South Korean stocks closed almost flat after a choppy session on Wednesday, as no clear sign on the U.S.'s next move regarding their monetary policies added jitters to investor sentimentThe benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished up 2.82 points, or 0.16 percent to 1,783.45. Trading volume was light at 292.4 million shares worth 4.04 trillion won ($3.49 billion) with gainers far outpacing decliners 610 to 216. "Investors are showing their distrust toward policies, especially

South Korean stocks pared earlier gains to trade 0.1 percent lower late Wednesday morning, dented by losses of Samsung Electronics Co.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 1.8 points to 1,778.83 as of 11:20 a.m.   Top-cap Samsung Electronics slumped more than 2.5 percent, driving down the main index. The tech heavyweight accounts for about 17 percent of the KOSPI's total market cap.   In contrast, other blue-chip exporters gathered ground, with Kia Motors, an automaker,

Certain model year Toyota Prius vehicles will be recalled in South Korea for the vehicle's faulty brake system, the transportation ministry said Wednesday.   A defect in the car's brake booster may lead to a significant increase in the braking distance, and thus jeopardize the safety of the vehicle, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.  Subject to the recall are 130 Prius vehicles produced between Oct. 31, 2008 and Oct. 9, 2009. Free repair services will be provided f

SK Telecom Co., the country's leading mobile carrier, introduced the next-generation mobile network on Wednesday, offering speeds twice as fast as the existing long-term evolution (LTE) network.   SK Telecom is the first mobile operator in the world to launch the so-called LTE-Advanced network service, which is 10 times faster than the old 3G network service, it said.   With the use of the LTE-Advanced network, an 800 megabyte file takes some 40 seconds to download, compared with 80 seconds with

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as China's central bank announced Tuesday it may add more liquidity to the market amid worries that the economy there is slowing down, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 10.58 points, or 0.59 percent, to 1,791.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips gathered ground, with LG Electronics rising 2.3 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix adding 2.03 percent. Top flat panel maker LG Dispay gained 1.93 per

The government said Wednesday that it plans to sell Woori Finance Holdings Co. in three batches by the end of next year, its fourth attempt since 2010 to recoup massive amounts of taxpayers' money, which were spent to save the country's largest banking group.The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country's financial regulator, said it will put 14 units of Woori Finance up for sale in the three groups -- its mainstay Woori Bank, two regional banks, and other units including a brokerage hous

Direct financing by South Korean companies sank 29.3 percent in May as firms refrained from raising money in sluggish stock and bond markets, the financial regulator said Wednesday.Local companies raised a total of 8.85 trillion won (US$7.60 billion) last month by selling stocks and bonds, compared with the 12.5 trillion won the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).In the first five months of this year, corporate direct financing dropped to 49.5 trillion won from

Private sector asked to lead in achieving 3% growth in 2nd half

The state-run nuclear watchdog on Tuesday approved the resumption of a nuclear power plant which has been suspended since late April for maintenance.The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said the Wolseong No. 2 reactor met the performance standards for operation in its regular inspection that started on April 24.   The 700-megawatt nuclear power plant located in Wolseong, some 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, is expected to provide some relief to the nation battling power shortages.South

Risk measure for Korea almost doubles in two months

British luxury carmaker Jaguar recently put a 2.0-liter gasoline engine into its flagship XJ limousine. Despite the smaller engine, the car’s agility is not seriously affected thanks to its all-aluminum body. In recent years, carmakers have been devoting considerable resources to developing lightweight vehicles. Reducing a car’s weight by 10 percent can improve fuel economy by 6-8 percent, industry watchers say. And one of the key alternative materials is aluminum. Experts say that aluminum perf

TOKYO (Yonhap News) ― A Japanese court said Tuesday that Apple Inc.’s patent infringement claim against Samsung Electronics Co. is invalid, giving the upper hand to the South Korean tech giant in a series of legal battles over patents, a Japanese news agency reported.Upholding a lower court’s verdict, the Intellectual Property High Court ruled that Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, did not infringe upon Apple’s technology on transferring media content from computers to smartphones a