Most Popular
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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Military aircraft evacuating S. Koreans in Lebanon returns home
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Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
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BTS-themed moon jar to be unveiled on Hangeul Day
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Market uncertain on Korea's October rate cut despite slowed inflation
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Samsung unveils 'personalized AI' for all devices
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1,430 minors investigated for drug offenses from 2018 to 2023: police
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[Robert Fouser] Why the US election looks so close
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Special counsel bill to probe first lady scrapped
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Starbucks Korea posts record operating profit on W1.2tr sales
With solid customer loyalty, especially among women in their 20s and 30s in Korea, Starbucks Coffee Korea raked in 114.4 billion won ($107 million) in operating profit and 1.2 trillion won in sales last year, industry data showed Thursday. Starbucks (Yonhap)The US coffeehouse chain opened its first local branch near Ewha Womans University in 1999. It is the first time Starbucks has recorded over 100 billion won in operating profit.According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic discl
March 15, 2018
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Ssangyong, Daewoo E&C clinch $740m project in Singapore
South Korean construction companies Ssangyong Engineering & Construction and Daewoo Engineering & Construction have won the $740 million Woodlands Health Campus (WHC) project in Singapore, the firms said Thursday. A computer generated image of the planned Woodlands Health Campus (WHC) project in Singapore (Ssangyong E&C)The two companies have formed a joint venture with Singapore’s Koh Brothers Building & Civil Engineering Contractor and worked on to win the project since December 2016.The Ssan
March 15, 2018
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Tourists from US, Singapore frequent users of Airbnb in Korea
Domestic Korean travelers took out the biggest portion of Airbnb users in Korea in 2017, followed by tourists from the US and Singapore.According to Airbnb on Wednesday, over 1.8 million travelers made use of some 37,000 Airbnb listings last year. Of the figure, 66 percent were Korean tourists traveling domestically. As for the foreign visitors, those from the US and Singapore were the most comfortable using the home-sharing service, respectively taking out 18 percent and 13 percent of the local
March 15, 2018
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Watchdog files charges against Booyoung affiliates over false stock ownership
South Korean construction conglomerate Booyoung Group has been charged with falsifying stock ownership involving Chairman Lee Joong-keun, according to the nation’s antitrust watchdog on Wednesday.The Fair Trade Commission said through a release that it pressed charges against five Booyoung affiliates for falsely reporting Lee‘s stocks as belonging to other family members or executive members during an earlier corporate disclosure processes. In a separate track, the watchdog also imposed a total
March 14, 2018
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Kumho Tire workers go on strike amid M&A plan
Unionized workers at Kumho Tire Co. went on strike Wednesday to protest plans by creditors to sell the debt-ridden company to a Chinese firm, the union said. "We will go on strike for the whole day (of Wednesday) as we oppose creditors' plan to sell the company to Qingdao Doublestar Co.," a union spokesman said by phone. (Yonhap)Two union leaders have staged a demonstration atop a utility pole near the tiremaker's plant in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, since early this month to oppose
March 14, 2018
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Korea has second-highest average smartphone selling price: data
South Korea has the world's second-highest average smartphone selling price, data showed Wednesday, apparently due to the strong popularity of high-end flagships.According to the data compiled by Strategy Analytics, the wholesale average selling price of smartphones in South Korea came to $466 last year, standing only below Japan that stood at $557. (Yonhap)The United States, the world's largest market for premium phones, posted $425, followed by Australia and Switzerland at $420 and $415, respe
March 14, 2018
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Kolon Industries FnC launches fashion rental service
South Korean fashion company Kolon Industries FnC said Tuesday that it had launched an environment-friendly fashion rental service. A customer looks at clothes from Kolon Industries FnC’s Re;Cord. (Kolon Industries FnC)Starting Wednesday, Kolon Industries FnC’s upcycling brand Re;Cord will be renting out items that were manufactured three years ago or less, as part of efforts to add value to fashion, according to the company.“We have come up with the rental service in step with the new shopping
March 13, 2018
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US FTA talks to resume soon amid tension over steel
Korea and the US will soon resume talks to review their bilateral free trade agreement amid intensifying tension over President Donald Trump’s latest decision to impose a high tariff on steel imports.“The third round of talks on the free trade deal will be held soon and we will set national interest as the top priority,” said Kim Dong-yeon, deputy prime minister and minister of strategy and finance, at a ministerial meeting Monday. Yoo Myung-hee (second from left), director general for FTA negot
March 13, 2018
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SK on edge about delayed antitrust regulatory approval from China on Toshiba deal
South Korean conglomerate SK Group is on edge over its awaited antitrust regulatory approval from China on the sale of Toshiba’s chip unit, as the decision is likely to be put off for several months, according to the industry on Tuesday. Multiple sources in the industry told The Korea Herald that SK Group’s key executives are conducting business with high awareness of the importance of getting approval from the Chinese antitrust agency for the Toshiba deal in which the Korean group has a signifi
March 13, 2018
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Asiana captain fired after quarreling during flight
A captain who had an argument with a co-worker during a flight has been fired, while his counterpart resigned, according to South Korean airline Asiana. Asiana Airlines (Asiana)According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Tuesday, the quarrel took place between the two captains on duty at the cockpit of an Asiana flight heading for Rome in September last year.The conflict was triggered when one captain refused to hand over control to the other and told the latter’s vice cap
March 13, 2018
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Lotte beefs up managerial efforts amid chairman's imprisonment
South Korean retail giant Lotte said Tuesday it is striving to overcome a series of challenges from home and abroad, including a leadership vacuum caused by the arrest of its chairman, by strengthening executives' on-site managerial activities.Lotte Shopping Co. CEO Kang Hee-tae recently met with institutional investors to explain the situation faced by the company and its strategies to overcome the crisis, according to Lotte. The firm is Lotte's key retail subsidiary, running department stores
March 13, 2018
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Online shopping purchases rise sharply on strong mobile sales growth: data
The amount of online shopping transactions rose sharply in South Korea in January this year from a year earlier, with purchases made using mobile gadgets rising faster than transactions carried out on personal computers, government data showed Tuesday.Online transactions, excluding the services industry, soared 20.9 percent on-year to 6.68 trillion won ($6.27 billion) in January, the data by Statistics Korea said.The proportion of online transactions to the total retail purchases, not counting t
March 13, 2018
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Spreading trade war to deal critical blow to Korea: report
If US-led protectionism spreads around the world, it could deal a fatal blow to the export-led Korean economy, according to a local research institute. “When the US-led tariff and trade war spreads around the world, Korea’s export economy may fall into crisis given its high reliance on trade,” said Joo Won, chief of Hyundai Research Institute’s economic research division, in his report released Monday. Korea’s dependence on foreign trade was 63 percent in 2016, according to Statistics Korea, wit
March 12, 2018
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Seoul to toughen requirements for LCC airlines
South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday that it would revise the current law to strengthen entry criteria and management requirements to put the brakes on expanding low-cost carriers.“We came up with the revision to make LCC-related regulations more realistic, aiming to improve the overall quality of the airline industry with fair competition,” said a ministry official. Jeju Air (Jeju Air)If the revision is passed by related organizations, legislative authoritie
March 12, 2018
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Chunho Food rebranded as Chunho N Care
South Korean health food company Chunho Food has been rebranded as Chunho N Care, the company said Monday. The “N” in the name stands for the company’s vision of “nature, nutrition and next,” the firm said. Chunho N Care employees hold up the new brand logo with CEO Lee Seung-woo (right). (Chunho N Care)The new name and logo will be used for all products from April, following a shareholders meeting slated for later this month. The company has been using its original name for 35 years since it wa
March 12, 2018
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KDB kicks off due diligence on GM Korea to determine financial support
The state-run Korea Development Bank on Monday kicked off due diligence on GM Korea Co. as it prepares to make a decision on whether or not to extend fresh loans to the loss-making carmaker.KDB Chairman and Chief Executive Lee Dong-gull told reporters, "There were differences between the KDB and GM over the conditions involving due diligence, but they reached an overall agreement on various aspects."The carmaker is the Korean unit of US auto giant General Motors Co. GM holds a 77 percent stake i
March 12, 2018
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Tax office launches investigation into Kia: sources
The national tax office has launched a probe into Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker by sales, industry sources said Sunday. The National Tax Service (NTS) recently sent inspectors to the company's headquarters in southern Seoul, about six years after it was last reviewed in 2012, according to the sources. Headquarters of Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor Company in Yeomgok-dong, southern Seoul(Yonhap) The inspection is likely to be a regular one, though some speculate that it co
March 11, 2018
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[IP in Korea] ‘Technological progress will reduce IP gap among industries’
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on experts in the intellectual property sector. This is the sixth installment. -- Ed.For several years, especially when the patent battle was heating up between Samsung Electronics and Apple, intellectual property was largely considered an issue exclusive to global tech companies.But the unprecedented technological advancement amid the “fourth industrial revolution” trend has drastically narrowed the conventional gap between market champions
March 11, 2018
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Korea to file WTO complaint against US washer safeguard amid tension over steel tariffs
South Korea is preparing to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization after the rejection by the US government of a request to withdraw its safeguard measures on Korean washers, amid intensifying tension over President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imported steel products.The US had previously said it would revise the measure by March 4, if necessary. But the measure remained unchanged despite South Korea’s request to cancel the decision on imposing hefty tariffs on Korea
March 11, 2018
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Anti-pollution cosmetics emerge as rising trend
Amid deteriorating air quality caused by fine dust, beauty industry retailers are releasing anti-pollution cosmetics designed to prevent or filter out fine dust particles from one’s skin. (From left) Issilin Finish Cover Pact from Pulmuone Lohas, Lavida Sun Solution Daily Moist Protection IRF20 SPF36 PA+++ from Koreana and PM2.5 Block Cleanser from Celltrion SkincareAccording to cosmetics manufacturers, the consumer need for functional skin care products is growing beyond the traditional sunscr
March 11, 2018