Kim should have ordered U.S. fund to sell shares, watchdog official saysKim Seok-dong, the nation’s chief financial regulator, has once again come under public scrutiny for his allegedly irresponsible policy on U.S. Lone Star Funds, the biggest shareholder of Korea Exchange Bank.Following the vague stance he assumed on corruption scandals of regulatory staffers, for which he has yet to offer a det

All eyes are on the new floor leaders of the Grand National Party and Democratic Party, who will lead their parties until the 2012 general election.Former Finance Minister Rep. Kim Jin-pyo, who was elected Friday as DP floor leader, said he would work in tune with his counterparts, especially Rep. Hwang Woo-yea of the GNP.Their predecessors, Park Jie-won of the DP and Kim Moo-sung of the GNP, were

Irregular workers are paid half the wage of regular workers for the same amount of labor. They were also “discriminated” against when it came to joining labor unions and subscribing to the national pension scheme, a governmental report suggested Sunday. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, a regular worker was paid an average of 14,388 won ($13.20) per hour as of June last year, comp

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest automaker, said Friday it has agreed to join Denmark’s efforts to promote clean energy cars in a move to tap the fast growing market for green vehicles in Europe.A memorandum of understanding (MOU) to that end was signed Wednesday in Denmark between the South Korean automaker and the city of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, Hyundai Motor officials said.C

A rocket fell early Saturday just outside an Afghanistan base where South Korean aid workers and troops are stationed, but there were no reports of injuries, Foreign Ministry officials said. The rocket landed about 200 meters away from the wall surrounding the base in Charikar City in the northern Afghan province of Parwan at around 12:45 a.m., according to them. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said tha

Women, disabled people oppose what they call ‘discriminatory’ systemControversy is growing over a system the Defense Ministry seeks to revive to give extra points in recruitment exams to those who have fulfilled their military duty, as women’s groups and disabled people continue their opposition.The ministry has been working to gain parliamentary approval for the system, contending that soldiers s

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of computer memory chips and the second-biggest semiconductor company, reduced its gap with industry leader Intel Corp. in 2010, according to an industry report Sunday, fueled by its memory business.Samsung accounted for 9.2 percent of the global chip revenue in 2010, up from a 7.6 percent share in 2009, according to the latest report from IHS iSu

Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s No.2 memory-chip maker, won a patent infringement appeal against Rambus Inc., a U.S.-based technology licensing firm, the South Korean company said Saturday. If the ruling stands, Hynix will not have to pay the hefty compensation it was slapped with in 2009.“We welcome this ruling as it has helped us establish the basis for pursuing future negotiations with Rambus,

The Korean branch of U.S.-based global social commerce powerhouse Groupon is facing growing criticism after it posted wrong information about displayed items and even sold products that it had not secured. Groupon Korea on May 2 canceled a “secret megadeal” two hours before the event launch, during which the company was expected to hand out 500,000 giftcons ― mobile gift coupons ― which would give

High-ranking officials of the Financial Supervisory Service will likely be subject to a tougher code of conduct and may face dismissal if they fail to meet annual internal assessments, officials said Sunday. Currently, 12 FSS executives, three deputy governors and nine assistant deputy governors, are allowed to maintain their three-year term as long as they do not engage in criminality.“In the wak

Shinsegae Co., South Korea’s second-largest retailer by sales, said Friday that it has finalized a deal to acquire Kim’s Club Mart Co., the supermarket chain operator of leading local fashion retailer E-Land Group.Kim’s Club Mart will be purchased by Shinsegae’s discount unit E-Mart Co., Shinsegae said. The purchase price is reported to be less than 200 billion won (US$184.5 million). 　On May 2, S

South Korea logged a trade surplus in April for the 15th straight month, fueled by exports of petroleum products, ships and vehicles, the nation’s customs office said Sunday.The trade surplus reached $5.14 billion last month, according to data released by the Korea Customs Service. The figure marks the 15th consecutive month of surplus since February 2010.Exports stood at $49.15 billion in April,