Most Popular
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Military aircraft evacuating S. Koreans in Lebanon returns home
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Seoul Fireworks Festival ends smoothly, but leaves piles of trash
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Yoon set for talks with Marcos in Philippines
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] The price of numbers: How rankings shape lives in Korea
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Baseball star Hwang Jae-gyun, T-ara's Jiyeon file for divorce mediation
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Can Jennie break the K-pop solo artist slump?
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2 US B-1B bombers conducted joint drill with S. Korean Air Force on Oct. 1 Armed Force Day
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[Exclusive] Korea’s defense acquisition agency fails to meet legal standard for women representation
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Firefighters’ 3,000 won meals spark nutrition concerns
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From thrillers to animation: Netflix's 2025 Korean originals promise universal fun, fresh stories
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SK to shut down its duty free shop on 16th
SK Networks, a retail subsidiary of SK Group, said Tuesday it would close its duty-free shop in northeastern Seoul on May 16, after failing to renew its operational license last year. Since 1992, SK ran the duty free shop at the Walkerhill Hotel. The company will shut down the tax-free retail store for first time in 24 years, but will devise ways to reopen the business. Lotte Duty Free, another tax-free retailer that lost its operational license, will also close its Jamsil branch at the end of J
May 10, 2016
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Korean shipyards bag deals to build 9 ships through April
Korean shipyards, led by Hyundai Heavy Industries, have clinched new orders to build nine ships in the first four months of the year, accounting for 5 percent of new shipbuilding orders placed around the globe, industry data showed on Tuesday.According to global research firm Clarkson Research Services, Korean shipbuilders have racked up 200,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) in shipbuilding orders during the January-April period, while their Chinese and Japanese rivals have won 1.92 million CGTs
May 10, 2016
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Three public energy firms saddled with debts
Korea's three major energy-related public companies are to pay back more than 8 trillion won ($6.8 billion) in debts maturing this year, which stemmed from their heavily leveraged investments in overseas energy assets, government data showed Tuesday.The Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), the Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) and the Korea Resources Corp. (KORES) carry a collective maturing debt of 8.29 trillion won to be paid back by the end of 2016, according to the All Public Information In-One (ALIO)."To
May 10, 2016
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SK Telecom hints at possible scrap of mega-merger plan
Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom said its bid to take over the country's top operator of cable channels may end in vain, industry sources said Tuesday, marking the first time for the company to express a negative stance on the project.In the report handed to the New York Stock Exchange last month, SK Telecom said it may not succeed in carrying out the deal if it fails to earn the government's approval. It marked the first time for the company to make a comment on a possible rupture of the d
May 10, 2016
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Ticket Monster CEO eyes profit turnaround in two years
The head of Ticket Monster, South Korea’s No. 3 e-commerce operator by sales, said Tuesday his company is expected to turn a profit in two years by attracting more customers with a better search engine and payment system. Ticket Monster’s 2015 sales rose 24 percent on-year to 196 billion won ($167.5 million), but it logged an operating loss of 145 billion won due to huge investment in a mobile shopping system and low margin policy. It opened “Super Mart,” which sells daily necessities at the low
May 10, 2016
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Korean shipbuilders suffer W6.5t won loss in 2015
Shipbuilding-related companies in South Korea suffered an operating loss of 6.5 trillion won ($5.5 billion) last year, up 60 percent from a year earlier, industry data showed Tuesday.The nation’s top three shipyards -- Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries -- accounting for about 90 percent of the nation’s top 100 shipbuilders, logged 6.4 trillion won of operating losses, said the Korea 20000 Corporate Research Institute, Hyundai Heavy I
May 10, 2016
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Big spenders unswayed by slowing economy
Despite weakening consumer confidence due to the prolonged economic recession, local retailers are enjoying a steady growth of “VIP customers” who buy luxury goods regardless of the deteriorating market condition, according to industry insiders on Monday.Overall sales figures show no signs of improvement, but the portion of big spenders are growing as well as the amount of money they spend at department stores, they said. A VIP lounge at a Lotte Department Store in Seoul (Yonhap)Customers classi
May 9, 2016
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Dongkuk to start Brazil-based steel mill in June
Dongkuk Steel Mill, the country’s third-largest steelmaker, said Monday that it would start the operation of its Brazil-based steel mill in June, in the hope that it would be able to reduce its reliance on imported steel plates. The steelmaker has imported steel plates, which are mainly used for shipbuilding, from Japan and China at a relatively higher price, company officials said. (Dongkuk Steel Mill)“We will now be able to have a stable supply of steel plates from the mill in Brazil, which is
May 9, 2016
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CNP Cosmetics launches new luxury brand
CNP Cosmetics, owned by LG Household & Health Care, on Monday said it has launched a new luxury brand named CNP Rx, joining Korea’s lucrative market for high-end cosmetics.CNP Rx recently opened its first store inside the main Hyundai Department Store in Gangnam, Seoul, with plans to enter more department stores in the near future, LG H&H said. The newly opened CNP Rx store inside the main Hyundai Department Store in Gangnam (LG Household & Health Care)Unlike the original CNP Cosmetics brand --
May 9, 2016
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Health-conscious consumers shell out cash for canned fresh air
Increasing concerns about air pollution and its impact on the human body have led to a sharp increase in consumer demand for oxygen and air purification products, data showed Monday.According to data released by online open market Gmarket, sales of air-related products have risen by nearly 2.5 times since three years ago. (123RF)Products that showed particularly notable growth were canned oxygen, whose sales rose by 76 percent over three years, and oxygen concentrators, whose sales increased fiv
May 9, 2016
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Hyundai Motor chief seeks closer ties with Jiangsu province
Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo held talks with Jiangsu province Gov. Shi Taifeng at the company’s headquarters in southern Seoul for closer business partnership with one of the most popular Chinese destinations for Korean investors, the group said Monday.Chairman Chung and other Hyundai high-level officials, including his son and Hyundai Motor vice chairman Chung Eui-sun, guided the Chinese provincial leader. Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo (second from right) looks at
May 9, 2016
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Paris Baguette starts franchise business in U.S.
Paris Baguette, a bakery brand operated by South Korea’s leading food company SPC Group, is officially embarking on the franchise business in the U.S., with its first franchise store in San Jose, California, the company said Sunday.Up to this point, SPC Group had directly operated its 45 Paris Baguette outlets in the U.S. The newly-opened San Jose store is its 46th store to open in the country, and the first to do so under a franchising agreement.The newly-opened Paris Baguette store in San Jose
May 9, 2016
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Businesses raise concerns over corporate tax hike
With the opening of the 20th National Assembly -- where opposition parties have a majority of 300 seats -- scheduled for May 30, the business community has raised concerns over a corporate tax hike and its impact on the economy. “A recent survey of about 50 Korean economists showed 72 percent of respondents backed the current corporate tax rate,’’ the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a press release Monday. Of them, 12 percent called for corporate tax reduction for business vitalit
May 9, 2016
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Top 30 conglomerates plan bigger support for partners this year
Korea's top 30 conglomerates will provide a combined 1.85 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in financial support to their partner companies this year to help them maintain the quality of their products, a business lobby said Monday. The planned figure is up 6 percent from their actual execution of 1.74 trillion won for business partners last year, according to data from the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). Federation of Korean Industries (Yonhap)"As conglomerates manufacture more technologically
May 9, 2016
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Petrochemical firms restrategize for expected market changes
Korea's petrochemical firms, basking in outstanding profits last year, are restrategizing to make sure they can sustain the earnings and be ready for future market changes, industry watchers said Monday.The surprise earnings of 2015 were driven heavily by the wide profit margin -- low oil prices pushing down the cost of raw materials but product prices not being marked down. Local firms, watchers say, are well aware that such ideal conditions may soon change and are setting up safety nets.The le
May 9, 2016
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Korean overseas spending double what foreigners spend in Korea
Last year, Koreans spent nearly double overseas compared to the amount foreign consumers spent here in Korea, data showed Sunday.According to data from Statistics Korea, Korean consumers spent nearly 26.1 trillion won ($22.6 billion) overseas, roughly two times the 13.1 trillion won spent by foreign consumers in Korea.The figures include both consumer spending overseas and direct purchases from foreign websites. Tourists shop at a duty-free store in Seoul. (Yonhap)The disparity indicates a sever
May 8, 2016
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Korean car exports shrink for six straight months in April
South Korea's automobile exports extended their losing streak to six straight months in April due mainly to shrinking demand from emerging markets, the government said Sunday.Outbound shipments of vehicles came to 228,502 units last month, down 19 percent from 282,044 units tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The April figure widened from a 5.1 percent on-year drop in March and an 8.4 percent fall in February.From a month earlier, it also fell 12.8 per
May 8, 2016
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POSCO most popular bet among foreigners on better-than-expected earnings
South Korea's steelmaking giant POSCO was the most popular option in the stock markets in the second quarter for foreign investors, market data showed Friday, amid improving sentiments helped by its better-than-expected earnings. According to the data by the Korean Exchange and others, foreign investors bought a net 328.4 billion won (US$284.5 million) worth of POSCO stocks on the Seoul bourse during the April-June period. This represented the largest portion of foreign net buying, which came to
May 6, 2016
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Hyundai Motor's cumulative sales in Canada top 2 mln: data
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's leading carmaker, has sold more than 2 million vehicles in Canada since its debut in the market more than three decades ago, industry sources said Friday.Since 1984 when it first exported its cars to Canada, its cumulative overseas shipments to the North American country came to 2,005,801 units in April, according to the sources. Hyundai Motor's sales there slumped in the 1990s, and its cumulative sales could not exceed the 1 million mark until 2008.But sales pic
May 6, 2016
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[Graphic News] Shipbuilders’ performance improves in Q1
Korea’s top three shipbuilders — Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering — recorded improved performances during the first quarter of this year, according to industry insiders on Wednesday. The world’s No. 1 shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries reaped its first profit in 10 quarters with a net profit of 244.5 billion won ($210 million), although most of the profits were from non-shipbuilding activities. Moreover, the troubled DMSE recorded
May 5, 2016