Farm Ministry vows efforts to boost food exports in 2012

South Korea will work to boost its food exports by more than 30 percent to $10 billion as part of its policy goals for next year, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Friday.The move comes as the country is expected to implement its free trade agreement with the United States in early 2012, which, the ministry earlier said, could lead to a reduction of 12.67 trillion won ($10.9 billion) in production by the country‘s agricultural, farming and fisheries industries.“The b

Dec. 16, 2011

Losses from KOSDAQ misconduct up

Losses incurred due to embezzlement and malpractice by KOSDAQ-listed company officials jumped 44.6 percent this year, data showed Friday, raising investment concerns on South Korea’s secondary stock market.Losses amounting to 407.2 billion won ($352.9 million) were estimated to have been incurred through 24 cases of misconduct such as embezzlement and corporate negligence in 2011, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service, South Korea’s financial watchdog.The tally includes embe

Dec. 16, 2011

Gori nuclear reactor resumes operation

South Korea on Friday resumed operation of a nuclear reactor recently shut down due to problems detected in its electric generator, plant operators said.The reactor at Gori Nuclear Power Plant in Ulsan, 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was expected to reach its full output early Saturday, following its resumption of operation at 5:50 a.m. Friday, according to the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.The state-run nuclear plant operator had to shut down the reactor with a capacity of 950,000 kilowatt

Dec. 16, 2011

Household loans post highest growth in 11 months

Household loans offered by South Korean depository institutions posted the highest growth in 11 months in October on home loans, the central bank said Friday, complicating the government’s efforts to curb private sector debt.Household lending handled by local banks and non-bank institutions totaled 634.3 trillion won ($548 billion) as of the end of October, up 5.7 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The October data marked the largest monthly expansion since a 6.

Dec. 16, 2011

Kia Motors grabs highest China market share in 6 years

Kia Motors grabs highest China market share in 6 yearsKicker: Kia‘s Morning named best city car in FranceKia Motors Corp. captured its highest share of the Chinese market in six years in November, gaining momentum in the world’s most populous market, company officials said Friday, Kia posted a China market share of 4.1 percent last month, the largest since October 2005 when it reached 4.7 percent.Kia achieved record China sales of 45,768 units last month with the newly launched mid-sized sedan

IndustryDec. 16, 2011

Regulators reject both bidders for fourth mobile operator

KMI and IST fail to pass, clouding outlook over new impetus to wireless sectorThe Korea Communications Commission said on Friday it would not issue wireless carrier licenses to Internet Space Time and its rival Korea Mobile Internet. Both IST and KMI failed to secure 70 points or higher in the screening process, dimming their hopes to become the country’s fourth mobile carrier. Currently, the domestic market is dominated by SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus. The KCC held a judging committee meeting ea

TechnologyDec. 16, 2011

Seoul shares up on U.S. data

South Korean stocks closed 1.15 percent higher on Friday as stronger U.S. jobs data eased concerns about the recovery of the world’s largest economy, analysts said.The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI rose 20.85 points to 1,839.96, breaking the third straight session of falls. Trading volume was moderate at 483.5 million shares worth 4.3 trillion won ($3.7 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 492 to 342.“Better-than-expected data on U.S. job markets gave some sol

Dec. 16, 2011

Korea ups fight against electricity shortage

Local banks and companies were joining the government’s power-saving crusade as freezing weather gripped Korea on Friday, sparking fears of a supply shortage.Subject to a 10-percent mandatory cut in demand and heating limits, most energy-intensive companies have already written their own measures to curtail electricity consumption including power protection systems and backup generators.“We’re trying to curb unnecessary consumption as much as possible because electricity makes up a large part of

IndustryDec. 16, 2011

Angel-in-us bottled coffee most caffeinated

Angel-in-us sells the most caffeinated bottled coffee at convenience stores, while Starbucks coffee has the most caffeine among takeaway drinks, Korea Consumer Agency said Friday. A bottled latte from the Lotte Group owned Angel-in-us contained 63 milligrams of caffeine per 100 milliliters, the highest among 20 bottled and canned coffees sold at convenience stores. A bottled mocha from Angel-in-us contained 62 milligrams of caffeine and its caramel macchiato had 46 milligrams of caffeine per 100

IndustryDec. 16, 2011

Malaysian acid attack victim to get new face in Korea

A group of Korean plastic surgeons will restore the face of a 19-year-old Malaysian woman who was severely scarred in an acid attack. The surgery will be part of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Medical Korea project that provides pro bono surgery to foreign patients in need of state-of-the-art procedures. The patient, Tan Hui Linn, arrived at Seoul on Wednesday evening and had a medical consultation with JK Plastic Surgery Center in southern Seoul the next day. Based on examination results,

TechnologyDec. 15, 2011

LGE, Intel join hands for smart TV

LG Electronics Inc., the world’s second-largest maker of flat-screen TVs, said Thursday that it has agreed to collaborate with Intel Corp. to use the U.S. chipmaker’s wireless display technology in smart TVs. The result of their partnership will be introduced in the market during the first quarter of next year, LG Electronics said, in a form of Web-connected TVs that can play content from laptop computers and mobile devices. Intel is seeking to expand the number of hardware partners to adopt its

TechnologyDec. 15, 2011

Hyundai Motor set to overtake Samsung Group in earnings

South Korea’s top automotive group Hyundai Motor Group is expected to post bigger earnings this year than Samsung Group, the country’s biggest family-controlled conglomerate, data showed Thursday.The combined earnings of Hyundai Motor Group’s eight listed affiliates are projected to reach 18.05 trillion won ($15.56 billion) this year, compared with 17.75 trillion won of 12 Samsung Group affiliates, according to the data by financial data provider FnGuide.It will mark the first time that the auto

IndustryDec. 15, 2011

Privatization of Korea Aerospace runs into opposition from union

Korean Air, Hyundai Heavy, Hanwha, Samsung Techwin eyeing aircraft makerThe planned privatization of Korea Aerospace Industries has hit a snag with opposition from the labor union which wants the company to be a public corporation.The labor union of the state-funded aircraft maker has decided to obstruct a visit by the president of Korea Finance Corporation, KAI’s largest shareholder, scheduled for next week. The KoFC got KAI listed last June, making it possible to sell off the major shareholder

IndustryDec. 15, 2011

Ministry aims to create 30,000 jobs for youth

SMBA set to spend W1tr to help youth  start new businessesThe Ministry of Knowledge Economy said it plans to create 30,000 new jobs for young people next year by hiring more for research and development, and kick-start a project to foster 3,000 small and medium-sized companies that hire 1.2 million people by 2015.The ministry will also spend 1.7 trillion won next year alone to stabilize the power supply and have the Korea Electric Power Corporation replace obsolete equipment, according to an ann

Dec. 15, 2011