South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on the settlement of the Greece bailout deal, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 5.80 points, or 0.3 percent, to trade at 1,914.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips drove up the shares, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics increasing 0.71 percent, while LG Electronics gained 1.05 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO added 0.47 percent.Carmakers also traded higher, with No.1 player Hyundai Motor ris

South Korea's brand value reached US$1.6 trillion this year, ranking ninth among 39 countries surveyed, a local think tank said Tuesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy has received good marks in the corporate field, thanks mainly to its strong exports and market share growth around the world, according to the state-run Institute of Industrial Policy Studies (IPS).Brand value covers both corporate and country-level recognition and products made in the country. It also calculates the level of social

The foreign ministry on Tuesday honored a South Korean nurse for her voluntary medical services and dedication to education in Malawi over the past 20 years. Baik Young-sim, 50, became the recipient of this year's "Lee Tae-seok Award," which Seoul's foreign ministry introduced last year to honor the late Catholic missionary and physician Lee Tae-seok. He devoted his life to helping people in South Sudan.  Baik began her voluntary medical work in Kenya in 1990 and, after four years, moved to Mala

South Korean tech behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. retained its top position in the east European countries’ television market in the first nine months of the year, industry data showed Monday.Samsung claimed 35 percent of the region’s flat panel television market in the January-September period, with its market share reaching 35.1 percent for liquid crystal TVs and 38.7 percent for light-emitting diode TVs, according to market researcher GfK Group.The South Korean company was the top smart TV a

The number of passengers traveling via Incheon International Airport reached an all-time annual high of 35.14 million this year, solidifying its status as one of the busiest airports in the world, its operator said Monday.Travelers using the nation’s main gateway, located west of Seoul, surpassed the previous year’s tally of 35.06 million people as of Sunday, according to airport officials.The airport is expected to register 38.9 million travelers by the end of the year, 5.9 million higher than

The trade volume of South Korea is expected to top $1 trillion for a second consecutive year in 2012, making the country the eighth-largest trader in the world, the government said Monday.According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, South Korea will see its trade volume exceed the $1 trillion in the middle of next month. If the forecast is right, Korea will surpass Italy to become the eighth-largest country in terms of trade volume.South Korea ranked 13th in terms of trade from 2000 to 2002 b

South Korean stocks edged 0.15 percent down Monday as investors sat on the sidelines before key events in the United States and Europe, analysts said. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 2.82 points to 1,908.51. Trading volume was light at 273.2 million shares worth 3.18 trillion won ($2.93 billion) with gainers slightly outpacing decliners 402 to 389. “The eurozone finance ministers gathered to decide a bailout for Greece

By Seo Jee-yeon The government’s approval of a casino facility expansion has been pushing the stock price of Kangwon Land to hit a record high in 52 weeks.The company’s shares soared 13.31 percent to 31,500 won ($29) on Monday. The jump was expected as the disclosure was issued after the stock market closed last Friday. According to company officials, the state-invested casino and resort operator, located in Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, will double the floor of the game room to 11,824 squ

By Cho Ji-hyunSamsung Electronics on Monday announced a set of measures to improve its working conditions at the firm’s Chinese partners.The world’s top smartphone maker acknowledged that some of its workers had to work extended hours and that some were not given a copy of their contracts that state their working conditions.The company said that it did not find any minors under age 16 employed at any of its 105 partner firms. Samsung Chinese plants were exempted from the report.The results were

By Lee Ji-yoonEuropean auto sales, possibly facing a 17-year low this year, saw a further decline last month. But Korea’s Hyundai Motor was one of the few carmakers with continued growth momentum in the sluggish market, industry data found Monday. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Hyundai sold 33,687 vehicles in Europe last month, a 10.2 percent rise from the previous month. In the first 10 months this year, the company saw a 9.3 percent growth in sales, del

By Kim Yon-seMajor commercial banks are poised to actively make inroads into Myanmar as the country is starting to implement an open-door policy toward international activity.Following Woori Bank and Hana Bank, which opened liaison offices in the Southeast Asian country last month, Shinhan Bank plans to join the movement as early as the first half of next year.The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea is also preparing to tap the new market in a bid to overcome the saturated market conditions at ho

SK Planet-SK M&C merger seen as first step in efforts to slim down

Three out of four Apple Inc.’s mega hit tablet computer iPads are equipped with liquid crystal displaypanels manufactured by South Korea’s LG Display Co. amid the heated patent row between Apple and Samsung Electronics Co., industry data showed Monday.According to data by research firm DisplaySearch, the global shipments of 9.7-inch LCD panels used for Apple’s fourth-generation iPad and iPad 2 came to 5.92 million units in October.The number of 9.7-inch panels produced by LG Display reached 4.25