In April last year, Doosan Corp. chairman Park Yong-maan was invited to the 21st Asia Business Conference hosted by the prestigious Harvard Business School in Boston, U.S. The conference gave Park a chance to present the story of the group’s dramatic transformation from a domestic consumer goods and liquor producer into a global infrastructure builder in 20 years. Behind the drastic change of Doosan in a short time were, above all, successful merger and acquisition deals at home and abroad.Durin

Foreign currency deposits at South Korean banks rose in February from the previous month as the country’s trade surplus remained in the black and corporate sales of overseas bonds gained, the central bank said Monday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by local residents reached $34.65 billion as of the end of February, up $2.14 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. Residents include individual citizens and firms but does not cover foreign nationals wi

More than six out of 10 South Koreans believe that President Park Geun-hye cannot implement the welfare programs she promised during her election campaign without raising taxes, a survey showed Monday.The telephone survey released by the Economic Reform Research, an independent economic institute, found that 65.6 percent of 800 respondents said that President Park Geun-hye could not implement her welfare programs without raising taxes. The survey taken on March 2 has a margin of error of 3.5 per

Japan’s credit default risk fell below that of South Korea in March following the improved economic outlook over Tokyo’s strong monetary easing, data showed Monday.The credit default swap premium for Japan’s benchmark Treasuries came in at 62 basis points on Wednesday, compared to 64 basis points tallied for South Korea, according to data by the Korea Center for International Finance.The spread on CDS reflects the cost of hedging credit risks on corporate or sovereign debt. A higher number indic

Key proposals include ending exemptions for foreign banks, workers

The proportion of people currently working or seeking work in Korea’s labor market is expected to fall below the 60 percent threshold for the first time in 24 years.Korea’s economic activity rate is predicted to sink to 59.3 percent this year, according to data by Statistics Korea and the National Assembly Budget Office. Korea has generally kept its economic activity rate above 60 percent since 1990. The economically active population also is expected to fall 2.3 percent to 25.4 million. This wo

Exports by South Korean automakers plunged in February from a year earlier due to a drop in output that resulted partly from reduced working days, the government said Monday.The country’s five automakers shipped a total of 234,161 vehicles last month, down 21.9 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.Their combined value dropped by a smaller margin of 15.1 percent on-year to $3.74 billion, reflecting a continued increase in the price of domestically

Major financial indices recorded limited volatility Monday, despite growing worries over negative effects on the stock and foreign exchange markets from geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula.The movements of stock prices and foreign exchange rates Monday drew wide interest as South Korean and U.S. troops launched their annual joint drills earlier in the day.Though stocks fell below the 1,990 mark and the U.S. dollar was traded above 1,100 won during the morning trading session, the two m

U.S. Internet giant Google has got it all over Maxwell Smart, the 1960s TV secret agent who had a phone in his shoe -- its sneaker has a computer.Google‘s high-tech footwear isn’t ready for mass production yet, but its marketing folks showed up at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, with a few pairs just to get people thinking, ABC News reported Sunday. Other bells and whistles jammed into the sneakers include an accelerometer, a pressure sensor, a gyroscope , Bluetooth and a speak

South Korean stocks closed 0.13 percent lower on Monday as North Korean risks dented investor sentiment despite positive U.S. jobs data, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell2.66 points to 2,003.35. Trading volume was moderate at 387.5 million shares worth 3.63 trillion won (US$3.32 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 540 to 280."Heightening geopolitical tension is weighing on the local stock market d