Korean women least active in startups

The number of women in Korea who intend to start their own business was one of the lowest among developed countries, a report showed.Only 19.8 percent of women were interested in starting a business in 2010, according to a report by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade on Thursday.This was significantly lower than the corresponding figures for other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ― 51.2 percent in Mexico, 43.3 percent in the United States,

Feb. 7, 2013

Low investment, consumption, employment weigh on economy

Low investment and consumption are further weighing on the Korean economy, said the Korea Development Institute, a state-run think tank, in a report.Signs show that industrial production has been improving and exports maintaining resilience since last month.However, slow investment, especially in the construction sector, which is leading to a stagnant real estate market, is projecting a bleak outlook for the economy.Although the consumer sentiment index is above 100, showing more optimism than p

Feb. 7, 2013

NCsoft to unveil its latest games to Chinese users in H2

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― NCsoft Corp., a leading South Korean online game developer, will unveil its latest games to Chinese consumers in the second half of this year in a move to boost its sales in China, officials said Thursday. NCsoft plans to launch two online games ― “Blade & Soul” and “Guild Wars 2” ― in the world’s most populous country and has designated Tencent Holdings Ltd. as the sole local distributor, company officials said. Last year, the Seoul-based company signed an agreement wi

Feb. 7, 2013

Korea’s job growth expected to plummet this year

South Korea’s job growth is forecast to decrease sharply this year compared with a year earlier as the persistent economic slowdown will likely sap self-employed businesses and new hiring by smaller firms, data showed Thursday.A total of 300,000 new jobs is estimated to be created this year, compared with 437,000 the previous year, according to the data by the Bank of Korea and Statistics Korea. That puts the on-year growth rate of Korea’s fresh employment at 1.2 percent this year, down from 1.8

Feb. 7, 2013

Hanwha Life mulls takeover of ING Life Korea

Hanwha Life Insurance Co., South Korea’s No. 2 life insurer, said Thursday it is considering acquiring the local life insurance unit of ING Group.“Hanwha Life is considering taking over ING Life Korea,” an official from the firm said. “However, nothing has been determined yet.”The move comes after the board of KB Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s No. 2 banking group, turned down a company plan to take over ING Life Korea on Dec. 18 last year, dealing a blow to the group’s push for business exp

IndustryFeb. 7, 2013

POSCO begins work on auto steel plants in Mexico

POSCO, South Korea’s leading steelmaker, said Thursday that it has started building two auto steel sheet-processing centers in Mexico.The POSCO-Mexico Aguascalientes Processing Center, set to be completed by September this year, will provide processed steel sheets to local auto parts suppliers.POSCO will also complete the construction of a similar steel sheet-processing center, the POSCO-Mexico Puebla Processing Center, by October this year, the South Korean steelmaker said.POSCO did not elabora

Feb. 7, 2013

Korean consortium to sell electricity to Thailand, Laos

A South Korean consortium led by SK Engineering & Construction Co. said Thursday that it has signed a deal with Thailand’s state-owned Electricity Generating Authority to provide electricity to the Southeast Asian country.The deal, inked in Laos on Wednesday, called for the consortium to sell 1,575 gigawatt-hours of electricity to Thailand, 90 percent of the total electricity that will be produced in a hydroelectric power plant in Laos, for the next 27 years.The consortium, which includes Korea

IndustryFeb. 7, 2013

Feud over fees grows between card firms and retailers

Credit card firms threatened to suspend payment services for customers “based on interest-free installment” later this month yet again, in response to retailers’ refusal to share “marketing event expenses.”Samsung, Hyundai, Hana SK and Lotte will halt the interest-free payment services starting on Feb. 17 with the other two ― BC and KB Kookmin ― following suit at the end of this month.While the credit card industry called on retailers to account for at least 50 percent of interest costs offered

Feb. 7, 2013

NHN net up 49% in fourth quarter

NHN Corp., South Korea’s top Internet portal operator, said Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings jumped49.1 percent from a year earlier, buoyed by increased profit from search advertising and new services such as the mobile messenger LINE.Net profit reached 169 billion won ($155 million) in the October-December period, compared with a profit of 113.3 billion won the previous year, NHN said in a regulatory filing.Revenue rose 13.8 percent on-year to 652 billion won last year, and operating profit

Feb. 7, 2013

Shinhan Financial posts W2.3tr in profit

Shinhan Financial Group said Thursday that it posted a net profit of 2.36 trillion won ($2.18 billion) last year.The financial services company said the 2012 earnings marked a drop by 23.8 percent from the 2011 net profit of 3.1 trillion won. “The year-on-year fall was attributable to a reduction in the net interest margin and accumulation of loan loss provisions.”Its flagship Shinhan Bank reported a profit of 1.69 trillion won, down 19.9 percent from a year earlier. Shinhan Card posted 749.8 bi

Feb. 7, 2013

LG Chem’s Yeosu plant gets top rating for energy efficiency

LG Chem said Thursday that its naphtha cracking center located in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, was ranked the world’s No. 1 plant in energy efficiency in a U.S. research project.In a survey conducted by consulting firm Solomon Associates on 115 firms, the country’s biggest chemicals maker was noted for using 40 percent less energy in ethylene production at its center in Yeosu than its competitors. This move saves energy worth 300 billion won ($280 million) every year, according to LG Chem offic

IndustryFeb. 7, 2013

Seoul shares slip 0.23 pct on currency woes

South Korean stocks closed 0.23 percent lower on Thursday as the prolonged currency volatility continued to weigh down the market, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged down 4.42 points to 1,931.77. Trading volume was moderate at 407.2 million shares worth 3.5 trillion won (US$3.22 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 410 to 383."Due to the prolonged appreciation of the local currency against the Japanese ye

Feb. 7, 2013

LG wins patent infringement suit in U.S. court

A U.S. federal court ruled in favor of LG Electronics Inc. in a technology patent infringement suit lodged by French telecommunications giant Alcatel-Lucent SA.A jury in a San Diego federal court on Tuesday (local time) found LG and Apple Inc. did not copy patents, including a video compression technology, held by Multimedia Patent Trust (MPS), a unit of the Paris-based telecommunications equipment maker.The Alcatel-Lucent subsidiary filed the suit in December 2010, claiming several LG phones su

TechnologyFeb. 7, 2013

Seoul shares remain almost flat in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded almost flat late Thursday morning as the currency's volatility continued to weigh down on investor sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 0.06 percent, or 1.2 points, to 1,937.39 as of 11:20 a.m.Blue-chip exporters edged up, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics increasing 0.14 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix adding 1.43 percent. No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor moved up 0.25 percent.Retailers lost ground, with Lo

Feb. 7, 2013

Economy dogged by weak employment, consumption: gov't report

South Korea's economy is facing slowing employment and sluggish domestic consumption despite overall improvements in other major indicators, a government report showed Thursday, emphasizing that it will continue its policy efforts to boost economic vitality down the road. "Recently, our economy is seeing its inflation stabilize with production, investment, exports and other major indicators also improving," the finance ministry said in the monthly report that analyzes the latest economic trends

Feb. 7, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on exporter gains

South Korean stocks began higher Thursday on the back of gains in blue chip exporters, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.26 percent, or 5.07 points, to 1941.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Blue chip exporters led the overall gain, with market behemoth Samsung Electronicsclimbing 0.28 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor adding 0.75 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix also advanced 1.02 percent.Logistics shares also gathered ground, with Hyundai Gl

Feb. 7, 2013