The defense military has declared a war on smoking, unveiling a plan to lower its service members’ smoking rate by 3 percentage points this year.Some 47.2 percent of military personnel were smokers as of the end of last year, higher than the average of 39.6 percent for the country’s men, according to government data.“Under the smoking reduction goal, the defense ministry designated 100 non-smoking

No English. No job. No future? That cannot be true for everyone, but many South Korean companies and individuals seem to believe it is. For them, English is the only thing that stands between them and the vast global markets.The importance of English as a lingua franca in business deals can’t be overstated. It’s especially so for South Korean companies that depend heavily on exports for growth. Ko

A conference on economic opportunities and challenges arising from the Korea-EU FTA which came into effect on July 1 will take place in Seoul on Thursday.The conference, taking place at the Koreana Hotel from 2 p.m., will also examine the current economic crisis in Europe and economic development in Korea. The event is being jointly hosted by the Center for Free Enterprise, a Seoul-based free mark

Incheon International Airport Corp. announced Tuesday it has acquired a 10-percent stake in Khabarovsk Airport in Russia’s Far East, stepping up its charges into the development of the Russian partner.This makes the IIAC the first foreign airport operator to step into management of a Russian airport, which has been safeguarded by the government there as a national strategic industry.As the third-l

The Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday gave the green light to the merger of the nation’s two biggest online retailers operating under EBay Inc., ruling that the combination would not hinder the industry’s level of competition.The watchdog’s approval of the Gmarket-Auction merger came after their parent EBay had applied for the deal in March. After studying the deal for three months, the FTC said th

Korea will crank up its push for exploit indium and lithium around the world by facilitating local companies’ direct investment into the two scarce metals by law, the government said Tuesday.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said it plans to place indium, a key element of liquid crystal displays and touch-screens, on a list of 49 foreign rare metals. Lithium, used in aircraft and electric car batt

Revised estimate comes after reduction in government’s growth projectionThe average level of revenue KOSPI-listed firms are expected to generate in the second half of the year dropped, stock analysis said Tuesday, raising concerns over a slower economic growth on weaker consumption and waning exports.The estimation of operating profits for 115 listed companies on KOSPI for the July-December period

Foreign investors continued to offload South Korean shares for a second consecutive month in June amid jitters over the eurozone debt crisis and other economic uncertainties, the financial regulator said Tuesday.Overseas investors sold a net 918.6 billion won ($863.8 million) of local equities in June, after selling a net 2.8 trillion won in the previous month, according to the Financial Superviso

South Korea's antitrust watchdog on Tuesday approved the merger between Hite Brewery Co. and Jinro Co., saying the liquor giants' business consolidation will not hamper market competition.    Hite Brewery is the country's dominant beer maker, and Jinro is the leader in the market of soju, a Korean distilled beverage made from rice and other starches. Jinro was taken over by Hite Brewery in 2005.  

Union workers at GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., staged a partial strike on Tuesday after wage negotiations with management broke down, the carmaker said.   Unionized employees at the company's Incheon, Gunsan and Changwon factories stopped work for about three hours from 1:50 p.m., after holding a similar work stoppage the previous day, GM Korea said.   G

Sales of imported vehicles in Korea surged 17.5 percent last month from a year earlier, helped by aggressive marketing strategies by local car dealers, a trade association said Tuesday.A total of 8,964 imported vehicles were sold here in June, compared with 7,629 units sold a year earlier, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.Sales in June also represented a 2.1

The hybrid version of the Sonata sedan, made by Korea’s leading carmaker Hyundai Motor Co., ranked as the second best seller in the U.S. hybrid car market in June, industry sources said Tuesday.Sales data from Hyundai and U.S.-based automotive media showed the Sonata’s sales reached 1,422 last month compared to 4,340 for the Prius, which has effectively dominated the global hybrid car market since