South Korea’s household debts, though standing at an alarming level, are under control as a stabilizing housing market and regulatory steps to stem their growth have capped risks, a global investment bank said Tuesday. Goldman Sachs said in a report that the growth pace of home-backed lending here has slowed in recent months, curbing the overall rise in household liabilities, according to the Korea Center for International Finance. The country’s household credit, which includes credit purchases

Software giant claims at least 700 shops are using illegal copies from overseas

South Korea’s credit card spending climbed 9.2 percent in October from a year earlier due to rising consumer prices and improved employment, a trade association said Tuesday.Purchases made with credit cards totaled 43.6 trillion won ($40.6 billion) in October, up 3.7 trillion won from the previous year, according to the Credit Finance Association.On the other hand, transactions made with plastics edged down 4.9 percent on-month in October, as local credit card spending surged temporally in Septe

The International Criminal Court has acquitted a Congolese militia leader of all charges of leading fighters who destroyed a strategic village in eastern Congo in 2003, hacking to death and raping some 200 people including women and children. Tuesday's acquittal of Mathieu Ngudjolo is only the second verdict in the court's 10-year history and the first time it has cleared a suspect.Prosecutor Fatou Besnouda immediately indicated she would appeal and ask for Ngudjolo to be kept in custody.Ngudjol

South Korean stocks closed 0.51 percent higher on Tuesday on the back of foreigners' buying, but the gain was capped due to remaining corporate uncertainties, analysts said. The local currency fell slightly against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 10.02 points to finish at 1,993.09. Trading volume was moderate at 446.9 million shares worth 4.55 trillion won ($4.24 billion) with gainers outnumbering losers 426 to 384."We've seen steady foreign inflows

A U.S. court dismissed Apple Inc.'s request to permanently ban sales of some Samsung Electronics Co. devices in the country, granting an upper hand to the South Korean handset maker in the patent war between the two tech giants, a local court filing showed Tuesday.Following a pro-Apple jury verdict in late August, the iPhone maker had filed for an injunction to permanently ban sales of 26 Samsung products in the U.S.Samsung refuted that 23 of those models were already off the market, and others