LG Electronics on Wednesday underwent regular personnel reshufflings that recognized the contributions of key people. In total, 38 executives were promoted, including two chief executives and three vice presidents.Three of the five newly appointed top executives hailed from the home appliance division.In total, three of the five newly appointed top executives hailed from the home appliance division. Executive Vice President Jo Seong-jin, head of the washing machine department, was promoted to vi

A group of non-regular employees at Hyundai Motor’s factories nationwide said they will go on partial strike on Thursday, demanding job security.Depending on coming situations involving concessions from management, their protest could develop into a full-fledged walkout, according to a statement from the non-regular workers’ union.While participants are likely to include a large portion of 13,000 contract workers at the carmaker’s plants in Ulsan, Asan and Jeonju, they plan to call on the manage

South Korea’s business sentiment for December hit its lowest level in nearly four years due to concerns over the persistent eurozone crisis, record high household debt and the U.S. fiscal cliff, a poll showed Wednesday.The monthly business survey index for December fell to 82, the lowest level since March 2009 when it stood at 76.1, according to the survey of the country’s 600 largest businesses by sales by the Federation of Korean Industries, the lobby for the country’s large businesses.The ind

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the ninth straight month in October as exports gained ground, weathering the global slowdown and the local currency’s gain, the central bank said Wednesday.The current account surplus reached $5.82 billion in October, down from a revised $5.91 billion in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.In the first 10 months of this year, the cumulative current account surplus re

SK Lubricants Co., a unit of South Korea’s top refiner SK Innovation Co., said Wednesday that it has broken ground for a joint-venture plant for lube base oil in Spain in an effort to tap the global market.The plant will be built in Cartagena, a city in the southeastern coastal area of Spain, by the second half of 2014, and will have a daily capacity of 13,300 barrels of Group III lube base oil used for materials of high-grade lubes, SK Lubricants said in a statement. In order to build the plant

South Korean stocks closed 0.65 percent lower on Wednesday as continued concerns on the U.S. fiscal cliff issue weighed on investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 12.42 points to 1,912.78. Trading volume was moderate at 403.5 million shares worth 3.85 trillion won ($3.55 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 523 to 270.“Lingering worries over a U.S. budget impasse offset positive factors su

The patent litigation battle between Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc. saw a new twist Wednesday with Apple agreeing to limit the term for one design patent it used to win its $1 billion jury verdict against Samsung.Foreign news outlets said the Cupertino-based firm filed a “terminal disclaimer” with the U.S. patent office that limits the term of its design-related patent, which Samsung claims is too similar to another patent owned by Apple.The move comes as Apple may have been deeply impacted

Foreign investors have scooped up shares of Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliates so far this year, with their buying of those stocks accounting for 40 percent of the total net purchase, data showed Wednesday.According to the main bourse operator Korea Exchange, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors Corp. and two other affiliates were among the foreign investors’ basket of top 20 most-favored listed firms, taking up 5.6 trillion won (US$5.2 billion) of the combined net purchase of 14.3 trillion won.Overseas

A tuition-free software school is accepting applications from prospective students from Nov. 28 through Dec. 12, with the academic center slated to open in March, according to NHN officials on Wednesday. Named “NHN Institute for the Next Network,” the software school, supported by the operator of the country’s largest portal Naver, is expected to become a cradle of “the next software culture,” its officials said.The institution registered under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy aims to nurture t