Korea may not be ready to accept the anti-tobacco recommendations handed down by the World Health Organization, namely those banning tobacco makers from openly endorsing social benefits such as charity events.Also, the other proposals being mulled by the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control are unlikely to reduce the number of smokers or make them stop, according to the International Tobacco Growers’ Association. “(The recommendation on social benefits) may break the link between the cl

Gunsan plant workers set to protest against downscaling scheme

LG Electronics said Monday that it will expand the sales target for its premium 84-inch ultra-high-definition television from four countries to 40 countries by the end of 2012.Currently the nation’s first and only ultra-HD TV, LG 84LM9600 was first launched at home in August and had its premiere in the U.S., China, Vietnam and Malaysia. “The premium market is not so much affected by the recession. There are always people with money who want them (premium large TVs),” an LG spokesperson said, exp

South Korea's top central banker said Monday that the country may strengthen measures to smooth out cross-border capital movements if needed, but potential steps would not take on features of capital control.South Korea has undergone excessive capital outflows whenever a financial crisis has cropped up. Since 2010, Korea has implemented a set of the so-called macro-prudential measures to ease volatile cross-border capital flows including bank levies and tighter regulations on banks' FX derivativ

South Korean stocks edged down 0.19 percent Monday as investors sat on the sidelines on renewed fiscal woes in the United States, analysts said. The local currency lost against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dipped 3.54 points to close at 1,900.87. Trading volume was moderate at 468.6 million shares worth 3.73 trillion won ($3.4 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 436 to 387.“The fiscal cliff issue that recently dampened investors sentiment just after the U.S.

South Korean consumer electronics giant LG Electronics Inc. has begun a voluntary recall of about 161,000 electric ranges in the United States, an official said Sunday.The move comes after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent federal agency, posted the recall on its website last week, citing burn and fire hazards to consumers.The U.S. product safety regulators said that LG Electronics has received 80 reports of incidents involving burners failing to turn off or the tempera

Woongjin Coway Co., South Korea’s top water purifier maker, said Monday the process of selling a major stake in the company to local private equity fund MBK Partners Ltd. has resumed after a court approved the sale that is set to be concluded in January.In August, Woongjin Holdings, the parent company of Woongjin Coway, signed a deal with MBK Partners to sell its 30.9 percent stake in the purifier unit to the private equity fund for 1.2 trillion won ($1 billion), to help improve its financial he

But improved exports and industrial production signs that end in sight

A free trade agreement with Turkey will not likely have significant benefits for the South Korean economy as its impact on growth, tax reduction and job creation might remain marginal, a report showed Monday.South Korea and Turkey had held four rounds of FTA negotiations since April 2010 and both announced the conclusion of their talks on trade of products in March.The two countries plan to conclude negotiations on the service and investment sectors as well within a year of implementing their de

A new European Chamber of Commerce will be established in Korea soon as the Korean government approves it within this week.“The Ministry of Knowledge Economy plans to give the final approval for the establishment of a new European Chamber of Commerce in Korea by the end of the week,” a ministry spokesperson told The Korea Herald on Monday. The new organization for European companies operating in Korea will replace the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea, or EUCCK, which shut down in Sept