SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's 600 largest conglomerates plan to increase investments by 13.7 percent in 2011 but actual spending may be cut due to the global economic slowdown, a poll showed Thursday.The survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) showed local businesses

Industry Oct. 13, 2011

SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- Lone Star Funds' decision not to appeal a Seoul court verdict is expected to speed up the U.S. buyout fund's long-stalled plan to sell its controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), clearing legal uncertainties that have blocked the sale, market watchers said Thursday

Industry Oct. 13, 2011

SYDNEY, Oct 13, 2011 (AFP) - US technology giant Apple on Thursday won a temporary ban on Samsung selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia after launching legal action on the grounds that it copied Apple's top-selling iPad.The Federal Court handed down its long-awaited judgement in Sydney but said t

Technology Oct. 13, 2011

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak paid an unprecedented visit to the Pentagon on Wednesday and received a briefing from top American military officials on North Korea and other security issues, the presidential office said.Lee is the first South Korean president to

Politics Oct. 13, 2011

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- More than seven out of 10 South Koreans said they live in "an unfair society," a survey showed Wednesday, despite the government's ongoing campaign highlighting the issue.In the telephone survey of 1,000 citizens older than 19 nationwide, 72.6 percent said Korean society i

Social Affairs Oct. 12, 2011

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea demanded that Japan take "legal responsibility" for the aging Korean women forced into sexual slavery to serve Japan's World War II soldiers, formally raising the issue at a U.N. meeting for the first time in 14 years, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday

Politics Oct. 12, 2011

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- Sales of gasoline-powered cars in South Korea rose this year from the previous year despite high local fuel prices, an industry report showed Wednesday.The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) report showed that in the first eight months of the year 67.5 perce

Industry Oct. 12, 2011

CHICAGO (AP) — There is more evidence that taking vitamin E pills can be risky. A study that followed up on men who took high doses of the vitamin for about five years found they had a slightly increased risk of prostate cancer — even after they quit taking the pills.Doctors say it's ano

Technology Oct. 12, 2011

When it comes to socks, one is more likely to find a French or Swiss man wearing a smelly pair than a German or a Brit.A study by Swiss firm Blacksocks found that only 66 percent of Frenchmen changed their socks daily, while just seven in ten Swiss men put on a clean pair every day.On the other end

Podcast Oct. 12, 2011

BRUSSELS (AP) — The president of the EU's executive arm says he will unveil proposals on how to make European banks fit enough to sustain the worsening debt crisis on Wednesday.Jose Manuel Barroso said Tuesday that the European Commission would unveil several initiatives that should contribute

Podcast Oct. 12, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Senate voted Tuesday to threaten China with higher tariffs on Chinese products made cheap through an artificially undervalued currency, which lawmakers blame for destroying American jobs. The House of Representatives, though, is unlikely to take up the bill, which some American

Podcast Oct. 12, 2011

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's jobless rate stayed unchanged in September from a month earlier but job growth was showing signs of slowing down after recent marked expansions, a report showed Wednesday.The jobless rate stood at 3 percent last month, unchanged from August, according to the

Oct. 12, 2011