S. Korea has more workforce with college diplomas than a decade ago: labor ministry
The number of South Korean salaried workers with four-year college education has risen drastically for the past decade driven by education-oriented South Korean society, government data showed Sunday.South Korea had 5.4 million employees with college diplomas as of the end of last year, up 88 percent from 2.87 million in 2001, according to figures on the country‘s salaried employees released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.The total workforce climbed 27.4 percent to 17.4 million from 12.
Dec. 23, 2012
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Four S. Koreans abducted in Nigeria released: official
All four South Korean workers who were abducted earlier this week in Nigeria have been released, a government official said Saturday.They are all safe and have been handed over to South Korean officials in the African country, the official from the foreign ministry told reporters.They were freed around 10 p.m. Friday (Nigerian time), the official added.The workers from South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries were taken hostage Monday, along with a Nigerian co-worker, while working at a constructi
Dec. 22, 2012
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Shop without limits
The evolution of electronic commerce and smartphone technologies has no doubt made online shopping one of the most common diversions, especially in densely wired countries like Korea.Not even this week’s presidential election stopped shoppers from browsing malls on their computers and smartphones or calling home shopping networks.Kim Hye-jin, an office worker in her 30s, was busy shopping online while the last televised debate between presidential candidates was aired last Sunday.“My husband cal
Dec. 21, 2012
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Show hosts buttress of TV home shopping
TV home shopping has basked in a sales surge in the nation’s retail industry thanks to its appeal to many Korean shopaholics with its price competitiveness and entertainment quality. The beginning of this prosperous industry and culture followed in the steps of the Western home shopping advertisements that are more informative than entertaining. Even the pioneer show hosts of major Korean home shopping channels still say that, back then, they were not sure why home shoppers would order clothes w
Dec. 21, 2012
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More households struggling with heavy debts: data
The nation’s household debt has been rising at a slower pace recently, but the number of struggling families has increased, government data found Friday.According to Statistics Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service and Bank of Korea, the average amount of household debt was 52.91 million won as of the end of March. The growth rate was 1.7 percent, a sharp decline from 12.7 percent last year. Of the nation’s total households, those with debt made up 64.6 percent, up 1.8 percent from the same p
Dec. 21, 2012