Korea to focus on growth, integration

Korea’s national mid- and long-term strategies must buttress sustainable economic growth and social integration in order to pursue true co-prosperity, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.The government also must make investments into promoting advanced technology and improving human resources to adapt to the changing economic and demographic environment, the ministry said.The Finance Ministry this week announced the mid- and long-term strategies for Korea to pursue as President-elect Park Geu

Dec. 26, 2012

Sony in talks to sell battery unit

Sony Corp. is in talks to sell its battery business to Japan’s state-backed investment fund, said a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations. Innovation Network Corp. of Japan hasn’t made an offer for the acquisition, said the person, who declined to be identified as the information isn’t public. Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world’s largest contract maker of electronics, has also shown interest in the buyout, the Nikkei newspaper reported Dec. 22. Sony’s Chief Executive O

TechnologyDec. 26, 2012

Online music costs to double in 2013

The monthly fee for freely listening to music online is expected to more than double next year.The nation’s largest online music service portal Melon has decided to raise its current 3,000 won monthly plan, which provides unlimited access to listen to its music, to 6,000 won, sources said. The price of Melon’s monthly plan to download up to 150 songs will also rise, from 9,000 won to 15,000 won, according to the sources. LOEN Entertainment Inc., which runs Melon, said on Tuesday that the new rat

TechnologyDec. 26, 2012

Large firms suffer from increased intellectual property violations in 2011

Violations of intellectual property rights held by South Korea‘s large conglomerates grew in 2011 though the overall number of intellectual property violations dropped from a year earlier, a report showed Wednesday.The portion of large companies whose intellectual property rights were infringed upon grew from 3.2 percent in 2010 to 5.3 percent last year, according to the report released by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.The portion for all companies and institutes with intellectual properties

IndustryDec. 26, 2012

Debit card issuance tops 100 mln this year

The number of debit cards issued in South Korea surpassed 100 million in the first 11 months of the year as a growing number of consumers used them because they offer more tax benefits than credit cards, industry sources said Wednesday.The number of debit cards issued in the January-November period reached 100.2 million, up 1.46 percent from 98.7 million for all of last year, according to the sources.The increase was attributed to greater tax incentives provided by debit cards. The income tax de

IndustryDec. 26, 2012

Seoul shares open higher on exporter gains

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in key exporters, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 13.48 points, or 0.68 percent, to 1,995.3 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Blue chips shored up the KOSPI, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics adding 0.75 percent and the country‘s top automaker Hyundai Motor rising 0.9 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,073.55 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 0.65

Dec. 26, 2012

S. Korea's consumer sentiment stays below par for 5th month in Dec.

South Korean consumers’ confidence stayed below par for the fifth straight month in December as the economy loses steam on weak domestic demand, the central bank said Wednesday.The consumer sentiment index -- a gauge of consumers‘ overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending -- came in at 99 for December, unchanged from the previous month, according to a monthly survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK).A reading below the benchmark 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey

Dec. 26, 2012

Telecoms unveil new tool to fight Kakao Talk

The country’s three mobile carriers will team up and introduce a new communications service named “joyn” on Wednesday to compete with top mobile messenger Kakao Talk.SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus all announced Tuesday that they will release the Rich Communication Suite, which allows people to use a number of communication services ― such as Rich Call, Rich Messaging and Rich Phonebook ― in an integrated manner.Users who have downloaded the joyn service will be able to send messages up to 5,000 cha

IndustryDec. 25, 2012

Big firms’ 2013 employment similar to 2012: poll

New employment by South Korea’s top 500 companies next year is forecast to be similar to that of this year despite a prolonged global economic slowdown, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the survey of 500 companies conducted by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the top 288 companies by sales said that they will employ 32,521 people next year, a mere 1.3 percent drop from 32,936 people this year. By industry, recruitment by textile, food, machinery, steel, shipbuilding and petrochemi

Dec. 25, 2012

Daewoo Shipbuilding wins 1.9tr won order

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, said Tuesday that it has obtained a 1.9 trillion won ($1.8 billion) order to manufacture a fixed platform from Statoil ASA of Norway. Under the deal, Daewoo Shipbuilding will complete the fixed platform, a type of offshore platform used for the production of oil or gas, by the end of 2016, the South Korean shipbuilder said. The 31,000-ton fixed platform, which will produce 80,000 barrels of crude a day, will be installed o

IndustryDec. 25, 2012

IPOs, rights offerings hit lowest level since 1997 crisis

The value of initial public offerings and rights offerings on the South Korean stock market this year hit the lowest level since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, according to industry data. IPOs on the local stock market stood at 466.4 billion won ($434.5 million) so far this year, the lowest level since 1998 when they came to 300 billion won due to fallout from the 1997 crisis, according to data by the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Exchange. Rights offerings reached 1.65 trillion

Dec. 25, 2012

Financial sector to scrimp, eye overseas

The local financial sector plans to tighten its belt once again to prepare for a lackluster economy amid sluggish business conditions in the global markets. Costs will be kept to a minimum and efficiency maximized, while at the same time, financial companies will focus on increasing their overseas reach to develop new sources of profit, industry sources said on Tuesday. This won’t be the first time the sector has tried to streamline its operations, but sources said the situation could be a bless

Dec. 25, 2012

Hyundai-Kia’s hybrid sales surpass 100,000 units

Hyundai Motor Group has seen its accumulated sales of eco-friendly hybrid cars surpass the 100,000 mark recently, a milestone that comes just three years after their launch. According to industry sources on Tuesday, Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors sold 106,450 hybrid vehicles both in the domestic and foreign markets as of November since July 2009. This year alone, their hybrid car sales reached 56,203 units, a 69.1 percent jump from the same period last year. The two carmakers have in

IndustryDec. 25, 2012

Park backs voluntary shared growth push

Following is the fifth in a series of articles on President-elect Park Geun-hye’s key policies. ― Ed. Political parties, regardless of their political inclination, have called for better protection of neighborhood mom-and-pop shops, namely those who are struggling to compete against franchise stores owned by large conglomerates. After numerous failed attempts by past and present governments, President-elect Park Geun-hye has also come up with diverse measures to support small businesses. In a se

IndustryDec. 25, 2012