South Korea and the United Arab Emirates agreed Friday to cooperate in nurturing energy-related experts and jointly making inroads into energy markets in third countries, Seoul officials said.Both countries signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul on cooperation in the energy sector, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Under the deal, they promised to work together to nurture experts in nuclear, oil, natural gas and other energy sectors, while jointly pushing to advance

Feb. 28, 2014

Nexen Tire Corp., South Korea’s third largest tire maker, said Friday that one of its premium products won a prestigious international design award in Germany.It said the NFera Su1 ultrahigh-performance tire was tapped as a winner at the International Forum Design Awards.The company said experts gave high marks for the driving characteristics of the tire in wet road conditions and its exceptional stability in high-speed cornering.The European-style asymmetrical tire had also been lauded for its

Industry Feb. 28, 2014

Samsung Electronics said Friday it plans to adopt a “wage peak” system this year, a move expected to bring significant changes to the local labor market.The company said its wage peak system will extend the retirement age to 60 from the current 55, while cutting the paycheck by 10 percent in the last five years at work, allowing workers to stay at Samsung for a longer term.A wage peak system allows employees to accept a reduced salary for an opportunity to work past the retirement age set by the

Industry Feb. 28, 2014

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s top carmaker, is awaiting final approval from Chinese authorities to build its fourth plant in the world’s biggest auto market, a senior company official said Friday.The new plant, with annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles, will be located in the city of Chongqing, southwestern China, and Hyundai expects China to give the final nod after next week’s two annual meetings of China’s legislature, known as “Lianghui,” the official said.“We have completed all

Industry Feb. 28, 2014

Financial authorities pledged to reach a consensus with countries in the Asia-Pacific region on the introduction of an “Asia Region Funds Passport” when they reported their 2014 policy direction to the president on Monday.Korea has been in talks with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore for an agreement on opening the money market. The pact will allow asset management firms to sell products in member countries without regulatory approval.“A fund product designed by a Korean asset management firm

Feb. 24, 2014

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok on Wednesday reiterated the incumbent administration’s vision for giving foreign investors the confidence to invest in Korea. “To echo President Park Geun-hye, the government will turn Korea into the world’s most investor-friendly market,” Hyun said in a meeting with major foreign companies and business lobby groups held at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul. In particular, he predicted that the Korean market can offer more opportunities for for

Feb. 12, 2014

The Finance Ministry said Monday that tax authorities were considering easing probes on conglomerates and other major enterprises to communicate the Park Geun-hye administration’s determination to spur the economy this year with their help. Such policy moves, however, are likely to pose a dilemma and even invite backlash among some lawmakers as the government is already operating at a deficit. According to data released by the Finance Ministry, central government tax revenue stood at 201.9 trill

Feb. 10, 2014

South Korea will intensify its market monitoring on fears that volatility could deepen in the wake of the U.S. Fed’s decision to make an additional cut to its bond purchase stimulus efforts, a senior economic policymaker said Friday.“We will step up our monitoring on expectations that the situations of market volatility deepening will persist throughout this year,” Vice Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said at a meeting with other policymakers to review the latest financial and economic situations

Industry Feb. 7, 2014

KB Financial Group, the country’s third-largest banking group by assets, announced Friday that its earnings last year fell 25.9 percent on-year due partly to a low interest rate and increasing bad debt allowances.Net income in 2013 totaled 1.28 trillion won ($1.19 billion), compared with 1.73 trillion won in 2012, the group said in a regulatory filing.It also said that its net interest income fell by 7.3 percent to 6.52 trillion won last year, compared with 7 trillion won the previous year, as i

Feb. 7, 2014

Sony Corp., the once unchallenged electronics industry leader, announced dramatic measures to turn itself around and return to the forefront, making South Korean tech players listen in but not with much alarm.Market watchers on Friday pointed to the robust presence of South Korean firms in the global market across the board in businesses that Sony concentrates on.“Sony’s efforts will have only a limited impact on South Korean players’ market share in TVs, as the move (of splitting its TV busines

Industry Feb. 7, 2014

Demand for recreational vehicles and vans is on the rise in South Korea as consumers increasingly seek diversity, industry associations said Friday.According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association and Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, of the 1,547,588 cars sold in the country last year, 25.5 percent, or 394,255, were in the RV class, such as sport utility vehicles and car-derived vans.Numbers showed that local original equipment manufacturers such as Hyundai Mot

Industry Feb. 7, 2014

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-largest carmaker, said Friday it unveiled its Soul electric vehicle for the first time at the Chicago Auto Show, highlighting its merger of superb driving characteristics and functionality while meeting rigorous environmental protection requirements.The EV is based on the platform of its second-generation Soul boxy compact and uses an 81.4 kilowatt electric motor that churns out a maximum of 109 horsepower and 29 kilogram force meters. It can accelerate fro

Industry Feb. 7, 2014