Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Uniqlo posts record daily sales at new flagship store
Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo logged 2 billion won ($1.7 million) in a single day’s sales on Nov. 11 when it opened Asia’s largest flagship store in central Seoul. The sales figure was the highest-ever set by a fashion outlet in Korea, industry sources said Thursday. The previous record was the 460 million won that French luxury brand Chanel earned last year at a new store in southern Seoul. Uniqlo said special deals offered for the first three days of opening likely played a pivotal role in
IndustryNov. 17, 2011
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Moody's cuts S. Korea's growth outlook for 2012
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- Moody's Investors Service on Thursday downgraded its forecast of South Korea's economic growth for next year, citing weakening exports and sluggish domestic demand.The global credit appraiser predicted the South Korean economy would expand 3.5-4.0 percent next year, compar
Nov. 17, 2011
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‘Korea capable of more stimulus without negative rating results’
Public finance in Korea is healthy enough for the government to provide more stimulus without negative consequences for its sovereign debt rating, senior vice president of Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group for Asia said Thursday.Although Korea would remain relatively less vulnerable to the ongoing debt saga in Europe, its “modest” amount of public debt leaves Seoul more room for additional policy accommodation should growth stalls further, Tom Byrne told reporters in Seoul.“Korea has good financial g
Nov. 17, 2011
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New knowledge economy minister faces mountain of challenges
Hong Suk-woo secured support as a “man with no enemies” at the helm of the two state-run agencies but now faces hurdles surrounding knotty issues such as power supplies, fuel prices and co-prosperity between large and small firms.Hong, a former chief of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and the Small & Medium Business Administration, was sworn in as Knowledge Economy Minister on Thursday.The swift approval of Hong’s nomination following a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday underlines a m
IndustryNov. 17, 2011
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Hynix hails U.S. jury's ruling on Rambus case
Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, on Thursday welcomed a U.S. jury's decision to reject Rambus Inc.'s antitrust allegation against the Korean chipmaker. On Wednesday, a San Francisco jury ruled that Hynix and Micron Technology Inc., a U.S. chipmaker, did not enga
IndustryNov. 17, 2011
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Women more likely to have 'broken heart syndrome'
ORLANDO, Florida (AP) _ Females are seven to nine times more likely to suffer ``broken heart syndrome,'' when sudden or prolonged stress like an emotional breakup or death causes overwhelming heart failure or heart attack-like symptoms, the first nationwide study of this finds. Usually patients reco
TechnologyNov. 17, 2011
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Massive lakes could lie beneath ice of Jupiter moon
A body of water as big as North America's Great Lakes could lie beneath Europa, a shining enigmatic moon of Jupiter, astronomers reported on Wednesday.(NASA)The finding -- if backed by a hoped-for unmanned robot mission -- is exciting, for water is one of the key ingredients for life.Its white
TechnologyNov. 17, 2011
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Facebook warns of recent wave of spam
NEW YORK (AP) _ Facebook said Wednesday that it has stopped most of the spam that has flooded many users' pages with pictures showing graphic sex and violence.The social-networking company urged its 800 million-plus users to remain vigilant to keep their accounts from being hijacked.That includes re
TechnologyNov. 17, 2011
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FSC to decide on Lone Star on Friday
Financial regulators plan to unveil Friday their stance on whether to punish Lone Star Funds for stock manipulation.The Financial Services Commission said Wednesday it would hold an extraordinary meeting, composed of a nine-member panel, on Nov. 18 to discuss detailed ways to order the fund to sell most of its stake in Korea Exchange Bank.The regulator’s meeting is drawing wide interest “in terms of abusing authority or not” as the Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether the FSC should make pub
Nov. 16, 2011
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Job cuts menace local industries on global slump
Korea’s IT, construction, finance and airline industries are swamped with layoffs and job reductions as global economic uncertainties stretch out. IT exporters have been losing money due to the recession in Europe and the U.S., while high oil prices and a weak Korean won against the dollar continue to weigh on air carriers. Korean Air recently decided to let go of about 100 senior employees who signed up for voluntary resignations, a program brought back after five years. The outgoing middle-man
IndustryNov. 16, 2011
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Hyun among top 50 business women: FT
Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun has been named one of the Financial Times’ top 50 women in world business, the only Korean who made it to the list, the British newspaper announced on Wednesday. Hyun ranked 48th on the list in recognition of her efforts to run one of the biggest conglomerates in Korea after she was unexpectedly catapulted to the top office of Hyundai when her husband, Chung Mon-hun, committed suicide in 2003. “Hyun has been a steadying force for Hyundai Group and has work
IndustryNov. 16, 2011
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Korea to host 2015 World Water Forum
Korea will be host to heads of state, international organizations, academics and industry experts in the world’s largest water-related event in 2015 to address water supplies and other daunting challenges facing mankind. The government said Wednesday that Daegu and adjacent North Gyeongsang Province have been named hosts of the triennial World Water Forum, routing Scotland’s Glasgow.Launched in 1997, the forum is aimed at underscoring the significance of water as a policy agenda and devising col
IndustryNov. 16, 2011
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Samsung to hire IRS expert
Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it was likely to hire a senior official from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.A Samsung Electronics official said that the company was in talks with Victor Song, chief of the IRS Criminal Investigation, to give him a seat on Samsung’s compliance team at its U.S. unit.“It’s true that the talks are progressing on the hiring (of Victor Song), but it is yet to be finalized,” said a company spokesman. “But there is a high possibility it will be.”The official also s
IndustryNov. 16, 2011
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E-Mart okayed to acquire Kim’s Club Mart
The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday gave the green light to E-Mart, the nation’s No. 1 supermarket chain, to acquire Kim’s Club Mart’s 53 outlets.The antitrust regulator said the acquisition will have a limited impact on the existing competition of super supermarkets, or SSM. “There was less than 3 percent increase in E-Mart’s market share within the SSM sector following the acquisition,” said a FTC official.When it comes to small vendors in the neighboring business districts, the FTC also sa
IndustryNov. 16, 2011
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FSS to spin off consumer protection unit
An independent watchdog aimed at strengthening the rights of financial consumers will be set up during the first half of 2012, after a decision by the Financial Services Commission on Wednesday.At the nine-member panel discussion, the FSC decided to spin off the department in charge of consumer protection from the Financial Supervisory Service, an executive arm of the FSC.FSS Gov. Kwon Hyouk-se, who took his office as the top regulator in March, finalized the move for a larger consumer protectio
Nov. 16, 2011
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‘Hygienic’ spoons, chopsticks hit shelves
A company named Kitchen Idea said Wednesday it began sales of children’s spoons and chopsticks specially designed for hygiene purposes.A curve in the middle keeps the spoon head and tips of chopsticks from touching the table, preventing contact with germs and dirt. The new children’s cutlery sets made of stainless steel come in three different designs priced at 6,000 won or 7,000 won per pair. Spoon-and-chopstick sets for adults are also available.Kitchen Idea has applied for a patent for the cu
IndustryNov. 16, 2011
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Seoul shares close down 1.59% on European debt woes
South Korean stocks finished 1.59 percent lower on Wednesday as investor sentiment was muted by the persistent debt crisis in Europe, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 30.05 points to close at 1,856.07. Trading volume was moderate at 402 million shares worth 5.58 trillion won ($4.91 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 631 to 190.“Concerns about Italy’s and Spain’s government bonds weighed on the market,” said an
Nov. 16, 2011
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Gov’t to back SMEs for research projects
The government plans to shore up small- and mid-sized enterprises for their investment in research and development to expedite their growth and fend off the workforce exodus to large companies, officials said Wednesday.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy will boost subsidies for SMEs to 40 percent of its R&D budget by 2015 from last year’s 26 percent, said Chung Yang-ho, head of the ministry’s industrial technology policy division.Currently, the ministry spends about 4.5 trillion won ($4 billion)
IndustryNov. 16, 2011
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Local banks’ bad debt ratio up in third quarter
The bad debt ratio for South Korean banks’ household loans rose in the third quarter from three months earlier as the economic slowdown and the slumping property markets spurred fresh loan delinquency, the financial watchdog said Wednesday.Local banks’ non-performing household loans accounted for 0.67 percent out of their total lending as of the end of September, up 0.11 percentage point from three months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The bad loan ratio for bank mortgag
Nov. 16, 2011
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Sony bans Korean teens from online gaming
Controversy surrounding the country’s game shut-down system, also known as the game curfew, is escalating as it is seemingly expanding its boundaries to console games like Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox.Sony Computer Entertainment Korea said earlier this week that it will ban those under 16 from logging into their PlayStation games starting from 11 p.m. Friday to comply with the Korean regulation.“Our head office has decided to prohibit the log-in and accepting new registration of users
IndustryNov. 16, 2011