U.S. ambassador to Korea Sung Kim said South Korea is a safe and attractive business venue despite North Korea’s military threats.“The very fact that we are gathered here this evening to celebrate this anniversary of AMCHAM is sending a strong message that despite North Korea’s provocations, Korea is a safe and attractive place to do business,” he said in the ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Tuesday evening. Leaders of the two countries’ busin

May 15, 2013

The weak yen has led to an average 5 percent decrease in the price of Japanese export products, dealing a blow to their Korean rivals’ competitiveness, data showed on Tuesday.According to reports from CEIC Co. and Mirae Asset Securities, the Korean export unit cost during the five months from November to March fell just 0.5 percent.Industry experts said if the yen depreciation continued, Korea’s major export items such as automobiles and steel products would lose their price competitiveness. By

May 14, 2013

The loss of water resources on the planet and its impact have been emerging as a critical energy issue, adding more complexity in developing the new energy structure of a country, a global energy expert said. “The global energy industry, which once simply cared about ups and downs of oil prices, has become more complicated today as there are so many more issues that are part of the fundamental uncertainty underlying the sector. In addition to the continued fluctuation of oil prices, we are seein

May 14, 2013

The number of people in Korea who earned more than 10 billion won in dividends last year was 19, data showed. Most of them were chiefs of the nation’s top conglomerates and their family members.The data released by chaebul.com, which tracks large conglomerates and their owners, said the number had fallen from 21 in 2011 because of the global economic downturn.As expected, Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee topped the list by receiving 103.37 billion won. Hong Seok-hyun, chairman of JoongAn

May 13, 2013

Fair Trade Commission chairman Noh Dae-lae said Monday that the country’s antitrust agency remained steadfast in its determination to amend some of its rules and regulations governing family-run conglomerates for fairer market practices.It seeks to pass the so-called economic democratization bill at the National Assembly by the end of June to put an end to chaebol owners misusing their companies’ business plans for their own interest, the FTC chief told reporters.The measures taming chaebol incl

May 13, 2013

Hyosung Corp., a South Korean maker of textiles and heavy machinery, began mass-producing the country’s first indigenous carbon fiber Monday, significantly reducing the need for imports, the government said.With a ceremony marking the construction of the plant in Jeonju, some 240 kilometers southwest of Seoul, Hyosung started commercial production of carbon fiber, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Carbon fiber is an advanced material that is 10 times stronger but weighs abo

May 13, 2013

Consumers’ complaints against the nation’s financial institutions have gradually increased over the past three years, data showed. According to a report released by the Financial Supervisory Service, the number of complaints consumers filed with the financial authorities amounted to 94,794 cases last year, a 11.9 percent increase from 2011, which posted 84,731 cases.Of the total complaints in 2012, 48,000 cases were about insurance. Policyholders’ major complaints were about insurance companies’

May 12, 2013

Children toiling at coffee, cacao or tobacco plantations in Africa and South America for a dollar or two for a day’s work: That is the image that comes to the mind of many who hear the phrase “unfair trade.” Recently, the collapse of a shoddily built garment factory in Bangladesh that killed hundreds of people drew international attention to the importance of ethical production, a key element of fair trade. The concept of “fair trade” has been around for over 40 years, but only a fraction of Kor

May 10, 2013

Switzerland’s two largest supermarket chains Migros and Coop are consumer cooperatives, or enterprises owned by consumers and managed democratically to fulfill the needs of their members rather than seeking pecuniary profit.In Korea, there are four major consumer cooperatives ― Hansalim, iCOOP, Dure and a coop run by Womenlink ― which have nearly 600,000 households as members. ICOOP has about 170,000 members who pay an average monthly fee of 13,000 won to buy organic or pesticide-free agricultur

May 10, 2013

When it comes to populations of rich people, Asian cities are second to none. According to a list of cities with the most millionaires, multimillionaires and billionaires released by Wealth Insight, a London-based wealth consultancy company, six cities in Asia ranked in the top 10.Tokyo topped the list with 461,000 millionaires, or persons with more than $1 million in assets minus liabilities. New York and London came in second and third, respectively.Tokyo ranks at the top because of its popula

May 9, 2013

The 7th World Water Forum slated for 2015 in Korea will focus on developing action plans for implementation to tackle water shortages and pending issues the world is facing, a top organizer said.“Discussion of the 2015 Forum will start at the kick-off meeting to be held May 14 and 15 in Daegu, and one of top agendas will be how to implement discussed solutions for the global water crisis,’’ said chairman Lee Jung-moo of the National Committee for the 2015 World Water Forum.Speaking in an intervi

May 9, 2013