State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. is facing mounting criticism as it passed the buck to the Korea Power Exchange on taking responsibility for the unprecedented nationwide power outages Thursday afternoon. Residents and workers around the country suffered sudden power outages starting at around 3 p.m. as a heat wave pushed up electricity demand beyond capacity. The KPX cited a drop in its ele...

Independent gas stations could start operating under a common brand as early as next year, the association of independent gas stations said Thursday. Independent gas stations can sell fuel produced by any of the country’s refiners, as opposed to being tied to a refiner such as GS Caltex or S-Oil. As such establishments are able to sell at lower prices, the government has been drawing up support...

Korea’s conglomerates are scrambling to secure capital at a pace that suggests a credit crunch might be in the offing amid growing concerns over the global economy. The country’s large companies have raised about 60 trillion won ($54.6 billion) this year by issuing corporate bonds, drawing loans from banks and raising paid-in capital, data compiled by the Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervis...

Senior official conducts virtual intervention in won-dollar market Policymakers have stepped up again to minimize negative effects on the local financial markets amid the eurozone debt crisis, following their efforts in early August. Their key countermeasures included curbing steep depreciation of the Korean won versus the U.S. dollar. As the won continued to lose ground against the dollar, a ...

South Korea’s central bank has not submitted an application to its Chinese counterpart to get approval for investment in yuan bonds traded on China’s over-the-counter market, a bank official said Thursday. The remarks came after a local daily reported Thursday that the Bank of Korea is preparing to invest $2 billion in unlisted yuan bonds as part of efforts to diversify its foreign exchange rese...

The number of countries confirmed to take part in next year’s international exposition in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, has reached the target of 100, the event’s organizers announced Thursday. According to the Organizing Committee for Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea, the Philippines recently confirmed its participation, pushing up the number of countries taking part in the event to 100. The event will be...

Korean Air announced Thursday that it will provide flights to deliver United Nations aid to famine-stricken regions in Africa. The carrier said that the flights are being operated as part of the U.N. World Food Program, in which it is taking part in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Under the plans, the company will operate four cargo flights to Mombasa, Kenya to del...

Koreans are choosing to get married later than any other Asians, statistics said. The average age of first marriage for men and women in Korea is 31.8 and 28.9, beating that of the Japanese, 28.90 and 28.8, the Finance Ministry said Thursday. “More women are choosing to get married later, or not getting married at all. The trend is common in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong but Korea recently overto...

Firms see fresh opportunity in providing new retirement-related asset management South Korea’s major brokerages houses are setting up research centers targeting the country’s baby boomer generation in a bid to take a share in potentially huge securities-related markets. The term “baby boomers” refers to those born from 1955 to 1963, and securities firms are predicting that demand for new servic...