Ssangyong Motor and Renault Samsung Motors have taken the lead in vehicle sales growth in August, surpassing competitors Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and GM Korea. Ssangyong Motor saw its sales surge 54.6 percent in August from a year earlier on the back of brisk exports and steady domestic demand. It sold a record 10,100 vehicles last month, compared with 6,534 units a year earlier. Domestic sale...

SK Group plans to scout for 2,100 young and experienced talents in the latter half of the year, the country’s third-largest conglomerate said Thursday. With another 2,900 already hired in the first half, the figure will be added to mark a record number of 5,000 new employees for the year, up nearly 40 percent from last year’s 3,600. “Preemptively recruiting talented people plays the most import...

Six multicultural couples with financial difficulties were married in a joint ceremony sponsored by the steelmaker and Gangnam-gu office on Thursday. The couples were selected from the 1,010 multicultural families living in Gangnam-gu who are married but have not been able to hold a wedding ceremony due to financial difficulties, the company said. The steelmaker and Gangnam-gu began sponsoring ...

Price hikes weaken households’ ability to pay debts in July Commercial banks saw the ratio of overdue household loans reach the highest level in 11 months in July, despite financial regulators’ countermeasures to curb lending growth. The delinquency rate in banks’ household loans posted 0.77 percent in July, up from 0.72 percent a month before, the Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday. ...

PARIS (AFP) ― The Group of 20 developed and developing economies must ensure growth first and avoid the risk of a fresh global recession even if budgets are tight, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday. Sarkozy, current head of the G20, said France wanted to see its Cannes summit in November agree “on an action plan for growth, including precise and concrete commitments by the major ec...

The regular session of an outgoing National Assembly is the least productive as its members often shun debate on issues of concern to the public, deliberation on pending bills and participation in voting. Instead, they tend to make a final pitch in constituency work in their electoral districts in pursuit of reelection. This year’s 100-day final regular session for the 18th National Assembly, wh...

Signals are coming from those close to President Lee Myung-bak that he is considering changing his anti-North Korea policy in favor of improving relations with the communist state. If he is really considering such a shift in policy, he will have to think about a backlash from his conservative support base as well. President Lee has been adamant in withholding dialogue with and economic aid for N...