Korea’s per-capita annual consumption of rice declined to a record low last year as a growing number of people chose other food alternatives for their daily meals, a report showed Thursday.Rice consumption per person in the household sector here came to 72.8 kilograms last year, down from 74 kilograms the previous year, according to Statistics Korea. The figure was the lowest since related data st

Jan. 27, 2011

Korea’s imports of bottled water jumped to a record high last year as demand grew for premium brands from European countries, the nation’s customs office said Thursday.Korea imported a record $7.9 million worth of bottled water last year, up 19 percent from a year earlier. The import figures have grown an annual average of 23 percent over the past five years, according to the report by the Korean

Jan. 27, 2011

BRUSSELS (Yonhap News) ― The European Parliament’s trade committee passed an enactment bill that outlines the use of trade safeguards once a free trade agreement with Korea goes into effect, local sources said Wednesday.Parliamentary insiders said the Committee on International Trade passed the bilateral safeguard act with no objections raised by those taking part in the vote.A safeguard arrangeme

Jan. 27, 2011

Korea’s plans to slaughter 7.9 million cattle, pigs and poultry to halt the spread of disease are pricing pensioner Lee Ok-soon out of a Lunar New Year tradition of cooking beef soup as an offering for her ancestors. “I don’t believe the government can do anything to pull down prices, which are soaring as if the sky’s the limit,” said Lee, 77, as she shopped at a market in central Seoul on Jan. 20

Jan. 27, 2011

Korean Air, the country’s largest carrier, forecast record operating profit this year as it seeks to lure more premium-class travelers and begins to operate Airbus SAS A380 superjumbos.Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, may rise 14 percent to 1.28 trillion won ($1.1 billion), the company said in an e-mailed statement Thursday. Sales may increase 8.

Industry Jan. 27, 2011

Korea and the U.S. will soon conclude work on the final text of their recently concluded free trade agreement, paving the way for the pact to be ratified in both countries, a high-ranking trade official said Wednesday.In December last year, both countries reached a final agreement focusing on U.S. demands that Korea soften its automotive safety and environmental standards.The Korea-U.S. free trade

Jan. 26, 2011

Exports of Korea’s traditional rice wine makgeolli reached an all-time high last year thanks to high demand in Japan and a spike in shipments to China, a report showed Wednesday.Makgeolli exports reached $19.1 million in 2010, up from $6.3 million a year earlier, said the report by the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp.By country, Japan topped the list of importers with shipments totaling $15.6 mill

Industry Jan. 26, 2011

Volume of cargo handled at Korea’s seaports hit a record high last year thanks to improving economic and business conditions, the transportation ministry said Wednesday.The nation’s seaports handled an all-time high of 1.2 billion tons of cargo last year, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to a report by the ministry. In December, cargo handling also jumped to a monthly record of 110 m

Jan. 26, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s second-largest maker of mobile phones, said Wednesday that it has sold more than 2 million units of the Galaxy Tab tablet computer within three months of its global debut. Samsung achieved the sales figure this week as the company sells the 7-inch, Android-running tablet through some 200 mobile carriers in 94 countries, the company said. About 500,000 units of

Industry Jan. 26, 2011

Korea’s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said Wednesday that it will hire three companies to supply equipment to build a long-term evolution network as the mobile operator braces for a surge in wireless data demand. Samsung Electronics Co., LG-Ericsson Co. and Nokia Siemens Networks B.V. will supply equipment for the LTE network, SK Telecom said in a statement. The mobile operator plans to st

Industry Jan. 26, 2011

Three banking groups, including top financial firm Woori Finance Holdings Co., expressed their intention to buy an ailing savings bank Tuesday, a state insurance agency that arranges the deal and sources said.On Jan. 14, the financial regulator suspended mid-sized Samhwa Mutual Savings Bank for six months as it failed to meet regulatory capital requirements. State-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.

Jan. 26, 2011

Hong Jun-ho is busy preparing to move out of the home his family has lived in for the past two years in southern Seoul. With the lease on his riverside apartment about to expire, the 34-year-old English teacher feels quite lucky to have found a new home in northern Seoul. It is affordable, located near his new school and also near his in-laws’ house.But without such luck, he could have been in ser

Jan. 26, 2011

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) -- Korean tech behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to hire more employees in China in an effort to enhance its display production there, company officials said Wednesday.Samsung Electronics plans to hire dozens of professionals for process manufacturing, quality management and production management of its liquid crystal display (LCD) production facilities in China,

Industry Jan. 26, 2011