Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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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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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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Cattle breeding farms hit by oversupply, rise in import beef
Angry farmers protest over cattle price fall, hike of feeding costs The nation’s cattle breeding farms are being severely hit by the fall in beef cattle prices as a result of an oversupply of homebred cows and by soaring animal feed prices. Male dairy calves used for veal are put up for sale at 10,000 won per head, but it is still not easy to find buyers.A cattle breeder in Sunchang, North Jeolla Province, buried nine cows that starved to death earlier this week as he could no longer afford to f
IndustryJan. 6, 2012
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Farm, fishery exports hit record high in 2011
South Korean exports of agricultural and fishery products jumped 30.8 percent on-year to a record $7.69 billion in 2011 thanks to greater demand, the government said Friday.Of the total, $4.37 billion were processed farm products, with fresh produce exports reaching just over $1.01 billion. Overseas shipments of fishery goods totaled just under $2.31 billion, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.The strong exports were propelled by the popularity of cigarettes,
Jan. 6, 2012
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Korea Exchange to open spot oil trading system
Korea’s bourse operator said Friday it plans to open a spot oil electronic trading system in a bid to bolster the local transaction market and help stabilize energy prices. The trading system will begin preliminary operations in late March after test runs are conducted next month, with oil refiners and exporters expected to be the main sellers, according to the Korea Exchange. Franchise dealers and gas station owners will take part as buyers through the trading system. Any entrepreneur in the oi
Jan. 6, 2012
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BMW grabs US luxury car crown
BMW overtook Mercedes-Benz in a surprise upset Thursday to grab the crown of best-selling luxury brand in the United States after an incentive-fueled race to the finish of 2011. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG ( BMW) vehicles are displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show 2011 in Tokyo, Japan. (Bloomberg)Th
MobilityJan. 6, 2012
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First mixed-embryo monkeys are born in US
US researchers said Thursday they have created the world's first mixed-embryo monkeys by merging cells from up to six different embryos, in what could be a big advance for medical research. A baby rhesus macaque monkey looks out from the arms of its mother in Hong Kong in July 2011. (AFP)Until
TechnologyJan. 6, 2012
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Brain power can decline from age 45: study
Cognitive skills can start to fall from the age of 45, not from around the age of 60 as is commonly thought, according to research published on Friday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).Researchers led by Archana Singh-Manoux from the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health in Fr
TechnologyJan. 6, 2012
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Samsung puts Q4 operating profit at record 5.2 trillion won
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of memory chips and smartphones, estimated on Friday that it had posted a record operating profit in the fourth quarter on the back of strong sales of smartphones.Operating profit estimated for the October-December period reached 5.2 trillion won (U
IndustryJan. 6, 2012
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Business asks Lee to clear uncertainties
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday invited about 1,300 leaders from all sectors, including President Lee Myung-bak, emphasizing greater growth in terms of exports, new jobs and bigger investments at its New Year’s greetings in southern Seoul. The event, which was organized by the country’s largest business lobby and participated by leaders from the business, government, societal and diplomatic circles, was the first meeting between the president and business heads in 2012.“I
Jan. 5, 2012
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Eximbank raises $2.25b via debt sale
The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Thursday it has issued dollar-denominated bonds worth $2.25 billion, the single biggest debt sale by a Korean institution excluding the government.The debt is composed of two-tranche global bonds maturing in five years and 10 years and three months, respectively, the policy lender said.The five-year bonds worth $1.25 billion carry an interest rate 3.15 percent above the corresponding U.S. state bond yields. The other tranche, worth $1 billion, are p
Jan. 5, 2012
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Brokerages’ foreign units’ losses increase
Korean securities firms saw losses at their foreign operations widen in the first half of fiscal 2011 from a year earlier due mainly to heightened market uncertainties, the financial regulator said Thursday.The 93 foreign units of 19 local brokerages saw their combined net loss reach $43.3 million in the April-September period of last year, compared with $17.3 million a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The firms close their books on March 31.The weak bottom line came
Jan. 5, 2012
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IT exports top record $156 billion in 2011
Korea’s information technology exports reached a record high of $156.97 billion in 2011 mainly due to strong overseas demand for smartphones and system semiconductors, a government report showed Thursday.The figure is a 2 percent gain from the $153.94 billion tallied in 2010 and marks the second year in a row that outbound shipments of IT products set new records, the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.Imports grew 7.8 percent to $81.52 billion with the country posting a trade surp
Jan. 5, 2012
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Dispute rises over plan to transfer KTX operation to private firms
A government plan to introduce competition to train operations and end the monopoly held by state-run KORAIL is stirring a heated debate as critics say for-profit businesses would endanger safety and public interests.The Transport Ministry said last week it will open bidding this year to operate new bullet-train routes connecting Suseo in southern Seoul to the southern part of the country, which will open in 2015. KORAIL will continue to manage the other sections.The ministry expects the change
IndustryJan. 5, 2012
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Siblings bound by blood to fight rare cancer
MILWAUKEE ― In the course of a few hours on a recent fall day, all of Ann Merrell’s blood slowly exited her body through a tube in her left arm, then re-entered through a tube in her right.Two lives were bound up in this circle of blood.The night before, in her own bed in South Beloit, Ill., she’d tossed and turned. Some of it was fear of the unknown. Yet Ann had decided that what she knew about her brother’s disease outweighed what she didn’t know about this effort to save him. Since 2006, her
TechnologyJan. 5, 2012
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Sudden cardiac death
When the temperature falls, the heart can be put under greater stress and the probability of sudden cardiac death surges among those in mid-life. Excessive drinking, excessive smoking and chronic fatigue in day-to-day life may lead to the onset of sudden chest pain followed by cardiac arrest and death. Sudden death refers to an unexpected natural death caused within one hour of the onset of symptoms. Most cases of sudden death are the result of heart disorder. Therefore, sudden death is normally
TechnologyJan. 5, 2012
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Hyundai-Kia ranks sixth in U.S. sales
Both carmakers post record sales of over 1.13m units in U.S. last yearHyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. posted record sales in the United States last year, together ranking sixth in sales volume after GM, Ford, Toyota, Chrysler and Honda.With over 1.13 million cars sold, Hyundai-Kia overtook Nissan for the first time by about 90,000 units in the world’s largest auto market.Models that can run more than 40 miles per gallon such as the Elantra, Sonata Hybrid and Accent accounted for about a
IndustryJan. 5, 2012
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Stephanie Choi named Johnson & Johnson’s North Asia head
Johnson & Johnson Korea said Wednesday that the company’s managing director Stephanie Choi has been recently named the North Asia area managing director. Choi, 42, will be responsible for the U.S.-based consumer goods giant’s operations in Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as Korea. Choi joined Johnson & Johnson as a brand manager in 1991 and became the Korean branch’s first female head in 2008. She has been recognized for her contribution to the successful settlement of brands such as Johnson’s Baby
IndustryJan. 5, 2012
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LH CEO gives up stock options worth W13 billion
Korea Land & Housing Corporation CEO Lee Ji-song has recently given up stock option rights worth 13 billion won ($11 million) that he was awarded while working for Hyundai Engineering in 2005. According to the country’s state-run land developer, Lee told Hyundai Engineering at the end of last year that he would not exercise 50,000 shares of stock options at the company. The stock options were given to him in late 2005 when he served both as the chairman of Hyundai E&C and as an outside board dir
IndustryJan. 5, 2012
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Samsung looks to grow 15% globally with air conditioner
By Cho Ji-hyunSamsung Electronics on Thursday released its new air conditioner model for this year, unveiling its plan to expand its sales of air conditioners by up to 15 percent in the global market.Dubbed “Smart air conditioner Q,” the product emphasizes the cooling system as well as the air purifier and dehumidifier functions, according to company officials.“We’re expecting to meet a globally sluggish economy this year, but we plan to grow by more than 15 percent in the air conditioning marke
IndustryJan. 5, 2012
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SK Group vows to invest biggest-ever W19tr this year
SK Group on Thursday unveiled its largest-ever investment and recruitment plans just ahead of the prosecution’s announcement of its plan to indict chairman Chey Tae-won without physical detention on embezzlement charges. The conglomerate said it would more than double investment to 19.1 trillion won ($16.6 billion) including 3.4 trillion won to acquire Hynix Semiconductor and 2.1 trillion won in resource development.About 10 trillion won will be invested in facilities and another 2 trillion won
IndustryJan. 5, 2012
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Banks pay generous bonus to workers
Major banks are poised to pay large-scale performance bonuses to employees, despite the difficult situation in the wider economy.The banking sector posted record-high earnings in 2011, while many households and small- and mid-sized enterprises are saddled with snowballing debts.As a year-end compensation for the performance, four major commercial banks ― KB, Woori, Shinhan and Hana ― have offered or plan to offer workers extra payments.Kookmin Bank provided employees with a bonus, which is equiv
Jan. 5, 2012