Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. topped last year’s U.S. auto market performance scoreboard, a report by a consumer data provider showed Tuesday.U.S.-based TrueCar.com said Hyundai and Kia ranked No. 1 in its 2011 Annual Performance Scoreboard that checks such areas as sales growth, market share and customer brand loyalty.It said the two carmakers, which are the flagship companies of Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth largest automotive conglomerate, received an average “A-plus

MobilityJan. 24, 2012

The nation’s 30 largest conglomerates acquired 211 companies over the past three years, commanding more than 1,000 firms under their wings and pursuing more firms with technological prowess. Politicians are raising their voices for chaebol reform amid the companies’ growing appetite for mergers and acquisitions, with the ruling Grand National Party reviewing plans to reduce the side effects of the removal of a cap on large conglomerates’ equity investment. The top 30 business groups in asset val

IndustryJan. 24, 2012

Experts warn of Korea’s economic losses from joining U.S.-led punitive action on TehranKorea’s joining of the U.S.-led sanctions against Iran will fan inflation and cause $7 billion in losses for exporters a year, international relations experts warned Tuesday.Lee Hee-soo, a professor at Hanyang University, said the U.S. demand for Korea to reduce trade activities with Iran last week is the strongest push made in its 30 years of sanctions against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.“Iran is the No. 1 marke

Jan. 24, 2012

Leo Burnett Korea chief aims to support companies to go globalMcDonald’s Korea launched its coffee brand McCafe in 2009, but sales struggled amid the growing popularity of specialty coffee houses like Starbucks. For young women working in offices, who led the new trend of sipping a cup of brand coffee, the half-priced McCafe appeared to be not enough to satisfy their appetite for luxury. Then a television commercial changed the game. The ad, made by Leo Burnett Korea, featured consumers who part

IndustryJan. 24, 2012

Korea’s manufacturing sector grew at a brisk pace of 7.7 percent on-year in 2011 fueled by surging exports, a report by the central bank showed Tuesday.The Bank of Korea said of the 16 industrial sectors checked, only five surpassed the country‘s gross domestic product growth, with three contracting compared to the year before.Asia’s fourth largest economy may have grown by 3.8 percent last year, down from 6.2 percent growth posted in 2010. For the first three quarters of 2011, data showed the e

Jan. 24, 2012

Korea saw its trade with seven economic entities with which it has free trade agreements jump over the past few years, government data showed Monday.South Korea’s trade with those entities came to $296.1 billion in 2011, or 27.4 percent of its total trade volume of $1.08 trillion, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. That is up from 14.6 percent in 2009.The entities include Singapore, Chile, Peru, the European Free Trade Association, the European Union, and the Association of Sout

Jan. 24, 2012

The nation’s antitrust watchdog said Tuesday it will support a consumer class action lawsuit for the first time against Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which rigged prices for domestic appliances.The Fair Trade Commission slapped the two companies with fines of 44.6 billion won ($39.6 million) for colluding to fix prices of washing machines, flat screen televisions and laptop computers.“We will provide financial aid for a class action suit led by the Green Consumer Network in Korea as it

IndustryJan. 24, 2012

The Iranian government attempted to retaliate against Korea in connection with the U.S.-led sanctions of oil imports by demanding that Korean firms tear down their outdoor advertising billboards in Tehran earlier this month, news reports said.The Iranian government ordered Korean firms including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics to demolish their outdoor ads, but withdrew its demand following protests from the Korean Embassy in Tehran, a government official was quoted by the Yonhap news age

IndustryJan. 24, 2012

Korea’s international air passenger traffic reached an all-time high in 2011, fueled by foreign visitors and transit travelers using local airports, the government said Tuesday.The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said 42.65 million people took international flights coming into and leaving the country in 2011, up 6.5 percent from a year earlier. Of the total, 5.66 million people were transit travelers, a gain of 6.5 percent vis-a-vis 2010.It said traffic to Southeast Asia and Oce

Jan. 24, 2012

Kia Motors America said it would recall model year 2006-2008 Optimas and model year 2007-2008 Rondos due to faulty air bag release systems, regulators said.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Optima vehicles manufactured from Sept. 29, 2005, through Jan. 29, 2008, are involved in

MobilityJan. 24, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Two legally blind women appeared to gain some vision after receiving an experimental treatment using embryonic stem cells, scientists reported Monday. While embryonic stem cells were first isolated more than a decade ago, most of the research has been done in lab animals. The new

TechnologyJan. 24, 2012

Major South Korean securities firms reaped more than half of their commission income from stock consignments in the fiscal first half, with the stock commission profits of the top 10 players exceeding 100 billion won (US$88 million) on average, data showed Monday.   The commission profits

Jan. 23, 2012

The number of Koreans using low-cost airlines surpassed 10 million for the first time last year as more people take advantage of affordable air travel at home and abroad, data showed Friday.The figure reflects a 32.5 percent on-year surge, according to the Transport Ministry. Combined market share of the country’s five budget carriers ― Jeju Air, Air Busan, Jin Air, Eastar Jet and T’way Air ― jumped to 16.5 percent, up 3.3 percent points.In stark contrast, the number of air travelers rose merely

IndustryJan. 20, 2012

Korean stocks jumped 1.82 percent Friday as signs of optimism in Europe and the U.S. eased jitters, whetting foreign investor appetite for risky assets, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI gained 34.83 points to 1,949.80. Trading volume was moderate at 397.4 million shares worth 7.24 trillion won ($6.38 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 490 to 353. “Shares gathered significant ground on eased pressure buttressed by a series of smooth debt aucti

Jan. 20, 2012