Showbox to partner with Chinese film studio

South Korea's leading movie distributor, Showbox/Media Inc., has signed a three-year deal to produce up to six films with China's Huayi Brothers Media Corp., the local company said Thursday.Showbox, under the partnership deal signed Wednesday, will establish a Chinese unit, Showbox China, and use it to help fund and produce up to six feature films with the major Chinese film studio through 2018. Showbox didn't disclose when the Chinese unit will be set up.Huayi Brothers will be in charge of mark

March 26, 2015

LG launches LTE-based smartwatch on home turf

South Korea's No. 2 tech firm, LG Electronics Inc., said Thursday it will roll out its latest long-term evolution network-powered smartwatch in the country with a price tag of 650,000 won ($589) later this week.The LG Watch Urbane LTE, which comes with its own universal subscriber identity module card that allows users to make phone calls without being paired with smartphones, will be available starting Friday through LG Uplus Corp., the country's smallest mobile carrier.The smart device was fir

March 26, 2015

Samsung Engineering to lay off workers this year

Samsung Engineering Co., one of South Korea's leading builders, plans to cut 700 workers by the end of 2015, company and industry sources said Thursday, in line with a groupwide move to slash costs amid lackluster returns.The company said in its investor relations report that it plans to streamline its workers to 7,550, about an 8.4 percent drop from the current 8,255 workforce, by the end of this year."The layoff is only a part of routine efforts to make manpower management more efficient," a S

March 26, 2015

BMW launches plug-in EV in S. Korea

BMW Korea, the local unit of German carmaker BMW, launched the i8 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in South Korea on Thursday, igniting competition in the burgeoning environment-friendly car market.The i8 plug-in sports car is equipped with an engine and an electric motor, which can be charged from outside. It can run 37 kilometers with a fully charged electric motor and go as far as 600 kilometers if it uses both the motor and the engine, the company said.The car adopted carbon fiber reinforced

March 26, 2015

Samung heir meets CITIC head, discusses business ties

Lee Jay-yong, the vice president of Samsung Electronics Co. and the heir-apparent of Samsung Group, met the head of China-based financial giant CITIC Group and discussed ideas on business ties, the Samsung office said Thursday.Lee met Chang Zhenming, the chairman of CITIC, for follow-up talks on an agreement signed between Samsung Securities Co. and CITIC Securities earlier this month for cooperation in the financial sector."Lee expressed gratitude for the cooperation between the two brokerage h

March 26, 2015

Samsung cuts wages, ad spending amid earnings slump

South Korea's top tech giant, Samsung Electronics Co., reduced its combined expenditures on wages and advertisements in 2014 apparently due to its lackluster earnings, data showed Thursday.The market behemoth handed out 9.3 trillion won ($8.44 billion) to its employees in 2014, down 0.3 percent from a year earlier, its regulatory data showed.The number of workers at Samsung Electronics based in South Korea, however, came to 99,386 at end-2014, up 3.7 percent from a year earlier, according to a s

March 26, 2015

Head of Amore Pacific beats Samsung heir in stock assets

Suh Kyung-bae, chairman of Amore Pacific Group, the country's top cosmetics maker, overtook Samsung Group's heir-apparent Wednesday to become South Korea's second-richest man in stock value, market data showed.At the end of market closing, Suh's stocks were valued at 8.457 trillion won ($7.64 billion), up 43.7 percent from 5.88 trillion won at end-December, according to the data. The value of shares owned by Lee Jay-yong, the only son of the Samsung Group chief, totaled 8.454 trillion won, down

March 25, 2015

Park No-hwang elected new president of Yonhap News Agency

Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's key news service, on Wednesday elected Park No-hwang, a director of Yonhap Infomax, as its new president and chief executive officer in a shareholders and board meeting.Park's election came after the board of the News Agency Promotion Foundation, Yonhap's largest shareholder, decided to recommend him as Yonhap's new president in a meeting on March 10.The 57-year-old Park will begin his three-year tenure in an inaugural ceremony on Wednesday afternoon, replacing

March 25, 2015

Hotel Shilla taps ex-Nuance Group CEO for overseas push

Hotel Shilla, the operator of South Korea's No. 2 duty-free chain Shilla Duty Free, said Wednesday it has tapped a former chief executive at Swiss duty-free firm Nuance Group in what is seen as its aggressive efforts to expand abroad.Roberto Graziani, who led Nuance Group for over 10 years, will be acting as a standing adviser for Hotel Shilla's duty-free business and vice chairman of its U.S. subsidiary, the Samsung affiliate said in a press release.The industry veteran stepped down from the to

March 25, 2015

Samsung holds Galaxy S6-inspired runway show

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it held a fashion show with looks inspired by its latest smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and its offbeat sister Galaxy S6 Edge, slated to hit shelves early next month. Held on the sidelines of Seoul Fashion Week 2015, the Galaxy S6 First Look event on Tuesday presented dresses in colors of the new smartphones: white, black, gold, blue and green. Samsung is set to release the new handsets on April 10."We are pleased to introduce the beautiful design and colors of

March 25, 2015

Ssangyong unveils renderings of concept SUV

Ssangyong Motor Co., the smallest carmaker in South Korea, Wednesday unveiled renderings of a concept SUV to be showcased at an upcoming Seoul motor show that it said would strengthen its brand identity as an SUV maker. The concept car, named XAV that stands for "exiting authentic SUV," shows off a box-typed external design that could provide a roomy interior needed for outdoor leisure activities.  It also adopts a unique shoulder wing design that's reminiscent of the early version of the Korand

March 25, 2015

Korean Air to launch code sharing program with Jin Air

South Korea's largest full-service carrier Korean Air Lines Co. said Tuesday it will begin offering code-shared flights to six different routes with its wholly owned budget carrier Jin Air Co. this week. The latest arrangement allows customers to book Jin Air flights from South Korea's main gateway Incheon to Guam, Nagasaki, Okinawa, Macau, Kota Kinabalu and Vientiane via Korean Air.Those who book the designated flights will also be able to receive mileage benefits with the country's flagship ca

March 24, 2015

Hotel Shilla gains 1.8 pct on DFASS deal

Shares of Hotel Shilla, operator of the country's No. 2 duty-free chain Shilla Duty Free, closed up 1.8 percent on Tuesday as investors pinned hopes on the company's stake purchase into U.S. duty-free firm DFASS.The Samsung affiliate ended at 99,800 won ($90.30) on the Seoul main bourse, closing at its highest level since 101,000 won on Feb. 26. The KOSPI gained 0.23 percent to 2,041.37.The share price gain comes on the heels of the company's Monday announcement of its $105 million deal to buy a

March 24, 2015

Samsung SDS ties up with U.S. firm in push for logistics biz

Samsung SDS Co., an IT solution arm of South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, said Tuesday it has joined forces with a U.S. software giant to sell its logistics software platform to China as part of its efforts to tap into the overseas logistics market. Samsung SDS signed a preliminary deal with Oracle Corp., in which the two sides agreed to develop and market a logistics solution system based on their big-data analysis tools, the Seoul-based company said in a statement. The tie-up is la

March 24, 2015

Samsung to pre-install Microsoft apps on Galaxy 6

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it plans to pre-install applications and services provided by Microsoft Corp. on the soon-to-be-released Galaxy S6, as well as other Android-powered mobile devices.Under the plan, Samsung said it will "bring Microsoft mobile productivity services to more consumers and business customers" by installing OneNote, OneDrive and Skype on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. The two latest models, set to be launched April 10, will also come wit

March 24, 2015

Hotel Shilla buys stake in U.S. duty-free firm DFASS

Hotel Shilla said Monday it has inked a deal to buy a 44-percent stake in U.S. duty-free operator DFASS, a move that is expected to accelerate the No. 2 duty-free operator's global expansion plan as it competes with bigger rival Lotte."Hotel Shilla has decided to push for a strategic partnership with DFASS through stake acquisition by buying a 44-percent stake for $105 million," the company said in a press release following a board meeting held earlier in the day. The agreement includes a call o

March 23, 2015

FTC orders Bayer Korea to sell oral contraceptive biz acquired through merger

South Korea's anti-trust regulator on Monday ordered the local subsidiary of Bayer AG to sell off its oral contraceptive pill operation that was acquired when its parent bought out part of Merck & Co., citing conflict with the country's fair trade rules.The Fair Trade Commission said it ordered Bayer Korea to dispose of its assets and rights related to all Mercilon tablet business in the country. It, however, approved Bayer's purchase of Merck & Co.'s consumer care business in May 2014. Besides

March 23, 2015

POSCO E&C embezzled slush fund in Vietnam: prosecutors

POSCO Engineering & Construction Co. appears to have embezzled part of the slush fund it created in the overseas branch in Vietnam, prosecutors said Friday.  An internal audit within the company had found that several POSCO E&C officials, including some executives, operated a slush fund worth about 10 billion won ($8.9 million) between 2009 and 2012.  The construction arm of South Korea's top steelmaker, POSCO, maintains the fund was used to pay rebates to local subcontractors.  But upon analyzi

March 20, 2015

Kia unveils rendering of new K5

Kia Motors Corp. released the first renderings of its revamped K5 midsize sedan ahead of its official unveiling next month at the Seoul Motor Show.The second-generation K5 comes five years after the brand was first introduced to the auto market. The new design incorporates a wider look from its front radiator grille, giving the car a more sporty and powerful look, Kia Motors said in a press release. The retained feel of the side's surface and lines from the original K5 design have been preserved

March 19, 2015

Hanwha delays inspection on Samsung Total amid protests

South Korean defense and chemicals conglomerate Hanwha Group said Wednesday it will delay its on-spot inspection on Samsung Total Petrochemicals Co., one of the four Samsung affiliates that will come under its wing by June, due mainly to the protests from Samsung Total's labor union against the sales plan.  Last year, Samsung said it would sell defense affiliate Samsung Techwin Co. and chemical unit Samsung General Chemicals Co. to Hanwha, a conglomerate whose main businesses include defense and

March 18, 2015