Most Popular
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Yoon apologizes for first lady Dior bag scandal, calls push for special probe ‘political’
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Korea forecast to overtake Taiwan in chip production by 2032: report
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Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Can K-pop break free from ‘fandom’ model?
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YouTuber fatally stabbed on livestream by another YouTuber in Busan
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Yoon rebuffs opposition's call for special probe into wife
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No plan to let doctors with foreign licenses practice here anytime soon: PM
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Stray Kids hit with racism in Met Gala photo line
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[News Analysis] Yoon's first 2 years marked by intense confrontations, lack of leadership
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Yoon apologizes for wife's 'unwise conduct'
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Korea decoupling from global equity markets
Equities in the nation’s bourse are posting low profitability while major stock markets overseas have taken on a bullish trend.Korea’s “decoupling” from major countries in stocks has continued over the past four weeks, with its price-earnings ratio, measuring share profitability, recording a rather low 8.69.Hong Kong posted a P/E ratio of 16.07, followed by Taiwan with 14.52, the U.S. with 13.68, Australia with 13.15, Japan with 12.95, France with 11.39, the U.K. with 11.29, Germany with 11.24 a
Feb. 3, 2013
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Rice consumption halves
The nation’s annual consumption of rice in 2012 was half of what it was three decades ago, the state-run Statistics Korea said. Compared to 2011, the 2012 consumption also fell about 2.0 percent, from 71.2 kilograms to 69.8 kilograms per capita. The data reveals that in 2012, Koreans consumed about 191 grams of rice, or less than one and a half bowls, per day on average. “The rice consumption in households has been dropping largely due to increasing demand for alternatives to rice and instant fo
Feb. 3, 2013
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Overseas travelers spike on strong local currency
The number of South Koreans traveling overseas in January spiked, mostly driven by the local currency’s steep ascent, which is giving them more price incentives to go abroad, industry data showed Sunday.Hanatour Service Inc., the largest local travel company, said that overseas travelers using its service jumped 30.7 percent on-year in January to about 185,000. This is the monthly record high for the company, surpassing the 159,000 registered in August last year. Of the total, 48.5 percent chose
Feb. 3, 2013
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Shares likely to move in tight range this week
South Korea’s stock market may inch up this week on strong exports though it will likely move in a very tight range, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1,957.79 on Friday, up 0.6 percent from a week earlier.The KOSPI had a weak start last week as the local currency continued to rise against the U.S. dollar, raising concerns over weak earnings by major exporters.The Korean won gained 19.6 percent against the Japanese yen last year, putting South Korean exporte
Feb. 3, 2013
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Apple overtakes Samsung in U.S. mobile phone market
Apple Inc. passed Samsung Electronics Co. to become the top mobile phone maker in the U.S. for the first time, scoring a victory in the companies’ battle for global dominance of the mobile-device market.Apple sold 17.7 million mobile phones in the U.S. during the fourth quarter, a 38 percent jump from a year earlier, research firm Strategy Analytics said Friday in a statement. That gave it 34 percent of the market, topping Samsung, which sold 16.8 million handsets for a 32 percent market share.
TechnologyFeb. 3, 2013
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Facility investment forecast to shrink 1.4%
Facility investment by businesses in South Korea will likely contract for three consecutive years from 2013 as companies remain reluctant to spend in the face of toughened and cloudy market conditions, a survey showed Sunday.Corporate investment in facilities is expected to decline 1.4 percent on-year to a combined 127.9 trillion won ($116.5 billion) this year, according to the survey by the Korea Finance Corp. The survey was conducted on 3,251 businesses across the country.Last year, companies
TechnologyFeb. 3, 2013
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Wage, income account shortfalls hit record high
South Korea’s wage and income account deficit hit a record high in 2012 as local companies paid more for foreign workers here than income brought in by Korean laborers working overseas, data showed Sunday.According to the data by the Bank of Korea, income earned by foreign workers in Korea came to about $1.15 billion last year, down 2.8 percent from a year earlier. Income earned by Korean workers abroad shrank 13.8 percent on-year to $647.1 million.As a result, the country’s wage and income acco
TechnologyFeb. 3, 2013
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Global currency row likely to last for some time: report
The current global currency row is expected to continue for the time being as monetary easing by major economies will likely spur emerging markets to take tougher moves to stem the appreciation of their currencies, a report said Friday. The stimulus plans by the United States and Japan have escalated foreign exchange volatility, sparking a currency conflict between the two global economic powerhouses and prompting other countries to hurry to curb the ascent of their currencies, according to the
Feb. 3, 2013
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SK Group chairman urges unwavering support after Chey’s imprisonment
Kim Chang-geun, chairman of SK Group’s decision-making body Supex, asked for support from employees in an online message delivered after former chairman Chey Tae-won received a four-year jail sentence for embezzlement on Thursday. “All of you may have been surprised with the unexpected result,” wrote the former vice chairman of SK Chemical who replaced Chey in December. “Despite external difficulties, we will continue fulfilling our duty for all stake holder groups, including our customers. Each
IndustryFeb. 3, 2013
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Woori Financial’s brand ranking sees big jump
Woori Financial Group saw its 2013 brand ranking, assessed by The Banker, climb more than 300 notches from last year.Woori ranked 77th in the yearly list of the top 500 banking brands by The Banker, a London-based financial magazine, a jump from 389th in 2012.Shinhan Financial Group and KB Financial Group took the positions of 51st (57th in 2012) and 65th (76th in 2012), respectively.Hana Financial Group, which acquired Korea Exchange Bank a year ago, also made the list at No. 116. Last year Woo
Feb. 3, 2013
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Earnings shock sweeps listed companies
A fourth-quarter earnings shock struck a majority of listed companies, with display, steel and chemical sectors seeing downhill outlooks in the first three months of this year as well.Fifty-one percent of 37 major listed companies that announced their October-December 2012 operating profits so far showed earnings falling far short of market expectations. They include Samsung SDI, Korean Air, Green Cross, Samsung Fine Chemicals, S-Oil, KT, LSIS, LG Electronics, Kia Motors and SK Hynix.Major IT st
IndustryFeb. 3, 2013
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Toyota, Ford lead U.S. sales gains as autos fuel growth
Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. led the four largest automakers by U.S. sales in reporting January gains that topped estimates, as buyers return to showrooms to begin a fourth consecutive year of growth.Toyota’s deliveries of cars and light trucks surged 27 percent and Ford’s climbed 22 percent, while General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC sales each rose 16 percent, the companies said Friday. Industrywide light-vehicle sales increased 14 percent, according to researcher Autodata Corp.,
MobilityFeb. 3, 2013
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Hyundai, Kia post record monthly sales in China
South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said Sunday they have posted monthly record sales in China in January helped by the growing popularity of their new models.Beijing Hyundai Motor Co. and Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motor Co., the South Korean automakers’ China units, sold 163,090 units last month, up 66.4 percent from a year earlier.The total breaks down to 107,888 units for Beijing Hyundai and 55,202 units for Dongfeng Yueda Kia.The number outperforms the previo
MobilityFeb. 3, 2013
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Mercedes takes early luxury lead after outselling BMW
Mercedes said it sold 22,501 vehicles last month, its best January, helped the C-Class sedan’s 11 percent climb to 7,214. Brand sales for BMW increased 0.7 percent to 16,513 units, boosted by a 56 percent gain for its X5 sport-utility vehicle. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus rose 32 percent to 16,211, led by the ES sedan, which more than doubled to 5,186 deliveries. The two German automakers are vying to be the top luxury- auto brand in the U.S. after outselling Lexus the past two years. BMW vaulted
MobilityFeb. 3, 2013
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Smaller carmakers bet big on compact SUVs
With the almost 80 percent market dominance of Hyundai and Kia cars still intact and foreign car brands aggressively expanding their local presence, the nation’s smaller carmakers ― GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and Ssangyong Motor ― are all pinning high hopes on a niche segment: compact sport utility vehicles. Amid the growing acceptance of small-engine, fuel-efficient vehicles, the market for smaller SUVs has been surging globally in recent years.GM Korea, whose global car sales last month
MobilityFeb. 3, 2013
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Internet wonders which monkey Iran sent into space
Iran's announcement that it had successfully sent a monkey into space stirred questions on the Internet on Saturday, with people pointing to differences between official images of the primate before takeoff and after landing.On January 28, official Iranian media published pictures of a monkey named Pishgam (Pioneer) prior to the launch. The animal had light grey fur and a red mole above its right eye. But later, the ISNA news agency released photos taken during presenting the monkey to the press
TechnologyFeb. 3, 2013
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Consumers sue insurance firms for price fixing
At least 1,500 financial consumers have joined a class action suit against seven major life insurance firms, a spokesman of the Korea Finance Consumer Federation said Sunday.He said the lawsuit followed the allegation that the seven firms, including Samsung Life, had sought to collect more insurance premiums via price fixing.Samsung Life saw the most complaints as about 600 policyholders participated in the suit, followed by Kyobo Life Insurance Co. with about 360 and Hanwha Life Insurance with
Feb. 3, 2013
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Watchdog rejects bids for 4th mobile carrier
South Korea’s communications watchdog on Friday turned down bids by two local firms to set up the country’s fourth mobile operator, citing their insufficient financing. Following evaluations of proposals submitted by Korea Mobile Internet and Internet Space Time, the Korea CommunicationsCommission (KCC) concluded the two firms were inadequate candidates for its plan to approve a new market player. Both firms were excessively optimistic in their market outlook, and their financing and technology
IndustryFeb. 1, 2013
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Hankook Tire posts record global sales
Hankook Tire, Korea’s biggest tire maker, posted record global sales in 2012, thanks to brisk sales of its premium tires to luxury automobile manufacturers worldwide.Revenue of Hankook Tire reached over 7 trillion won in 2012, up 8.3 percent from 6.4 trillion won a year earlier, according to consolidated financial statements.Its operating profit reached some 913 billion won, up 57.9 percent from 578 billion won in the same period.The company attributes its record-breaking revenue to increased su
IndustryFeb. 1, 2013
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Korea Hydro bids for Finnish nuclear power project
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, a state-run nuclear power plant operator, said on Friday that it submitted its bid for a nuclear power project launched by TeollisuudenVoima, a Finland-based utility company.This marks the first time for a Korean power company to seek a nuclear power deal in Europe that has been traditionally dominated by advanced European players. Korea Hydro will be competing to build TVO’s Olkiluoto-4 plant with KEPCO Engineering & Construction, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construct
IndustryFeb. 1, 2013