South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Wednesday as investor sentiment was boosted by the slowdown of the yen depreciation, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.7 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,007.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large-cap exporters led the increase, with tech behemoth Samsung Electronics gaining 1.28 percent and top steelmaker POSCO climbing 0.55 percent.The country's biggest automaker Hyundai Motor jumped 2.1 percent, and

 A Seoul court on Tuesday selected private equity fund Hahn & Company as the preferred bidder for Korea Line, which has been under court receivership due to mounting debt.   South Korea's No. 4 shipper Korea Line was hit hard by the global economic downturn and has been under court receivership since early 2011 as the company has suffered from massive debts worth over 1 trillion won ($942 million).   Hahn & Company offered a higher bidding price to buy the shipping company, beating Zenith Partne

The nation’s drive to increase electricity generation from renewable energy sources is facing rough sailing as a number of power and utility companies failed to meet their green energy production targets in 2012. The targets were set by the government under a regulation called the renewable portfolio standard, or RPS.RPS, which was introduced in January last year, is an annual renewable energy development quota for state-run and private power and utilities companies with more than 500 megawatts

Korea is expected to bear a critically heavy financial burden in caring for elderly people in the coming decades, compared with major developed countries.According to forecasts and data from the U.N. and Statistics Korea, three Koreans, engaging in “core” GDP production activities, financially support a senior person older than 64 years on average as of 2013.“The population engaging in core economic activities refers to individuals aged between 25 and 49,” a Statistics Korea official said. “Thos

Controversy rises as regulations will not apply to foreign chains

Toyota Motor’s Camry was named the 2013 Korean Car of the Year by the Korea Automobile Journalist Association on Monday, becoming the first import brand to win the industry’s top honor. The Camry sedan earned the highest score of 78.75 points on its value for price, performance, safety and fuel efficiency, followed by BMW’s 3 Series and Hyundai Motor’s Santa Fe sport utility vehicle.A total of 32 journalists from different media companies participated in the annual evaluation, which was introduc

The sluggish real estate market in Seoul will bounce back this year after bottoming out in the coming months, BoA-Merrill Lynch predicted Tuesday.“Thanks to the recent reduction of housing supply and the growing feasibility of the government-led regulation easing on property transactions, there is a high possibility that the Seoul region real estate market will be vitalized in 2013,” the Korea Center for International Finance said, citing a report from BoA-Merrill Lynch.However, the research cen

21 jobs lost as IT giant leaves Beijing as sole Asian R&D base

The trade surplus in the nation’s automotive industry surpassed $60 billion for the first time last year. According to industry data on Tuesday, the combined trade surplus of Korea-made cars and auto parts amounted to $61.7 billion won last year, up 5.8 percent from $58.3 billion in 2011. The figure was more than double the nation’s total trade surplus of $28.5 billion for the year. Despite sluggish car sales in Europe, Korean carmakers continued sales momentum in markets such as the U.S., Easte

South Korean stocks closed 0.49 percent higher on Tuesday as investors remained cautious over the impact of Japan’s monetary easing to stimulate the economy, analysts said. The local currency edged up against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 9.66 points to finish at 1,996.52. Trading volume was moderate at 547.9 million shares worth 4.2 trillion won ($3.95 billion) with gainers slightly outnumbering decliners 404 to 399.“Investors are now less worried about

An advocacy group for former employees of Samsung Electronics Co. who allegedly suffered from leukemia and other illnesses while working on chip-making lines accepted the company’s proposal for compensation talks Tuesday, opening the way for resolving the drawn-out dispute.Samsung Electronics has been at loggerheads with the families of the alleged victims of leukemia and other workplace diseases for the past six years. Following the deaths of young semiconductor workers who were diagnosed with

South Korean panel giant LG Display Co. is likely to see its fourth-quarter operating profit nearly double from three months earlier but faces risks stemming from its key customer Apple Inc. in the first quarter, analysts said Tuesday.The display maker is expected to have reaped an operating profit of 438.3 billion won ($411.4 million) in the October-December period, compared with the 253.4 billion won in the previous quarter, according to estimates by local securities firms compiled by Yonhap I