A Korean consumer has lodged a lawsuit with a Seoul court against Apple Korea demanding the company return the repair cost of her liquid-damaged iPhone 4, court officials said Tuesday.In the lawsuit filed with the Seoul Central District Court, the woman, only identified by her surname Kang, demanded Apple Korea return 290,000 won ($259), which the company charged her last month for exchanging the

Social Affairs March 22, 2011

Korean retailers said Monday that they have decided to suspend imports of foods and products from Japan due to growing consumer concern over their possible contamination with radiation released from an earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant.Lotte Mart Co., Korea’s third-largest discount store chain, said it will not sell pollack which have mainly been imported from Japan, starting Tuesday.“Though

Industry March 22, 2011

Korea’s state-run Korea Gas Corp. said Monday that it has developed a design technology for the world’s largest liquefied natural gas tank. The tank has a storage capacity of 270,000 kiloliters, up 35 percent compared with that of the largest existing tank, helping reduce the construction cost per LNG tank by 23.5 billion won ($20.9 million), KOGAS said in a statement. The company said it is consi

Industry March 21, 2011

With President Lee Myung-bak’s appointment of a new government financial regulator earlier this year, reform is once again a serious topic in Korea’s one-step-forward, two-steps-back financial services industry.“The most revolutionary area (of reform) will be the introduction of hedge funds,” said Ernst J. Lee, spokesperson for the Financial Services Commission, echoing recent pronouncements by hi

March 21, 2011

Korea needs to engineer the local currency’s ascent against the U.S. dollar rather than raise interest rates to contain inflation more effectively, experts said Monday.The government, however, remains opposed to the idea, saying the currency issue should be approached in a broader context as it could have far-reaching ramifications over the overall economy.The argument comes as Korea’s inflation l

March 21, 2011

Hyundai Motor Co., Korea’s largest automaker, saw a great boost to its sales in China last month, becoming the third best-selling brand in the world’s largest market for automobiles, company officials said Monday.The company sold 50,717 vehicles in China last month, up 36.7 percent from the same period last year.The figure represents a near 30 percent drop from a month earlier when the company sol

Industry March 21, 2011

The Korean unit of General Motors said Monday it would reduce production this week by up to 10 percent because of a possible lack of parts from Japan following the devastating earthquake.GM Korea ― formerly GM Daewoo ― said it would stop four hours a day of overtime work from Monday at its plants in the western city of Bupyeong and in the southwestern port of Gunsan.The company said it would also

Industry March 21, 2011

Managers at Hansalim, Korea’s biggest cooperative of consumers, recently realized the depth of the food scare when they took a look at the surging number of their cooperative’s members. Established in 1986, Hansalim saw its membership swell by nearly 20 percent to 250,900 in January from a year ago, just by word of mouth. It spends almost nothing on public relations.The sharp increase in membershi

Industry March 21, 2011

Prices of liquid crystal display panels have been falling since a devastating earthquake hit Japan earlier this month, industry data showed Monday, beating market forecasts that prices would trend higher on an undersupply.According to market research firm DisplaySearch, prices of LCD panels for 46-inch TVs came to $330 and those for 40 and 42-inch TVs stood at $234 as of Saturday, down about $4-14

Industry March 21, 2011

Korea is serving as a temporary base for Japan-based employees of some multinational companies who are fleeing the quake-stricken country.Foreign governments are advising their citizens to get out of the country and mobilizing airplanes to evacuate them as health risk fears are growing from radiation leaks at the nuclear plant in Fukushima. A growing number of foreigners are arriving in Korea, air

Social Affairs March 18, 2011

Standard Chartered First Bank Korea, the local unit of Britain-based Standard Chartered Group, said Friday it plans to close 27 branches in the nation by June to improve efficiency.Employees at the closed branches will be relocated to other operations, said the lender which operates 418 branches in the nation.“SC First Bank plans to cut 27 small branches in a bid to boost efficiency and diversify

Industry March 18, 2011

Hanwha Group said Friday that it has established a research center in Silicon Valley in the United States to develop next-generation solar energy technologies including solar cells.The establishment of Hanwha Solar America marks the group’s latest efforts to enhance its solar energy business. Its affiliate Hanwha Chemical Co. acquired 49.9 percent of Shanghai-based solar-products maker Solarfun Po

Industry March 18, 2011

Korea is seeking to tighten its construction code for smaller buildings in order to better protect them from massive earthquakes, the land and transportation ministry said Friday.The move comes as concerns are growing that Korea might not be immune from massive earthquakes like the one that hit Japan last week. Experts are also calling for the government to step up its efforts to better brace for

Industry March 18, 2011