Petition urges ‘ethical’ iPhone from Apple

An online petition is urging Apple to monitor working conditions and practices of its overseas manufacturers to make its next iPhone “the first ethical iPhone.” The advocacy group SumOfUs posted the petition asking Apple to “make the iPhone 5 ethically,” referring to the company’s use of firms su

TechnologyFeb. 1, 2012

KEB union files injunction against FSC’s approval of Hana's acquisition

The labor union of Korea Exchange Bank filed an injunction to block financial regulators’ recent approval of Hana Financial Group’s takeover of KEB.“We filed the injunction with the Constitutional Court late Jan. 31,” a KEB union leader said Thursday.He said unionized workers are discussing whether

Feb. 1, 2012

3 financial groups taken off list of public institutions

South Korea has taken three state-owned financial groups off the list of public institutions, paving the way for their privatization process, the finance ministry said Tuesday.KDB Financial Group, the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) were taken off the list of publ

Jan. 31, 2012

Kim named CEO of Kumho Tire

Kumho Asiana Group on Tuesday named Kim Chang-kyu, president of Asiana IDT, the chief executive of Kumho Tire. Hwang Sun-bok, executive vice president of the conglomerate’s strategic management, was promoted to president of Asiana IDT, and Park Sang-bae, executive vice president of Asiana IDT, was assigned to the same post at Kumho Resort.Suh Jae-hwan, executive vice president of Korea Express, will head the group’s strategic management division, Kumho Asiana said in a press release.(sophie@hera

IndustryJan. 31, 2012

Lotte scion withdraws bakery chain business

Bliss, French gourmet food company Fauchon’s Korean brand, said Tuesday it is withdrawing from the bakery business.“The decision came in order to comply with the government’s shared growth initiative and the public opinion to protect smaller vendors,” a Bliss official said. The move is the latest in a series of business withdrawals amid criticisms that bakery or coffeehouse chains run by chaebol offspring are fast overtaking the sales of smaller, individually-owned stores.Fauchon had been operat

IndustryJan. 31, 2012

Korea sells Cheongju airport rights

The government has sold the operational rights of an international airport in the central part of Korea to a private consortium for 25.5 billion won ($22.6 million), officials said Tuesday.The consortium will take over operational control of Cheongju International Airport, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, late this year after completing the necessary administrative process, the finance and transportation ministries said. The consortium, named the Cheongju Airport Group, is made up of Korea Aviatio

Jan. 31, 2012

LG Chem reaches sales record in 2011

LG Chem said Tuesday it posted 22.68 trillion won ($20.17 billion) in sales and 2.84 trillion won in operating profit last year, with its yearly sales figure recording more than 20 trillion won for the first time.The 2011 sales figure is a 16.5 percent jump from the previous year and the operating profit is also a slight increase of 0.7 percent from the same period.The company, however, said in a regulatory filing that its total sales and operating profit figures for the final quarter of last ye

IndustryJan. 31, 2012

KEB highest paying bank in Korea

Employee salaries at Korea Exchange Bank, Korea’s fifth-largest lender, were the highest among the country’s six largest banks, industry data showed Tuesday. KEB paid an average of 51.7 million won ($45,858) to its employees during the first three quarters of 2011, the highest among South Korea’s six lenders, according to industry data. Hana Bank, the fourth-largest lender in Asia’s No. 4 economy, had the lowest average salary in the same period with 38 million won. Following a regulatory approv

Jan. 31, 2012

Lone Star faces hefty corporate tax on capital gains

Korea’s tax agency said Tuesday it plans to impose a corporate tax on U.S.-based buyout fund Lone Star Funds’ investment gains from the purchase of a local skyscraper instead of the previously-imposed transfer income tax, which a Seoul court ruled illegal.Nearly 100 billion won ($89 million) in corporate taxes will be levied next month on the fund’s capital gains of nearly 245 billion won, stemming from its purchase and sale of a commercial high-rise in the posh southern part of Seoul. The decis

Jan. 31, 2012

Number of venture firms tumbles during late 2011

The number of venture firms in South Korea plummeted in the May-December period of last year as economic uncertainties sapped entrepreneurship, industry data showed Tuesday.A total of 850 venture firms closed down in the eight-month period in 2011, compared with a gain of 2,351 startups during the earlier four months, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Venture Business Association. The number of venture firms grew a mere 6.1 percent on-year in 2011, compared with a 30.4 pe

Jan. 31, 2012

Avante Hyundai Motor’s best-seller in 2011

The Avante compact manufactured by Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. was the company’s top-selling car in the global market last year, industry data showed Tuesday.A total of 787,067 units of the Avante, known as the Elantra in the United States, were sold in 2011 in the domestic and overseas markets, accounting for 19 percent of Hyundai Motor’s overall shipments of 4.14 million vehicles, according to the data.Its domestic sale reached 130,628 units last year, while 239,439 units were expo

MobilityJan. 31, 2012

Korea’s industrial output slows to 2.8% in Dec.

Korea’s industrial output grew at a much slower pace in December in the face of persistent global economic uncertainties, a government report showed Tuesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining and manufacturing industries moved up 2.8 percent last month from a year earlier, slowing from a 5.8 percent gain in November.Industrial production, however, fell 0.9 percent on-month in December, marking the third month in a row that numbers declined.In November, it shran

Jan. 31, 2012

Banks’ earnings surge on record service fees

Lenders see combined profit reach 12 trillion won, up 29.2% from a year beforeKorean banks posted a robust combined profit last year on the back of their record-high earnings from service charges.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, banks’ 2011 earnings came to about 12 trillion won ($10.5 billion), up 29.2 percent from 9.3 trillion won a year earlier.Noticeably, their earnings from service fees, including those on transactions via automated teller machines, marked an all-time high of

Jan. 31, 2012