BOK head calls for steady steps for household debt

  South Korea's top central banker has stressed the need to steadily tackle growing household debt, which market watchers fear will undercut the country's economic growth momentum.   South Korean household debts came to nearly 800 trillion won ($721.8 billion) as of the end of last year, which analysts say had been stoked by the country's low borrowing costs.     In a dinner meeting with reporters

March 30, 2011

Renault Samsung decides to cut output by 20 pct

    Renault Samsung Motors Co., the South Korean unit of French automaker Renault SA, said Wednesday it will cut its output by about 20 percent from next month due to an undersupply of parts from quake-hit Japan.   The company is said to import up to 18 percent of all parts for its vehicles from Japanese suppliers, largely because of Renault's strategic alliance with Japan's Nissan Motor Co.   Ren

MobilityMarch 30, 2011

S. Korea ranks 2nd in consumer prices hike in Feb.

   South Korea's consumer prices grew at the second-fastest pace among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in February, data showed Wednesday.   According to the data offered by the OECD, South Korea's consumer prices jumped 4.5 percent last month from a year earlier, the second steepest hike among its 34 member nations. Estonia ranked first with 5.

March 30, 2011

S. Korean economy grows 6.2 pct in 2010

The South Korean economy grew 6.2 percent last year, the fastest expansion in eight years, as exports remained robust and facility investment jumped amid improved consumer spending, the central bank said Wednesday.   The country's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, was revised up from an earlier estimate of 6.1 percent for last year, according to the Bank o

March 30, 2011

Ministry to downsize free economic zones

Korea has decided to downsize areas originally included as part of the country’s six free economic zones to reflect changing development requirements, the government said Tuesday.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said a review panel ruled to exclude 12 areas covering 90.4-square kilometers of land from the FEZs, a move expected to cut back on overall costs and construction time.Seoul first designa

March 29, 2011

Korea to host IDB annual meet in 2015

Korea will host an annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in 2015, a chance that the government expects would deepen its economic cooperation with American countries, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The decision was unanimously made during the 52nd round of the IDB annual meeting that ended on Monday in Canada, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a press release.Founded i

March 29, 2011

Korea to bolster new system for mobile payment

The government, telecom operators, handset makers and credit card companies are teaming up to expedite the development of a new mobile payment technology. The Korea Communications Commission announced Tuesday the launch of a coalition to foster near-field communication technology, which allows shoppers to apply their mobile devices to an electronic reader at the check-out to pay for goods and serv

IndustryMarch 29, 2011

SK Telecom, Samsung at war over phone bills

Telecom industry giant and world’s No. 2 phonemaker struggling to shirk blame for high call feesSK Telecom and Samsung Electronics, known for their airtight alliance on phone marketing and sales, are showing signs of a major rift with both parties attempting to shift blame for spiking call fees, according to industry watchers. On the government’s mounting demands on telecom companies to slash the

IndustryMarch 29, 2011

Korea-EU FTA to be put to assembly for the third time

The Trade Ministry is to again revise the Korean-language version of the Korea-EU free trade agreement, and resubmit the bill for ratification to the National Assembly for the third time.“The government was recently informed that several errors were found while reviewing the Korea-EU FTA’s Korean translation,” Rep. Nam Kyung-pil, National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee

IndustryMarch 29, 2011

Banks seek to go global via IB services

Korean commercial and state-controlled banks are seeking to strengthen their investment banking sectors in the belief they will be their new growth engines.Beyond the saturated loan issuance market, most local banks share the view that investment banking is one of many priorities for globalization in the coming years.Among them are KB Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank and Industrial Bank of K

March 29, 2011

Translation not between languages, but generations

Amid the flooded mobile application market, already awash with new creative programs, another app has been introduced -- to help parents better understand their children.The “Woteva” (slang for “whatever”) app, expected to be officially available by summer, will provide users with definitions of teenagers’ slang, reported the Daily Mail.Due to the Internet and the use of text messages, youngsters

TechnologyMarch 29, 2011

S. Korea's current account surplus widens to $1.18 bln in Feb.

South Korea's current account surplus widened in February from the previous month mainly because spending on overseas travel decreased amid still brisk exports, the central bank said Tuesday.   The current account surplus reached $1.18 billion in February, up sharply from a revised $154.7 million the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure

March 29, 2011

Firms make preliminary bids for Korea Express

Creditors of Korea Express Co. have accepted preliminary bids from three local conglomerates, including steel giant POSCO, to buy Korea‘s largest logistics firm, sources said Monday. Co-sales managers Nomura Securities and the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) accepted letters of intent in early March from POSCO, retail giant Lotte Group and leading food conglomerate CJ Group to buy a 37.6 pe

IndustryMarch 28, 2011