Minister Hyun, BOK chief Kim discuss global finance, job growth at first meeting

Human error is one of the main causes of malfunctions at nuclear power plants in Korea, a survey showed on Tuesday. According to the state-run Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, 672 breakdowns or accidents at nuclear plants were reported over the past 36 years between 1978 and April 2013, and 18.3 percent of them were caused by human error. The latest breakdowns of two nuclear reactors, caused by the use of substandard parts, were not reflected in the data.“Twenty percent of breakdowns occurred

The Korea Power Exchange once again issued a warning over the nation’s electricity supply on Tuesday, for the second day in a row. The “preparation” warning was declared at 10:22 a.m. on Tuesday as the electricity reserve margin temporarily fell below 4.5 million kilowatts, officials said.The same measure had been taken on the previous day, as the daily temperature soared to a mid-summer level.The warning was lifted later in the afternoon, after the KPX retrieved some 530,000 kilowatts by adjust

87 staff recklessly accessed customer information: FSS

Korea Exchange Bank on Tuesday opened a website for foreign residents offering financial and nonfinancial information in four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese.The website, dubbed “EasyOne for foreigners,” provides non-nationals with a variety of “information on Korean society” as well as Internet banking services, said the commercial bank.KEB said it expected that more consumers would also easily access financial benefits of the EasyOne service via the Internet, whereas befor

Nearly 85 percent of local firms established in tax havens are linked to the shipping industry, data showed Tuesday, raising concerns of excessive public distress over offshore local companies.According to the data compiled by CEO Score, a corporate researcher, the country’s 16 business groups have established 281 companies in seven major tax havens, with 238 of them linked to the shipping industry.It is widely accepted for a shipper to establish offshore special purpose companies, especially wh

Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday that it has delivered 15 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to Denmark in the top South Korean automaker’s first such sale after it began assembly-line production of zero-emission cars in February.Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark, plans to use hydrogen fuel cell versions of Hyundai’s popular Tucson ix sport utility vehicle as official vehicles, Hyundai said.Copenhagen City officials were not immediately reached for comment on late Monday.The move comes three months

South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Tuesday, as increased bets by foreign investors in local equities were offset by selling by retail and institutional investors amid eased currency woes, analysts said. The localcurrency rose against the U.S. dollar.  After bobbing in and out of negative terrain, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 0.06 point, holding almost steady at 1,989.51. Trading volume was moderate at 329.1 million shares worth 3.91 trillion won (US$2.

South Korean stocks turned lower late Tuesday morning after starting higher, as blue-chip tech and financial firms shifted to negative territory, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 7.42 points, or 0.37 percent, to 1,982.15 as of 11:20 a.m.   Tech giant Samsung Electronics fell 0.4 percent, with No. 4 banking group Shinhan Financial declining more than 1 percent.   In contrast, steelmakers and heavy industries were bullish. Hyundai Steel, a major steelma

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, as a rising Japanese currency lifted investor sentiment here, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 9.40 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1,998.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most shares gathered ground across the board, with large-cap exporters leading the gain. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics inched up 0.2 percent, and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 0.7 percent. The yen rebounded to 99