Korea should swiftly draft measures to meet surging demand from the aging population and deep-pocketed Arab and Asian consumers to sustain growth for the next 10 years, a trade association urged Wednesday. Over the next decade, the growing elderly population will be a significant factor driving the market around the world and create niche products, the Korea International Trade Association said in a report. The United Nations forecasts the number of people aged 65 or older will rise from 530 mil

IndustryJan. 11, 2012

Korea’s financial authorities are moving to deal sternly with stocks that move drastically in tandem with politician-linked rumors and other artificial factors. The Korea Exchange, which runs the KOSPI and KOSDAQ, said Wednesday it is considering halting the trading of shares immediately when they receive official investment warnings.The plan comes as a series of local stocks climbed erratically mainly due to market rumors and speculation generating a wide range of “themes,” including the politi

Jan. 11, 2012

Korea’s jobless rate fell last year from a year earlier, but its labor markets remain tough amid worries over a slowing economic recovery, a report showed Wednesday.The jobless rate stood at 3.4 percent in 2011, down 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the report by Statistics Korea. It is the lowest in three years.The report showed that the economy added 415,000 more jobs last year compared to the previous year, a jump from 323,000 jobs gained on-year in 2010.In December, ho

Jan. 11, 2012

South Korea’s financial regulator said Wednesday it plans to step up the inspection of the country’s major savings banks this year as part of its efforts to restructure the ailing sector.According to the Financial Services Commission, its executive body, the Financial Supervisory Service, is expected to sign an agreement with the state-run deposit insurer Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. to conduct annual inspections of savings banks with assets over 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) or those who have

Jan. 11, 2012

Hyundai Motor Co.’s Sonata has been named the best car of the year by two Chinese car publications, industry sources here said Wednesday.The Sonata, Hyundai Motor’s flagship mid-size sedan, was selected as 2011 car of the year by Auto Sohu, one of the most influential automobile Web sites in China with 70 million daily visitors, according to the sources.Based on Internet polls and expert advice, the Chinese media picked the Sonata as last year’s best car, citing the sedan’s stylish exterior desi

MobilityJan. 11, 2012

Losses blamed on KIC’s purchase of Merrill Lynch stakeKorea Investment Corporation, Korea’s sovereign wealth fund, suffered a net loss of 3.3 percent in terms of average yield last year, hurt by the turmoil in the global financial market and a massive loss linked to its investment in Merrill Lynch, industry sources said Wednesday. The main culprit for the deeper loss is KIC’s poor stock investment, particularly concerning its holdings in Merrill Lynch. In early 2008, KIC bought $2 billion worth

Jan. 11, 2012

Korea’s exports of steel products rose to a record high last year, buoyed by rising overseas demand and increased production capacity, a local steel association said Wednesday. Local steelmakers, led by leader POSCO, exported 28.48 million tons last year, up 9.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Iron and Steel Association.Exports accounted for 39.7 percent of total steel output. On the other hand, domestic firms imported some 22.96 million tons of steel products last year, fall

Jan. 11, 2012

SK Group on Tuesday announced that it has promoted 125 managerial employees, including 69 to new executive posts, as part of its regular reshuffle.Korea’s third-largest conglomerate by assets appointed new presidents for three affiliates. The appointees include Moon Jong-hoon at SK Marketing & Company, Kim Se-dae at Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel and Lee Moon-seok at SK Chemical’s green chemical business unit. The executive shake-up was aimed at accelerating the group’s overseas operations and making

IndustryJan. 11, 2012

Life insurance companies reported poor performances in their stock investments through equity-linked insurance products.Equity-linked insurance products, also known as variable insurance, invest part of customers’ premiums in the stock market.According to the Korea Life Insurance Association, life insurance firms posted -12.87 percent in combined rate of return in their stock investments through the variable insurance products last year.The figure is lower than the KOSPI’s year-on-year drop of 1

Jan. 11, 2012

Losses blamed on KIC’s purchase of Merrill Lynch stakeKorea Investment Corporation, Korea’s sovereign wealth fund, suffered a net loss of 3.3 percent in terms of average yield last year, hurt by the turmoil in the global financial market and a massive loss linked to its investment in Merrill Lynch,

Jan. 11, 2012

SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's jobless rate fell last year from a year earlier, but its labor markets remain tough amid worries over a slowing economic recovery, a report showed Wednesday.The jobless rate stood at 3.4 percent in 2011, down 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier, accordi

Jan. 11, 2012

SK Group carried out a reshuffle and promotions on Tuesday that affected about 120 officials at the corporation’s affiliates. Group officials said it minimized the scope of the personnel change to ensure the stability of its organizations.In the top management reshuffle, Sheraton Walkerhill hotel pr

IndustryJan. 10, 2012

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of memory chips and No. 2 handset maker, posted the largest revenue among global tech firms last year on the back of strong sales of smartphones, a financial information provider said Tuesday.Samsung Electronics’ 2011 sales reached $148.6 billion when its yearly revenue was converted into the dollar, according to data compiled by FnGuide Inc. The company estimated on Friday that it posted a record operating profit of 5.2 trillion won ($4.5 billi

TechnologyJan. 10, 2012