South Korean panel giant LG Display Co. said Thursday it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, boosted by strong demand for its lucrative products.Net profit reached 319.7 billion won ($299.1 million) in the October-December period, compared with a loss of 6.3 billion won a year earlier, LG Display said in a regulatory filing. Revenue jumped 32.3 percent on-year to 8.7 trillion won in the quarter, while the company posted an operating profit of 587.3 billion won, a sharp t

South Korean stocks inched down 0.8 percent Thursday as the currency volatility in the foreign exchange market continued to weigh down on investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 15.93 points to finish at 1,964.48. Trading volume was high at 551.2 million shares worth 4.46 trillion won ($4.18 billion) with losers far outnumbering winners 518 to 289.“Shares of local carmakers and technology firms traded

Shinhan Financial Group ranked among this year’s top 100 global sustainable firms by Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based media agency, at the 2013 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.Shinhan ranked the 86th among the 100 sustainable firms as the only Korean firm, the Korean financial group said. The Canadian media and investment research firm compiles and announces the annual list of “The Global 100,” or top 100 sustainable global companies, to recognize environment-friendly and energy-sav

The National Pension Fund said Thursday that it will vote against Dong-A Pharmaceutical’s plan to spin off its core business unit at the coming shareholders’ meeting on Jan. 28.The pension fund, a main shareholder of the drug producer with a stake of 9.5 percent, pointed to “uncertainty” in terms of securing shareholders’ rights under the possible spinoff.Dong-A Pharmaceutical is seeking to establish a holding company and put its cash cow energy drink business, Bacchus, under an unlisted firm.Th

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. outperformed its competitors in the U.S. flat panel TV market last year, becoming the biggest seller in the region for the seventh straight year, data showed Thursday.Samsung’s U.S. market share reached a record high of 29.8 percent in 2012, up 1.7 percentage point from a year earlier, according to statistics released by the NPD Group, a leading North American market research company.The company’s market share in the liquid-crystal display and ligh

Local electronics makers on Thursday vowed to take action against the recent move from the U.S. International Trade Commission to side with a preliminary decision from the U.S. Commerce Department to issue them with anti-dumping duties.The firms claimed that the decision was biased and reflected Washington’s protectionist policies, and that it also would be restricting the choice of U.S. consumers. Wayne Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics USA, said in a statement, “LG respects the work th

Korean automaker group posts record profits in 2012, though car sales grew at slower pace

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A top U.S. trade official said Wednesday that the Obama administration may soon renew a push for unfettered access to the South Korean beef market.“It’s possible that in the near future we may decide that it would be useful to have consultations (on the issue),” Wendy S. Cutler, assistant U.S. trade representative for Japan, Korea and APEC affairs, said in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency.South Korea currently imports U.S. beef produced from cattle only u

The global economy is likely to face intensified currency tension this year as major advanced countries’drive for powerful credit easing would hit emerging nations, a private think tank said Thursday.The Samsung Economic Research Institute said in a report that major advanced economies are pushing for economic policies at the expense of other countries, saying that their push for massive credit easing is putting upward pressure on the currencies of emerging countries.The report said that some de

Down jackets by popular foreign fast fashion brands such as Zara and Mango contained less volumes of down than they claim and their down fill powers fell below the Korean Industrial Standards.Some were heavier and less warm than domestic brands, but were five times more expensive, the Korea Consumer Agency said.A men’s down jacket by local brand Codes Combine turned out to be the warmest and the least costly in the KCA review of 15 products by 10 specialty store retailers of private label appare

The recent sharp fall in Japanese yen’s value poses a threat to local small and medium exporters to Japan, due in part to a lack of currency hedging strategy, the Korea International Trade Association said Thursday.“SME exporters tend to be more vulnerable to currency fluctuation than conglomerates simply because local SMEs have made little investment in developing a strategy to lower risk caused by currency volatility,” a KITA official said. “Most conglomerates have dozens of personnel who deal

South Korean stocks inched down 0.8 percent Thursday as the currency volatility in the foreign exchange market continued to weigh down on investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 15.93 points to finish at 1,964.48. Trading volume was high at 551.2 million shares worth 4.46 trillion won (US$4.18 billion) with losers far outnumbering winners 518 to 289."Shares of local carmakers and technology fi

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker, said Thursday that its 2012 earnings reached a record high on robust sales in overseas markets.Net profit reached 9.06 trillion won (US$8.96 billion) last year, up 11.7 percent from 8.1 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Operating profit rose 5.1 percent to 8.4 trillion won in the same period, with sales rising 8.6 percent to 84.5 trillion won, the company said."We continued brisk performance in 2012," Hyundai