An administrative court on Friday ruled in favor of five large retailers over new ordinances by two ward offices in Seoul that prohibit them from doing business on Sunday to protect small, family-run stores.The ruling by the Seoul Administrative Court marked the first of its kind putting a brake on a government-wide move to restrict operating hours of big retailers, also known as "super supermarke

IndustryJune 22, 2012

Officials at the Houston Zoo said the "Apps for Apes" program, which provides apes with iPad apps designed for children, helps mentally stimulate the primates.Zookeepers said the facility is the first in Texas to participate in the "Apps for Apes" program, which was developed by New York primate advocacy group Orangutan Outreach and pioneered at zoos in Wisconsin and Toronto. The program helps to

TechnologyJune 22, 2012

South Korean stocks dived 2.21 percent Friday on weak U.S. and Chinese economic data and lingering eurozone uncertainties, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 41.76 points to close at 1,847.39. Trading volume was very light at 286 million shares worth 4.27 trillion won (US$3.69 billion), with losers clearly

June 22, 2012

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday on weak U.S. manufacturing and employment data that caused an overnight tumble on Wall Street, analysts said.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 1.43 percent, or 26.93 points, to 1,862.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 2.28 percent, with top automaker Hyundai Motor also giving up 1.00 percent.T

June 22, 2012

Korean credit card firms are working to build their own international networks hoping to reduce dependence on Visa and MasterCard. Local credit cardholders and issuers pay tens of billions of won every year as royalties and commission to the multinational credit card giants. Visa and MasterCard have a combined market share of about 92 percent in Korea.Visa or MasterCard-branded credit cardholders pay 1 percent of the amount they spend abroad as commission to the duopoly. Koreans spent some $8.62

June 21, 2012

Free trade agreements with the European Union and the U.S. have contributed to lowering the product prices of their consumer brands, the nation’s antitrust watchdog said in a report Thursday. The Fair Trade Commission conducted a price survey on 22 bestselling import items following the FTAs with the EU and the U.S., that took effect here from July last year and March this year, respectively. Of the surveyed products, 15 items were found to have seen a moderate price cut, the FTC said. Dutch ele

IndustryJune 21, 2012

Lotte Duty Free will open on Friday a renovated cosmetics boutique at its Jamsil branch in southern Seoul. The duty free shop has expanded by 1,567 square meters and takes up both the ninth and tenth floors at the Lotte Department Store in Jamsil. The renovation is to meet the growing number of foreign tourists who are showing great interest in South Korean beauty products following “hallyu,” or the Korean Wave, said officials through statement. Officials said the sales of cosmetic goods have be

IndustryJune 21, 2012

Korea’s leading flag carrier Korean Air said Thursday it opened the direct route connecting Incheon and Nairobi, starting with its first flight at 10:15 p.m. the same day. It is the first time that Korea has opened a direct flight to an African country, which is also the first among neighboring Northeast Asian countries including Japan and China. Korean Air said it will operate a 226-seat A330-200 passenger jet to offer three weekly flights to the Kenyan capital. The flight time from Incheon is

IndustryJune 21, 2012

Local and import brands’ vehicle sales in Korea are projected to fall by 2.1 percent in 2012, compared to the previous year, an automotive research center said Thursday.In its second-half outlook on the world’s vehicle market, the Korea Automobile Research Institute predicted that global companies will see the pace of sales growth “slow down markedly.”Affected by the weaker consumer sentiment globally, the local market will see “the number of vehicle sales stay about 1.55 million units this year

IndustryJune 21, 2012

Dutch court rules in  favor of Korean firm; German court to give ruling FridaySamsung Electronics claimed its first victory in the global patent dispute with its rival Apple Inc. as a Dutch court ruled in favor of the Korean company, ordering the U.S. firm to pay damages over a patent violation in the Netherlands.A court in The Hague ruled Apple violated Samsung’s patent involving third-generation wireless telecommunications technology, which is used in some of Apple’s smartphones and tablet PCs

IndustryJune 21, 2012

A group of three people was caught smuggling, manufacturing and trading some 50,000 counterfeit products including designer handbags, the Korea Customs Service said Thursday.The total market value of the original items is estimated at over 50 billion won ($43.4 million).The three are suspected of distributing replicas which they smuggled from China or produced in Korea through retail dealers in Itaewon, Namdaemun, Busan and Jeju since January 2010. Some were sold to insurance companies to be giv

IndustryJune 21, 2012

Foreign bank branches in South Korea saw their overseas borrowing rise this year, reflecting stable economic conditions in the country, the nation’s financial regulator said Thursday.The combined foreign exchange borrowing by bank branches rose 9.8 percent, or $6.6 billion, from the end of 2011, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Of the total, money borrowed by bank branches on the market rose $4.3 billion, while those brought in from the lender’s main office moved up $2.3 billion, i

June 21, 2012

South Korea’s labor productivity fell in the first quarter of 2012 from a year earlier due to sluggish exports and weak domestic consumption, a government report showed Thursday.According to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the labor productivity index for all industries in the January-March period fell 2.3 percent on-year to 104.6, compared to 107 tallied a year earlier.The figure also decelerated from 107.2 reached in the fourth quarter of last year, it said.Labor productivity,

June 21, 2012

South Korea’s economic growth is expected to slow to 3.5 percent in 2012 from a 3.6 percent expansion last year as global uncertainties hurt exports, a private think tank said Thursday. In its growth outlook, Hyundai Research Institute said first half growth has been affected by protracted eurozone woes and sluggish economic conditions in the United States and China. It said such developments have hurt outbound shipments that play an important role in the country’s growth.The HRI’s forecast for

June 21, 2012

South Korean stocks fell 0.79 percent Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve failed to announce new economic stimulus measures to fuel growth of the world’s largest economy, analysts said. The local currency dipped against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gave up 14.97 points to close at 1,889.15. Trading volume was light at 369 million shares worth 3.72 trillion won ($3.23 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 421 to 402.“The Fed’s plan to maintain its current

IndustryJune 21, 2012