FSC, FSS to undergo six-week inspection by top audit agency

The Board of Audit and Inspection will launch an extraordinary inspection into the nation’s two financial regulators next Monday.The top auditor has informed the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service of its scheduled probe for the coming six weeks, regulatory officials said Friday.The officials said they do not rule out the possibility that the BAI may investigate the regulators’ ruling on Lone Star Funds, the biggest shareholder of Korea Exchange Bank.“The schedule

Jan. 6, 2012

LG Electronics to release Google TV in U.S. market

LG Electronics Inc., the world's second-largest flat-screen TV maker, said Friday that it will release a smart TV powered by Google Inc.'s software in the U.S. market later this year.The LG Electronics-manufactured Google TVs will be available on the U.S. market in the first half, the company said.

BusinessJan. 6, 2012

FSC, FSS under government inspection next week

The Board of Audit and Inspection will launch an extraordinary inspection into the nation’s two financial regulators next Monday.The top auditor has informed the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service of its scheduled probe for the coming six weeks, regulatory officials said Friday.The officials said they do not rule out the possibility that the BAI may investigate the regulators’ ruling on Lone Star Funds, the biggest shareholder of Korea Exchange Bank.“The schedule

Jan. 6, 2012

STX Energy to set up power plant

STX Energy plans to establish a power plant complex in the country’s east to reinforce its renewable energy business and related equipment manufacturing. The Korean energy provider said it struck an agreement with the government of Samcheok, Gangwon Province, for the project estimated at 8 trillion won ($6.9 billion). Under the deal, STX will build power generators focusing on renewable resources and marine bioenergy. It also plans to install production lines for related equipment. The company a

IndustryJan. 6, 2012

Seoul shares decline 1.11% on renewed Europe concerns

Korean stocks dropped 1.11 percent Friday on renewed eurozone concerns that shrugged off optimism about economic recovery, analysts said. The local currency declined sharply against the U.S. currency.The benchmark KOSPI fell 20.6 points to 1,843.14. Trading volume was heavy at 466.6 million shares worth 4.36 trillion won ($3.75 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 551 to 264.“Europe issues weighed heavily on the market, dragging down the key index,” said analyst Lee Seung-woo from Daewoo Se

Jan. 6, 2012

Luxury brands raise prices again

By Lee Ji-yoonSome European luxury brands have again raised their product prices from this year just a few months after they announced moderate price cuts following the free trade agreement between Korea and EU in July. French fashion house Hermes said Thursday that it has increased prices by 5 percent on average from Jan. 1, citing volatile foreign exchange rates and increases in material and labor costs. “The prices have been adjusted due to some changes in costs for production and distributio

IndustryJan. 6, 2012

Number of registered vehicles up 2.8% in 2011

The total number of registered vehicles in Korea rose to a new high last year as the number of people purchasing new vehicles also climbed to a 10-year high, the government said Friday.The number of registered vehicles grew 2.8 percent on-year to a little more than 18.43 million, with nearly 1.6 million new cars purchased in 2011, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.It said people writing off older cars also surged to an all-time high of some 1.1 million, up 18.4 pe

Jan. 6, 2012

Cattle breeding farms hit by oversupply, rise in import beef

Angry farmers protest over cattle price fall, hike of feeding costs The nation’s cattle breeding farms are being severely hit by the fall in beef cattle prices as a result of an oversupply of homebred cows and by soaring animal feed prices. Male dairy calves used for veal are put up for sale at 10,000 won per head, but it is still not easy to find buyers.A cattle breeder in Sunchang, North Jeolla Province, buried nine cows that starved to death earlier this week as he could no longer afford to f

IndustryJan. 6, 2012

Farm, fishery exports hit record high in 2011

South Korean exports of agricultural and fishery products jumped 30.8 percent on-year to a record $7.69 billion in 2011 thanks to greater demand, the government said Friday.Of the total, $4.37 billion were processed farm products, with fresh produce exports reaching just over $1.01 billion. Overseas shipments of fishery goods totaled just under $2.31 billion, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.The strong exports were propelled by the popularity of cigarettes,

Jan. 6, 2012

Korea Exchange to open spot oil trading system

Korea’s bourse operator said Friday it plans to open a spot oil electronic trading system in a bid to bolster the local transaction market and help stabilize energy prices. The trading system will begin preliminary operations in late March after test runs are conducted next month, with oil refiners and exporters expected to be the main sellers, according to the Korea Exchange. Franchise dealers and gas station owners will take part as buyers through the trading system. Any entrepreneur in the oi

Jan. 6, 2012

Samsung puts Q4 operating profit at record 5.2 trillion won

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of memory chips and smartphones, estimated on Friday that it had posted a record operating profit in the fourth quarter on the back of strong sales of smartphones.Operating profit estimated for the October-December period reached 5.2 trillion won (U

IndustryJan. 6, 2012

Eximbank raises $2.25b via debt sale

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Thursday it has issued dollar-denominated bonds worth $2.25 billion, the single biggest debt sale by a Korean institution excluding the government.The debt is composed of two-tranche global bonds maturing in five years and 10 years and three months, respectively, the policy lender said.The five-year bonds worth $1.25 billion carry an interest rate 3.15 percent above the corresponding U.S. state bond yields. The other tranche, worth $1 billion, are p

Jan. 5, 2012

Brokerages’ foreign units’ losses increase

Korean securities firms saw losses at their foreign operations widen in the first half of fiscal 2011 from a year earlier due mainly to heightened market uncertainties, the financial regulator said Thursday.The 93 foreign units of 19 local brokerages saw their combined net loss reach $43.3 million in the April-September period of last year, compared with $17.3 million a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The firms close their books on March 31.The weak bottom line came

Jan. 5, 2012

IT exports top record $156 billion in 2011

Korea’s information technology exports reached a record high of $156.97 billion in 2011 mainly due to strong overseas demand for smartphones and system semiconductors, a government report showed Thursday.The figure is a 2 percent gain from the $153.94 billion tallied in 2010 and marks the second year in a row that outbound shipments of IT products set new records, the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.Imports grew 7.8 percent to $81.52 billion with the country posting a trade surp

Jan. 5, 2012