Business sentiment falls for November

South Korea’s business sentiment for November fell from a month earlier due to growing global double-dip recession concerns, a poll showed Sunday.The monthly business survey index for the upcoming month came in at 96.4, down five points from the 101.4 forecast for October, according to the survey by the Federation of Korean Industries, the lobbying group of the country’s large businesses.The figure marks the second lowest BSI number this year after the 96.3 reading tallied for September, and the

Oct. 30, 2011

Hyundai Motor in Czech Republic helps economy

Jobs popular among female workers from border countriesOSTRAVA, Czech Republic -- It has been more than two years since Hyundai Motor established a large-scale manufacturing plant in the Czech Republic.Apart from the factory’s role as a logistics base for Hyundai’s automobile sales in Europe, an issue has emerged as to whether the Korean company has been gaining favorable image from Czech citizens and its government.Though the automaker’s factory is located in a small city of Nosovice, whose pop

MobilityOct. 30, 2011

Hyundai, Kia to see sales top 7m next year

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are likely to see their combined sales exceed 7 million units next year on the back of improved brand images, production quality and increased capacity, analysts said Sunday.For this year, South Korea’s top duo of carmakers expect to sell a combined 6.5 million units with Hyundai Motor posting sales of 4 million units. But they warned last week that they may face increased competition with foreign rivals and unfavorable business conditions dow

Oct. 30, 2011

Seoul to lay out long-term fiscal plan

Finance Ministry torn between restoring fiscal balance and welfare for aging KoreaWill the government continue deleveraging or spend more for better welfare? Cornered into juggling the two contradictory urges, the Finance Ministry spoke of its plans and challenges ahead in setting a long-term fiscal policy. Koo Bon-jin, chief of the ministry’s public finances, said his team will soon lay out a fresh fiscal plan looking to 2020 and beyond, seeking ways to sustain budget balance on the back of eve

Oct. 30, 2011

Watchdog fines LCD makers for price fixing

The Fair Trade Commission on Sunday levied a fine of 194 billion won ($175.9 million) on 10 flat panel makers including Samsung Electronics, for price-fixing their flat TV and notebook computers.The fine is the largest ever slapped on an international cartel, of which Korea’s LG Display and Taiwan’s liquid crystal display makers AU Optronics, Chimei Innolux Corp., Chunghwa Picture Tubes and HannStar Display Corp. are members, the watchdog said. The watchdog said the collusion included adjusting

IndustryOct. 30, 2011

Korea mulls hiking highway, train fares

South Korea will likely raise highway and train service fares by the end of this year following years of unchanged rates aimed at curbing inflation, a source said Friday.The finance ministry and the transportation ministry are currently in the last phase of talks to determine when and by how much th

Oct. 30, 2011

Samsung's presence in U.S. 3D TV market weakens in Sept.

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest flat-screen TV maker, lost ground in the 3D TV market in the United States due mainly to increased competition, industry data showed Sunday.Samsung Electronics' market share stood at 49 percent in terms of 3D TVs sold in the U.S. last month, falling below

IndustryOct. 30, 2011

Samsung ordered to compensate local designer for copyrights infringement

Samsung Electronics Co., Korea's electronics giant, has been ordered to compensate a local designer for illegally using the designer's flower pattern creation on its refrigerator models, court records showed Saturday.   The Seoul Western District Court recently delivered the order for the

IndustryOct. 29, 2011

Samsung ordered to compensate local designer for copyright infringement

Samsung Electronics Co., Korea's electronics giant, has been ordered to compensate a local designer for illegally using the designer's flower pattern creation on its refrigerator models, court records showed Saturday.The Seoul Western District Court recently delivered the order for the electronics m

BusinessOct. 29, 2011

Samsung posts forecast-beating quarterly earnings

But quarterly net income reaches 3.44 trillion won, 23 percent down on-yearSamsung Electronics on Friday posted 41.27 trillion won ($37.35 billion) in sales and 4.25 trillion won in operating profit for the third quarter of this year, a better-than-expected performance on the strength of record-breaking sales of mobile handsets.The world’s top memory chip supplier and second-biggest handset maker also recorded 3.44 trillion won in quarterly net income, representing a 23 percent decrease year-on-

IndustryOct. 28, 2011

Korea to cool lottery fever

The government said on Friday it is considering setting a limit on the total number of lottery tickets issued in a bid to cool red-hot lottery fever. The Korea Lottery Commission, an agency under the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, raised the lottery ticket issuance limit for this year to 2.8 trillion won ($2.5 billion) on Thursday, up from 2.5 trillion won, to meet the surging demand.The Finance Ministry is now trying to stem the lottery boom from heating up further after the launch of a pens

Oct. 28, 2011

iPhone 4S gets radio approval

Apple’s latest smartphone iPhone 4S has gotten radio approval in Korea, the National Radio Research Agency said Friday. The radio approval, however, does not necessarily indicate imminent sales of iPhone 4S in Korea. The Apple handset will have to receive approval from the Korea Broadcasting Commission, with the launch date to be decided among local telecom providers. Considering that it took more than a month for the previous model iPhone 4 to be marketed here after radio approval, industry sou

IndustryOct. 28, 2011

Non-regular workers numbered at 6 million

College graduates make up 30% of irregular workforceThe number of “irregular” workers with low pay and less job security in Korea reached nearly 6 million, data showed on Friday, underscoring that the country’s employment condition continues to deteriorate. Statistics Korea said the number of non-regular workers in Korea stood at 5.99 million as of end-August, accounting for a 34.2 percent share in the total workforce. The total number of salaried workers, including temporary employees, rose 2.7

Oct. 28, 2011

Google chief to meet KT head in Seoul

Google chairman Eric Schmidt will visit Korea early next month for a series of talks with KT chairman Lee Suk-chae and other leaders of tech companies, industry sources said Friday. This will be the second time for the Google chief executive to visit Korea.Amid diverse smartphone-related issues expected to be discussed during the talks, industry sources predicted that mobile payment services would be the main topic. KT, which in February acquired the nation’s top credit card firm BC Card, this w

Oct. 28, 2011

Financial market gains ground

CDS premium down, KOSPI up on improved sentimentKorea’s stock market ended higher on Friday, helped by a new European deal aimed at slashing Greece’s massive debt, amid declining credit default swap premiums pointing to stabilizing sentiment. The benchmark KOSPI closed up 0.39 percent at 1,929.48 on foreign and institutional buying. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ, however, dropped 1.3 percent to 490.59. The Korean won closed at 1,104.9 won against the U.S. dollar, strengthening from 1,115.2 won a day ear

Oct. 28, 2011

Making money bigger priority than preserving it, SEI says

Increasing their wealth is a priority for more high-net-worth families than merely maintaining what they already have, according to a survey of individuals with an average household net worth of more than $20 million.About 74 percent of those surveyed said that growth of wealth was a priority over t

Oct. 28, 2011