Korea and Indonesia will hold the first round of feasibility study talks on a bilateral free trade deal this week, the Trade Ministry in Seoul said Wednesday.In 2007, a free trade agreement between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Indonesia, went into effect. But Seoul has been seeking to forge higher-level separate free trade deals with Indonesia, Malaysi

Korea’s automotive exports reached a record high in the first half of the year as local automakers increased their shares in overseas markets on the back of improved quality, a trade association said Wednesday.According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, local automakers exported a total of 1.55 million units in the first six months of the year, up 15.1 percent from a year earlier.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world’s leading shipbuilder, said Wednesday it will not bid for a stake in Hynix Semiconductor Inc., raising speculation that creditors may fail again to sell the world’s second-largest computer memory chipmaker.Hyundai Heavy had been regarded as the sole potential investor for the 15 percent stake up for sale.“We decided not to submit a bid for Hynix Semiconducto

Samsung Electronics Co. will likely report lower-than-expected earnings for the second quarter, hit by flagging demand for TVs and slumping display prices, analysts said Wednesday. Samsung, Asia’s largest maker of smartphones, TVs, chips and display panels, is estimated to have earned 3.35 trillion won ($3.14 billion) in the April-June period, compared with 4.28 trillion won a year earlier, accord

The National Pension Service, the world’s largest public pension, is under fire for its alleged lack of supervision of its staff operating a huge fund after the nation’s top auditor found irregularities. The Board of Audit and Inspection said some NPS officials were found to have given business favors to brokerages with school background ties in exchange for entertainment and money.The public agen

Apple’s iPhone has leapfrogged Research In Motion’s Blackberry to grab fourth-place among handset manufacturers in the United States, tracking firm comScore said Tuesday.The iPhone’s share of U.S. mobile subscribers rose to 8.7 percent in the three months ending in May from 7.5 percent three months earlier, while RIM’s share fell to 8.1 percent from 8.6 percent, comScore said.Samsung was the top h

China may have understated the debt burden of local governments by as much as $541.6 billion, and the proportion of bad loans could be higher than previously forecast, ratings agency Moody’s said Tuesday.In a stern warning, Moody’s warned the lack of a plan to tackle bad loans to local governments meant it could downgrade its outlook for Chinese banks to negative.The agency’s findings came after i

The Korea Center for Nonviolent Communication is holding a celebration this Friday at 6 p.m. in honor of the growth they’ve experienced in the past six years since opening. “The center is a regional nonprofit organization that supports the learning and sharing of nonviolent communication, promoting quality human connections where compassionate giving and receiving is inspired,” said Anne Walton, a

A cultural exchange event has been organized to give people of different nationalities a chance to plan volunteer activities together.ICI-Volunteers are a group of volunteers from all around the world who meet to both learn about Korea as well as helping others. The members of the International Exchange and Cultural Promotion Institute meet every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the ICI office in Byeolhadan