Foreign reserves rise to record-high $311 billion in JulyThe Bank of Korea said Tuesday it bought 25 tons of gold in the June-July period ― its first purchase since the 1997-98 financial crisis.The purchase touched off speculations about its motives at a time when gold prices are hitting record high

Aug. 2, 2011

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motor are posting a rapid growth in sales of hybrid sedans at home, following outstanding performances in the U.S. market.In July, about 15 percent of Hyundai-Kia’s customers who purchased the automakers’ Sonata and K5 picked the hybrid version of the sedans, Hyundai Motor Grou

MobilityAug. 2, 2011

Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Joong-kyung, who has made several stern comments about large companies’ practices, once again earned the ire of the country’s business community on Sunday.This time, the minister’s remarks were aimed at executives and their huge paychecks, ruffling the feathers of

IndustryAug. 2, 2011

Price negotiations with dairy companies stalled amid concern over milk shortageConcerns over a nationwide milk shortage are escalating as farmers threatened to halt Wednesday’s milk supply to dairy companies, demanding a price increase.The government continued on Tuesday last-minute efforts to media

IndustryAug. 2, 2011

Samsung Electronics, the world’s No. 1 flat-screen TV maker, said Tuesday that it led the North American TV market in the first half of the year on the back of rising demand for high-end TVs.Samsung Electronics’ first-half market share for digital TVs stood at 35 percent in terms of value of the uni

IndustryAug. 2, 2011

Online break-in at Cyworld, Nate prompts ‘real action’ to keep websites secureThe first thing Choi Hyun-hee did on Monday morning was change the passwords of the accounts she held at Kookmin Bank, Naver and Gmarket. She went through her mind several more times and came up with a list of other commer

IndustryAug. 2, 2011

High-end hotels in large U.S. cities are attracting buyers from Hong Kong, China and Singapore seeking to cater to a growing number of affluent Asians traveling abroad. Acquisitions by Asian investors probably will climb to the “low double digits” of all U.S. hotel deals this year, said John Strauss

IndustryAug. 2, 2011

TOKYO (AFP) ― Asia could be as wealthy as Europe by mid-century, but only if it tackles key challenges from inequality and corruption to climate change, an Asian Development Bank study said Tuesday.On current trends, Asia will make up half the world’s economic output by 2050, and another three billi

IndustryAug. 2, 2011

Budget deal’s initial spending cuts too small to hurt economy in short runWASHINGTON (AP) ― The deal reached by Congress to raise the debt ceiling and cut more than $2 trillion in public spending should have only a minor impact on the economy for the next two years.Almost all the cuts would be made

IndustryAug. 2, 2011

LivingSocial, the No. 2 social commerce provider in the U.S. after Groupon, has acquired South Korea’s biggest player Ticket Monster (TMon), underscoring the popularity of discount deals through social network services amid the dearth of mergers and acquisitions in other sectors. TMon said on Tuesda

TechnologyAug. 2, 2011