Samsung’s retreat in Europe signals strategic turnaround

Samsung Electronics has dropped its request for a ban on the sale of a number of Apple’s smartphones and tablet computers in Europe, signaling it may be gearing toward a new strategy in the high-profile patent war with the iPhone maker. Samsung spokespeople said on Tuesday that the company has abandoned the request to “compete with actual products, and not with litigation.” Samsung also said it has acted “in the interest of protecting consumer choice.” The move came a day after a U.S. federal ju

IndustryDec. 19, 2012

Korea, Hong Kong agree on customs cooperation

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea and Hong Kong have agreed to cooperate on customs services, officials here said Wednesday. Joo Yung-sup, the commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, and Clement Cheung, the commissioner of Hong Kong Customs and Excise, signed the agreement Tuesday in Seoul on the sidelines of a customs cooperation conference between the two sides, Hong Kong officials said.The conference offered a platform for the customs offices from South Korea and from Hong Kong to update the

Dec. 19, 2012

Korea’s labor productivity drops in 3rd quarter

South Korea’s labor productivity fell from a year earlier in the third quarter amid the protracted economic slowdown, a report showed Wednesday.The country’s overall labor productivity moved down 1.8 percent on-year to 104 in the July-September period, led by losses in the construction industry, where the productivity index plunged 14.1 percent, according to a report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.Labor productivity is measured by dividing industrial output by labor input during a given pe

Dec. 19, 2012

Korea bans Brazilian beef imports over mad cow disease

Korea has suspended beef imports from Brazil due to fears of mad cow disease according to Valor, a Brazilian economic daily, on Tuesday. The Korean authorities could not be reached for confirmation Wednesday, a national holiday for the presidential election.South Korea became the sixth nation to ban Brazilian beef imports after China, Japan, South Africa, Egypt and Saudi Arabia after confirmation of a 2010 case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in Parana state by Brazil’s agr

Dec. 19, 2012

Volkswagen Korea aims to sell over 20,000 cars next year

Volkswagen Korea, the local importer of Germany’s Volkswagen Group, said Tuesday that it will seek to sell more than 20,000 vehicles in the South Korean market next year by strengthening its best-selling car lineup.“We set our 2013 sales target at 23,000 units with 35 percent growth from this year. Next year will be our second take-off for joining the 20,000 vehicle club,” said Volkswagen Korea in a statement.Volkswagen Korea sold 16,613 units through November this year, up nearly 42 percent on-

TechnologyDec. 19, 2012

Korean auto parts makers to further grow on China

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korean auto parts makers will likely continue to increase profits thanks to China’s automobile markets, a report said Wednesday.Parts makers with high earnings contributions from Chinese subsidiaries, such as Mando Corp., Sungwoo Hitech Co. and Hwashin Co., are expected to enjoy sound earnings growth, Woori Investment & Securities said in a report.“We believe that China will continue to post leading global auto sales growth in 2013 thanks to the Chinese government

Dec. 19, 2012

Samsung overtakes Nokia as top handset maker

Samsung Electronics overtook Nokia as the top mobile phone brand this year and took the lead over Apple in smartphones, a U.S. research firm said Tuesday. According to IHS iSuppli, the Korean electronics giant made 29 percent of global cell-phone shipments this year, up from 24 percent in 2011. Finland-based Nokia, however, saw its market share fall to 24 percent from 30 percent over the past year, ending its 14-year reign on top. In the meantime, Apple’s share slightly increased from 19 percent

IndustryDec. 19, 2012

Hyundai Hmall slapped with W54.2b tax fine

Home shopping company Hyundai Hmall said on Tuesday that it was slapped with a tax penalty from the National Tax Service for underpayment of sales tax. The fine is worth about 54.2 billion won ($50.5 million), which accounts for about 6.5 percent of the company’s 832.4 billion won in capital. The state-run tax agency imposed the penalty on the company for not following its sales commission tax policy, having paid less tax than other major home shopping firms for the last five years.Hyundai Hmall

IndustryDec. 19, 2012

LG defeats U.S. firm’s patent claims in German court

A German court has ruled in favor of LG Electronics Inc. on a technology patent suit filed by U.S. technology firm Rovi Corporation, company officials said Wednesday.The ruling handed down Tuesday by a court in Mannheim, Germany said that LG Electronics did not infringe on a patent on organizing preferred channels for televisions.In April last year, the U.S. electronic program guide solution provider filed for an injunction with the German court against LG Electronics to ban sales of its televis

TechnologyDec. 19, 2012

Intel smartphone chips as energy efficient as competitors: report

In a milestone that is expected to help Intel’s push into the smartphone and tablet markets, the Santa Clara, California, tech giant finally has made its brainy microchips as energy efficient as those from companies using a design by Britain-based ARM Holdings, which now dominate the mobile market, according to a new report.That’s important for Intel, which for years got the cold shoulder from phone and tablet makers because its power-hungry chips shortened the battery life of mobile devices. Wi

TechnologyDec. 19, 2012

Microsoft, HTC draw closer to create smartphone rally

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, on a swing through Taiwan this month, made time to meet with Peter Chou, his counterpart at HTC Corp.On Chou’s agenda: the low screen resolution that prompted HTC to scrap plans for a bigger smartphone using Microsoft’s mobile software, a person familiar with the matter said this week.Ballmer needs to stay on Chou’s good side. HTC could help his company vie with Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in the 718- million-unit smartphone market, where, ac

TechnologyDec. 19, 2012

Gap between real holidays and expectations

There‘s a gap between what the holidays should be and what they can be and the real holidays we live, a U.S. pediatrician says. Pediatrician Dr. George Askew said there is a big difference between the holidays people experience and the expectations we carry in our minds. “If we can’t do in our real holidays what we‘ve come to believe we should do, what then? If you have 10 holiday must-dos, and you can’t do all 10, shorten the list,” Askew said in a statement.“When you give yourself some room to

TechnologyDec. 19, 2012

Samsung is top 2012 phone brand, ousting Nokia

Samsung has overtaken Nokia as the top mobile phone brand for 2012 and has opened up a decisive lead over Apple in the smartphone market, a research firm said Tuesday.This will mark the first time in 14 years that Finnish-based Nokia will not sit atop the global mobile phone business on an annual basis, according to IHS iSuppli.Samsung is expected to account for 29 percent of worldwide cellphone shipments, up from 24 percent in 2011, according to the IHS, which said Nokia's share dropped to 24 p

IndustryDec. 19, 2012

S. Korea halts Brazil beef imports over mad cow

South Korea has suspended its imports of Brazilian beef, becoming the sixth country to do so over a two-year-old case of mad cow disease, authorities said here Tuesday.South Korea joined China, Japan, South Africa, Egypt and Saudi Arabia in halting Brazilian imports in connection with an atypical case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) that was detected in an animal that died in 2010 in the southern state of Parana, the agriculture ministry said.The six countries take in only 3.8 percent

IndustryDec. 19, 2012

Smartphone makers post wins on separate continents

Apple and Samsung, the world's top two smartphone makers, each scored a significant victory on different continents that will allow both to keep selling their products without legal interference this holiday season.A federal judge in San Jose late Monday rejected Apple Inc.'s demands to block U.S. sales of three smartphones made by Samsung Electronics Corp. The ruling came weeks after a jury found that Samsung infringed six Apple patents.Hours later, Samsung announced it was dropping its demands

TechnologyDec. 19, 2012