BERLIN ― An executive at LG Electronics declared Friday that the company will position itself as the top home appliance brand in the European market by 2015. In a press conference held on the sidelines of IFA 2011, Lee Young-ha, president of the company’s home appliance division, said it aims for a two-digit market share ― 13 percent for washers and 12.5 percent for refrigerators ― with its prem...

BERLIN ― Samsung Electronics’ vice chairman Choi Gee-sung expressed confidence Friday that the company will take the lead in the global software industry in two years, dismissing rumors that it will take over the PC unit of Hewlett-Packard. “People are posting concerns that Samsung isn’t in the lead in software (industry), but I want to tell them not to worry. It will not take long, meaning the ...

Telecom giant also needs huge investment for new radio spectrum and platform division spin-off Few raised doubts over SKT’s financing when the nation’s top mobile carrier submitted its letter of intent early July to acquire a 15 percent stake of the world’s second biggest computer memory chipmaker Hynix. The acquisition of the shares was expected to cost about 2-3 trillion won and SKT has been ...

Korean and foreign firms to show new TVs, smartphones, tablet PCs during 6-day global trade show BERLIN -- The global trade show IFA 2011 kicked off in Germany on Friday, unveiling a number of new wireless gadgets and smart home appliances. LG Electronics featured 3-D total solutions -- the 3D TV, 3D monitor, 3D projector, 3D PC and 3D smartphone by displaying up to 1,200 items in its 3,700 squ...

SaKong Il, head of the Korea International Trade Association, plans to discuss the Chinese economy at a forum in Beijing this weekend, the trade agency said Thursday. About 60 economists and experts around the world will take part in the High-level China 2030 Conference on Saturday hosted by the World Bank and the Development Research Center of the State Council, a Chinese state-run think tank. ...

Kim Gi-ho, former CEO of GS Digital TV, has been named as the new chief executive of Yes24, Korea’s largest Internet-based book retailer. “I feel heavy responsibility as the new president in a time when the publishing market is facing a paradigm shift,” he said in his inauguration speech. “I’ll concentrate efforts for the company to lead the emerging e-book market as well as the ticketing busin...

Seoul’s Myeong-dong was ranked the world’s ninth most expensive shopping district in terms of annual rent, slipping one place from 2010, a report showed Thursday. According to a report compiled by the real estate services provider Cushman and Wakefield by analyzing rents and changes in the figures in 278 shopping districts in 63 countries, annual rent per square foot in Myeong-dong rose 0.6 perc...

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -- Technology news website CNET on Wednesday reported that a new version of Apple’s coveted iPhone went astray in a bar in a replay of an embarrassing loss that took place last year. An Apple employee lost a yet-to-be released iPhone model in a tequila bar in the San Francisco Mission District in July, according to CNET. Apple electronically tracked the device to a San Franc...

Local conglomerates will hire a record number of new employees and increase investments this year, the Federation of Korean Industries said Wednesday. At a meeting in Seoul with President Lee Myung-bak on shared-growth, the FKI said the country’s 30 largest conglomerates have plans to hire 124,000 new employees this year. Attendants included the heads of the 28 largest conglomerates including Ch...

Korea’s high-end product markets expected to grow further in next 5 years Korean consumers’ love for luxury goods may have exceeded that of the Japanese, research found Wednesday. Koreans consumed 5 percent of their per capita income on high-end products, compared to 4 percent of the Japanese, according to McKinsey & Company, a global strategy consulting firm. The company surveyed 1,000 Korean...