Brokerages split over BOK's rate policy

Analysts from South Korean securities firms cast mixed forecasts for the central bank's interest rate policy this year as they are divided over the overall strength of the economic recovery, a survey showed Thursday.In a split decision, the Bank of Korea (BOK) froze the key rate at 2.75 percent for the third straight month on Friday as some economic indicators show signs of improvement despite the protracted economic slowdown. The BOK also cut its 2013 growth outlook to 2.8 percent from 3.2 perc

Jan. 17, 2013

S. Korea's producer prices fall most in over 3 years in Dec.

South Korea's producer prices fell by the most in more than three years in December mainly because the local currency sharply appreciated to the U.S. dollar, the central bank said Thursday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, fell 1.2 percent in December from a year earlier, compared with a 0.9 percent on-year fall in November, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The December figure marked the largest fall since a 3.1 percent on-year fall in October 2009.Compared

Jan. 17, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on large-cap gains

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Thursday, fueled by gains in large-cap shares, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 7.68 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,985.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top-cap Samsung Electronics inched up 0.13 percent, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor rising 1.6 percent. In contrast, utilities and textile firms lost ground, with state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power Corp. sliding nearly 2 percent. T

Jan. 17, 2013

Dutch court rules in favor of Samsung

A Dutch court on Wednesday ruled that Samsung Electronics did not infringe design-related patents of Apple Inc. for its Galaxy tablets, including the flagship 10.1.“We welcome the court’s decision as making unreasonable claims involving the general design will not be helpful for the consumers as well as for the development of the industry,” the Seoul-based company said in a statement. Samsung and Apple have been enmeshed in a high-profile patent battle for over a year now, with Samsung ordered t

IndustryJan. 16, 2013

Hyundai, Kia aim for 1.47 mln units sales in China

South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said Wednesday they are aiming to increase their combined sales in China by 10 percent to 1.47 million units this year. The sales target represents 20 percent of the carmakers' total global sales of 7.41 million units planned for this year, they said. The Chinese car market is expected to grow 9.6 percent to 13.94 million units this year from last year, but its outlook is not all upbeat due to the prolonged global e

IndustryJan. 16, 2013

Park’s pet ministry to buttress science, information and tech

The Ministry of Future Creation and Science, the tentative name for a new ministry formed by integrating two former ministries ― one for science and technology and the other for information and communication ― is expected to be one of the key pillars of the Park Geun-hye administration.From early on in her campaign, Park emphasized that one of her core election pledges would be to sharpen the nation’s science and technology edge. The new ministry is consequently expected to be the vehicle for Pa

Jan. 16, 2013

U.S. to lead global trade talks on services

The United States will kick off multilateral trade talks on service sectors with key countries and economic blocs including Korea, China, Japan and the European Union, the country’s top trade representative Ron Kirk said Tuesday.“The negotiations will begin in Geneva, Switzerland, with a group of 20 trading partners who represent nearly two-thirds of global trade in services,” he said in a statement.The trade chief had also sent his notification to U.S. Congress earlier in the day.The related ta

Jan. 16, 2013

N.K. confirmed behind JoongAng Ilbo hacking

North Korea is responsible for last year’s cyber attack on a Seoul newspaper that crippled its server and Web site, South Korean police said Wednesday.The National Police Agency (NPA) said the hacking method and Internet protocol (IP) addresses used for the attack on the JoongAng Ilbo, one of the country’s major conservative media outlets, were either similar or identical to those used by the North in previous attacks.A drawing of a white cat grinning and covering its mouth was posted on the Web

TechnologyJan. 16, 2013

Transition team hints at revising campaign promises

The transition team of President-elect Park Geun-hye will look into whether her campaign pledges are “too comprehensive” or “overlap” with each other, a spokesman said, hinting at the possibility that the committee could attempt to revise promised projects.Questions have grown over whether Park will be able to implement all of the welfare and other expensive projects promised during her campaign amid concern that it will be difficult to raise the enormous amount of money necessary for them witho

TechnologyJan. 16, 2013

Park to send special envoy to China next week

President-elect Park Geun-hye will send a delegation of special envoys to China next week to meet with China’s next leader Xi Jinping and other government officials, her spokesman said Wednesday.The delegation, led by Kim Moo-sung, a key official of Park’s presidential campaign last year, is scheduled to leave next Tuesday for a three-day visit that will include a courtesy call on Xi, spokesman Park Sun-kyoo told reporters at the presidential transition team’s office in Seoul.The other members o

TechnologyJan. 16, 2013

Ex-Shinhan executives receive suspended terms for embezzlement

Two former executives of the Shinhan Financial Group Co. received suspended prison terms on Wednesday for embezzling a massive amount of company funds, according to court officials.The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Shin Sang-hoon, former president of the country’s No.4 banking group, to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, for pocketing 261 million won ($246,458) of company money and illegally taking 200 million won worth of stocks from one of the group’s shareholders, they sai

TechnologyJan. 16, 2013

KCS to crack down on capital flight

Korea Customs Service is to follow the example of the National Tax Service and crack down on wealthy individuals and corporations that illicitly channel money out of the country to dodge tax payments.In a report to the transition team of President-elect Park Geun-hye, the KCS said that it would also toughen its inspections on corporations that have set up paper companies in offshore havens to avoid taxes.This is in line with efforts by the president-elect to secure a budget to finance welfare ex

Jan. 16, 2013

HHI wins mega-containership deal worth $600m

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s top shipbuilder, won a $600 million super-sized containership contract.In a contract recently closed in Hong Kong with Canadian marine corporation Seaspan, HHI agreed to construct five 14,000 TEU containerships, company officials said Wednesday.The corresponding top-priced deal was the first mega-sized containership order to be placed this year, as well as the first one since the $1.2 billion deal last July ― which, too, was signed by HHI.The completed ships

IndustryJan. 16, 2013

Whiskey sales plunge in 2012 on economic slump

Whiskey sales in South Korea fell sharply last year due to a persistent economic slump and sluggish domestic consumption, industry data showed Wednesday.According to data compiled by the Korea Alcohol & Liquor Industry Association, a total of 2.12 million boxes were sold last year, down 11.6 percent from 2.4 million boxes sold in 2011. Each box contains 18 0.5-liter bottles. With the latest decline, whiskey sales have declined for four consecutive years since 2009 when sales of the hard liquor d

Jan. 16, 2013

Eximbank sets aside W74tr for exporters

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Wednesday it will provide local exporting companies with 74 trillion won ($69.8 billion) in lending and loan guarantees to help their overseas shipments.Of the total, 50 trillion won will be provided in loans with the remaining 24 trillion won to be provided through guarantee, the policy lender said in a statement. The fund is the largest yearly amount set aside by the policy lender, it said, adding that 60 percent of it will be extended in the firs

Jan. 16, 2013

Candidate names circulate for deputy P.M., top financial regulators

With the presidential transition committee’s announcement of a government reorganization plan on Tuesday, names of possible candidates for top economic policymakers are being circulated among financial circles.They include three key ministerial posts: deputy prime minister in charge of overall economic policies, who will concurrently serve as finance minister; chairman of the Financial Services Commission; and governor of the Financial Supervisory Service.Among the leading candidates for the inc

Jan. 16, 2013

Korea to sharply hike capacity for power generation

In response to rising demand for electricity, the government plans to expand the nation’s electricity generation capacity to 110 million kilowatts by 2027, up 37.5 percent from the current 80 million kilowatts, officials said on Wednesday. The officials from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the plan will be included in the upcoming Sixth Basic Plan on Electricity Demand and Supply to be published by the ministry at the end of this month.The report, which has been released every two years s

Jan. 16, 2013

KT’s smartphone music service launched globally

Genie, KT’s music service for smartphones, has been launched in 45 countries across six continents, the mobile carrier said earlier this week.The company said that the smartphone-only music service launched globally on Tuesday, giving anyone with an Android handset access to the latest K-pop songs.The 45 countries include the U.S., Australia, Germany, France, Russia, Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, New Zealand, Mexico, India, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Brazil and Argentina.However, the serv

TechnologyJan. 16, 2013