Korean women continue to be paid less than men despite improvements in their social standing.A Statistics Korea report showed that the average salary of women stood at 67 percent that of men last year. While the figure is higher than that for 2009 ― when it was 66.5 percent ― it remains disparate from the rapid rise in women’s presence in universities, professional vocations and as successful appl

June 27, 2011

POSCO, the world’s fourth-largest steelmaker, has been named the company with the best corporate governance structure in Korea.According to the steelmaker, it was so named by the Corporate Governance Service and the Korea Exchange on Friday.The company added that its filling of the audit committee with outside directors and other activities giving enhanced independence to auditors also contributed

Industry June 24, 2011

The government will release almost 3.5 million barrels from its oil reserves in an effort to control international and domestic oil prices, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy announced Friday.According to the ministry, the government will release 3.467 million barrels in compliance with the International Energy Agency’s Initial Contingency Response Plan.Korea’s oil reserves, held by the government

June 24, 2011

Conglomerate denies reports on selling SK Securities to SK C&CSK Group remains undecided despite the fast-approaching deadline for complying with fair trade laws dictating that the group divest itself of stakes in SK Securities Co.On Tuesday, the group denied a Yonhap News Agency report that it had decided to sell SK Securities shares to the IT services provider SK C&C if the revised bill is not p

Industry June 21, 2011

The steelmaker POSCO announced Monday that it was ranked top in the U.S.-based steel industry analysis firm World Steel Dynamics’ World-Class Steelmaker’s list for the second consecutive year. In this year’s report, World Steel Dynamics rated 34 steelmakers in 23 categories including technological capability, profitability and access to raw materials. POSCO scored 8.12 points to take the top spot.

Industry June 20, 2011

STX Corp. announced Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding on building a shipyard for Russia’s state-run shipbuilder United Shipbuilding Corp. at the international economic forum held in St. Petersburg on Friday.Under the agreement, STX, which counts construction and shipbuilders among its subsidiaries, will undertake the $1 billion project to build a shipyard in St. Petersburg. The c

Industry June 20, 2011

The largest money-laundering scam conducted through overseas tax-havens has been uncovered by the Korea Customs Service.According to reports, the Korea Customs Service uncovered a money laundering scam by a local intermediate trading firm involving foreign currencies valued at 762.5 billion won ($704.1 million).The company imports petrochemical products, which it then exports to other markets. The

June 20, 2011

Mortgage rates hit a 30-month high fueled by Bank of Korea’s rates hike this month, raising concerns for damaging effects to the economy.On June 10, the central bank raised the benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.25 percent in an effort to counter the rising inflationary pressure. Against market expectations, the central bank had kept the rates frozen for two consecutive months in April

June 19, 2011

POSCO will set up a joint venture with the Chinese steelmaker Tonghua Iron and Steel Group.According to the Korean steelmaker, it has formed an agreement with the Chinese firm to establish an automotive plate processing joint venture with an annual processing capacity of 200,000 tons.The plant will be located in a special economic development zone in Huinan Country in Jilin Province. POSCO will ho

Industry June 16, 2011