Apple ‘pinch-to-zoom’ patent deemed invalid

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― A filing Wednesday in a high-stakes legal battle between Samsung and Apple revealed that a “pinch-to-zoom” patent central to the case has been deemed invalid.The patent was a centerpiece of a trial that ended in August with a jury ordering Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages for illegally copying iPhone and iPad features for its flagship Galaxy S smartphones.Samsung provided U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh a copy of a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office preliminary dete

TechnologyDec. 20, 2012

Corporate sector welcomes Park’s win

Organizations representing local industries mostly welcomed Saenuri Party Park Geun-hye’s election to president, but made big demands the incoming government to help promote fair competition in the corporate sector. “The leadership of the next president will play a critical role for our country to navigate the very tough times we face today in the form of an overall anemic economy defined by contracting exports, sluggish consumption and growing household debt,” the Federation of Korean Industrie

Dec. 20, 2012

Samsung Engineering wins $1.5b Saudi Arabia order

Samsung Engineering Co., South Korea’s largest industrial plant builder, said Thursday that it has secured a $1.5 billion order to build a power plant in Saudi Arabia.Under the deal with Saudi Arabia’s Saline Water Conversion Corp., the South Korean company will build the 3,100-MW power plant in Yanbu, 350 kilometers north of the country’s second-largest city of Jeddah by December 2016.The power plant will supply electricity to the Yanbu Industrial complex, Samsung said.“This order represents Sa

IndustryDec. 20, 2012

U.S. imposes heavy duties on Korean washers

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. Commerce Department announced Wednesday that it has reached a final decision to slap heavy anti-dumping duties on South Korean-made washing machines.In a ruling described by the American firm Whirlpool Corp., the department determined that LG, Samsung and Daewoo have sold large washers in the U.S. at “dumping margins of 9.29 percent to 82.41 percent.”The anti-dumping duties for the two leading South Korean makers of electronics products ― LG and Samsung ― were

IndustryDec. 20, 2012

GM Korea recalls 7,000 cars over defective shaft

GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., is recalling more than 7,000 cars sold here for a defective shaft in the transmission that may break, causing the loss of power, the government said Thursday.The recall affects 4,649 Lacetti compact vehicles and 2,606 Chevrolet Captiva family SUVs that were produced between July 24, 2008 and May 29, 2012, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.Renault Samsung Motors Co., the local unit of France’

Dec. 20, 2012

Shares edge up on U.S. budget cut talks

South Korean stocks closed slightly higher Thursday as investors stayed on the sidelines following another bump on the U.S. fiscal spending talks overnight, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 6.41 points to finish at 1,999.50. Trading volume was moderate at 416.2 million shares worth 5.43 trillion won ($5.05 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 408 to 395. “All that investors are waiting for now is for the U.S

Dec. 20, 2012

Financial sector wary of Park’s economic democratization drive

The financial sector is on high alert to keep tabs on where the incoming government’s “economic democratization” policies are headed.Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye had laid out a much more moderate approach to economic democratization compared to her rival Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party, but scrutiny on the financial sector is likely to grow under her rule compared to the incumbent government.First of all, if Park strongly pushes for various measures to resolve the household debt prob

Dec. 20, 2012

Park’s victory good for Korean markets: investors

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― The victory of a conservative contender in South Korea’s presidential election is seen to be rather positive for Asia’s fourth-largest economy and its markets, with no drastic change in the country’s policies expected, market watchers said Thursday.Park Geun-hye, a candidate from the conservative ruling Saenuri Party, won a tight but decisive election victory earlier in the day, becoming South Korea’s first female president-elect. Park, the daughter of the late Presiden

Dec. 20, 2012

LG to take part in U.S. project for smart grid

LG Electronics said Thursday it agreed to take part in a smart grid project with U.S.-based Pecan Street Inc. in Austin, Texas.The firm will participate in the project as a member of the industry advisory council and will provide expertise in the research of smart homes, energy management and consumer electronics until 2015.LG’s primary focus will be on the development of effective home energy management systems, according to its officials.The company will install its advanced air conditioners,

IndustryDec. 20, 2012

KT, NISA to aid building data center in Brunei

Mobile carrier KT said Thursday that it has signed an agreement with the National Information Society Agency to join a development consulting project to build a state-run National Data Center in Brunei.Through the project, Brunei will be able to establish an information center to hold and process industrial data. The total consulting expenses for building the NDC in the Southeast Asian state amount to about 2.8 billion won ($2.6 million), the mobile carrier said. KT added that the consulting pro

TechnologyDec. 20, 2012

Card service fees on 2 million retailers cut

The burden of small and mid-sized retailers will be eased as the Financial Supervisory Service has instructed credit card companies to slash their transaction service fees.Over the past few years, some 1 million retailers continued to demand credit card issuers to cut the service charge for consumers’ payments for goods with their credit cards.After talks between the regulator FSS and the credit card industry, about 2 million retailers will see service fees lowered to a level deemed more reasona

Dec. 20, 2012

Samsung set to see record profit in Q4: analysts

Samsung Electronics is expected to reach a new record high in its fourth-quarter earnings with the arrival of the industry’s seasonal peak during the year-end holiday season.Local analysts are projecting that the global IT behemoth’s sales and profit figures will further hit the firm’s highest ― up as high as 55.65 trillion won ($50 billion) and 8.83 trillion won, respectively ― from October to December.Samsung has been renewing its profit figure quarter after quarter with the firm logging a rec

IndustryDec. 20, 2012

Shinhan acquires stake in Indonesian bank

Shinhan Bank, the flagship unit of South Korea’s No. 4 banking group, Shinhan Financial Group Co., said Thursday it has signed a deal to acquire a stake in an Indonesian bank.Under the deal, the South Korean bank will purchase a 40 percent stake in Bank Metro Express, whose net assets stand at $70 million, with non-performing loans accounting for 0.72 percent.A non-performing loan refers to debts that have been overdue for more than three months and thus put creditors at a high risk of being una

Dec. 20, 2012

S. Korean corporate failures hit 8-month low in Nov.

The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies fell to the lowest level in eight months last month amid the protracted downturn, the central bank said Thursday. The number of firms that went belly-up totaled 93 last month, compared with 116 in October, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).It is the lowest since 90 firms recorded in March. The on-month drop in corporate bankruptcies is largely attributable to the economic situation not becoming any worse amid continued government efforts to bo

IndustryDec. 20, 2012

Seoul shares open higher on new gov't hopes

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Thursday, boosted by expectations for the president-elect and her new government scheduled to take office next year, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 11.48 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,004.57 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday, ruling conservative candidate Park Geun-hye won the presidential election against rival Moon Jae-in of the liberal opposition by garnering 51.6 percent of the vo

Dec. 20, 2012

U.S. imposes heavy duties on Korean washers

The U.S. Commerce Department announced Wednesday that it has reached a final decision to slap heavy anti-dumping duties on South Korean-made washing machines.In a ruling described by the American firm Whirlpool Corp., the department determined that LG, Samsung and Daewoo have sold large washers in the U.S. at "dumping margins of 9.29 percent to 82.41 percent."The anti-dumping duties for the two leading South Korean makers of electronics products -- LG and Samsung -- were set at 13.02 percent and

IndustryDec. 20, 2012