Unionized workers at KDB Financial Group Co. on Friday expressed strong opposition to the appointment of a presidential aide as its chief, saying he has been tapped thanks to his political connections.The Financial Services Commission, the country’s top financial regulator, on Thursday picked Hong Ki-taek, an economics professor and an aide to President Park Geun-hye, to head the state-run banking giant. The KDB Financial chief is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the FSC chair

South Korea’s economic growth rate for this year is expected to beat the government’s estimate on the back of its economic stimulus measures including an extra budget, analysts said Friday.Ten major securities firms’ average economic growth outlook for 2013 came in at 2.8 percent, 0.5 percentage point higher than the 2.3 percent projected by the government last month, according to the analysts polled by Yonhap News Agency.Woori Investment & Securities Co. and Hyundai Securities Co. expected the

A German court has invalidated Apple’s patents related to its “slide-to-unlock” user interface.The German Federal Patent Court said Thursday that it found all claims of Apple’s “slide-to-unlock” interface property invalid.Apple Insider, an Internet IT news provider in U.S., said “the German court noted that Apple’s patent claim for a swiping gesture, the only new enhancement to prior art, doesn’t meet certain requirements of European patent law.“This so-called inventive step, which is needed to

The state-run rail operator KORAIL announced on Friday that it will wash its hands of the troubled Yongsan development project as its normalization proposal failed to gain approval from the board of Dream Hub PFV. Dream Hub is a special purpose company, set up in 2007, for decision-making on the Yongsan project, the nation’s single largest development plan to build an international business district in central Seoul. It is composed of 30 shareholders, including KORAIL, the biggest shareholder wi

 South Korean stocks slumped 1.64 percent on Friday as foreigners beefed up their net selling amid lingering North Korea risks, analysts said Friday. The local currency sank against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 32.22 points to 1,927.23, extending its losing streak to a fifth straight session. Trading volume was moderate at 364.3 million shares worth 4.8 trillion won ($4.2 billion), with decliners far outnumbering gainers 639 to 171.   "On top

South Korean stocks opened lower on Friday as investors sat on the sidelines due to the rising tensions with North Korea, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 8.11 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,951.34 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor losing 1.93 percent and leading chipmaker SK hynix losing 0.86 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO shed 0.78 percent.North Korea threatened Thursday to pul

A nuclear reactor on South Korea's southeast coast was shut down Thursday afternoon, but the cause was not immediately known, plant operators said.No immediate threats of a radiation leak were detected, according to the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co.The Gori Nuclear Power Plant, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, halted operation at around 4:34 p.m., only hours after it resumed operation following a two-month maintenance that ended Wednesday.An investigation was underway to identify the

Korea’s top 30 conglomerates pledged to increase investment in their respective sectors such as electronics, automobiles and displays by 7 percent to 149 trillion won ($132 billion) this year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a meeting with corporate executives on Thursday.They also plan to increase hiring of new employees by 1.5 percent to some 128,000 in 2013, of which some 47,000 high school graduates will be recruited.“We are happy to hear of the investment and employment p

Mobile telecommunication operator SK Telecom had the highest average annual paycheck for employees among major Korean companies last year, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday. The data showed that SK Telecom’s average per-capita salary of its more than 4,000 employees was about 98.8 million won ($88,000). The country’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and foreign exchange specialist Korea Exchange Bank were listed at No. 2 and No. 3, with the average annual sa

South Korean financial markets were rattled Thursday by escalating geopolitical risks stemming from a torrent of threats from North Korea, with the key stock index tumbling 1.2 percent and the local currency sinking against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index plunged 23.77 points to 1,959.45, the biggest daily fall this year. Trading volume was moderate at 407 million shares worth 4.6 trillion won ($4.1 billion), with decliners far outnumbering gainers 614 to 225.“Nor

Sales of foreign-made vehicles in South Korea spiked more than 13 percent in March from a year earlier, boosted by steady-selling models, a trade association said Thursday.A total of 12,063 foreign brand cars were sold here last month, up 13.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.In the first three months of 2013, a total of 34,964 foreign vehicles were sold in the country, also up 19.4 percent from a year earlier, the association