Seoul shares start lower on poor economic data

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday on the country's lower-than-expected growth, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 12.52 points, or 0.63 percent, to 1,967.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large-cap shares led the decline, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics falling 1.36 percent.Top shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries lost 1.1 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor slid 1.83 percent.The country's central bank said earlier in the day th

Jan. 24, 2013

U.S. panel approves heavy duties on Korean washers

A U.S. trade panel on Wednesday approved heavy anti-dumping duties on South Korean-made washing machines, ending a domestic process initiated by a petition by Whirlpool Corp., a Michigan-based home appliance maker.The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) announced that it "determined that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of certain large residential washers from Korea that the U.S. Department of Commerce has determined are subsidized and from Korea and M

IndustryJan. 24, 2013

Korea’s 2012 GDP hits three-year low at 2%

Korea’s economy grew by 2 percent in 2012, the slowest in three years, due to low consumption and a sharp decline in facility investment stemming from the global economic slowdown, the Bank of Korea said Thursday.The actual growth rate of the nation’s gross domestic product is lower than the initial forecast of 2.4 percent made in October 2012, and the lowest since 2009 when growth expanded by just 0.3 percent during the global financial crisis. The BOK said the GDP grew 0.4 percent in the fourt

Jan. 24, 2013

Samsung buys time with ITC review

The U.S. International Trade Commission has decided to review a previous preliminary ruling to ban the sales of Samsung Electronics’ smartphones. The move is likely to buy the company some time, but may not be all good news for the Korean electronics maker. The review will be for four of the six patents that a judge of the commission had ruled to be infringing Apple’s patents. Both Samsung and Apple appealed the ruling, which had been reached in October last year. Many viewed the ruling at the t

TechnologyJan. 24, 2013

Samsung taps former Sony exec to head Japanese arm

Masaaki Tsuruta, a former executive at Sony of Japan, was tapped as the head of Samsung Electronics Japan, Samsung officials confirmed Wednesday.Tsuruta, 56, was appointed to the post as of Jan. 1 to overlook the Japanese corporation, which is mandated to handle mostly equipment and parts, such as semiconductors and LCD panels.Samsung Electronics had reshuffled its Japanese operations in March last year by disassembling its existing entity to form two separate offices: one for handling smartphon

IndustryJan. 23, 2013

LSIS wins power system order for KEPCO-Alstom JV

LSIS, a leading cable company in Korea, said Wednesday it was selected as a preferred bidder to manufacture a high-voltage direct current system, an advanced electric power transmissions technology, for KEPCO-Alstom Power Electronics System. KEPCO-Alstom Power Electronics System is a joint venture firm between state-run KEPCO and France-based Alstom for electricity-related businesses. The deal will transfer the HVDC technology to LSIS and support the company to tap into the lucrative, high-end e

Jan. 23, 2013

Shares dip ahead of earnings releases

South Korean stocks dropped 0.81 percent Wednesday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of releases of fourth-quarter earnings of big-name companies, analysts said. The local currency fell sharply against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 16.11 points to finish at 1,980.41. Trading volume was moderate at 485.7 million shares worth 4.16 trillion won ($3.9 billion) with losers outnumbering winners 500 to 300.“Investors remain cautious to see how large-cap com

Jan. 23, 2013

Samsung Card emerges as No. 2 in industry

Samsung Card Co., the credit card arm of South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group, has become the No. 2 player in the local industry thanks to the company’s stepped-up efforts to boost its market share, sources said Wednesday.The market share of Samsung Card reached 14.1 percent in the second quarter of last year, trailing only Shinhan Card Co. with 20.8 percent and outpacing rivals such as KB Kookmin Card Co. and Hyundai Card Co. KB Kookmin Card and Hyundai Card accounted for 13.3 percent a

Jan. 23, 2013

FSS to start magnetic-strip card phase-out in February

Cash cards that use magnetic strips for transactions will be partially banned at automated teller machines starting Feb. 1.Under regulatory countermeasures to minimize financial scams including forgery of credit cards or cash cards, the Financial Supervisory Service has advised consumers to replace their magnetic cards with “integrated circuit” cards over the past year.“As an initial step, cash transactions with magnetic-strip cards will not be available at about 50 percent of ATMs at financial

Jan. 23, 2013

Sales at major retailers shrink

Sales at both major discount outlet chains and department stores in South Korea dropped in December from a year earlier, reflecting worsening consumer sentiment, the government said Wednesday.The combined sales of the country’s three major discount outlet chains ― Lotte Mart, E-Mart and Home plus ― dropped 5 percent on-year in December, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.This compares with a 3.7 percent on-year gain in December 2011, and also with a 1.7 percent on-year drop in Novemb

Jan. 23, 2013

Samsung, LG to abandon LCD TVs

LED screens are expected to become dominant in the global television market starting next year as the world’s two top television makers ― Samsung and LG ― are poised to stop producing LCD panel TVs in North America this year to focus on LED. LG Electronics had already expressed such plans at the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas earlier this month. Recently, Samsung also said it would be suspending the production of LCD panels in Mexico, Hungary, Slovakia and others. In particular, the

IndustryJan. 23, 2013

Revamp boosts trade negotiation efficiency

South Korea’s trade policies, including free trade agreements, are expected to undergo a drastic overhaul under the new government as the presidential transition committee has decided to transfer trade issues from the Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Strategy and Finance over to the Knowledge Economy Ministry.Under the government reorganization plan, the Knowledge Economy Ministry, currently in charge of policies on industries, will absorb nearly all functions related to trade while the Foreign

Jan. 23, 2013

Samsung seeks to use papers from California case for Apple suit in Japan

Samsung Electronics Co. asked a U.S. judge to allow it to use documents from its patent-infringement case against Apple Inc. in California for litigation pending between the companies in Japan.Samsung told U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal in San Jose, California, today that it needs information exchanged between the companies in his court to contest the validity of Apple’s patents at issue in cases pending in Japan.Samsung seeks any documents concerning iPhone sales before June 29, 2007, as wel

TechnologyJan. 23, 2013