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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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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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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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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Foreign IBs bullish on Korean stock market
Foreign investment banks have painted a rosy picture of the local stock market’s performance this year, citing the country’s strong economic fundamentals, a report showed Wednesday. Citigroup and other IBs also based their optimistic outlook on the undervaluation of the local stock market compared to their counterparts in emerging economies, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance. In addition, the foreign IBs said the Korean government has ample room to take measur
Jan. 4, 2012
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Overseas industrial plant orders rise to record high in 2011: ministry
Overseas orders for industrial plants won by Korean builders rose to a new all-time high last year on growing demands from developing countries in the Middle East and South America, the government said Wednesday.Local companies clinched $64.98 billion worth of overseas orders in 2011, up from the previous record of $64.48 billion secured a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.The 2011 figure marks a positive growth for eight consecutive years since 2003. The ministry said
Jan. 4, 2012
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Korean panel makers to outperform peers
HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korean panel makers will likely outperform their foreign peers in 2012 because of higher profit margins, J.P. Morgan Securities said Wednesday. Amid a prolonged downturn in demand for liquid crystal display panels from the TV industry, display makers have been suffering a supply glut in the industry, which, as a result, weighed down display panel prices.J.P. Morgan predicted Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Display Co., along with Japan’s Sharp Corp., will be the ou
TechnologyJan. 4, 2012
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Will Kakao Talk launch Internet calls in Korea?
Telecoms watch mobile messenger’s move to offer mobile voice service in Japan this yearLocal telecoms are keeping a close watch on the country’s top mobile messenger Kakao Talk as it plans to launch mobile Internet call services in Japan early this year.In a recent interview with The Korea Herald, Lee Sir-goo, who jointly heads Kakao Talk with chief executive Lee Jae-beom, said the company plans on featuring the service for the first time in Japan.“We’re not gearing up to launch the service in K
TechnologyJan. 4, 2012
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Lotte to set up shopping complex in Incheon zone
Lotte Group, Korea’s top retail conglomerate, will set up a mega shopping complex in Incheon by 2015 to cater to the growing population in the area driven by the brisk housing and industrial development. The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority said Tuesday it forged a deal with Lotte Asset Development Co. for the 1 trillion won ($872 million) project. The company plans to break ground in the fourth quarter of the year.The complex will house a department store, a discount supermarket and numerou
IndustryJan. 4, 2012
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Korea needs to raise competitiveness in social integration: new report
Korea has been faring relatively well economically, but it still lags behind in terms of social integration, infrastructure and other non-economic areas, a government report showed Wednesday.“Our country is faring well in the economic sector, but we remain weak in terms of social integration, social capital and natural resources,” the finance ministry said in the report that analyzed the nation’s competitiveness in comparison with other advanced countries. “Economic indicators have improved as w
Jan. 4, 2012
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Homeplus to enter network services market
Homeplus, the nation’s No. 2 supermarket chain, said Wednesday that it is considering entering the network services market as a mobile virtual network operator or MVNO. The company, owned by U.K. retailer giant Tesco, said it has started negotiations to borrow networks from telecom carriers at wholesale prices so that they can offer mobile services at cheaper rates. “We are gauging contract conditions with SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus,” a Homeplus official said. “If the contract is finalized, we
IndustryJan. 4, 2012
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Samsung, Apple eat into RIM’s market share
Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry smartphone, which lost its No. 4 spot to Apple Inc. in the U.S. in the first half, fell further behind the iPhone maker and market leader Samsung Electronics Co. after new models failed to attract enough users.RIM’s share of U.S. mobile-phone subscribers in the three months through November dropped to 6.5 percent from 7.1 percent in the previous quarter, research firm ComScore Inc. said. Samsung increased to 25.6 percent from 25.3 percent, and Apple consolida
TechnologyJan. 4, 2012
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LG unveils new ‘smart’ air conditioners
LG Electronics on Wednesday unveiled its new lineup of air conditioners, targeting an increase in sales of more than 10 percent this year.The company introduce about 40 models that feature a technology called the “Real 4-D” cooling system that sends cool air out in four different directions, according to LG officials.The air conditioners have also increased the number of turbo fans located within the air conditioner for improved performance and slimmed the width of the product down by up to 30 p
IndustryJan. 4, 2012
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Gloomy projection dominates Q4 earnings
But Samsung, Hyundai, LG buck the trend by posting higher operating incomeKorea’s major companies are expected to post slower earnings in the fourth quarter of last year, hurt by slowing demand amid growing worries over the eurozone debt crisis, data showed Wednesday.According to brokerages’ estimates compiled by financial information provider FnGuide, Korea’s top-ranked business groups such as Samsung are likely to achieve lower-than-expected profits in the forthcoming earnings season. Key fact
IndustryJan. 4, 2012
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Import car sales drop for first time in 28 months
The nation’s import car industry saw its monthly sales fall for the first time in 28 months in December 2011.According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, foreign carmakers reported combined sales of 7,879 units last December, down from 8,294 units a year earlier.The year-on-year drop in sales was the first since the figure stood at 3,612 units in August 2009, compared with 4,894 units in August 2008.In addition, the figure of 7,879 is quite low compared to the 9,230
MobilityJan. 4, 2012
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Grandeur bolsters market share of semi-large cars
The market share of semi-large cars such as the Hyundai Grandeur surged past 10 percent for the first time last year, shrinking that of midsize vehicles.Passenger cars sold by the nation’s five automakers are classified into six segments in terms of size and engine displacement in Korea ― large, semi-large, midsize, semi-midsize, compact and mini-cars.The semi-large segment is comprised of the Grandeur, Renault Samsung SM7, Kia K7 and GM Korea’s Alpheon, which accounted for 10.8 percent of all n
IndustryJan. 4, 2012
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Calories, not protein, boost body fat: study
People who eat too much of a high-calorie, low-protein diet tend to gain more body fat than people who overeat high amounts of protein, US researchers said Tuesday.A study published in the January 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association included 25 people in Louisiana who agreed t
TechnologyJan. 4, 2012
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Samsung seeks to build new NAND flash plant in China
South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest chipmaker, is seeking to build a new plant in China to produce high-tech NAND flash memory chips, the Seoul government said Wednesday.The move that could lead to technology leaks was filed by Samsung on Dec. 6 and was approved Wednesday by a
IndustryJan. 4, 2012
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World-first hybrid shark found off Australia
SYDNEY, Jan 3, 2012 (AFP) - Scientists said on Tuesday that they had discovered the world's first hybrid sharks in Australian waters, a potential sign the predators were adapting to cope with climate change.The mating of the local Australian black-tip shark with its global counterpart, the common bl
TechnologyJan. 4, 2012
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Chinese firm makes Steve Jobs action figure
source: inicons.com source: inicons.comA China-based company plans to begin shipping a realistic-looking Steve Jobs action figure in February.It remained to be seen whether Apple will take to the courts to block In Icons from selling the 30.4-centimeter (one foot) tall dolls crafted in the imag
TechnologyJan. 4, 2012
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Local brewery exports ‘bokbunja’ wine to China
Baesangmyun Brewery Co. has recently started exporting wine made with Korean blackberries ― called bokbunja ― to China.The company said Tuesday it clinched a contract worth 200 million won ($174,000) last month with Qingdao Hongbo Import & Export Co., a trading firm, to supply 60,000 bottles of the wine throughout this year. “The deal signifies the upbeat outlook for the Korean alcoholic beverage industry as China is emerging as one of the world’s biggest wine consumers, spurred by the rising in
IndustryJan. 4, 2012
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GS E&C aims to triple sales, operating profit by 2020
GS Engineering & Construction Corp. aims to more than triple its sales and operating profit and secure 35 trillion won ($30.4 billion) in overseas orders by 2020 as part of its long-term roadmap to become a global player.Korea’s third-largest builder on Monday unveiled ambitious goals of making 27 trillion won in sales and 2 trillion won in operating profit by 2020, both up more than 330 percent from 2010. Its orders totaled 14 trillion won in 2010. The company said it will also boost internatio
IndustryJan. 4, 2012
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Household debt, savings bank woes threaten finance sector
Rising household debt and trouble-laden savings banks pose a threat to Korea’s financial sector, which has long been protected and pampered by government-led bailouts and injections of public funds, analysts said Tuesday. The country’s banks and other financial companies confront a toxic mix of slower global growth and the protracted sovereign debt crisis in Europe, a precarious situation that could potentially increase the chance of bankruptcies here. “Banks handle a lot of loan-related busines
Jan. 4, 2012
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Foreign reserves fall for 2nd month in December
South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves declined for a second consecutive month in December as a weaker euro and a softer pound reduced the conversion value of non-dollar assets, the central bank said Tuesday.The country’s foreign reserves reached $306.4 billion last month, down $2.23 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The December reading marked the second straight monthly decline since the foreign reserves hit $310.98 billion in October. “The biggest reason was th
Jan. 4, 2012