South Korean stocks dropped 0.97 percent on Wednesday as investors stepped to the sidelines on an aborted bailout plan for Cyprus, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell19.15 points to 1,959.41. Trading volume was moderate at 322.4 million shares worth 3.7 trillion won (US$3.3 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 562 to 251."The Cyprus rejection raised concerns on the eurozone region and foreigners cont

South Korean stocks traded 0.32 percent lower late Wednesday morning, led by losses in foodmakers and brokerage houses, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell6.39 points to 1,972.17 as of 11:20 a.m.Blue-chip confectionery maker Orion slumped 3 percent with major brokerage house Mirae Asset Securities tumbling 3.5 percent. In contrast, large-cap auto-related stocks gathered ground. No.1 player Hyundai Motor edged up 0.2 percent with its auto-parts making affil

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Wednesday, dented by renewed eurozone concerns after the Cypriot parliament rejected a tax proposal needed for its bailout, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 5.94 points, or 0.3 percent to 1,972.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most shares trended downward across the board, with those of tech blue-chips and financial firms leading the decline. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics slipped 0.54 percent, wi

The government has decided to establish a second public firm to operate the country's KTX high-speed trains in an effort to inject greater competition into the railway system monopolized by the state-run Korea Railroad (KORAIL), officials said Wednesday.The move is expected to be finalized in a report to President Park Geun-hye slated for later this month, according to the officials from the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.The new railroad company will likely handle the operatio

Creditors of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. agreed Tuesday to rescue the troubled builder through a debt-to-equity swap program worth 170 billion won ($152.9 million), creditor bank officials said. The builder's creditor banks, including Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank, held a meeting headed by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the country's financial watchdog, later in the day to discuss the matter and agreed to the plan, they said.The swap will prevent the cash-strapped builder fr

Top earners spend on education, travel; bottom 10% on food, housing

When foreign fans type in “Psy” on major search engines, the results rarely include the Korean singer’s official homepage. The reason lies in a technical problem with Korean websites. According to industry sources, many Korean websites, including Psy’s homepage, have taken steps that block tracking and indexing by foreign search engines and portals. In detail, such websites usually insert a code like “robots.txt” to keep outside parties from indexing the details of their pages. The trouble is th

The Federation of Korean Industries is seeking to mend its ways to regain public trust and become a more reliable business representative. The organization, which traditionally represents the nation’s richest and largest companies, is now even considering joining forces with People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, one of the most liberal civic groups in Korea. The move comes following a statement from the federation last week, saying that it had decided to operate a separate committee t

Samsung C&T, the construction and trading subsidiary of Samsung Group, took over a leading liquefied gas handling firm to take the lead in the prosperous natural gas market.The company last month signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire Whessoe, a U.K.-based firm specializing in the storage and regasification of liquefied natural gas, officials said Tuesday. The estimated amount of the buy is around 20 billion won ($18 million).The acquisition was completed on Monday, after Samsung C&T clear

LG claims right over eye scroll function while Samsung says it used own proprietary technology

South Korean stocks closed 0.53 percent higher Tuesday as local exporters rebounded from their recent losses sparked by concerns over the eurozone economy, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.38 points to 1978.56. Trading volume was low at 313.3 million shares worth 3.62 trillion won ($3.26 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 471 to 318.“The increase came as the market recouped excessive losses made in

The Financial Supervisory Service on Tuesday issued an “institutional caution” against Heungkuk Life Insurance for glossing over irregular practices at a sales branch.“While the Heungkuk branch attracted policyholders via unauthorized practices, the headquarters did not take any disciplinary action despite internal detection,” an FSS official said.Ultimately, the headquarters suffered losses worth 1.22 billion won ($1.1 million) ― as extra costs for resolving unfair contracts between the branch