Deposit withdrawals from secondary banks sharply reduce as officials work to calm marketThe government and financial institutions were trying to calm savings banks’ jitters on Tuesday, pledging fresh support for troubled secondary banks hit by toxic property loans.Concerns over an industry crisis showed signs of subsiding as deposit withdrawals across the country nearly halved from the previous da

Feb. 22, 2011

  South Korea's imports of U.S. beef nearly doubled in 2010 from a year earlier due largely to dwindling concerns over its safety here, the government said Tuesday.   The farm ministry said the country imported 125,681 tons of beef from the U.S. last year, up 97 percent from 63,817 tons tallied in 2009.   The total effectively exceeded amounts imported by Seoul before the U.S. beef import ban went

Feb. 22, 2011

COPENHAGEN (AP) -- Danish shipper and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S says it has signed a $1.9 billion contract for 10 giant container vessels, expected to be the largest of any known type of ship in operation.   Maersk says each ship, to be built by South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, will cost $190 million and that it has an option for 20 more vessels.   The Copenhagen-base

IndustryFeb. 21, 2011

Korea aims to export a record $10.7 billion worth of software in 2011 as local companies make inroads into the global information technology (IT) service sector, the government said Monday.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said exports could jump 17.1 percent on-year as software companies become more competitive on the international market by offering reliable programs that meet overseas requireme

IndustryFeb. 21, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. led the world’s flat-screen TV market last year, but they lagged behind Japanese companies in emerging 3-D TV markets, an industry report showed Monday. According to market researcher DisplaySearch, Samsung Electronics clinched 18.7 percent of the flat-screen TVs sold in the global market in 2010, followed by LG’s 13.1 percent and Sony Corp.’s 10.3 p

IndustryFeb. 21, 2011

Korea has secured the right to catch 60,000 tons of fish in Japanese waters in 2011, unchanged from the year before, the government said Monday.The agreement, reached with Japan late last week, reflects complaints raised by local fishermen operating in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.Under the deal, 870 Korean boats will be all

IndustryFeb. 21, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s No. 2 semiconductor maker, said Monday that it has developed a new memory chip for mobile gadgets that can transfer data at a speed eight times faster than previous devices.The WIDE IO mobile dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip can transfer data at a speed of 12.8 gigabyte per second, compared with 1.6 gigabyte per second of previous devices, the company s

IndustryFeb. 21, 2011

The Bank of Korea plans to strengthen its foreign exchange department to more efficiently manage its ever-growing currency reserves and better cope with market volatility.The central bank announced plans to overhaul its organization for the first time in 13 years, focusing on slimming down departments and enhancing international affairs capability.The nation’s foreign currency reserves reached an

Feb. 21, 2011

Korea’s household credit grew at the fastest pace in more than eight years in the fourth quarter as economic recovery and eased lending rules spurred demand for bank mortgage loans, the central bank said Monday.Household credit, the sum of loans and credit purchases, climbed 25.3 trillion won ($22.7 billion) to 795.4 trillion won in the three months ended Dec. 31 from the previous quarter, the Ban

Feb. 21, 2011

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea led Korean lenders in terms of labor productivity last year, government data showed Monday.According to the Financial Supervision Service, the IBK recorded 181 million won ($163,107) in profit per employee. Shinhan scored the second with 154 million won.Employees at Hana Bank came third with 118 million won and the state-run Woori Bank came fourth with 80 mil

IndustryFeb. 21, 2011

Lotte Mart, one of the country’s biggest discount store chains, said Monday that it is putting a 24-inch television on sale at most of their branches for less than 300,000 won ($268).The company stirred controversy last year for selling ultra-cheap chicken, inviting criticism from smaller stores.In a joint effort with a local mid-size firm Moneual, Lotte Mart declared it will target the low-end TV

IndustryFeb. 21, 2011

Korea Express Co.’s controlling shareholders have set a March 4 deadline for initial bids as they sell about 40 percent of Korea’s biggest logistics company, according to a person familiar with the situation.Arrangers Korea Development Bank and Nomura Holdings Inc. sent letters to about 10 domestic investors seeking bids, said the person, who asked not to be named because the information isn’t pub

IndustryFeb. 21, 2011

The Kyunghyang Housing Fair and Housing Brand Fair 2011, the country’s largest building materials and construction exhibition, is to kick off Wednesday, its steering committee said Monday. The two tradeshows were integrated last year, aiming to provide one large cohesive venue for professionals to create a global network.In the five-day event at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, about 600 compa

IndustryFeb. 21, 2011

Hyundai Motor Group and the creditors of Hyundai Engineering and Construction have begun final negotiations over the price of stakes in the builder, with the carmaker expected to push for a reduction.According to industry sources, Hyundai Motor Group is seeking to reduce the amount paid for the 34.88 percent stake in Hyundai E&C due to additional debts the builder was belatedly found to be holding

IndustryFeb. 21, 2011