• Samsung Electronics reports 81% surge in Q1 net

    Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of computer memory chips, said Friday that its first-quarter earnings surged 81.3 percent from a year earlier, fueled by strong sales of its Galaxy smartphones. Net profit amounted to 5.04 trillion won ($4.44 billion) in the January-March period, compared with a net income…

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  • Business

    Tourists flock to Myeong-dong

    Cosmetics most popular product among Chinese, Japanese Seoul’s Myeong-dong shopping district is the most popular tourist attraction among Japanese travelers, while Dongdaemun (east gate), another giant shopping area in the capital, is the most sought-after location among Chinese visitors, a survey showed Thursday. Inbound travelers from the two neighboring countries…

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  • Business

    ‘Korea, US cut secret beef deal’

    Lawmaker claims gov’t complied with US demand for softer stance An opposition lawmaker alleged Thursday that the government promised the United States not to discontinue American beef imports even if a new case of mad cow disease was reported in a secret deal made in 2008. Rep. Park Joo-sun of…

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  • Business

    2012 Beijing Auto Show

    The 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition kicked off Monday at the China International Exhibition Center with domestic and global automakers filling the venue with new models. The biennial event will run through May 2. This year’s event is the largest ever, showing the increasing importance of China as the biggest…

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  • Business

    Exim focuses on Middle East, North Africa

    The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) hosted an international business conference Wednesday aimed at connecting Korean companies with business executives and finance experts in fast-growing regions in the Middle East and North Africa. In a keynote speech at the conference, titled “Shaping the relationship between MENA (Middle East and…

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  • Myanmar to put low-cost mobile phones into service across country

    YANGON — Myanmar telecommunications authorities announced on Wednesday that it will put low-cost mobile phones into service across the country next month. It said that GSM/WCDMA sim cards, which will be sold at a low price of 200,000 Kyats (247 U.S. dollars) since May 3, can be carried and used…

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  • Business

    Korea 2nd on global cartel fines

    Korean firms have been slapped with a total fine of 2.4 trillion won ($2.1 billion) by overseas anti-trust regulators since 2000 for price-fixing, the Fair Trade Commission said Tuesday. They had to pay nearly $1.27 billion in fines in the United States, and four out of 10 non-American businesses that…

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  • Business

    Globalization of Korean art

    Challenges facing local contemporary art community The last two decade has seen the explosion of the Korean wave or “hallyu” around the world. Today, hallyu is a global phenomenon that encompasses every major aspect of Korean culture, including its music (K-pop) and food (hansik). Recent reports note that Korean cultural…

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  • Asia’s demographic woes

    Asia is aging. Current projections indicate that the working population in most Asian countries will decline over the coming years, if they haven’t started already. In response, calls for greater investment became louder so greater efficiency can compensate for the reduction in raw labour inputs. This is certainly an ideal…

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  • Business

    Samsung, Sony team up on OLED

    Sony is seeking to purchase Samsung Electronics’ next-generation advanced organic light-emitting diode (OLED) flat-screens for its new line of TVs. Sony wants its Bravia televisions ― to be marketed as early as next year ― to have Samsung’s OLED screens, officials of the Korean technology firm told The Korea Times,…

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