• Business

    Yeosu Expo comes to end after three months of mediocrity

    No fanfare Yeosu Expo ended its 93-day run Sunday after highlighting exhibits that stressed the eco-friendly use of oceans and coastal areas. However, visitors were left wishing that organizers had managed to get the message across in a more creative and entertaining way as the majority view seems to be…

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  • Business

    Scorching purgatory

    Workers take refuge in malls, theaters; complaints grow over energy-saving drive Koreans are withering under what could prove to be the hottest summer on record. But with government officials tightly controlling the use of air conditioners in public buildings and ruthlessly pushing its energy-saving campaign to private employers over growing…

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  • Hanwha close to buying German solar cell firm

    Hanwha Group is favored to take over Germany’s troubled Q-Cells, an established name in the solar energy field, according to company officials as they believe they have the strongest bid. The group’s affiliate Hanwha Chemical is in the final stage of negotiations to absorb Q-Cells. The German company, once the…

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  • Business

    New dictator, new businesses?

    North Korea-related stocks continue rally amid overall market volatility Stock prices of companies that conduct business in North Korea are rallying amid growing signs that the Stalinist nation is embracing economic reform and anticipation that the severed economic relationship between the two Koreas will be revived. The share prices of…

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  • Business

    IBM Korea under probe for software bid rigging

    Anti-trust regulators here are investigating the Korean unit of global technology firm, IBM, over suspicions of bid rigging, an industry source said Monday. IBM Korea colluded with resellers to manipulate bid prices to steer a lucrative contract to one of its partners in a Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corp. (SMRTC)…

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  • Business

    Horror in Yeouido

    Brokerage houses in firing spree as business sours Brokerage houses are dramatically laying-off employees, as the bad economy continues to squeeze finances. Workers are obviously angry and so are customers, who question how the companies can attempt to promote optimism and encourage people to buy shares while corporate management in…

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  • Business

    Generic Viagra market overheated

    The domestic pharmaceutical industry is struggling with the fallout of the American pharmaceutical firm Pfizer’s setback in the domestic anti-impotence drug market. Nearly 50 kinds of Viagra generics from 28 companies have flooded the market following an Intellectual Property Tribunal’s ruling in May that Pfizer’s patented rights to use sildenafil,…

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  • Business

    Economics of gold medals

    Sports-industry complex powers Korea’s Olympic success Wherever Korea’s Olympic swimming champion Park Tae-hwan goes, three men follow him like his shadow. Physical therapist Park Chul-kyu is responsible for helping to relax his body and mind. Personal trainer Kwon Tae-hyun controls Park’s workout routines as well as what he eats. Interpreter…

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  • Business

    Trade reliance makes Korea vulnerable

    The government’s efforts to expand domestic demand have failed, letting its dependence on exports and imports surge over the past years. This may likely open the economy up to great shocks, if the current eurozone crisis gets worse and takes on global proportions. Recent data from the Bank of Korea…

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  • Korea strikes FTA with Turkey

    Korea signed a free trade agreement with Turkey, one of most promising nations in Europe, Wednesday, paving the way for brisk business transactions. Under the pact, Turkey is also expected to serve as a stepping stone for Korean firms to tap into fast growing Middle East and African markets, trade…

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