Korean Air Lines Co. said Friday that it has been picked as one of the best foreign carriers in a poll of Chinese consumers by an international travel magazine.The monthly Wue Lu, the Chinese edition of New York-based Travel and Leisure magazine, included South Korea’s largest flag carrier among foreign airlines “welcomed” by Chinese travelers.The announcement was made at the China Travel Award event held in Shanghai, with the airlines being picked based on reviews by ordinary consumers, travel

Jan. 13, 2012

Korea should not stay optimistic about inflation situations for this year, the nation‘s finance minister said Friday, urging all government agencies to do their best to stabilize prices. “Though the central bank and many private think tanks predict that things will improve this year from last year, we cannot remain optimistic given inflation conditions at home and abroad early this year,” Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told a price stabilization meeting. Korea’s consumer prices jumped 4 percent l

Jan. 13, 2012

Korea‘s petrochemical companies hope to further increase their exports after they climbed to a record high last year, a local industry group said Friday.The country’s exports of petrochemical products, such as plastic and fertilizers, reached US$45.5 billion in 2011, up 27.5 percent from $35.7 billion worth of products shipped a year earlier, according to the Korea Petrochemical Industry Association.The association, however, said the growth rate this year will likely slow down significantly to a

IndustryJan. 13, 2012

Korea’s annual import prices rose at the fastest clip in three years primarily due to spikes in international crude oil and commodity costs, the central bank said Friday. In local currency terms, the country‘s import prices grew 13.4 percent in 2011 from one year ago, accelerating from a 5.3 percent expansion tallied in 2010, according to the Bank of Korea. Last year’s growth was the highest reached since 2008, when import prices jumped 36.2 percent from the previous year as the Korean won depre

Jan. 13, 2012

CES ends after featuring thousands of OLED and 3-D smart TVs, tablets, smartphones, ultrabooksLAS VEGAS -- The 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show showcased a wide array of gadgets over four days here from 3-D and smart televisions to tablet PCs and ultrabooks to the new Organic Light-Emitting Diodes TV.The event, organized by U.S.-based Consumer Electronics Association, was joined by 2,700 exhibitors and 140,000 people from 140 different countries from Jan. 10-13.“At CES, we’re in the

TechnologyJan. 13, 2012

Hyundai Motor Co. sued two union leaders on charges of illegally directing a strike at engine plants this week, demanding the carmaker compensate a union member who set himself ablaze in protest.It is highly unusual for a Korean company to take legal action against a union leadership that is less than two months old.Hyundai Motor said on Friday it filed a suit against union chief Moon Yong-moon and vice chief Kim Hong-kyu for obstruction of business to the Ulsan Dongbu Police Station.The carmake

IndustryJan. 13, 2012

Korean stocks ended 0.6 percent higher Friday, as good debt sales in Italy and Spain whetted investor sentiment with more hope for a resolution to the eurozone crisis, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark KOSPI gained 11.11 points to 1,875.68. Trading volume was moderate at 468.1 million shares worth 5.87 trillion won ($5.1 billion) with gainers outnumbering losers 432 to 384.“Spain sold twice as much debt than it wanted and that certainly came

Jan. 13, 2012

GM Korea CEO resigns suddenly; Buttermore assumes interim chiefGeneral Motors is considering moving car production from South Korea to Europe, the British Telegraph newspaper said Friday. The plan, yet to be confirmed, is intended to revive the troubled Opel and Vauxhall arms, the Telegraph said, adding that some Chevrolet production lines might be transferred back to Europe to bolster its production lines there.“We are not going to comment on speculation, but management, the works council and t

MobilityJan. 13, 2012

South Korea's central bank on Friday left the key interest rate unchanged for the seventh straight month due to still-high consumer inflation even as the eurozone debt crisis is feared to dent economic growth.Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his fellow policymakers held the benchmark 7-da

Jan. 13, 2012

LONDON (AP) — A new study of fertility treatment found that women who get three or more embryos have no better odds of having a baby than those who get just two embryos.They also have a greater chance of risky multiple births."Women who have gone through infertility treatment want the best cha

TechnologyJan. 13, 2012

The nation's cable TV system operators (SOs) took bold action on Thursday to prompt terrestrial TV networks to charge lower fees for using their programs, threatening to stop relaying both standard and high-definition programs of the terrestrial channels early next week.   The SOs and thre

IndustryJan. 12, 2012

Damage to Korea’s farming industry from a free trade agreement with China may reach up to $2.8 billion, reports said Thursday, urging the Seoul government to be cautious in its FTA negotiations with China.During his trip to Beijing, President Lee Myung-bak agreed with Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao to declare the official start of negotiations for an FTA within the next month or two.A report from the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy said production by the country’s agriculture an

Jan. 12, 2012