Commercial banks are likely to be included in the government’s assessment list of firms paying attention to “shared growth” with subcontractors.Some officials of the Commission of Shared Growth for Large and Small Companies said the agency was considering expanding its yearly assessment target to the banking sector as early as 2013.Other sectors including medical institutions could also be placed on the authorities’ watch list, they added.In the commission’s first unveiling of the assessments of

Korean firm widen gap with Apple in global smartphone sales

The nation’s top supermarket chains voluntarily agreed on Thursday that they will not open any new branches in cities with a population of less than 300,000 until 2015. Chains of super supermarkets, mid-sized grocery stores run by the nation’s leading retail business groups, also promised to rein in their pace of opening new branches in small cities with a population of less than 100,000 until 2015.Both supermarket chains and SSMs also agreed to close their shops at least two days per month. The

South Korean stocks dropped 1.23 percent Thursday as investor sentiment was muted by widespread uncertainties over the stalled U.S. budget deal and European fiscal woes, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 23.32 points to close at 1,870.72. Trading volume was moderate at 446.2 million shares worth 4.14 trillion won ($3.8 billion) with decliners far outnumbering gainers 608 to 230."Investors are worried

Household loans extended by South Korean financial firms grew at the lowest pace ever in August as the property market remained in the doldrums amid the economic slowdown, data showed Thursday.Household lending extended by local banks and non-bank institutions totaled 649.8 trillion won ($597.2 billion) as of the end of August, up 4.1 percent from the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea.The August growth rate marked the slowest gain since October 2003 when the central bank began to com

LG Electronics is working toward spreading its talent donation movement in countries including Indonesia, Greece and South Africa.The company organized a campaign dubbed “The Biggest Hug from LG” for more than three weeks from Oct. 22-Nov. 13 in Greece for underprivileged families.As part of the event, LG asked people to give clothing donations for the group and set up its drum washer and dryer at a mall in Athens to wash them ahead of the clothing handout, its officials said.“We were then able

Hyundai Oilbank Co., South Korea’s fourth-largest refiner, said Wednesday it has completed its BTX plant in the southwestern coastal area of the country, which is slated to start commercial production from January of next year. Hyundai Oilbank teamed up with Cosmo Oil Co., a Japanese refiner, to build the plant with a production capacity of 100 tons of BTX in Daesan, a coastal city 137 kilometers southwest of Seoul, the company said in a statement. The completion of the 600 billion won ($ 551.6

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to exit the South Korean asset management business amid sluggish global stock markets, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.The Wall Street firm will probably take steps to protect customers of its Goldman Sachs Asset Management Korea Co. unit, said two of the people, who asked not to be named as the matter is private. They did not specify the timing of an exit.“Our expectations for the local Korean asset management business have not been met,”