The prices of vegetables, including radishes, has skyrocketed recently due to increasing demands ahead of the kimchi-making season, government data showed Sunday.The season, which lasts for about two months through December, is when Koreans prepare kimchi for the winter, a major event in traditional Korean households as families prepare for the long, cold season when vegetables are scarce.“Kimchi” is a spicy fermented side dish made from cabbage, radish and various seasonings such as garlic, chi

IndustryOct. 21, 2012

South Korea and Qatar have reached a preliminary agreement to expand cooperation for joint investment in third countries.The memorandum of understanding, signed in Seoul between the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs and Qatar Holding LLC, outlines the creation of a joint infrastructure cooperation taskforce for such purposes.The joint taskforce will arrange consultative meetings twice a year, help concerned parties share information on prospective investment projects and carry out

IndustryOct. 21, 2012

A Japanese court has dismissed an injunction filed by South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. against U.S. smartphone manufacturer Apple Inc., finding no patent infringement as claimed by Samsung, a Japanese newspaper reported Saturday.According to the local daily, the Asahi Shimbun, a Tokyo district court rejected Samsung’s injunction on Sept. 14 and then again on Oct. 11. The South Korean company, the world’s largest supplier of smartphones, claimed Apple’s iPhone had violated its patents on tec

IndustryOct. 21, 2012

South Korean stocks are expected to show an upward movement this week though the movement range may be limited by external uncertainties that remain in the global market, analysts said.The country’s key stock index, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, closed 10.58 points or 0.54 percent higher from the previous week’s close at 1,943.84 last Friday.The index dropped more than 15 points on Friday alone following what market analysts called poorer-than-expected corporate earnings for the third q

Oct. 21, 2012

Large foreign marts are facing a backlash from South Korean merchants for being excluded from government sanctions to protect small retailers. The Korea Merchant Association announced on Sunday an investigation into Japanese “super supermarkets” within the week. Large Japanese supermarket chains in Korea include Trial and Valor, which have both been rapidly expanding in Korea since their launch here in 2005 and 2011, respectively. Both mark over 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) in total sales per y

IndustryOct. 21, 2012

LG Electronics said Sunday that its LTE smartphone sales in Korea topped 3 million units since the firm released its first model in the market in October 2011.Company officials said its variety in the LTE handset lineup, creative user experience, good quality after service and strong LTE patent portfolio contributed to improved sales on its home ground.Starting with the Optimus LTE a year earlier, LG has been rolling out models like the 5-inch Optimus Vu and the Optimus LTE 2, which was equipped

IndustryOct. 21, 2012

Financial consumers whose disposal income does not exceed 500,000 won ($450) will be ineligible to apply for a new credit card under new measures.“Irrespective of consumers’ personal credit standing, credit card firms will be allowed to issue a new card to those with monthly disposal income ― or total earnings minus debt payment ― above 500,000 won,” the Financial Supervisory Service said in a statement on Sunday.An FSS official said the action is designed to prevent issuers from recklessly doli

Oct. 21, 2012

The number of passengers on international flights to and from South Korea reached a record high in the third quarter on increased demand from Chinese and Japanese tourists.The number of international passengers reached 12.95 million in the July-September period, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier, according to statistics by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.The figure is 1.22 million higher than the previous quarterly record of 11.73 million during the same period last year.T

Oct. 21, 2012

Kolon Industries Inc., a leading South Korean textile maker, said Friday that it will fight U.S. Justice Department charges that it stole trade secrets, expressing deep regret over the legal action.The prosecutor of the Eastern District of Virginia on Thursday charged Kolon and five company executives for theft of trade secrets regarding aramid fiber products of DuPont Co. and Japan’s Teijin Ltd. Aramid is a class of heat-resistant, strong synthetic fiber.The Department of Justice’s allegations

IndustryOct. 19, 2012

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. forecast 3.8 percent economic growth for Korea next year, higher than this year’s projected 2.6 percent, as exports are expected to pick up on China’s economic recovery.Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian Economic Research for HSBC, told reporters here on Friday that the Korean economy faces a “challenging outlook for exports and industrial output” in the last three months of this year, but that economic growth would likely pick up in 2013 as Asia’s fourth-larg

Oct. 19, 2012

Carmaker reportedly wants to strengthen Korean operations but skeptics suspect plan to ‘cut and run’Industry rumors of GM Korea accosting state-run Korea Development Bank to sell its stake in the carmaker is bringing back old nightmares of what is referred to as a “cut-and-run” scheme. GM Korea is reportedly hoping to buy back its 17.02 percent stake from KDB, which is said to be hemming and hawing over the implications of the sale.Three years ago, Ssangyong Motor Co. ― the nation’s smallest aut

IndustryOct. 19, 2012