The Korean economy is showing signs of weakness from the subdued outlook for global growth and uncertainties over the European debt crisis, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.In its monthly economic assessment, the ministry cited slowing industrial output, export growth, job creation and facility investment as evidence of slowing economic momentum. It also warned of persistent price pressure which could worsen with rising import costs.“Our economy keeps recovering but some indicators are weakenin

Nov. 8, 2011

Google chairman Eric Schmidt said Tuesday that the Internet giant’s purchase of Motorola Mobility would not affect partnerships with other handset makers, including Samsung Electronics.“We will run (Motorola) sufficiently and independently in a way that will not violate Android’s openness. We are not going to change in any material way the way we operate,” Schmidt said at a press conference on a visit to Seoul.The comment came when he was asked about the closed conversations with Samsung executi

IndustryNov. 8, 2011

South Korean stocks edged 0.83 percent down on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious over debt-ridden Italy’s situation, which could spill over into the entire region, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 15.96 points to 1,903.14. Trading volume was moderate at 398.6 million shares worth 5.16 trillion won ($4.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 508 to 313.“There’s no big issue to prompt investors to bet on

Nov. 8, 2011

KEB union files injunction with Constitutional Court to ban regulator’s actionUnionized workers of Korea Exchange Bank, owned by Lone Star, filed an injunction with the Constitutional Court on Tuesday to ban the Financial Services Commission from ordering the U.S.-based fund to dispose of its KEB shares without probing the fund’s shareholder eligibility.If the Constitutional Court accepts the request from the KEB union, the FSC cannot instruct Lone Star to do so for the time being. The financial

Nov. 8, 2011

South Korea’s financial regulator on Tuesday said it will lift a three-month ban on short selling of non-financial stocks starting this week.“The ban on short selling of non-financial shares will be lifted starting Nov. 10, but the measure on financial shares will be retained for the time being,” the Financial Services Commission said in an e-mailed statement.The FSC had imposed a ban on short selling of all local stocks listed on the main KOSPI and the secondary tech-heavy KOSDAQ markets for th

Nov. 8, 2011

The Fair Trade Commission said Tuesday it reached an agreement with the nation’s top three department stores to lower their commission fees by 3-7 percent immediately for almost half of their small- and medium-sized vendors. The antitrust regulator expected that 1,054 companies would benefit from the cuts. Lotte Department Store, the nation’s No. 1 retail chain, will benefit the largest number of companies, 403, or 50.4 percent of its smaller contractors, while Shinsegae and Hyundai will cut com

IndustryNov. 8, 2011

A popular stream running through downtown Seoul, which is visited by millions of people annually, has been severely polluted by bacteria, a report by the city government showed Tuesday.According to the report, submitted to the Seoul council member Jang Hwan-jin of the Democratic Party, parts of the

TechnologyNov. 8, 2011

SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors raided the offices of two affiliates of the South Korean conglomerate SK Group early Tuesday as part of an investigation into allegations that the founding family misappropriated company funds. Scores of prosecutors searched the offices of SK Holdings Co.,

IndustryNov. 8, 2011

LG Chem signed a long-term contract with the Switzerland-based electric engineering firm ABB Group to supply parts for an energy storage system on Monday.Energy storage system or ESS is used in smart grid networks to store electricity before transmitting power to specific locations when required.Under the contract, LG Chem will supply lithium ion batteries and a battery management system to ABB. The Korean firm said that for the first collaborative project it will produce batteries for use in a

IndustryNov. 7, 2011

About 5,000 unionized workers of Korea Exchange Bank are scheduled to hold a day-long rally in Yeouido, Seoul on Tuesday, demanding the financial regulator take punitive action against Lone Star Funds.Their planned gathering has been regarded as a strike amid the situation under which Lone Star, convicted of manipulating stocks of KEB’s credit affiliate, may leave the country with huge gains.The KEB union is also criticizing the Financial Services Commission for having been negligent in probing

Nov. 7, 2011

The combined market capitalization of South Korea’s 10 largest conglomerates and their affiliates has shrunk 6.88 percent this year from the end of last year, data showed Monday.The market cap of the 10 conglomerates, including Samsung and Hyundai Motor, totaled 636.23 trillion won ($571.12 billion) as of Nov. 3, down from 683.22 trillion won as of end-2010, according to the data by the Korea Exchange.Nine of the 10 conglomerates saw their market cap fall amid economic uncertainties in the euroz

Nov. 7, 2011

South Korea’s central bank forecast Monday that oil prices are likely to stay above $100 per barrel for a considerable period of time due to tight supply and a potential pick-up in speculative investment.The Bank of Korea said in a report that prices of Dubai and Brent crude are staying at a high level despite an end of political turmoil in Libya and market jitters stemming from the eurozone debt crisis.Prices of Dubai crude, South Korea’s benchmark, have been largely trading at more than $100 p

Nov. 7, 2011

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Orion Corp., South Korea’s second-largest confectionery company, expects that its overseas sales will grow next year, largely driven by robust sales in China, company officials said Monday.The company, best-known for its hallmark “Choco Pie,” projected that its overseas sales will grow 28.4 percent to 1.31 trillion won ($1.17 billion), likely to surpass its domestic sales for the first time. Orion officials said China accounts for more than 80 percent of its overseas sa

IndustryNov. 7, 2011