Korea-Japan business ties ‘flourishing’ after disaster

Biz association chief says FTA would make bilateral economy strongerBusiness cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo is getting stronger and closer as more and more Japanese companies are setting up operations in Korea, a top Japanese business leader said. “We thought that in Japan, our supply chain was perfect, but the earthquake and tsunami made our perfect supply chain a disaster. So Japanese companies started to think about diversifying the supply chain,” Tsutomu Awaya, chairman of Seoul Japan C

Jan. 30, 2012

German entrepreneurs upbeat about Korea business outlook

Despite the gloomy global and eurozone economic woes, German businesspeople in Korea presented positive forecasts concerning their business prospects for this year.Industry leaders from 10 German companies and the German ambassador to Korea expressed this view during the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry Economic Outlook seminar on Jan. 19. Friedrich Stockinger, KGCCI president and chief of Trumpf Korea, stated that “2012 will mark the year of the black dragon, but I am confident th

Jan. 30, 2012

Record oil product consumption defies high prices

Korea’s consumption of petroleum products soared to its highest ever last year despite record-breaking oil prices.Last year’s average price of Dubai oil, which accounts for 80 percent of Korea’s crude oil imports, jumped 35.6 percent from a year before to $105.98 per barrel, breaking the previous record of $94.29 in 2008, according to the Korea National Oil Corporation.Prices of the North Sea Brent oil ($111.08 per barrel), Omani crude oil ($106.73 per barrel), Iranian heavy crude oil ($105.71 p

Jan. 30, 2012

Seoul sees population outflow for the first time

The number of people who moved out of the Seoul metropolitan area exceeded those who moved into the capital for the first time in four decades, a government report said on Monday, indicating a gradual decentralization of population in the country.The population of the Seoul metropolitan saw a net outflow of 8,000 residents, Statistics Korea said, posting the first year of population contraction from change of legal residence since the agency started compiling data in 1970. “We’re seeing a disper

Jan. 30, 2012

Game use drops just 4.5% after curfew started

Controversy surrounding the effectiveness of the online game curfew has been called into question yet again since the law was implemented three months ago.According to industry officials, the average number of people logging onto six different online games by the country’s big three online game firms slightly decreased to 41,796 people from 43,744 people, which was the average figure recorded ahead of the policy implementation.This is only a 4.5 percent decrease, leading to assumptions that a la

IndustryJan. 30, 2012

LSIS aims for W4.5tr in sales by 2015

LS Industrial Systems Co. aims to more than triple its sales and increase its profit six-fold by 2015 through sweeping structural reforms and growth in strategic areas such as smart grids and car batteries.Korea’s largest maker of electrical components on Sunday unveiled its ambitious 2015 vision, which entails goals of reaching 4.5 trillion won ($4 billion) in sales and 700 billion won in operating profit. The targets reflect a roughly 320 percent rise in sales and a 630 percent surge in profit

IndustryJan. 30, 2012

LG Innotek logs wider net loss in Q4

LG Innotek Co., an electronics parts maker affiliated with South Korea’s LG Group, said Monday its net loss increased in the fourth quarter from a year earlier on weaker demand.Net loss amounted to 93.3 billion won ($82.9 million) in the October-December period, larger than a net loss of 19.7 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales inched up 6.8 percent on-year to 1.21 trillion won in the quarter while operating profit tumbled 66.7 percent to 60 billion won,

IndustryJan. 30, 2012

State auditor launches probe into financial regulator, watchdog

Board of Audit and Inspection to examine FSC, FSS until Feb. 24The Board of Audit and Inspection launched an intensive investigation into the nation’s two financial regulators on Monday.The state auditor, which completed its preliminary audit earlier this month, will carry out an intensive audit on the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service between Jan. 30 and Feb. 24.The audit comes after the FSC endorsed Hana Financial Group’s application to take over Korea Exchang

Jan. 30, 2012

LG Uplus to invest about W1tr more

LG Uplus, the nation’s smallest telecom carrier, said Monday that it will pour an additional 955.6 billion won into building network infrastructure for the Long Term Evolution service this year.The figure represents about 24 percent of its equity capital, and is an increase from the 1.7 trillion won invested in 2011.The company will step up efforts to complete the nationwide coverage of LTE by March as planned, earlier than rival companies SK Telecom and KT Corp. Within the year, it aims to secu

IndustryJan. 30, 2012

Shares down 1.24% on U.S. growth data

Korean stocks closed 1.24 percent lower Monday on slower-than-expected growth in the U.S. and uncertainty about European debt woes, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI dropped 24.28 points to finish at 1,940.55, marking the first decline in six sessions. Trading volume was moderate at 406 million shares worth 6.3 trillion won ($5.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 531 to 299.“The U.S. economy grew 2.8 percent in the last quarter of 2011.Th

Jan. 30, 2012

Economy to bottom out in Q1: Bahk

Economic growth is likely to be the weakest in the first three months of this year as external uncertainties will peak in the period, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said Monday. “Growth uncertainties are seen to be significant in the first quarter. The risk from the European debt crisis is likely to ease in the second and third quarters,” Bahk told reporters at a news conference.Bahk’s projection comes amid signs of faltering growth. The economy grew 0.4 percent, the least in two years in the Oct

Jan. 30, 2012

Quarter of households suffer 'absolute poverty' in 5 years

More than one out of four South Korean households have suffered "absolute poverty" in the past five years with over one third also facing relative difficulties making ends meet, a report showed Monday.According to the report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 27 percent of some 5,

Jan. 30, 2012

Korea's current account surplus hits $3.96 billion in Dec.

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the 22nd month in December, but the surplus narrowed from the previous month as the service account turned negative due to tourism-related shortfalls, the central bank said Monday. The current account surplus reached US$3.96 billion in December, down

Jan. 30, 2012

Commerce minister to address AMCHAM

Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo will speak about the Korean economy at a luncheon meeting organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Jan. 31.After his speech, Hong will field questions from participants in the event that will take place at the Grand Hyatt hotel from noon to 2 p.m.The networking event, which is also open to the press, is 72,000 won for members and 92,000 won for nonmembers at the door. A 10,000 won discount applies to guests who register before noon on Jan.

Jan. 29, 2012