South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Thursday, boosted by expectations for the president-elect and her new government scheduled to take office next year, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 11.48 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,004.57 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday, ruling conservative candidate Park Geun-hye won the presidential election against rival Moon Jae-in of the liberal opposition by garnering 51.6 percent of the vo

The U.S. Commerce Department announced Wednesday that it has reached a final decision to slap heavy anti-dumping duties on South Korean-made washing machines.In a ruling described by the American firm Whirlpool Corp., the department determined that LG, Samsung and Daewoo have sold large washers in the U.S. at "dumping margins of 9.29 percent to 82.41 percent."The anti-dumping duties for the two leading South Korean makers of electronics products -- LG and Samsung -- were set at 13.02 percent and

Samsung Electronics has dropped its request for a ban on the sale of a number of Apple’s smartphones and tablet computers in Europe, signaling it may be gearing toward a new strategy in the high-profile patent war with the iPhone maker. Samsung spokespeople said on Tuesday that the company has abandoned the request to “compete with actual products, and not with litigation.” Samsung also said it has acted “in the interest of protecting consumer choice.” The move came a day after a U.S. federal ju

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea and Hong Kong have agreed to cooperate on customs services, officials here said Wednesday. Joo Yung-sup, the commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, and Clement Cheung, the commissioner of Hong Kong Customs and Excise, signed the agreement Tuesday in Seoul on the sidelines of a customs cooperation conference between the two sides, Hong Kong officials said.The conference offered a platform for the customs offices from South Korea and from Hong Kong to update the

South Korea’s labor productivity fell from a year earlier in the third quarter amid the protracted economic slowdown, a report showed Wednesday.The country’s overall labor productivity moved down 1.8 percent on-year to 104 in the July-September period, led by losses in the construction industry, where the productivity index plunged 14.1 percent, according to a report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.Labor productivity is measured by dividing industrial output by labor input during a given pe

Korea has suspended beef imports from Brazil due to fears of mad cow disease according to Valor, a Brazilian economic daily, on Tuesday. The Korean authorities could not be reached for confirmation Wednesday, a national holiday for the presidential election.South Korea became the sixth nation to ban Brazilian beef imports after China, Japan, South Africa, Egypt and Saudi Arabia after confirmation of a 2010 case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in Parana state by Brazil’s agr

Volkswagen Korea, the local importer of Germany’s Volkswagen Group, said Tuesday that it will seek to sell more than 20,000 vehicles in the South Korean market next year by strengthening its best-selling car lineup.“We set our 2013 sales target at 23,000 units with 35 percent growth from this year. Next year will be our second take-off for joining the 20,000 vehicle club,” said Volkswagen Korea in a statement.Volkswagen Korea sold 16,613 units through November this year, up nearly 42 percent on-

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korean auto parts makers will likely continue to increase profits thanks to China’s automobile markets, a report said Wednesday.Parts makers with high earnings contributions from Chinese subsidiaries, such as Mando Corp., Sungwoo Hitech Co. and Hwashin Co., are expected to enjoy sound earnings growth, Woori Investment & Securities said in a report.“We believe that China will continue to post leading global auto sales growth in 2013 thanks to the Chinese government

Samsung Electronics overtook Nokia as the top mobile phone brand this year and took the lead over Apple in smartphones, a U.S. research firm said Tuesday. According to IHS iSuppli, the Korean electronics giant made 29 percent of global cell-phone shipments this year, up from 24 percent in 2011. Finland-based Nokia, however, saw its market share fall to 24 percent from 30 percent over the past year, ending its 14-year reign on top. In the meantime, Apple’s share slightly increased from 19 percent

Home shopping company Hyundai Hmall said on Tuesday that it was slapped with a tax penalty from the National Tax Service for underpayment of sales tax. The fine is worth about 54.2 billion won ($50.5 million), which accounts for about 6.5 percent of the company’s 832.4 billion won in capital. The state-run tax agency imposed the penalty on the company for not following its sales commission tax policy, having paid less tax than other major home shopping firms for the last five years.Hyundai Hmall

A German court has ruled in favor of LG Electronics Inc. on a technology patent suit filed by U.S. technology firm Rovi Corporation, company officials said Wednesday.The ruling handed down Tuesday by a court in Mannheim, Germany said that LG Electronics did not infringe on a patent on organizing preferred channels for televisions.In April last year, the U.S. electronic program guide solution provider filed for an injunction with the German court against LG Electronics to ban sales of its televis

In a milestone that is expected to help Intel’s push into the smartphone and tablet markets, the Santa Clara, California, tech giant finally has made its brainy microchips as energy efficient as those from companies using a design by Britain-based ARM Holdings, which now dominate the mobile market, according to a new report.That’s important for Intel, which for years got the cold shoulder from phone and tablet makers because its power-hungry chips shortened the battery life of mobile devices. Wi