The number of people who run small businesses without any employees in the retail sector declined this year, data showed Monday, amid a prolonged slump due to lukewarm private consumption in Asia's fourth-largest economy.According to the data from the Bank of Korea, the number of small business owners without employees in the sector dropped to 832,000 in May from 851,000 at end 2016. In this file photo taken on March 2, 2017, banners hung at a clothes shop in Seoul's Namdaemun Market advertise a

Industry July 17, 2017

The nominee for the nation's top financial regulator said Monday he would take "bold" steps in restructuring the petrochemical and steel sectors Choi Jong-ku, a former deputy finance minister who served at the finance ministry for about three decades, was picked by President Moon Jae-in to head the Financial Services Commission.If appointed, he will be tasked with slowing down the nation's mountain of household debt and restructuring some of the country's bloated business sectors. Asked by lawma

Industry July 17, 2017

LG Electronics said Monday that independent studies showed its robot vacuum cleaner released earlier this year were as intelligent as a 6-to-7-year-old child.Citing a research conducted by Robotics & Intelligent Systems Lab under Seoul National University, the South Korean consumer electronics giant said the vacuum cleaner, named the Roboking Turbo Plus, boasts outstanding intelligence in terms of perceptions, decisions and activity. (Yonhap)The research tested 100 criteria and categorized the i

Industry July 17, 2017

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday tracking gains on Wall Street, with investors waiting for second-quarter earnings results from big companies due out later this month.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 11.89 points, or 0.49 percent, to a high of 2,426.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.39 percent at 21,637.74 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ was up 0.61 percent to 6,312.47. Companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. and

Market July 17, 2017

Stock trading via smartphones accounted for an average 34.48 percent of daily trading on the secondary KOSDAQ market during the first half of this year, the nation's bourse operator said Monday. In 2010, stock trading via smartphones took up just 3.8 percent of the KOSDAQ market, according to the Korea Exchange. Mobile stock trading in South Korea has jumped over the past seven years, mainly due to brokerages' stepped-up marketing efforts for smartphone users.  Last year, stock trading via

Market July 17, 2017

Since 2007, 15 immigrant women were killed as a result of domestic violence and abuses in South Korea, according to Korean Women’s Human Rights Center.Domestic violence encompasses a wide range of abuses, including physical assault, sexual assault, and intimidation. It is widespread and often goes under the radar, a center representative said to local media.Protestors marching against domestic violence and abuses. (Yonhap)But the government does very little to provide assistance to victims or he

Social Affairs July 13, 2017

Failing companies that were given a second chance through government assistance showed a better survival rate than startups, with many growing bigger in size and sales, a report said Thursday.The Small and Medium Business Administration surveyed 965 firms that received state support in 2014 to resuscitate their ailing businesses and found that 83.9 percent of them were still in operation two years later. These companies include restarts, which were helped in reopening new businesses or in R&D, a

Business July 13, 2017

South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its key rate steady for July to support the country's growth. In a widely expected move, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to keep the key rate at 1.25 percent, extending its wait-and-see approach for the 13th consecutive month.In June last year, South Korea's central bank made a surprise rate cut, citing a need to stimulate the lackluster economy amid a prolonged economic slowdown. (Yonhap)

Economy July 13, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday introduced the world's first LED theater solution, which boasts far improved display resolution compared to traditional movie screens.Under cooperation with Lotte Cinema, a major movie chain in South Korea, Samsung said it successfully installed its cinema LED screen."Based on Samsung's display technology, we commercialized the cinema LED screen that does away with the need projectors," said Kim Hyun-suk, who heads Samsung's display business. He stressed this

Industry July 13, 2017

Samsung Electronics is set to beat US Apple in terms of operating profits for the second quarter, market watchers said Thursday, although the archrival is still expected to stand as the No. 1 player on the earnings chart for all of 2017.The outlook came as Samsung is presumed to have posted record-high earnings for the April-June period at 14 trillion won ($12 billion), compared with 8.14 trillion won a year earlier, the company said last week in its regulatory filing.(Yonhap)Samsung's second-qu

Business July 13, 2017

Shinsegae Food, the food unit of the country's retail giant Shinsegae, has been tapped to provide catering services for next year's Winter Olympics in South Korea, the company said Thursday.The company said it will be in charge of providing meals for about 10,000 people, including athletes, administrators and operations personnel and the media for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. (Shinsegae Food)Shinsegae Food said it is developing various dishes, including vegetarian and halal food, to mee

Industry July 13, 2017

Despite recent government-led efforts to crack down on the dog meat industry, some traditional Korean markets continue to illegally slaughter dogs and sell their meat, according to animal rights group Care.The group filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District’s Prosecution Office on Wednesday, calling for the immediate investigation into and closure of illegally-run dog slaughterhouses.The Moran Dog Meat Market in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap)The group accused the markets, includin

Social Affairs July 12, 2017

South Korea is expected to become the world's top investor in semiconductor equipment this year and again in 2018 with global fab spending reaching record high levels, a report said Wednesday.According to the report from Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, $49.4 billion will be spent on fab equipment around the world this year, an increase of 19.8 percent from last year. It exceeds the previous record of $47.7 billion set in 2000. The record will be broken again next year with a

Industry July 12, 2017

Hanwha Total Petrochemicals, a 50-50 joint venture of Hanwha Group and Total SA, on Wednesday said it has increased its annual output of paraxylene by 200,000 tons at its facility in South Korea after a two-month upgrade.The second plant in Daesan, some 120 kilometers south of Seoul, will have an annual capacity of 1.2 million tons of paraxylene.This undated photo, provided by Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co., shows its production facility in Daesan, South Korea. (Yonhap)Paraxylene, derived from c

Business July 12, 2017