The South Korean stock market is likely to remain stagnant this week as investors are expected to take a wait-and-see stance on the U.S. fiscal cliff issue, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1,911.33 this week, up 2.1 percent from the previous week.Earlier last week, the KOSPI moved up as U.S. lawmakers and President Barack Obama successfully began talks on the U.S. fiscal issue, while rising hopes for financial aid to Greece also gave a boost to

South Korea’s automobile industry is feared to fare worse next year because of the global economic slump, while its IT, machinery and shipping sectors will likely perk up, a report said Sunday. Automakers are expected to enter a contractionary phase as worldwide demand will likely falter on the protracted economic downturn and global competition get fiercer, according to the report by the Hyundai Economic Research Institute. The report said although the U.S. Big Three ― Ford, Chrysler and Genera

The Ministry of Land, Transport, Marine Affairs started to move to Sejong City, South Chungcheong Province, on Friday, becoming the first government organization from Gwacheon Government Complex to pack up for the new administrative city. The ministry’s move is part of the government’s plan to relocate economic-related ministries and their affiliates to Sejong City for balanced regional development.The ministry said it would complete the relocation of its headquarters in Gwacheon and three affil

CJ Cheiljedang, a leading food business and bio company in Korea, has stepped up globalization of its global food and restaurant brand Bibigo.According to the company, Bibigo has penetrated into 1,000 retail stores in nine countries for the past year since its establishment in 2011. The nine countries are the U.S., Japan, China, U.K., Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia. Under the Bibigo brand, CJ has introduced six processed foods to the global food market, ranging from Korean sa

The country’s sovereign rating surged the most among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the past five years, said a report on Sunday.According to data by the Korea Center for International Finance, Korea’s credit rating went up by two notches to “Aa3” between the end of 2007 and October of this year. “Aa3” is the fourth-highest level designated by Moody’s Investors Service.The report also said that Fitch Ratings lifted South Korea’s rating to “AA-” from “

KT Corp. said Friday that it will spin off its satellite business division into a separate firm.Company officials said the plan was endorsed at a shareholders’ meeting in Seoul on Friday. The new satellite firm, tentatively named “kt sat,” will start out on Dec. 1 with 50 billion won in capital, the company said. KT will wholly own kt sat, and the present KT Corp. Center chief Kim Il-yung will head the new firm. Focusing on satellite service business, kt sat reflects KT’s strategy to expand its

KDI School of Public Policy and Management opened on Friday an English-language website which provides information on South Korea’s economic development process. The total information system K-developedia (www.kdevelopedia.org) contains data published by local and international research institutes and international organizations such as the World Bank and United Nations. All the information including research data, photographs and video materials are offered for free at the website. Data origina

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics Inc.’s latest Optimus G has been picked as the best smartphone by a U.S. magazine in its latest handset survey, industry sources said Friday.Consumer Reports said the Optimus G is the best smartphone choice for subscribers of two major mobile carriers in the United States.It is the first time that an LG smartphone has been the top recommendation of Consumer Report, according to the sources.The LG phone released by AT&T Inc. received the highest 79 points in