South Korea is setting an example for the rest of the world to follow in developing new and clean energy sources, including nuclear energy, as part of efforts to fight climate change, a country report by an international organization said Friday.The International Energy Agency (IEA) especially praised the country for its 2009 pledge to voluntarily cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent from its business-as-usual levels in 2020."In its report, the IEA very positively viewed the country's sett

Annual growth of manufacturing production in South Korea's provincial areas eased in the third quarter as an indication of the slowing economy, the central bank said Friday.Output by manufacturers in Korea's provincial regions grew a mere 0.4 percent in the July-September period from a year earlier, slowing from a 1.6 percent on-year gain in the second quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The BOK said that the production by automakers and machinery firms remained lackluster in the third

South Korean stocks started higher Friday as investor sentiment got a boost from improved economic data from China and the eurozone, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 4.69 points, or 0.25 percent, to trade at 1,904.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares led the gain, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics moving up 0.71 percent while its electronics component-making affiliate Samsung Electro-Mechanics gained 2.73 percent. Samsung SDI, the

The sales of Viagra, formerly the nation’s best-selling drug to treat erectile dysfunction, have dropped by more than half in the five months since local generic drugs entered the market, market research company IMS Health Inc. said on Thursday. IMS said that the sales of Viagra dropped continuously after the drug’s patent expired in May. Between January and April, before its patent expired, Viagra had marked average monthly sales of 2.1 billion won ($2 million).In September ― only four months a

South Korea’s state-run Industrial Bank of Korea said Thursday it has opened an office in New Delhi in a bid to help support smaller Korean firms operating there.IBK said the move came as more Korean companies are expected to foray into the Indian market where sound economic growth is anticipated and the environment for foreign investors is improving.The bank added that it plans to upgrade the office into a branch later to better cater to smaller Korean firms operating there. The Indian office h

Lone Star Funds has filed investor-state dispute arbitration claims against the Korean government for delaying the sale of the U.S.-based private equity firm’s controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank, officials in Seoul said on Thursday.The equity firm brought the Korean government to the Washington-based International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, accusing it of violating a bilateral investment treaty between Korea and Belgium.This marked the first time that the Korean governme

‘Apple must give Samsung details of HTC settlement’

South Korean stocks climbed 0.82 percent Thursday as optimism for a Greece bailout deal grew after eurozone finance ministers agreed to reschedule a meeting early next week, analysts said. The local currency lost against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 15.46 points to close at 1,899.50. Trading volume was moderate at 408.2 million shares worth 3.69 trillion won ($3.41 billion) with gainers outnumbering losers 438 to 362.“Expectations that the eurozone is get

South Korea’s household credit climbed to a fresh all-time high in the third quarter, but its on-year growth rate slowed for the fifth straight quarter amid an anemic property market, the central bank said Thursday.Household credit totaled 937.5 trillion won ($867.3 million) as of the end of September, up 13.6 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. The third-quarter growth compared with a 12.8 trillion won gain tallied in the second quarter.From a year earlier, h

Korean banks are tightening their belts amid downgraded growth forecasts and a poor outlook on the corporate sector. KB Kookmin Bank, the nation’s largest bank, is conducting on-site due diligence to weed out the nonviable branches in an attempt to slim down, while Woori Bank is said to be closing or merging up 20 branches with low profitability, according to financial sources on Thursday. Hana Bank is expected to close down as many branches, while the Korea Exchange Bank will be focusing on inc