Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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[LG climbs back into the black in 4Q]
LG Electronics said Wednesday it climbed back into the black in the final quarter of last year, posting 13.81 trillion won in sales and 23.1 billion won in operating profit.The sales figure for the fourth quarter is a 7 percent increase from the third quarter backed by the positive sales of smartphones which run on the fourth generation Long Term Evolution network.In a regulatory filing, the company also said that its total sales recorded 54.25 trillion won in 2011, a drop of 3 percent from 2010
IndustryFeb. 1, 2012
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Patterns of connections reveal brain functions
For more than a decade, neuroscientists have known that many of the cells in a brain region called the fusiform gyrus specialize in recognizing faces. However, those cells don’t act alone: They need to communicate with several other parts of the brain. By tracing those connections, MIT neuroscientis
TechnologyFeb. 1, 2012
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Petition urges ‘ethical’ iPhone from Apple
An online petition is urging Apple to monitor working conditions and practices of its overseas manufacturers to make its next iPhone “the first ethical iPhone.” The advocacy group SumOfUs posted the petition asking Apple to “make the iPhone 5 ethically,” referring to the company’s use of firms su
TechnologyFeb. 1, 2012
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KEB union files injunction against FSC’s approval of Hana's acquisition
The labor union of Korea Exchange Bank filed an injunction to block financial regulators’ recent approval of Hana Financial Group’s takeover of KEB.“We filed the injunction with the Constitutional Court late Jan. 31,” a KEB union leader said Thursday.He said unionized workers are discussing whether
Feb. 1, 2012
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Korea posts first trade deficit in 24 months in Jan.
Korea’s trade balance swung into the red for the first time in two years in January as the Lunar New Year holiday reduced the shipment volume and the eurozone fiscal crisis dented exports. The country logged a trade deficit of $1.96 billion last month, compared with a surplus of $2.9 billion a year
Feb. 1, 2012
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3 financial groups taken off list of public institutions
South Korea has taken three state-owned financial groups off the list of public institutions, paving the way for their privatization process, the finance ministry said Tuesday.KDB Financial Group, the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) were taken off the list of publ
Jan. 31, 2012
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Kim named CEO of Kumho Tire
Kumho Asiana Group on Tuesday named Kim Chang-kyu, president of Asiana IDT, the chief executive of Kumho Tire. Hwang Sun-bok, executive vice president of the conglomerate’s strategic management, was promoted to president of Asiana IDT, and Park Sang-bae, executive vice president of Asiana IDT, was assigned to the same post at Kumho Resort.Suh Jae-hwan, executive vice president of Korea Express, will head the group’s strategic management division, Kumho Asiana said in a press release.(sophie@hera
IndustryJan. 31, 2012
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Lotte scion withdraws bakery chain business
Bliss, French gourmet food company Fauchon’s Korean brand, said Tuesday it is withdrawing from the bakery business.“The decision came in order to comply with the government’s shared growth initiative and the public opinion to protect smaller vendors,” a Bliss official said. The move is the latest in a series of business withdrawals amid criticisms that bakery or coffeehouse chains run by chaebol offspring are fast overtaking the sales of smaller, individually-owned stores.Fauchon had been operat
IndustryJan. 31, 2012
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Korea sells Cheongju airport rights
The government has sold the operational rights of an international airport in the central part of Korea to a private consortium for 25.5 billion won ($22.6 million), officials said Tuesday.The consortium will take over operational control of Cheongju International Airport, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, late this year after completing the necessary administrative process, the finance and transportation ministries said. The consortium, named the Cheongju Airport Group, is made up of Korea Aviatio
Jan. 31, 2012
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LG Chem reaches sales record in 2011
LG Chem said Tuesday it posted 22.68 trillion won ($20.17 billion) in sales and 2.84 trillion won in operating profit last year, with its yearly sales figure recording more than 20 trillion won for the first time.The 2011 sales figure is a 16.5 percent jump from the previous year and the operating profit is also a slight increase of 0.7 percent from the same period.The company, however, said in a regulatory filing that its total sales and operating profit figures for the final quarter of last ye
IndustryJan. 31, 2012
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E-Land going global with Dodgers bid
E-Land chairman Park Sung-su has moved aggressively in recent years to expand the business portfolio of the nation’s leading fashion retailer. Following purchases of luxury resorts and foreign fashion brands, he now aims to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers, which declared bankruptcy last year.An E-Land official confirmed Tuesday that the company has joined a consortium to acquire the baseball club and made last Friday’s first cut. “The Dodgers are not just a baseball team, but a symbol of Los Angeles
IndustryJan. 31, 2012
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KEB highest paying bank in Korea
Employee salaries at Korea Exchange Bank, Korea’s fifth-largest lender, were the highest among the country’s six largest banks, industry data showed Tuesday. KEB paid an average of 51.7 million won ($45,858) to its employees during the first three quarters of 2011, the highest among South Korea’s six lenders, according to industry data. Hana Bank, the fourth-largest lender in Asia’s No. 4 economy, had the lowest average salary in the same period with 38 million won. Following a regulatory approv
Jan. 31, 2012
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Lone Star faces hefty corporate tax on capital gains
Korea’s tax agency said Tuesday it plans to impose a corporate tax on U.S.-based buyout fund Lone Star Funds’ investment gains from the purchase of a local skyscraper instead of the previously-imposed transfer income tax, which a Seoul court ruled illegal.Nearly 100 billion won ($89 million) in corporate taxes will be levied next month on the fund’s capital gains of nearly 245 billion won, stemming from its purchase and sale of a commercial high-rise in the posh southern part of Seoul. The decis
Jan. 31, 2012
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Hong vows support for small exporters to U.S.
Korea’s knowledge economy minister vowed Tuesday to provide policy support to small and medium businesses so that they can reap benefits from the ratified Korea-U.S. free trade agreement.“That’s why we will launch a trade comprehensive assistance center under the Korea International Trade Association (this month),” said Minister Hong Suk-woo during a luncheon hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce. The goal of the center, he said, is to provide assistance to Korean businesses that are intere
Jan. 31, 2012
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EU probes Samsung over wireless patents
(Yonhap News)BRUSSELS (AP) -- Samsung took a hit in its battle against arch-rival Apple on Tuesday, when the European Union announced it will investigate whether it is illegally trying to hinder competitors and Germany blocked sales of some of its tablets.Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc. are engag
TechnologyJan. 31, 2012
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Samsung fails to overturn Apple's German Galaxy Tab ban
Samsung Electronics Co. lost a bid to overturn a German sales ban on its Galaxy 10.1 tablet computers obtained by Apple Inc. in an intellectual property dispute.The Higher Regional Court in Dusseldorf backed the ban in a ruling today. While Apple can't rely on a European Union design it used to win
TechnologyJan. 31, 2012
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Number of venture firms tumbles during late 2011
The number of venture firms in South Korea plummeted in the May-December period of last year as economic uncertainties sapped entrepreneurship, industry data showed Tuesday.A total of 850 venture firms closed down in the eight-month period in 2011, compared with a gain of 2,351 startups during the earlier four months, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Venture Business Association. The number of venture firms grew a mere 6.1 percent on-year in 2011, compared with a 30.4 pe
Jan. 31, 2012
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Avante Hyundai Motor’s best-seller in 2011
The Avante compact manufactured by Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. was the company’s top-selling car in the global market last year, industry data showed Tuesday.A total of 787,067 units of the Avante, known as the Elantra in the United States, were sold in 2011 in the domestic and overseas markets, accounting for 19 percent of Hyundai Motor’s overall shipments of 4.14 million vehicles, according to the data.Its domestic sale reached 130,628 units last year, while 239,439 units were expo
MobilityJan. 31, 2012
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Korea’s industrial output slows to 2.8% in Dec.
Korea’s industrial output grew at a much slower pace in December in the face of persistent global economic uncertainties, a government report showed Tuesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining and manufacturing industries moved up 2.8 percent last month from a year earlier, slowing from a 5.8 percent gain in November.Industrial production, however, fell 0.9 percent on-month in December, marking the third month in a row that numbers declined.In November, it shran
Jan. 31, 2012
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Hyundai Motor donates training school in Ghana
Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday it will build a vocational school to train mechanics in Ghana, widening its corporate social responsibility program in underdeveloped countries.Named Hyundai-KOICA Dream Center, the school will be the first of a number of learning centers the company plans to build in African countries, Southeast Asia and developing nations in other regions. The school, to open this September, will adopt a three-year curriculum for some 300 students. “Hyundai workers from all over
IndustryJan. 31, 2012