Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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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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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
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Samsung's artistic TV released in Korea
Samsung Electronics Co. started official sales of its latest TV model that resembles a piece of artwork hung on a wall in South Korea, showcasing its newest innovation in the company's home market."The Frame," which won an innovation award at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, is available to local customers for 3.44 million won ($3,043) for the 55-inch version, while the 65-inch model retails for 5.15 million won.The TV, which is equipped with an interchangeable bezel
June 19, 2017
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Korea permanently shuts down oldest commercial nuclear reactor
South Korea's oldest commercial nuclear reactor was shut down permanently Monday as part of a broader policy move to end the country's reliance on atomic power."The Kori-1 reactor, which had been running for the past 40 years, was closed as of 12 a.m. Monday," said the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The government will carry out a decommissioning and dismantling process for the next 20 years." The move marks the first time that Asia's fourth largest economy halted power output from one
June 19, 2017
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Units of top 10 chaebol rely heavily on internal deals
Nearly 1 in 3 subsidiaries of South Korea's top 10 family-controlled conglomerates, known as chaebol here, depend on internal transactions for more than half of their sales, a market tracker said Monday.Chaebul.com said in a report that 174 of the 591 companies belonging to the 10-largest business groups, or 29.4 percent of the total, relied on cross-unit transactions for over half of their top lines last year.The fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group had the largest such subsidiaries at 34, exac
June 19, 2017
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FTC files complaint against Booyoung chief for falsifying reports
The Fair Trade Commission filed a complaint with the prosecution Sunday against the head of local construction giant Booyoung Group for falsifying reports to the state-run antitrust agency, officials said.Booyoung Chairman Lee Joong-keun is accused of excluding seven companies being managed by his relatives from a list of the group’s subsidiaries, and possessing shares in six affiliates under borrowed names.The 76-year-old tycoon is the seventh-richest man in South Korea with unlisted stock asse
June 18, 2017
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Korean companies showcase infrastructure projects at AIIB
SEOGWIPO, Jeju Province -- Korean construction and engineering companies showcased their past infrastructure works at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s annual meeting of its board of governors Saturday.At a session titled “Presentation on Korea’s Technology and Capacities in Infrastructure Development,” companies presented their past work in developing infrastructure in Asia and spoke about the future.“In the global construction market, Korean contractors have earned favorable reputatio
June 18, 2017
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[Photo News] LG Chem seeking talent in China
SEEKING TALENT IN CHINA -- Korean battery maker LG Chem’s Vice Chairman and CEO Park Jin-soo (center) talks with Chinese college students at the company’s recruitment event in Beijing on Saturday. Around 30 students from China’s top 10 colleges, including Peking University and Tsinghua University, were invited as part of the company’s effort to attract talented local students. (LG Chem)
June 18, 2017
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S. East Asian online shopping market to grow sharply: report
Southeast Asia's online market is expected to expand sharply backed by the region's huge population, which serves as a good business opportunity for South Korean companies, a report showed Sunday.In the report, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said the region's online shopping market has been growing at an annual rate of 32 percent, and will reach $87.8 billion in 2025. (Yonhap)Last year, the comparable figure was $7.4 billion.The Southeast Asian region's online market is in t
June 18, 2017
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Samsung, SK may benefit from booming chip market
South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix may benefit from the booming memory chip market driven by rising prices and tight supply, local reports said Sunday, quoting market research firms. According to a June 15 report by DRAMeXchange, the average contract price of DRAM for servers will increase up to 8 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter. The average price rose 40 percent in the first quarter and 10 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarters. The
June 18, 2017
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Non-banks' loans hit record high
Loans extended by savings banks, insurers and other non-bank institutes reached a record high in April as local banks tightened lending regulations, industry data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea, outstanding loans extended by such institutions reached 762.29 trillion won ($672 billion) as of end-April, the highest since related data began to be compiled in 1993.It marks a 5.2 percent, or 37.7 trillion won, rise from the end of last year. (Yonhap)Should the curre
June 18, 2017
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Hotels find hidden market in flight cabin crews
Local hotels are looking for tie-ups with airline companies to bring cabin crews to their facilities as they search for hidden markets to survive stiff competition, industry officials said Sunday.Flight attendants and cockpit crews spend nearly half a year overseas and stay up to four days at a single location. Airline companies go the extra length to find the best suitable hotels for their crews' lodging overseas, making their choices after extensive reviews. Once a hotel is picked, the compani
June 18, 2017
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Analysts divided over whether Samsung's upward march will go on
Samsung Electronics Co., the country's top market cap, is still undervalued and has further room to rise down the road given its strong earnings, analysts said Sunday.But some fund managers remained cautious, projecting its earnings cycle may take a turn for the worse.Samsung, the world's largest manufacturer of smartphones, has risen 61.74 percent for the past one year, providing a floor under the country's stock market. On Friday, Samsung closed at 2,279,000 won ($2,000) on the Seoul bourse, a
June 18, 2017
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Corporate earnings forecast to be higher than expected: brokerage firms
South Korean companies' earnings for the second quarter of the year are forecast to be higher than earlier expected on the back of improving business conditions, industry data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker FnGuide, the combined operating income of 155 major listed firms here are estimated at 41.37 trillion won ($36.5 billion) for the April-June period, up 5.7 percent from the earlier projection made three months earlier. The second-quarter operation income esti
June 18, 2017
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Kori-1 nuclear reactor brought to halt
South Korea's oldest nuclear reactor suspended its power supply operations Saturday as a first step toward its permanent shutdown.The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said it cut off the power supply line of the Kori-1 reactor as of 6 p.m. and began cooling down the reactor in earnest. Kori nuclear power plant (Yonhap)The temperature of the reactor is expected to drop to 90 C at midnight Sunday from the current 300 C, and will gradually go down further.When it reaches 90 C, the reactor will be of
June 18, 2017
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Mobile carriers keep watchful eye on govt. move to cut telecom costs
South Korea's mobile carriers are keeping a watchful eye on possible moves by the government to cut subscription costs for telecom services that will impact their earnings, indtry watchers said Sunday.The Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning will hold a session with the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, the de facto transition team of the new government, on Monday to review President Moon Jae-in's campaign pledge to cut telecom service fees. The fees have received flak for unne
June 18, 2017
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Samsung to launch English voice assistance program
South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. plans to launch an English version of its voice assistance program installed on its latest flagship Galaxy S8 in the United States later this month, industry sources said Saturday. Bixby is an advanced voice recognition system that comes on the Galaxy S8 and its variant Galaxy S8 Plus, which went on sale here in April. The file photo, dated May 1, 2017, shows a model using Samsung`s smart voice assistance program, Bixby. (Yonhap)It boasts so-calle
June 17, 2017
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Korean budget carriers expand routes to S. East Asia, Japan
South Korean budget carriers are strengthening international routes to Southeast Asia and Japan in a bid to absorb growing low-cost air travel demand and recoup losses stemming from the drop in Chinese passengers amid a diplomatic row over a missile defense system, industry sources said Saturday.Eastar Jet began services on the Incheon-Da Nang route early this week with a plan to start the Incheon-Sapporo route from July 1. (Yonhap)Jeju Air, another local low-cost carrier, earlier announced a pl
June 17, 2017
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[Weekender] Vegetarian-friendly eateries to visit in Seoul
Aparna Balakumar, a 21-year-old Australian student visiting South Korea, says she was a little nervous about coming to the country for the first time, fearing that her food options might be limited as a vegetarian. But after weeks of hunting in Seoul, she learned there are a significant number of vegetarian communities here and an increasing number of places to go that are vegetarian-friendly, with many of them located in districts frequented by foreigners such as Itaewon.“Plant in Itaewon, for
June 16, 2017
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Booming Korean oil refiners set dates for interim dividends
South Korea’s oil refining businesses set their dates for half-year interim dividends on the back of increasing first-half profitability, especially in petrochemicals and lubricants. The latest refiner to join the trend was SK Innovation, which on Friday set June 30 as its record date for the interim dividends, meaning holders of shares on that date will be eligible for the payment. (Yonhap)The company’s board of directors still have to decide on whether a payment will be made, based on second-
June 16, 2017
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Hyperconnectivity holds key to future infrastructure: AIIB
SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island -- Hyperconnectivity between people, devices and networks holds the key to the development of safe, cost-effective infrastructure in a future dominated by the “fourth industrial revolution,” experts said at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s annual meeting Friday.In a seminar titled “The Era of 4th Industrial Revolution and Infrastructure” at ICC Jeju for the AIIB’s second annual meeting of the board of governors, business leaders and researchers presented their vis
June 16, 2017
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K-water soon to complete water plant in Pakistan
Korea Water Resources Corp., or K-water, said it will soon complete the construction of a water plant in Pakistan, K-water’s first investment project overseas.The state-run water resources developer said the completion of the Patrind Hydroelectric Power Plant will occur within this month. The company is simultaneously operating water projects in 11 countries including the Philippines. The hydro power plant in Pakistan broke ground in 2009 with an aim of producing 641 gigawatt hours of electricit
June 16, 2017