Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Naver’s Line ownership in jeopardy as Japan ups pressure
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South Korea to launch space security center under spy agency
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Hybe refutes Ador CEO Min's denial of breach of trust
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S. Korea, Japan could consider simplified entry agreement: Seoul official
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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[Herald Interview] Guggenheim Museum makes a push for technology-based art with LG
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Korea’s top finance firms put aside W1.7tr for Hong Kong-tied ELS compensation
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POSCO sees 53.5% rise in Q1 operating profit
The nation’s top steelmaker POSCO recorded 14.6 trillion won ($13 billion) in total sales, 717 billion won in operating profit, and 292 billion won in net profit in the first quarter of the year, company officials said Thursday.The holding company of POSCO alone recorded 7.7 trillion won in sales and 581 billion won in operating profit, which was a 4.8 percent fall and a 53.3 percent rise from the previous quarter, respectively.“Though the total sales level fell slightly due to the fall in globa
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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NTS tries to allay probe concerns of entrepreneurs
The nation’s top tax official has sought to ease concerns among businesspeople about the government’s move to strengthen its tax monitoring of firms and vowed to support them with proper tax management.Speaking at a meeting with a group of enterprises organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday, National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Duk-joong also urged business circles to join its push for “clean taxation” polices. The meeting was organized to appease businesspeople who
April 25, 2013
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Hyundai Motor: Can manage currency effects
Hyundai Motor said Thursday that its operating profit declined 10.7 percent to 1.868 trillion won ($1.679 billion) in the first quarter despite increased car deliveries globally. Sales reached 21.36 trillion won, a 6 percent increase from a year ago.The nation’s largest carmaker sold 1,171,804 vehicles globally between January and March, up 9.2 percent from the same period last year. In Korea alone, its sales decreased 0.7 percent to 153,728 vehicles.The company said that currency effects, coupl
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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Galaxy S4 lands in Seoul
Samsung Electronics on Thursday unveiled its Galaxy S4, the latest in its flagship Galaxy series, in Seoul at the company headquarters. The country’s three mobile carriers ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― will start offering network and phone services for the S4 starting today. On Saturday, Samsung’s latest smartphone will become available through carriers in a total of 155 countries, the company said during a media event on Thursday. The firm indicated that despite the global popularity of the G
TechnologyApril 25, 2013
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FSC to scrap joint guarantee on loans
Regulators are poised to impose a ban later this year on joint guarantees on loans extended by secondary financial firms, following the earlier abolishment of the lending practice among commercial banks.Over the past several decades, lenders have demanded that some individuals or smaller businesses submit third-party debt guarantees when applying for loans. Such guarantees have frequently triggered a chain reaction of bankruptcy for guarantors, such as families, relatives and friends, when borro
April 25, 2013
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Daewoo Int’l net triples on equity investment profits
Daewoo International Corp., a leading South Korean trading company, said Thursday that its net income more than tripled in the first quarter from a year ago, boosted by a sharp increase in profits from its equity investments. Net income came to 24.9 billion won ($22.4 million) in the January-March period, compared with 7.6 billion won a year ago, the trading company said in a regulatory filing. Sales, however, fell 10.8 percent to 4.07 trillion won in the same period, with operating profit dropp
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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Affiliates of STX suffer liquidity crunch
Major affiliates of STX Group, a South Korean shipping conglomerate, suffered a liquidity crunch last year, data showed Thursday, raising concerns over the firms’ deteriorating financial status.According to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service, four out of the business group’s five listed firms saw their current ratio, the key barometer of liquidity, fall below 100 percent in 2012.The current ratio refers to a firm’s ability to repay debts maturing in one year, with higher numb
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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eBay Korea backs small business exports
Exports through online commerce are drawing attention as an example of “creative economy,” a key policy task of the Park Geun-hye administration, as they create new jobs and add value.eBay Korea, which runs the nation’s two largest online shopping malls Gmarket and Auction, has been serving as the window to overseas markets for small businesses through unsparing investments and various assistance programs. eBay is the only Korean retailer to run an online export program for small businesses. The
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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CJ chairman soars on Forbes Korea’s rich list
CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun shot up more than 10 spots on Forbes Korea’s list of the wealthiest Koreans, the publication said on Thursday.Lee catapulted to 10th place from No. 22 last year on the list of the 50 richest people in the country. Lee’s company has played a big role in Korean entertainment amid the Korean Wave, and the chairman’s wealth jumped 70 percent on-year to $1.7 billion.The increase was mostly thanks to an 84 percent rise in the stock prices of CJ Corp., the group’s holding
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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Public firms’ swelling debts threaten Korean economy
The debt of the nation’s top 28 state-owned companies whose assets exceed 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) swelled to equal the national debt last year, posing a major threat to the Korean economy.The combined debt of large public companies such as Korea Land & Housing Corp. and Korea Electric Power Corp. reached 392.96 trillion won in 2012, up 8.7 percent from 361.4 trillion won a year earlier, the data compiled in accordance with each firm’s regulatory filings said. Meanwhile, the national debt r
April 25, 2013
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Seoul shares up 0.84 pct on U.S. market hope
South Korean stocks closed 0.84 percent higher Thursday on the back of a brighter outlook over Wall Street as U.S. firms' first-quarter earnings met market expectations, analysts said. The local currency gained against theU.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 16.29 points to finish at 1951.60. Trading volume was moderate at 329.4 million shares worth 4.5 trillion won (US$4 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 438 to 373. "Investors scooped up und
April 25, 2013
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Seoul shares up 0.39 pct in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.39 percent higher late Thursday morning, led by gains in autos and builders, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) movedup 7.63 points to 1,942.94 as of 11:20 a.m. Carmakers led the market gain, with leading player Hyundai Motor rising 1.89 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors adding 1.79 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis gained 1.74 percent. Construction firms traded higher, with Hyundai Engineering & Construc
April 25, 2013
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Samsung to roll out Galaxy S4 in S. Korea Friday
Samsung Electronics Co., the world‘s top smartphone maker, said Thursday that it will roll out the Galaxy S4, the latest version of its flagship smartphone line-up, in South Korea on Friday to take on Apple Inc.’s iPhone 5 and other rival smartphones.The Galaxy S4, one of the most highly anticipated smartphones of year, is the latest in Samsung‘s successful Galaxy S line-up that has sold more than 100 million units worldwide.Since last Friday, South Korea’s three mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co
TechnologyApril 25, 2013
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Forbes: Samsung chief Lee Kun-hee is South Korea's richest man
Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., remains South Korea's richest man for the nine straight year while his only son Lee Jae-yong joined the top three spots, Forbes Korea said Thursday.The senior Lee's net worth jumped to US$12.6 billion from $10.8 billion in 2012, according to the Korean language edition of Forbes, as Samsung Electronics' smartphones overtook the iPhone as the world's most popular smartphones last year. He held on to the top post since 2005 when the list was first
IndustryApril 25, 2013
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Seoul shares open higher on techs, retailers
South Korean stocks opened higher on Thursday, on the back of gains in techs and retailers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 3.77 points, or 0.19 percent, to 1,939.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares gathered ground, with top chipmaker SK hynix rising 2.23 percent and a local handset maker LG Electronics adding 1.33 percent. Top flat panel manufacturer LG Display gained 0.5 percent.Retailers also traded higher, with discount store chain E
April 25, 2013
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S. Korea's economic growth hits 2-year high in Q1
The South Korean economy grew at its fastest quarterly pace in two years in the first quarter as exports gained ground weathering the yen's weakness to the local currency, the central bank said Thursday.Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, grew 0.9 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, quickening from 0.3 percent on-quarter growth in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to an advance estimate by the Bank of Korea (BOK).The first-q
April 25, 2013
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Daehan Real Estate Trust sanctioned for accounting fraud
The Securities and Futures Commission said Wednesday that it reported Daehan Real Estate Trust Co. to the prosecution on charges of fabricating its financial statements.Daehan Real Estate Trust -- a financial company fully invested by a quasi-governmental agency under the wing of the Ministry of National Defense -- engaged in irregular accounting practice from 2008 to 2010, according to the SFC.As the main malfeasance, the company allegedly rigged its statements from transactions for a land proj
April 24, 2013
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LGE acquires auto engineering firm
LGE acquires auto engineering firm LG Electronics on Wednesday said it has purchased V-ENS, an affiliate of LG CNS, to pursue a merger on July 1.V-ENS is a company specializing in automotive engineering and consulting involving mostly the building process. LG Electronics said the 17 billion won deal was aimed at delving into the automotive parts industry and obtain the necessary knowledge and expertise for helping car infotainment — also known as in-car entertainment — programs take off. V-ENS w
IndustryApril 24, 2013
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Dozens of Korean names in leaked data on tax havens: ICIJ
An international network of journalists said Tuesday that “quite a number of Korean names” are included in leaked data from tax havens, especially the British Virgin Islands.“There are several dozen Korean names,” Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, or ICIJ, told Yonhap News Agency.He added there are only South Koreans, no one from the North.“I can confirm there are South Koreans only in the data. Nobody from North Korea. We know this because of th
April 24, 2013
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KOSDAQ hits near 5-year high
South Korea’s secondary stock market on Wednesday rallied to an almost five-year high, with its total market capitalization surging to an all-time high, fueled by expectations for upward momentum following the government’s policy pledge to support smaller companies. The tech-laden KOSDAQ soared 10 points, or 1.7 percent, to end at 563.81, the highest since July 1, 2008, according to the data by the Korea Exchange. The Wednesday rally pushed up its total market cap to a record 126.4 trillion won
April 24, 2013