A UNESCO-affiliated international water research institute is to open new headquarters in Korea next year.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday that the operational committee of UNESCO resolved earlier in the day to establish the International Hydrological Program research center in Korea.The institute, to be located within the K-Water research complex in Daejeon, will be the fifth IHP center to open in Asia, following those in China, Malaysia, Japan and Indonesia.The

FTC turns up heat on conglomerates over unfair intra-group trading

A meister high school specializing in overseas engineering and construction education will open in 2015, officials said Wednesday.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is to sign a memorandum of understanding on Thursday with the International Contractors’ Association of Korea and the Seoul Urban Science Technical High School, officials said Wednesday.The students will be provided with technical education, as well as language courses, and upon graduation will be given the opportunit

The government announced on Wednesday a set of measures to buffer losses to small and medium enterprises incurred from operation suspension in the inter-Korean industrial complex in Gaeseong.The Ministry of Unification said that state agencies will further provide liquidity, credit guarantees and tax breaks for SMEs whose Gaeseong plant operations had been ceased for more than two weeks amid escalating tensions with North Korea.It is considering further extending loans to those companies from it

A Seoul court on Wednesday imposed a 10 million won ($8,870) fine on a Shinsegae Group executive for not attending parliamentary audits over the company‘s alleged infringement on the business rights of small retailers. Chung Yu-kyuang, the 41-year-old vice president of the country’s second-largest retail conglomerate, was found guilty of not responding to the government‘s call three times to appear at the hearings and audits of the National Assembly between October and November of last year, cit

South Korean stocks closed 0.87 percent higher Wednesday due to the improved economic outlook for the United States and the eurozone, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 16.68 points to finish at 1,935.31. Trading volume was moderate at 334.7 million shares worth 4.3 trillion won (US$3.9 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 626 to 195.   "The local stock market gathered ground due to the overnigh

South Korean consumer electronics giant LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday its first-quarter earnings sank from a year earlier largely due to reduced prices and increased marketing costs.   Net profit reached 22 billion won (US$19.6 million) in the January-March period on a consolidated basis, compared with a profit of 248 billion won a year earlier, LG Electronics said in a regulatory filing.   Revenue slipped 6.8 percent on-year to 14.1 trillion won over the cited period, while operating profi

South Korean stocks traded 0.49 percent higher late Wednesday morning, led by gains in builders and logistics firms, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 9.38 points to 1,928.01 as of 11:20 a.m.   Construction firms traded higher, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction rising 1.21 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction advancing 1.03 percent. GS Engineering & Construction added 2.39 percent.   Logistics firms also gathered ground, with Hyundai

The ratio of South Korea's household debt against disposable income rose to the highest level in nine years in 2012 as debt grew at a faster pace than income amid the economic slowdown, central bank data showed Wednesday.The ratio of households' debt against their disposable income came in at 136 percent in 2012, slightly up from 134 percent in the previous year, according to data by the Bank of Korea (BOK).The 2012 figure marked the highest level since 2003 when the central bank began to compil

SK hynix Inc., the world's No. 2 memory chip maker, said Wednesday it returned to profit in the first quarter on the back of an improved product mix.Net profit reached 179 billion won ($159 million) in the January-March period, reversing from a loss of 271 billion won the previous year, SK hynix said in a regulatory filing.Revenue increased 16.4 percent on-year to 2.78 trillion won in the first quarter. SK hynix said it posted an operating income of 317 billion won in the first three months of t

South Korean stocks opened higher on Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street following expectations that U.S. firms fared well in the first quarter, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 10.2 points, or 0.53 percent, to 1928.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 0.27 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix adding 2.08 percent. No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor moved up