South Korean stocks closed 1.19 percent lower Monday as investors moved to the sidelines on jitters over slowing growth in major economies such as China and the United States, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 22.07 points to 1,836.13. Trading volume was light at 277.6 million shares worth 3.3 trillion won ($

July 9, 2012

The Supreme Court has confirmed a three-year prison term for a member of LG Group family convicted of stock manipulation and embezzlement, court officials said Monday.Koo Bon-hyun was convicted of pocketing around 13.9 billion won(US$11.7 million) of illegal profits by manipulating the stock price of Exa E&C Inc., through spreading false information about the company during the process of taking o

IndustryJuly 9, 2012

A British survey found about half say social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter feed anxiety and make them feel inadequate. The Salford Business School at the University of Salford in Manchester, England, conducted the survey of almost 300 people for the non-profit Anxiety UK, and found of the 50 percent who said their lives had been altered for the worse said their confidence fell after com

TechnologyJuly 9, 2012

More and more local enterprises are actively liquidating their assets to secure cash as much as possible, as economic uncertainties drag on from the eurozone debt crisis.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the amount of assets Korean firms sold during the first half nearly doubled from the previous year.The regulatory data showed that local firms sold a total of 780.7 billion won ($690 million) worth of tangible assets in the six-month period, compared with 404.8 billion won over the

July 8, 2012

Sales of cars made by South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. surged 16.6 percent on-year in the first half of 2012 in Britain, due to the popularity of new models, company sources Sunday.Sources said data by the U.K.’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, showed combined sales reaching 68,646 units in the six-month period, with the two companies’ market share hitting 6.5 percent for a gain of 0.8 percentage point from the year before.Hyundai and Kia are flagship companies of

IndustryJuly 8, 2012

South Korea’s franchise industry is bracing for tough times in the second half of this year mainly due to a slowdown in economic growth, a corporate poll showed Sunday.The survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 300 franchise organizations showed the business forecast index for the six-month period hitting just 73, which is far below the break-even 100-point mark. An index reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists in terms of future outlook.“The weak number

IndustryJuly 8, 2012

A new IT platform called “wearable computing,” which allows users to perform computer functions via the use of high-tech products such as glasses, is drawing close attention in the global tech industry. These products are capable of integrating graphics and other sensory information, or computer-generated reality, directly into the eyes of users, creating an overlap between the “real” world and a “computer-generated” or virtual world. Google co-founder Sergey Brin displayed a type of augmented r

TechnologyJuly 8, 2012

Religious leaders prefer voluntary payment to binding income taxesThe Ministry of Strategy and Finance is poised to propose a bill on the taxation of religious groups as part of the 2012 Tax Law amendment to be made on Aug. 8. Aimed at ensuring the equal application of income taxes, the bill would impose income tax on Korean religious societies that have been exempt since the nation’s foundation. According to ministry officials, the bill will be included either in this year’s revision of the Tax

July 8, 2012

The North Korean economy is believed to have marginally grown last year after contracting for two straight years on increased agricultural production, South Korea’s central bank said Sunday.The Bank of Korea estimated that the communist country’s economy grew 0.8 percent on-year in 2011, compared with a 0.5 percent contraction a year earlier. The 2011 data contrasted with a 3.6 percent expansion of the South Korean economy.The South Korean central bank had earlier estimated that the North’s econ

July 8, 2012

South Korean stocks will be influenced by the upcoming Bank of Korea meeting that sets the country’s key interest rate, and other domestic and overseas economic developments, local analysts said Saturday.The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, closed at 1,858.2 on Friday, a gain of 0.8 percent from the week before.The modest gain came about after leaders at the European Union summit agreed on a plan to alleviate financial market jitters, and both the United States and China announced new stimu

July 8, 2012

A U.S. appeals court on Friday rejected Samsung Electronics Co.’s request to allow the sales of its tablet computer until its patent dispute with Apple Inc. is concluded, sources said Friday.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said the injunction imposed by a lower California court remains binding and that the South Korean tech giant cannot sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country until its legal dispute with Apple is resolved.The District Court of Northern California on June 26 acc

TechnologyJuly 8, 2012

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings will send its officials to South Korea this week for an annual meeting with the nation’s key economic and financial policymakers, the finance ministry said Sunday.The delegation led by Andrew Colquhoun, head of its Asia-Pacific sovereign team, is scheduled to start the three-day talks on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.During the visit, the delegation will have talks with officials from the finance ministry, the Bank of Korea, the

July 8, 2012

South Korea’s state-run mineral development corporation set up a joint venture with its Bolivian counterpart to develop lithium in the South American country, sources said Friday.Seoul’s embassy in La Paz said a consortium made up of Korea Resources Corp. and POSCO, South Korea’s leading steelmaker, signed a deal to create a lithium venture with Comibol, Bolivia’s mineral development corporation.Under the agreement reached Thursday, the new company will make anodes and cathodes for electric vehi

IndustryJuly 8, 2012

Group denies FTC accusation involving SK C&CThe nation’s antitrust watchdog said Sunday that it has fined seven business units in SK Group 34.6 billion won ($30.3 million) for unfairly supporting another IT outsourcing firm, SK C&C, whose largest shareholder is chairman Chey Tae-won.It is common in Korea for major conglomerates to have their own system integration affiliate be responsible for the management and operation of the computer systems of the entire group. According to the Fair Trade Co

IndustryJuly 8, 2012

FSS investigating risk calculation in medical insurance premiumsThe Financial Supervisory Service is set to conduct a investigation into the non-life insurance sector amid allegations that some companies improperly calculated risk for medical insurance premiums.Several insurers have recently raised fees by more than 50 percent, arguing that risk factors increased, according to regulatory officials. The regulator’s probe will target eight insurance firms selling medical insurance products. They a

July 8, 2012

General Motors, the world’s largest automaker, is worried that Europe’s economic weakness will affect the second half of 2012, the company’s top executive said. “You can see softness in Europe,” Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson told an audience at the Executives’ Club of Chicago. “If there were a meltdown in the euro, which I don’t think there will be, I think it would be pretty impactful on, certainly, the United States” and China. Akerson, who oversaw GM regaining its title of world’s large

MobilityJuly 8, 2012