Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it will start a new paid leave system from July, including a two-year maternity leave.  Under the scheme, the Korean tech giant will extend the length of maternity leave to two years from the current legally-binding one year. Still, maternity payments will remain the same, as only the first year is to be compensated, the company said. In Korea, a two-year maternity leave is rarely seen except for some special jobs, such as for flight attendants. Samsung has bolst

Shareholders of SK Holdings and SK C&C on Friday approved the proposed merger between the two companies, paving the way for SK Group, the nation’s third-largest conglomerate, to streamline its business structure and reportedly strengthen the influence of the de facto owner family that includes group chairman Chey Tae-won. Following the approval, a new entity ― retaining the name SK Holdings ― is set to be launched on Aug. 1. Its asset value is estimated to reach 13.2 trillion won ($12 billion).

The South Korean government on Friday opened its 13th creative economy center on Jejudo Island, with aims to transform the southernmost resort island into an IT and tourism accelerator.A 156.9 billion won ($140 million) fund will also be set up to support related projects, including nurturing start-ups and venture firms, through the Jeju Center for Creative Economy and Innovation.Daum Kakao, the Korean search giant headquartered on the island, will help create collaborative working space for tec

U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management said Wednesday it hopes minority shareholders will give their proxy votes to the fund for its fight against Samsung Group‘s move to merge two key units.Samsung C&T Corp., the construction arm of South Korea’s top conglomerate, Samsung Group, has been embroiled in a legal battle with Elliott since early this month as the fund voiced its opposition to an 8.9 trillion won ($8.09 billion) takeover offer by Cheil Industries Inc., the de facto holding firm of the con

WASHINGTON -- Walmart and Amazon will no longer stock merchandise bearing the Confederate flag after the Charleston church massacre, in a growing movement against what critics say is a symbol of racism in the American South.The retail giants were joined by eBay, Sears and Kmart and follows calls from South Carolina state governor Nikki Haley to remove the controversial flag from the grounds of the state capital following protests at the weekend.Civil rights activists have long pushed for the fla

With more consumers willing to make purchases using smartphones, the nation’s top two search giants -- Naver and Daum Kakao -- are rushing to take the lead in the mobile payments market. Naver, the No. 1 search engine with more than 22 million mobile users, is set to unveil its new mobile payments app Naver Pay on Thursday, aiming to keep users within its website throughout the whole shopping process. With a single Naver ID, consumers can search and pay for the products, all the way through the

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong, the de facto leader of Samsung Group, Tuesday offered an official apology after a Samsung-affiliated hospital was blamed for being the epicenter of the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome here. “I offer my sincere apology and deep regrets to the patients, bereaved families and all others who have suffered from the disease,” Lee said during a televised news conference after making a deep bow to the public. “My father is also hospitalized at t

The Seoul municipal government on Thursday decided to lift its partial ban on the Lotte World Tower, nearly five months after it blocked usage of the disputed skyscraper and halted ongoing construction work amid safety concerns.“The city has made its final decision to lift the usage ban on Lotte World Tower‘s aquarium and movie theater as well as the construction ban on its concert hall upon confirming their structural safety,” a city official said.The official stressed that Lotte should continu

Japan has said it will respect South Korea's sovereignty in matters related to defense and security, in what could be an appeasing gesture aimed at easing escalating tension between the two over issues ranging from territorial and historical disputes to wartime sexual slaves, a senior foreign ministry official here said Tuesday.Japan delivered its stance during the so-called 2+2 talks held in Seoul, which involved two senior foreign affairs and defense officials from each side. The session was l

Panama City (AFP) – U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro shook hands and sat near each other at a historic Summit of the Americas, a new milestone in efforts to shed decades of animosity.Obama and Castro greeted each other as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon looked on, before taking their seats with other regional leaders at a Panama City convention center.The sight of Obama and Castro in the same room instantly became a potent symbol of their bid to renew diplomatic ties that were severed i

South Korea plans to send a special envoy to Russia for Moscow's war victory anniversary next month, the foreign ministry here said Saturday, indicating the Seoul president likely will not attend the event expected to bring the North Korean leader.Russia has sent invitations to South Korean President Park Geun-hye and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as well as other leaders, for its May ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, and Pyongyang

Apple gave consumers their first hands-on look at its smartwatch Friday pushing into wearable tech just as rival Samsung rolled out its new flagship smartphones. With the world's two biggest gadget makers vying for consumer attention, Apple scored points by apparently selling out of the Apple Watch as quickly as it opened pre-orders.Customers ordering the watch, due to go on sale April 24, saw messages saying deliveries now were being pushed back into June or later."I really debated if I should

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- U.S. Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman called in both the South Korean and the Japanese ambassadors to Washington for separate meetings on Friday in a possible sign that the U.S. is stepping up efforts to help improve relations between the two key Asian allies.Sherman met with South Korean Ambassador Ahn Ho-young on Friday morning and discussed various issues, including historical tensions and the North Korean nuclear standoff, for about an hour, a diplomatic source s

A Coast Guard helicopter crashed near an island off South Korea's southwest coast Friday while it was trying to transport an emergency patient from the island, firefighter officials said.The helicopter, with a total of four passengers on board, was trying to land near a seawall on Gageodo island when it crashed into the sea at 8:27 p.m., they said. The helicopter left the southern city of Mokpo about 50 minutes earlier toward the island on a mission to transport the patient to an inland hospital

佛탈레스 본사, 삼성탈레스 지분 매각 논의 프랑스 탈레스 본사가 삼성탈레스 지분 50%를 한화에 매각할 예정이다. 한 업계 관계자는 코리아헤럴드에 “최종 사인만 남은 것으로 알고 있다”며 역시 프랑스계인 토탈도 삼성토탈 지분의 매각을 검토하고 있다고 밝혔다. 삼성탈레스는 삼성과 탈레스가 각 50%씩 투자한 합작회사로 지난 2001년 설립됐다. 레이더 등 군사장비를 생산하고 있으며 2013년 매출은 6,176억원, 영업이익 206억원을 기록했다.삼성은 지난 11월 패키지딜을 통해 석유화학 부문 삼성종합화학, 삼성토탈과 방산 부문 삼성테크윈, 삼성탈레스 등 네 개 계열사를 한화에 일괄 매각한다고 깜짝 발표한 바 있다. 계약 규모는 총 1조 9,000억원에 달한다. 한화는 이번 계약으로 각 분야 국내 1위 업체가 되었지만 외국계 파트너들의 신임을 얻기에는 역부족이었다. 그 동안 삼성탈레스는 삼성의 영업력을 바탕으로 높은 매출을 올렸고 덕분에 탈레스 역시 배당금을 두둑이 챙겼다. 그에 비해

GM Korea Co. and its labor union agreed to scale down its work shift at its struggling Gunsan plant, a move aimed to reduce costs amid falling overseas demand following its withdrawal from Europe, company officials said Wednesday.The workers will go on a single work shift instead of the current double shift, but they have been assured of keeping their jobs through relocation to other duties, they said.The two sides also agreed to lower the number of vehicles produced each hour from 54 to 48 as i

Eleven out of 12 workers buried under the debris of a collapsed gymnasium construction site were rescued while the search for the one missing worker was still under way, firefighters said Wednesday. The accident took place at around 5:05 p.m. in the southern district of Sadang, where the construction for a new public gymnasium had been in progress. Workers were pouring concrete into the mold of ceiling slabs when a few of them fell along with part of the ceiling that suddenly caved in and they w

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has actively toured military units to encourage his troops to be fully prepared to fight as part of efforts to consolidate his regime, Seoul's defense minister said Wednesday."Since November when the North began to stage winter drills, Kim has visited military units 10 times. While leading some aggressive exercises, he has encouraged the military to complete their readiness this year to fight," Defense Minister Han Min-koo told lawmakers.While carrying out an incr