KT restores Internet access for Samsung's smart TVs

(Yonhap News) --  KT Corp., South Korea’s top fixed-line operator, on Tuesday resumed services for Internet-enabled TVs produced by Samsung Electronics Co., four days after it restricted access to its high-speed network, the country's telecommunications watchdog said.The service was resumed at

TechnologyFeb. 14, 2012

Homeowners’ debt grows faster than income in 2011

Debts held by homeowners in Korea grew faster than their income in 2011, data showed Tuesday, indicating that the slowing economy and heavy financial burden from housing loans are causing many to become the so-called “house poor.”According to the data offered by the Bank of Korea and Statistics Korea, household debt among homeowners came to 63.53 million won ($56,570) last year, up 12.9 percent from 56.29 million won a year earlier.Over the same period, their disposable income rose 9.3 percent f

Feb. 14, 2012

New finding suggests ‘super-Earth’ may be lifeless after all

Astronomers have discovered several candidates of so called “super-Earth,” potentially habitable planets outside solar system, raising anticipation to find extraterrestrial life forms.However, new study indicates such planets may be dry despite ideal distance to their stars.According to a research p

TechnologyFeb. 14, 2012

US, EU clear Google's $12.5B Motorola Mobility bid

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Google's $12.5 billion bid to buy cellphone maker Motorola Mobility has won approvals from U.S. and European antitrust regulators, moving Google a major step closer to completing the biggest deal in its 13-year history.Monday's blessings mean Google Inc. just needs to clear regu

IndustryFeb. 14, 2012

Siemens, Samsung may vie for $21 billion Russian rail link

Siemens AG and Samsung C&T Corp. are among the European and Asian companies that may vie to build and operate a $21 billion rail link between Moscow and St. Petersburg before the 2018 World Cup soccer tournament.Alstom SA, Bouygues SA of France, Italy’s Finmeccanica SpA and UniCredit SpA and a unit of South Korea’s Hyundai have also expressed interest in the high-speed link, said Yelena Shebunina, deputy head of OAO High-Speed Rail Lines, in an interview in Moscow. A Portuguese group led by Braz

Feb. 13, 2012

E-Land to buy fashion brand Coccinelle

E-Land Group, a Korean retailer, said Monday that it has clinched a deal to buy an Italian fashion brand in a bid to expand its presence in Asia’s fashion markets.Under the deal with Italy’s Marialla Burani Fashion Group, E-Land will purchase its fashion brand Coccinelle, a maker of leather goods. The company declined to reveal its takeover prices.E-Land said that the move will pave the way for it to expand its presence in emerging markets like China. The deal came as Coccinelle’s parent group i

IndustryFeb. 13, 2012

Samsung Heavy inks offshore facility deal

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a Korean shipbuilder, said Monday it has signed a $2.73 billion deal to build an offshore facility that processes natural gas.Under the agreement with Inpex Corp. of Japan, Samsung Heavy will construct the offshore gas processing facility by the end of 2015, the company said.The facility, 110 meters wide and high, is expected to be the world’s largest offshore plant once built, Samsung Heavy claimed.The facility will be built in Australia, it added.Shares of Samsung

IndustryFeb. 13, 2012

BOK to set up 1 trillion won credit line for SMEs

South Korea’s central bank said Monday that it will establish a 1 trillion won ($890 million) special credit line for small and medium enterprises in a bid to spur local lenders to increase loans to them.The move by the Bank of Korea, slated to take effect on April 2, comes as local banks remain reluctant to provide unsecured loans to SMEs with insufficient collateral.“The new credit line is designed to help high-risk smaller firms take out bank credit loans more easily,” a BOK official said.As

Feb. 13, 2012

Shares up following Greek bill approval

Korean stocks closed 0.6 percent higher on Monday as the Greece parliament’s approval of an austerity bill helped quell investor jitters over a possible Greek default, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI rose 12.03 points to 2,005.74. Trading volume was moderate at 447.1 million shares worth 5.69 trillion won ($5.07 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 484 to 324.“The course of a bailout package for Greece is yet to be determined, but the p

Feb. 13, 2012

Credit card firms vow to block revision of bill on commission rate

Financial regulator and card firms say move undermines market principlesThe Korean government and credit card companies on Monday expressed strong opposition to a revision of the Credit Finance Business Act that, if passed at the plenary session of the National Assembly, would authorize the Financial Services Commission to set the commission rates credit card firms collect from small merchants. Credit card companies said they would take steps to block a revision of the bill that they claim goes

Feb. 13, 2012