Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc. and Philips Electronics North American Corp. were sued by Illinois over alleged price fixing, based on claims the companies inflated costs for computer monitors and televisions. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed the suit today in state court in Chicago. The complaint, which also names Hitachi Ltd. and Toshiba Corp.  among others, claims the c

The Fair Trade Commission launched on Monday its first-ever survey program, which entitles consumers to directly assess product quality based on their user experiences.This marks the first time that a government agency, rather than civic organizations, will provide the sort of consumers’ product-evaluation reports in Korea.Its first target is the sport utility vehicle sector of local and foreign carmakers such as Hyundai Motor, Renault Samsung Motors, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.The state-run online p

South Korean chemicals maker Hanwha Chemical Corp. said Tuesday it has expanded its ethylene-vinyl acetate plant in the country’s southeastern part to sharpen its global competitive edge. The expansion will increase the plant’s annual production capacity to 160,000 tons from the current 120,000 tons and generate additional sales of 100 billion won ($89.5 million), Hanwha Chemical said in a press release. EVA, a high-value chemical that was produced in 1985 for the first time in South Korea by Ha

SK Innovation completed on Tuesday its second plant for automobile batteries in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, heralding fiercer competition in the automobile battery market, company officials said. About 250 billion won ($223 million) was invested in the construction of the plant, which has a production capacity to supply 10,000 electric cars, or about 20,000 hybrid cars, per year.Built on a 231,000 square-meter tract of land, the Seosan plant comprises three major parts, the battery, form

South Korean companies in China have suffered no damage yet from the recent wave of anti-Japanese protests sweeping across China over a territorial dispute with Tokyo, industry sources said Tuesday. The South Korean firms, however, are bracing for any possible fallout from the demonstrations, as protesters torched a factory of Japanese electronics maker Panasonic and a Toyota dealership.The latest outbreak of anti-Japan sentiment flared over Japan’s recent decision to buy some disputed islands i

Prices of imported farm products in South Korea declined last month, customs data showed Wednesday, despite worries that recent extreme weather conditions in major farmlands would cause price hikes.According to the data by the Korea Customs Service, the price index of imported agricultural, livestock and fishery products stood at 114.2 in August, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier. The index is also down 3 percent from July.Import prices of agricultural products fell 3.5 percent on-year in Aug