• East Asia

    Park puts economy, safety first

    President-elect Park Geun-hye’s government restructuring plan, unveiled Tuesday, calls for empowering ministries overseeing the economy while emphasizing public safety amid a rising number of sex crimes. Under the proposal, the team scrapped the Ministry of Special Affairs in charge of facilitating dialogue with opposition parties. Analysts widely agreed that the…

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  • East Asia

    Gov’t set to ‘normalize’ black markets

    The nation’s tax agency plans to bring the underground economy into the open in order to normalize “black markets” and expand tax revenue base to support the welfare budget of the incoming government, according to sources, Sunday. The National Tax Service (NTS) reported Saturday to President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team…

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  • East Asia

    Hong Kong Ranks As The Freest Economy In The World 19 Years Consecutively

    Photo taken on Sept. 10, 2012 shows scenery of Hong Kong, south China. Hong Kong’s acting Financial Secretary K C Chan on Jan. 10, 2013 welcomed the ranking of Hong Kong as the freest economy in the world for the 19th consecutive year. According to the 2013 Index of Economic…

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  • East Asia

    Verbal abuse floods call centers

    Call center employees have in the past had to cope with verbal and sexual harassment from abusive customers. Now, the latter will face criminal punishment. The unsavory experiences of people dealing with customers and clients by telephone have been revealed by the financial companies that hire them, prompting law enforcement…

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  • East Asia

    U.S. Delegation Including Google Chairman Visits Kim Il-sung University In Pyongyang

    Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (R) and Google Inc. Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt (C) watch a student using the online library service in a reading room at the Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Jan. 8, 2012. A U.S. delegation including Richardson and…

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  • East Asia

    Hong Myung-bo, Mark of Respect

    Pernod Ricard Korea CEO Jean-Manuel Spriet, left, awards the Mark of Respect trophy to former Olympic national football team coach Hong Myung-bo at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, Monday. Hong is the eighth recipient of the award given to outstanding figures in the fields of sports, culture and…

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  • East Asia

    Financial cooperation with Middle East will help Korea overcome global economic crisis

    Korea considers the Middle East as an alternative finance market beyond the slow-growing Europe and the U.S. Members of the National Assembly, Korea’s legislature, deputy director of Financial Supervisory Service and executive members of Korean leading financial institutions formed Middle East-Korea Financial Cooperation Task Force in September 2012. They are…

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  • West Asia

    Egypt Seeks IMF Loan To Boost International Economic Confidence

    In this Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013 file photo, Egyptian brokers work at the stock market in Cairo, Egypt. As Egypt begins the latest round of talks with the International Monetary Fund for a $4.8 billion loan, the government says it will boost international confidence in its economy. However, critics question…

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  • Hyundai cuts prices of 5 popular cars

    Hyundai Motor announced Thursday that it has cut the price of five popular models by up to 1 million won to enhance affordability. It is seen as an aggressive marketing strategy to secure market dominance this year. Discounts are being offered on the top two trims of the Sonata, Genesis,…

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  • ‘China threatens Korea’s shipbuilding supremacy’

    China overtook Korea last year to become the world’s largest shipbuilder by exports, a trade research institute estimated Thursday. By every assessment, Korea has been the undisputed kingpin in the global shipbuilding industry for years, thanks largely as its home to the world’s three largest shipbuilders. But the leadership was…

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