Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Seoul shares up 1.02% on U.S. gains
South Korean stocks finished 1.02 percent higher on Tuesday as investors took a cue from overnight gains in U.S markets, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI added 20.57 points to close at 2,039.76. Trading volume was moderate at 599 million shares worth 5.07 trillion won (US$4.47 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 439 to 384.The local currency finished at 1,134.55 won to the greenback, up 7.05 won from Monday’s close, on a bullish stock market,
March 27, 2012
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KB Kookmin Card seeks top spot on high quality
KB Kookmin Card is seeking to take the No. 1 position in the local credit card market on a “gradual basis” by focusing on quality-based growth, not reckless sales activities.Though the company has secured the No. 2 status since its establishment a year earlier, it plans not to be hasty in overtaking Shinhan Card.“For the second-year management strategies, we will reinforce market dominance by prioritizing customer-oriented and quality-based growth,” the company said in a statement.Its vision com
March 27, 2012
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Consumers filed fewer complaints against life insurers in 2011: data
The Korea Finance Consumer Federation, a civic financial watchdog, said on Tuesday that consumer’s complaints against life insurance companies in Korea declined last year, but the financial authority should step up supervision on insurance firms. The KFCF said it analyzed the consumer’s complaint-related records collected by the Financial Supervisory Service and discovered that 41.3 complaints were filed out of 100,000 contracts sealed in 2011, down 8.8 percent from a year earlier. Mirae Asset L
March 27, 2012
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Hamel Award to be given by Dutch foreign minister
The Dutch Business Council of Korea will present the Hamel Trade Award for the best performing Dutch company in Korea in 2010-2011 at a ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday. The two nominees for the prize are Control Union Certifications Korea and DSM Korea. “Organizing these awards is a good investment in the future of the business relationship instead of just organizing a dinner,” said Jeroen Plag, chairman of the DBCK and ING Commercial Banking country manager. Visiting Dutch Foreign Minister Uri R
March 27, 2012
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Household loan delinquency rises
Critical factors involve households’ weaker capability to pay back debtCommercial banks saw the ratio of overdue household loans to their total lending to the retail sector climb to the highest level in 36 months.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the delinquency ratio in banks’ household loans came to 0.85 percent in February, up 0.07 percentage point from a month earlier.The figure is the highest in three years since the ratio reached 0.88 percent in February 2009 when the nation
March 27, 2012
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U.S. Gov't: Nuclear bomb in DC wouldn't destroy city
(MCT image)Hollywood has destroyed Washington -- or New York or Los Angeles -- lots of times with nuclear bombs detonated by terrorists. It turns out to be harder in real life than in the movies.Thinking about the unthinkable, a U.S. government study analyzed the likely effects from terrorists setti
TechnologyMarch 27, 2012
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Consumer sentiment improves for 2nd month
Korean consumer confidence improved for a second consecutive month in March, boosted by signs of improvement in the U.S. economy and progress in containing Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, the central bank said Tuesday.The consumer sentiment index, which gauges consumers’ overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending, stood at 101 for this month, compared with 100 the previous month, according to a survey by the Bank of Korea. A reading above the benchmark 100 means optimists ou
March 27, 2012
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World Bank chief-nominee to visit seven countries
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-born physician nominated by President Barack Obama to head the World Bank, will visit his motherland South Korea and six other nations, the U.S. Treasury Department announced Monday.The 11-day tour of South Korea, Ethiopia, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and Mexico, set to begin on Tuesday, is apparently part of efforts to drum up support in advance of a meeting of the World Bank’s 25-member executive board in April to select its new leader.The dep
March 27, 2012
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BMW recalls 1.3 million cars worldwide
German luxury carmaker BMW said on Monday it was recalling some 1.3 million cars worldwide due to battery problems that could in extreme cases result in a fire."In order to carry out a quality measure, BMW is recalling all BMW 5 and 6 Series models of the previous generation, built between 2003 and
MobilityMarch 27, 2012
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Too much, too little sleep linked to heart woes: study
People who sleep less than six hours per night or more than eight are more likely to suffer heart problems than people who sleep between six and eight hours, said a US study on Sunday.The findings confirm those in previous, smaller studies, but are based on what researchers described as a nationally
TechnologyMarch 27, 2012
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KOGAS discovers more gas in Mozambique
The Korea Gas Corp. has detected another deposit of natural gas off the coast of Mozambique with a potential supply sufficient for the country’s needs for eight months, the government said Monday. The reserve was found at one of four wells in an offshore block in northern Mozambique waters and predicted to possess 10 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Eni S.p.A. of Italy holds a 70 percent stake in the project. KOGAS, Portugal’s Galp Energia and Mozambiqu
IndustryMarch 26, 2012
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Hana Financial chief takes office
Former Hana Bank CEO Kim Jung-tai took office as chairman of Hana Financial Group on Monday.The 60-year-old figure has been working for Hana Financial and its flagship unit Hana Bank for 20 years since its foundation in 1992. His term is three years until 2015 as the second chairman of the group.The new chief will take on the role of integrating the corporate cultures of Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank, which was acquired by the group this month, over the next few years.After serving as an exe
March 26, 2012
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‘Safety priority in radioactive waste treatment’
Safe handling of radioactive waste, which is hazardous to most forms of life and the environment, is essential for countries that depend heavily on nuclear energy. Following a recommendation by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Korea Radioactive Waste Management Corp. was launched in 2009 to transport, store, treat and dispose of radioactive waste, build and manage radioactive waste disposal facilities, and conduct related research and development.The KRMC is scheduled to complete the
IndustryMarch 26, 2012
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‘New reactor design will boost Korea’s competitiveness’
Spurred by its robust drive to export nuclear plant technology, Korea will be rolling out a next-generation reactor that is safer, better performing, built faster and more cost-effective next year, the industry’s top expert said. The new model, named APR+, is a brainchild of the government’s “Nu-Tech 2015” package initiated in 2006, aiming to secure technological independence and shake off any lingering barriers to exports by the end of 2015. Succeeding the APR1400 currently in operation, the AP
IndustryMarch 26, 2012
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‘Korea in need of more top-notch nuclear professionals’
More nations will consider building nuclear power plants, says scholarKorea is running far short of high-skilled manpower for industrial use of nuclear energy, said Park Goon-cherl, president of the KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School which opened early this month in Ulsan. The nascent school established and funded by the Korea Electric Power Corp. and four other public power-related companies recruited 61 freshmen for this year, 29 of whom are overseas students recommended by their gove
IndustryMarch 26, 2012
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EU’s export growth to Korea outpaced import gain: report
The European Union’s export growth to South Korea from 2000 through 2010 outpaced its import gain as Asia’s fourth-largest economy moved to diversify its import sources, a report showed Monday.The report by Statistics Korea said the 27-member EU shipped a combined 27.98 billion euros ($37.15 billion) worth of goods to South Korea in 2010, a 67 percent gain from 10 years earlier when it exported 16.74 billion euros.In the same period, the world’s largest economic bloc’s imports from South Korea r
March 26, 2012
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Samsung C&T aims to become a global total solutions provider
Company pushes for value chain upgrade and expansion into overseas marketsSamsung C&T Corp., a listed construction arm of the Samsung Group, is pushing ahead with a set of measures to turn itself into a global total solutions provider. The company, established in 1938, is expanding its coverage into feasibility surveying, engineering, procurement, construction and operation and management. The expansion of the value chain, Samsung said, is aimed at detecting and developing fresh business opportu
IndustryMarch 26, 2012
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Regulators go all out to curb household debt
Financial regulators are poised to launch a full-fledged probe into banks’ lending practices amid snowballing household debt in close coordination with the Bank of Korea.Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Kwon Hyouk-se expressed his resolve for the joint inspection amid the critical level of the debt held by households at a press conference on Monday.“I believe the household debt issue cannot be resolved through only regulations by financial authorities,” he said. “While the FSS takes countermea
March 26, 2012
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Outgoing CEO of S-Oil calls for cooperation to curb oil prices
Ahmed Subaey, outgoing chief executive of S-Oil Corp., said the Korean government and the private sector should work together to stabilize oil prices.“Unlike gold or copper, oil is not just a commercial commodity. Crude oil has several dimensions -- environmental, geopolitical and social,” Subaey told reporters on Monday, three days after his term ended as the refiner’s CEO. “Oil prices are too high now and they are driven not by supply and demand, but by geopolitical fears. If we can bring the
IndustryMarch 26, 2012
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CJ going global with ‘quick’ bibimbap
Local food giant CJ Group hopes to expand its international reach with the iconic Korean cuisine bibimbap, a steamed rice dish mixed with assorted vegetables and meat.CJ, which launched bibimbap restaurant chain Bibigo in May 2010, said it plans to increase the number of overseas Bibigo locations from the current three to 17 within the year. Bibigo, which was envisioned as a global brand from its beginnings, has a total of 10 stores now, including branches in Los Angeles, Beijing and Singapore.
IndustryMarch 26, 2012