LG Hausys Ltd., South Korea's largest decorative industrial materials manufacturer, said Monday that it has started building an autoskin plant in the United States, to better make inroads into the world's second-largest new car market.The company said it has earmarked US$40 million to build the plant in Adairsville, in the northwestern part of Georgia, and once work is completed in late 2015, it will be in a better position to provide interior materials to carmakers such as Hyundai Motor Co., Ki

Industry July 15, 2014

South Korea was to announce 50 members of a presidential committee aimed at making preparations for unification with North Korea, an official said Tuesday, amid tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula over Pyongyang's missile launches.President Park Geun-hye ordered the formation of the preparatory committee in January, saying the country should be prepared for inter-Korean unification which she said would be a "bonanza" for both Koreas as well as a blessing for neighboring countries.Still, the

Politics July 15, 2014

Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S5 saw its monthly sales fall behind Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5s in May, a report showed Tuesday, reflecting the market's dull reaction to the new Galaxy lacking cutting-edge features.Apple's latest flagship product, launched in September 2013, ranked first on a list of the top 10 most-sold smartphones around the globe last month, outselling Samsung's latest Galaxy model, which only commenced official sales in April, the report released by Hong Kong-based researcher C

Technology July 15, 2014

The United States urged North Korea on Monday to halt provocations after the communist nation carried out yet another round of ballistic missile launches and fired a barrage of rockets and artillery shells this week.The North launched two ballistic missiles Sunday from the southern city of Kaesong near the border with South Korea. The missiles flew about 500 kilometers across the peninsula and landed in the East Sea, and the launches were seen as a threat that it can hit any targets in the South

North Korea July 15, 2014

The United Nations announced Monday that it was evacuating its remaining staff from Libya, after deadly clashes closed Tripoli airport and severed air links with the outside world.The international airport, meanwhile, came under renewed attack with dozens of rockets, one of which hit a plane on the tarmac, security sources said, without any immediate reports of casualties."Dozens of rockets were fired at the airport," Al-Jilani al-Dahech, a security official at the scene, told AFP, while another

World News July 15, 2014

Thousands of unionized truck drivers across the country staged a one-day strike on Monday, demanding the parliament pass a bill that would improve their working conditions.The members of a truckers' union affiliated with the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, the more militant of the nation's two umbrella unions, also held rallies in the union's 15 regional offices. "Since the National Assembly has yet to approve a cargo-related bill proposed in 2012, some 380,000 cargo transportation workers'

Industry July 14, 2014

China has told South Korea that it has blocked online services of South Korea's two popular mobile messaging applications, KakaoTalk and Line, since earlier this month, a South Korean diplomat with the knowledge of the matter said Monday, adding that the services would "soon" return to normal.Along with other foreign online services, including Yahoo Inc.'s photo-sharing site Flickr, users in China have been unable to access online services of KakaoTalk and Line for more than 10 days. Some anti-c

Technology July 14, 2014

North Korea on Monday renewed its call on South Korea to lift sanctions against it, saying the change will bring forth cross-border reconciliation.Following the North's deadly sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan in March 2010, Seoul imposed what are called May 24 sanctions that completely ban economic or other exchanges across the border.Denying its involvement in the incident, the North has since repeatedly called for the abrogation of the sanctions after the measure cut off inter

North Korea July 14, 2014

The financial watchdog will reprimand the main creditor bank of cash-strained STX Group and Dongbu Group for negligence in monitoring the financial conditions of the conglomerates, officials said Monday, pressuring the bank to take stronger measures to normalize the ailing firms.STX Group, the 13th-biggest conglomerate with 10 affiliates under its wing, has been struggling with a liquidity shortage and mounting debts due to the downturn in the shipbuilding and shipping sectors.The Financial Supe

July 14, 2014

Dividend payouts by South Korean listed firms are expected to remain low this year compared with their foreign rivals, although their average dividend yield ratio may creep up from last year, industry data showed Monday.The average dividend yield ratio of listed firms that trade on the country's main bourse is estimated at 1.25 percent for the year, compared with last year's 1.18 percent, according to the data.The dividend yield ratio refers to a company's annual dividend payments per share divi

July 14, 2014

South Korean carmakers are facing the prospect of renewed labor strife as they deal with unfavorable market conditions, industry sources said Monday.Renault Samsung Motors Co. and GM Korea Co. said their union workers are planning walkouts and work disruptions after initial union-management talks failed to find middle ground on regular wages, bonuses and fringe benefits.Renault Samsung, the local unit of French automaker Renault S.A., said its workers at the company's Busan plant will halt work

Industry July 14, 2014

The South Korean military called Monday for special attention to land mines from North Korea amid growing concerns that they could have washed ashore here in a rainy season."The military has launched an intensive search operation along rivers and in coastal areas for mines since earlier this month to guarantee public safety," the Joint Chiefs of Staff here said in a statement."Chances are that mines built in wooden boxes float down from North Korea and reach here. Extra caution is needed for res

Defense July 14, 2014

South Korea's exports of auto parts jumped to an all-time high in the first half of this year, driven by robust sales of vehicles in overseas markets, government data showed Monday.According to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, South Korea exported $13.58 billion worth of auto parts during the January-June period, up 5.4 percent from a year earlier. This represented the largest amount of first-half exports, breaking the previous record of $12.84 billion tallied during the f

Industry July 14, 2014