Korean airlines are expected to jack up their fuel surcharges on international flights for July and August, but the increase rate will likely slow amid easing fuel prices, officials and industry sources said Sunday. The average price of jet fuel hovered at about $3.16 a gallon on the Singaporean spot market from April to May 28, compared with $3.02 per gallon between February and March, accordin...

Almost 90 percent of U.S. consumers have given high ratings to the picture quality of 3-D televisions and did not mind the battery-charged eyewear used to watch the three-dimensional images. Up to 88 percent of some 3,065 3-D-capable set owners who participated in a poll commissioned by The Digital Entertainment Group said last week that they were satisfied with their 3-D home viewing experience...

The Fair Trade Commission imposed a combined 3 billion won ($2.78 million) in fines on nine pharmaceutical companies for unfair trade practices, including the provision of illegal rebates to doctors and wholesalers, it said Sunday. The toughest punishment of 753 million won was slapped on Pacific Pharma Corp., for paying kickbacks to doctors in forms of gift cards, golf tours and cash. Those in...

Hyundai Engineering and Construction is looking to boost efficiency and cut costs by using aluminum cables in place of copper ones. According to the company, it has been working with a cable manufacturer to develop aluminum cables for low voltages that meet Korean standards since last year. The company was able secure a source of aluminum cables that passed Korea Electrical Safety Corp.’s safety...

Hyundai Mobis, Korea’s leading auto parts maker, was named one of the world’s top 10 suppliers on the back of robust sales, an industry report showed Sunday. According to the report by Detroit-based Automotive News, Mobis was ranked as the eighth-largest parts manufacturers in 2010 in terms of sales, up four notches from the previous year. Its revenue jumped 28.7 percent to $14.43 billion last ...

A low birthrate and rapidly aging population is projected to pull South Korea’s economic growth rate from second place to ninth among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members by 2026. A report by the club of 34 major economies said the annual rate of growth in the South Korean economy will fall to 2.4 percent after 2026, a sharp downturn from its 6.2 percent expansion in 201...

The Korean stock market is forecast to maintain its upward momentum this week, but the growth pace may be slow due to lingering concerns about the global recovery, analysts said. The benchmark KOSPI wrapped up last week at 2,100.24, down 0.53 percent from a week earlier. The KOSPI lost ground earlier last week as weaker U.S. economic data and the eurozone debt crisis raised concerns about the g...

North Korea’s trade volume soared 22 percent in 2010 from a year earlier as the communist state boosted exports of minerals to earn hard currency and increased imports of fuels, mostly oil, a local trade agency said Friday. North Korea’s imports and exports, excluding those with South Korea, jumped 22.3 percent on-year to $4.17 billion last year, according to the state-run Korea Trade-Investment...

Korea’s major companies remain positive about their business conditions for June on expectations of growing exports and improving economic conditions, a poll showed Sunday. The monthly Business Survey Index for the upcoming month came in at 104.3, unchanged from May when the reading turned positive after it dipped to 98.4 the previous month, according to the Federation of Korean Industries, the ...

The average term of a chief executive officer at listed firms was 31 months, data showed on Sunday. It was also found that a single firm reseated its CEO an average of 3.7 times over the past 10 years, according to data released by Chaebul.com, a website that provides information on the country’s conglomerates. The survey was conducted on 992 listed firms. A firm that changed its chief executiv...

Top Korean firms see surge in foreign customers here The loan default rate of Korean The number of foreigners subscribed to insurance in Korea last year doubled from 2005, mainly due to relaxed application procedures and the rising number of international marriages, industry sources said Sunday. The number of foreigners who have subscribed to insurance offered by the country’s top three insuran...