Builders’ domestic orders tumble in Feb.

Domestic orders of Korean builders plunged 17 percent in February from a year earlier due to a prolonged slump in the local property market and a drop in orders from the public sector, a trade association said Monday. The local builders’ domestic orders came to 5.09 trillion won ($4.69 billion) in February, compared with 6.15 trillion won tallied a year earlier, the Construction Association of Kor

IndustryApril 12, 2011

Quarantine checks on farm imports increase

Korea’s quarantine inspections of imported farm produce rose 10 percent on-year in the first quarter mainly due to greater local demand for vegetables and fruits, the government said Tuesday.The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said import inspections were carried out on 43,793 shipments in the January-March period, compared to 39,746 during the same period a year earlier.“Un

April 12, 2011

POSCO operating income forecast to fall

Korea’s leading steelmaker POSCO is expected to report an operating income of less than 1 trillion won ($917 million) for the January-March period due to a price freeze amid soaring raw materials costs, analysts said Tuesday.POSCO, the world’s third-largest steelmaker, is set to report its first-quarter earnings next Friday. The steelmaker has been reporting a quarterly operating profit of more th

April 12, 2011

Finance minister to attend G20 meeting

Korea’s Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun will leave for the United States this week to attend a Group of 20 (G20) meeting, which will focus on pending global economic and financial issues, officials said Tuesday.The G20 finance ministers’ meeting will kick off in Washington on Thursday for a two-day run, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Yoon will leave for the meeting on Wednesda

April 12, 2011

3-D industry waiting for cue on adult content

The success of “Sex and Zen” is most likely to mark a watershed moment in the 3-D industry as the fate of adult movies seems to be hinging on the movie’s performance.“It’s a matter of time, but we are in dire need of some concrete evidence to accept that 3-D adult entertainment will take off in earnest,” said Han Dong-hoon, a spokesperson for N’tree Media, an adult-image content provider. “Sex and

IndustryApril 11, 2011

Public firms’ debts surge W34tr in 2010

Debts owed by Korea’s public corporations surged by 34.2 trillion won ($31.6 billion) in 2010 mainly due to outlays in large development projects, the government said Monday.The finance ministry said the combined debt of 27 leading public corporations rose 14.4 percent on-year to 271.9 trillion won last year, with their debt-to-equity ratio hitting 157 percent, up from 144 percent in 2009.Their de

April 11, 2011

Korea, Indonesia to discuss economic ties

Korea and Indonesia will hold a working-level meeting next month on ways to further boost bilateral economic cooperation, Seoul’s finance ministry said Monday.The meeting is a follow-up on a December summit between Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in which they agreed to boost bilateral cooperation on weaponry development, energy, infrastructure and

April 11, 2011

Foreigners make robust property gains

Foreign funds reap better returns than locals on real estate investmentsForeign funds have outperformed domestic institutions in terms of capital gains on real estate investments in Korea over the past decade, market researcher JUSTR said Monday. Foreign investment groups such as Lone Star Funds, Goldman Sachs and Government of Singapore Investment Corp. have recorded an average capital gain of 48

IndustryApril 11, 2011

IMF to host job fair in Seoul next week

The International Monetary Fund is hosting a recruitment drive in Seoul next week for positions in its Technology and General Services Department, it said Monday.The all-day event slated for April 19 is part of the lender’s regional job fair to recruit East Asian candidates. The event will take place at Grand Interncontinental Hotel and may include on-cite interviews. Positions are open for facili

April 11, 2011

Korea, China trade ministers discuss FTA

Korea Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon discussed the stalled free trade negotiations with his Chinese counterpart Chen Deming during their meeting in Beijing on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. The meeting raised expectations for the two governments to put their FTA negotiations on a fast track. Seoul and Beijing began preliminary government-level talks in September but made lit

April 11, 2011

Female entrepreneurs see old challenges, new successes in Korea

When Shim Yeo-lynn was replaced by her colleague with better English-speaking skills for a meeting with foreign clients, she did not just set out to hone her English skills. She founded a start-up herself.After hopping from one English prep school to another and taking a series of one-on-one lessons from native speakers, she realized that there was no service that teaches how to communicate in the

IndustryApril 11, 2011

Will Microsoft-Nokia alliance work in Korea?

Just a week ago at the world mobile trade show in Barcelona, global software giant Microsoft stunned many by announcing its alliance with Nokia, the world’s No. 1 handset maker.Following the international event, Microsoft Korea told reporters in a media briefing in Seoul on Monday that the new Windows Phone 7 will be available here as early as October.“Internally, we’re happy about our new allianc

TechnologyApril 11, 2011

SK Telecom taps into China mobile game market

SK Telecom joined hands with China’s No. 1 wireless carrier to tap into one of the world’s fastest growing mobile game markets.ST Telecom and China Mobile’s game business unit signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday in China for cooperation in content, platform and networking technologies.China’s mobile game market has grown 100 percent annually for the past three years with the number of u

April 10, 2011

Hyundai Heavy completes world’s largest gas power plant

Hyundai Heavy Industries announced Sunday that it completed building the world’s largest gas-powered power station in Saudi Arabia.Located in Jubail in Eastern Saudi Arabia, the plant was built as part of a $2.7 billion contract for a power and desalination plant issued by the state-run utilities firm Marafiq in 2007. The contract was awarded to an international consortium composed of Hyundai Heav

IndustryApril 10, 2011

Korean firms seek ‘optimum’ bid for Brazil bullet train project

The South Korean consortium bidding for Brazil’s $20-billion high-speed rail service downplayed the impact of its recent loss of construction partners.The group said it is in talks with big-name constructors in Korea such as Hyundai Engineering and Construction and POSCO Engineering and Construction to form a new lineup before submitting its proposal. It is also contacting some large Brazilian con

IndustryApril 10, 2011