Korea’s real wages drop on inflation in Q1

Koreans’ real wages contracted for the first time in 18 months in the first quarter as income gains remained stagnant amid high inflation, data showed Tuesday.Korean workers’ real wages reached 2.36 million won ($2,222.3) in the January-March period, down 4.08 percent from the previous year, according to the data compiled by the labor ministry and the state-run statistics agency.The real wage, the

July 5, 2011

Top chaebol see affiliates mushroom

The number of affiliates of South Korea’s 15 largest chaebol has increased about 65 percent over the past four years, as the family-run conglomerates have aggressively expanded their territory in the construction and real estate industries, a report showed Tuesday. Companies affiliated with the top 15 conglomerates numbered 778 as of April, jumping from 306 four years ago, according to the report

July 5, 2011

Global warming pause linked to sulfur in China

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists have come up with a possible explanation for why the rise in Earth‘s temperature paused for a bit during the 2000s, one of the hottest decades on record.The answer seems counterintuitive. It’s all that sulfur pollution in the air from China‘s massive coal-burning, according to a new study.Sulfur particles in the air deflect the sun’s rays and can temporarily cool thin

TechnologyJuly 5, 2011

Overweight men have poorer sperm count

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Overweight or obese men, like their female counterparts, have a lower chance of becoming a parent, according to a comparison of sperm quality presented at a European fertility meeting Monday.In what they described as the largest study of its kind, doctors looked at sperm samples from 1,940 men and matched them to the donor‘s weight.The benchmark was the body mass index (BMI), a m

TechnologyJuly 5, 2011

FSC to examine 85 savings banks in sector cleanup

Regulator to force nonviable institutions out of marketStarting Tuesday, the government will conduct another round of regulatory examinations on the overall savings banking industry tarnished by involvement of some banks in a corruption scandal.The Financial Services Commission said Monday that it would make inquiries into 85 out of 98 savings banks for two months to normalize the debt-saddled sec

July 4, 2011

SK Telecom’s union leader attempts suicide

The head of SK Telecom’s union on Monday attempted suicide in what appeared to be a protest of the company’s decision to spin off its platform business.The union leader, identified only by his surname Kim, was found in the office of SK Telecom’s headquarters in downtown Seoul at around 4:00 p.m. after attempting to hang himself. Kim was rushed to a nearby hospital to receive treatment. His conditi

IndustryJuly 4, 2011

Korea’s full-size car sales surge in H1

Korea’s full-size car sales surged in the first half of this year thanks to the popularity of the fifth-generation Grandeur sedan made by top automaker Hyundai Motor Co., industry data showed Monday.Domestic sales of full or large luxury sedans jumped 39.6 percent on-year to 112,927 units in the January-June period. The increase far outstrips overall car sales in the country that grew 4.1 percent

IndustryJuly 4, 2011

Korea aims to up EU market share to 3%

Korea aims to increase its market share in the European Union to 3 percent within three years by taking advantage of a bilateral free trade pact that took effect last week, Korea’s trade minister said Monday.In a radio interview, Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said increasing market share from 2.6 percent at present is possible since the free trade agreement gives local businesses an edge over rival

IndustryJuly 4, 2011

Output of Korean rice wine bounces back

Output of makgeolli is picking up in Korea as more people are opting to drink the traditional rice wine following a report that it contains anti-cancer compounds, government data showed Monday. Production of makgeolli rose 12.8 percent on-year to 35,114 kiloliters in April, with the number jumping 16.8 percent to 39,543 kiloliters in May, according to the data by Statistics Korea. Domestic shipmen

IndustryJuly 4, 2011

Most retailers to cut prices of EU imports on FTA

More than 60 percent of Korean retailers plan to lower prices of imports from the European Union following the implementation of a bilateral free trade deal, a poll showed Monday.According to the survey of 619 retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 61.3 percent of the retailers said that they will reduce prices of EU imports to reflect the decrease

July 4, 2011

Controversy brews over dividends for Lone Star

The move by Korea Exchange Bank to offer a record interim dividend to its biggest shareholder Lone Star Funds is sparking concerns about long-term growth for Korea’s No. 5 lender, market watchers said.KEB’s board decided on Friday to pay out a quarterly dividend worth of 1,510 won ($1.42) per share, causing U.S. private equity fund Lone Star to rake in dividends worth 496.9 billion won.Lone Star h

July 4, 2011

Trade volume with FTA partners doubles

Korea’s trade volume with free trade pact signatories almost doubled last year but the trade balance showed mixed reactions by regions, a report showed Monday. According to the Korea Customs Service, the nation achieved $136.8 billion last year in the total trade volume with Chile, ASEAN, Singapore and the European Free Trade Association ― a 1.73-fold increase from $79 billion from the year before

July 4, 2011

Korean firms cut emissions via partnerships

Ministry: 166 firms reduced 56,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions during last 2 yearsKorea’s efforts to shrink its carbon footprint are progressing through partnerships between big and smaller companies.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Monday that 166 local businesses have reduced more than 56,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the last two years in a green collaboration program, a

IndustryJuly 4, 2011

Seoul shares gain 0.92 pct on eased Greek woes

Korean stocks ended 0.92 percent higher on Monday as investor sentiment was underpinned by eased woes over Greece’s debt crisis and better-than-expected U.S. data, analysts said. The local currency hit a near three-year high against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI advanced 19.56 points to 2,145.30. Trading volume was moderate at 288.5 million shares worth 6.68 trillion won ($6.3 billion) with

July 4, 2011

KT plans Chinese app market entry

KT Corp., the nation’s No. 1 fixed-line service operator, on Monday said it will open its mobile application market in China Mobile’s application store as part of its application-sharing project with China and Japan. Olleh market will be launched as a “shop-in-shop” on July 9, the Seoul-based company said.China Mobile’s application store “Mobile Market” has since last year shown greater than 40-fo

IndustryJuly 4, 2011

Mirae Asset eyes Canada’s BetaPro

Mirae Asset Global Investment, the largest mutual fund manager in the country, said it is in talks to take over Canada’s BetaPro Management Inc., an exchanged traded funds manager, the local brokerage said Monday.The mutual fund arm of the financial group said price or timing of the acquisition is yet to be finalized. The deal is widely expected to be valued at well over $100 million.“We’re consid

July 4, 2011