E-commerce sales jump to all-time high

Korea’s e-commerce sales jumped to an all-time high in 2011 as cyber transactions grew sharply between businesses, a government report showed Thursday.Online sales totaled about 999 trillion won ($884.9 billion) last year, up 21.2 percent from the 824 trillion won tallied in the previous year, according to the report by Statistics Korea.Business-to-business transactions, which accounted for more than 90 percent of all cyber sales, came to 912.56 trillion won, up 22.1 percent from a year earlier.

IndustryFeb. 23, 2012

Facial cosmetic surgery shaves off 9 years

TORONTO (UPI) -- Patients looked almost nine years younger than they actually were after facial cosmetic surgery, researchers in Toronto found.Dr. Nitin Chauhan of the University of Toronto and colleagues attempted to quantify the change in perceived age, which may provide objective evidence of the

TechnologyFeb. 23, 2012

S. Korean scientists develop enhanced container for hydrogen fuel

South Korean scientists have developed an enhanced material to contain hydrogen fuel that could significantly reduce the size of containers while holding more fuel, the government said Thursday.The new material could help speed up the development of hydrogen-fuel cars while improving the efficiency and overall competitiveness of such vehicles, as it will help reduce the size of fuel tanks, according to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. The ministry partly funded the research by

TechnologyFeb. 23, 2012

Study: Y chromosome not going 'extinct'

A study has contradicted the notion the male sex-determining Y chromosome is steadily shedding genes and is doomed to degenerate, U.S. researchers say. In a 2002 article in Nature, two Australian researchers examined the rate at which the Y has withered and estimated it "will self-destruct in aro

TechnologyFeb. 23, 2012

Study: 1-of-6 U.S.surgeons abuse alcohol

More than 15 percent of U.S. surgeons in an anonymous survey self-reported disorders consistent with alcohol abuse or dependence, researchers said.Dr. Michael R. Oreskovich of the American College of Surgeons in Chicago and the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues collected more than 7,

TechnologyFeb. 23, 2012

Antitrust watchdog to probe retail giants in March

The nation’s antitrust watchdog said Wednesday that it will launch a large-scale investigation into unfair business practices at major department stores and supermarket chains next month. The Fair Trade Commission also plans to revise a leniency program so that when two companies are caught price-fixing only the first declarer has its fines cut.“We will look into how commission cuts, agreed in September, are carried out at 11 major retailers and whether there are any illegal business activities

IndustryFeb. 22, 2012

Korea to invest 16 tln won in scientific R&D in 2012

South Korea will invest about 16 trillion won ($14.2 billion) in scientific research and development (R&D) efforts this year, a presidential body said Wednesday.The amount is up 7.6 percent from the 14.89 trillion won set aside for the same purpose last year, according to the National Science and Te

Feb. 22, 2012

Korean makers beat Japanese rivals in global TV market

A recent research said Wednesday that Korean TV makers sold more units of flat-screen televisions sets compared to its Japanese rivals for the first time globally.According to market research firm DisplaySearch, Korea recorded 34 percent in market share in terms of total TV units sold globally in the final quarter of last year, while Japan’s market share reached 31 percent.The Korean TV makers ― Samsung and LG Electronics ― have been beating its Japanese rivals in global quarterly sales volume o

IndustryFeb. 22, 2012

SK Group, global companies to join petrochemical project in China

SK Group said on Wednesday it will take part in a project to build a major petrochemical complex in China with global petrochemical companies such as China’s Sinopec and British Petroleum.SK said it signed a preliminary deal with Sinopec and BP on Wednesday to build production facilities for butanediol, acetic acid and ammonia in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing by as early as 2014.The 1.2-trillion-won complex will break ground as early as July or August, and is expected to reap more t

IndustryFeb. 22, 2012

Automobile parts suppliers gain on Korea-U.S. FTA

Auto parts makers and shipping shares rose on expectations their revenue will rise with the start of Korea-U.S. FTA in a market that barely moved on Wednesday.The KOSPI inched up 0.22 percent to close at 2028.65, with gains led by auto parts maker Mando Corp., Hyundai Mobis Co., each rising 1.85 percent to 165,500 won and 1.62 percent to 281,500 won.The pact, which will take effect on March 15, calls for the elimination of 2.5 percent to 10 percent duties on auto parts. “The 2.5 percent tax on a

Feb. 22, 2012

‘U.S. FTA to boost exports, hurt farming, services’

Seoul plans to renegotiate ISD clause with Washington via service and investment committeeThe Korea-U.S. free trade agreement will take effect on March 15, nearly six years after negotiations began in June 2006, making Korea the only nation to have FTAs with both the U.S. and the European Union.Free trade with the world’s largest economy, which accounts for 23 percent of the global output, is expected to upgrade Korea’s status as a trade partner and most immediately benefit the country’s auto, a

Feb. 22, 2012

Korea’s trade to grow 142% by 2026: HSBC

HSBC has predicted that Korea would overtake the U.K. in trade ranking within 15 years by seeing a cumulative growth of 142 percent in trade volume by 2026.The projection for Korea by HSBC Global Connections far surpasses the figure for the world’s trade volume. It forecasts that the world’s trade will expand 86 percent by 2026.“Countries that will see increases in their share of world trade to 2026 include South Korea, which will replace the U.K. as the sixth-largest trading nation due to trade

Feb. 22, 2012

Household credit tops 900 trillion won in Q4

Korea’s household credit surpassed the 900 trillion won ($801 billion) mark in the final quarter of last year, as household loans extended by non-bank institutions increased, the central bank said Wednesday.Household credit totaled a record 912.9 trillion won as of the end of December, up 22.3 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. Compared with one year earlier, the fourth-quarter household credit rose 7.8 percent, with the growth rate decreasing from the two pr

Feb. 22, 2012

Nonlife insurers expect losses in car insurance

Korean nonlife insurers are expected to suffer losses in their car insurance business for the 2011 fiscal year, largely due to massive payouts caused by the downpour that battered the country last summer, data showed Wednesday. The combined losses of 14 local nonlife insurers reached 321.8 billion won ($286.0 million) in the April-December period in 2011, according to the nonlife insurance association data. The association said losses worth 56.2 billion won were tallied as a result of the heavy

Feb. 22, 2012

KB Financial seeks joint bids for ING Life

KB Financial Group chairman Euh Yoon-dae expressed his willingness to collaborate with Samsung Life Insurance to take over ING Life’s Asia-Pacific operations.“ING Life is operating seven or eight units in the Asia-Pacific region. We have no capability to buy all of them,” he told reporters on Wednesday.If ING Life sells off only the ING Korea unit, KB Financial could participate in the coming bidding as a single bidder, he said.But if the company chooses to sell its entire Asia-Pacific operation

Feb. 22, 2012