Korea, U.S. sign supplementary FTA accord

Korea and the U.S. have signed their recently concluded free trade  agreement, paving the way for the pending pact to be ratified in both countries, Seoul‘s trade ministry said Thursday.In December last year, both countries reached a final agreement focusing on U.S. demands that South Korea soften its automotive safety and environmental standards.The Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, known as the K

Feb. 10, 2011

Asiana Airlines posts all-time record profit

Asiana Airlines, the country’s No. 2 air carrier, reported record high yearly sales of over 5 trillion won ($4.51 billion) in 2010, buoyed by the rising demand for flights, its officials said Thursday.The company said that it reached 5.07 trillion won in sales, an increase of over 30 percent from 2009, and 635.7 billion won in operating profit last year. Both figures are the highest the company ha

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

Android smartphones top 5 million in Korea

Google-made mobile platform spices up competition against Apple’s iPhoneThe number of people who own an Android-powered smartphone has reached 5 million since it was launched in the local market a year ago.Of the people who own smartphones running on the Android mobile operating system, SK Telecom had the highest number of subscribers ― 3.72 million. It was followed by KT Corp., the exclusive serv

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

Stronger won an option to tame inflation

Currency appreciation would improve supply of imports, reduce currency volatility, economists sayA stronger won could help tame the country’s inflationary pressure, as a tool to ease the burden of surging import prices, economists said Thursday.Although tolerating a more expensive won would hurt exporters, the move will ease some supply shortage, they said. They predicted that further appreciation

Feb. 10, 2011

KNOC to spend $4 billion on overseas oil assets

Korea National Oil Corp., a state-run energy resources developer, plans to invest as much as $4 billion in overseas oilfields this year as it aims to increase crude production by 33 percent.“We’re interested in assets in Africa, Europe, Asia, the U.S. and Canada,” Kim Seong Hoon, senior executive vice president, said in an interview. “We plan to raise daily output by 60,000 barrels to 240,000 barr

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

LG Electronics accused of breaching Sony TV patents

LG Electronics Inc. was accused in two lawsuits by Sony Corp. of infringing eight patents for technology used in liquid-crystal display televisions and monitors.Sony filed two new complaints, each listing four patents, yesterday in federal court in Los Angeles. The Tokyo-based electronics maker said LG’s 32LD350 LCD television and E2360V LCD monitor are among the products that infringe its technol

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

Refiners’ profit margins not small: minister

New Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Joong-kyung Thursday reaffirmed the government’s intent to intervene in the local refining market to contain the recent petrol price hike.“The profit margins of local oil companies are 3 percent, even after giving out salaries. Considering that they do not have many other costs, the figure is not at all small compared to those of other manufacture industries,

Feb. 10, 2011

Woori draws 4 candidates for chairmanship

Woori Finance Holdings Co., Korea's top financial group, drew four candidates for its chairmanship, including the current chairman deemed highly likely to serve another term, financial sources said Wednesday.Woori Finance Chairman Lee Pal-seung applied for the top post and is seen as the most powerful candidate for the chairmanship amid ongoing government efforts to put the company in private hand

Feb. 9, 2011

Deutsche Bank brokerage unit faces suspension

The financial authority is poised to ask the prosecution to investigate Deutsche Bank AG and suspend part of businesses of the investment bank’s securities unit in Seoul for their alleged manipulation of stock prices, sources said Wednesday.According to several regulatory officials, Deutsche Bank’s brokerage unit in Seoul may face business suspension for “six months” ― the highest administrative s

Feb. 9, 2011

Extraordinary eurozone summit in March

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― Leaders of the 17-nation eurozone are to hold a special summit in mid-March to draft a plan of action to avoid a replay of the debt crises that shook the single currency last year.The 17 heads of state and government will meet in “mid-March,” the president of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy, said in a speech to the European parliament.Earlier a source close to the talks told AFP that the eurozone summit had been agreed for Sunday, March 13. But a major member state later i

IndustryFeb. 9, 2011

FSC to be tougher on credit card firms

The Financial Services Commission unveiled a comprehensive package to curb excessive competition among credit card companies on Wednesday, a precautionary measure to prevent another liquidity crunch amid growing risks of reckless card and loan issuance. The financial regulator said it plans to induce issuers to offer reasonable supplementary services that would not harm their profitability and con

Feb. 9, 2011

Samsung may supply ...display panels for iPad 2

Samsung Mobile Display is reportedly poised to supply liquid-crystal display panels for the next version of Apple’s iPad, industry sources said on Wednesday.According to sources, the company, established in January 2009, is in the final stage of talks on supplying its latest LCD panels for Apple’s iPad 2, which is expected to be released later this year.In response to such reports, a spokesman at

IndustryFeb. 9, 2011

Seoul petrol prices hit 30-month high

Policymakers, refiners argue over whether the cause is tax or profit marginsThe average price of regular unleaded gasoline in Seoul broke through the 2,000-won level for the first time in more than 30 months on Wednesday, despite the government’s recent efforts to control the country’s rising fuel prices.According to state-run Korea National Oil Corp., the price of regular unleaded gasoline on Tue

Feb. 9, 2011