The nation’s first state-run consumer survey on vehicles is gaining lackluster participation by car owners, with automotive companies raising questions about its reliability. In July, the Fair Trade Commission launched a pilot program questioning local drivers on the product quality of their own sports utility vehicles via its website for consumer information. The survey, which collects reviews on 133 SUV models of Korean and foreign carmakers until Aug. 31, has attracted only some 50 participan

U.S. movie theaters with antiquated projection equipment must convert to costly digital technology or face extinction, an industry official says.Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Saturday that by the end of the coming year the six major movie studios will only release new titles in digital format. The old 35-millimeter film format won‘t be an option.That means theaters with mechanical projectors face spending $70,000 to $85,000 apiece to upgrade to digital versions.The National Association of Th

South Korean consumers' confidence dipped to a seven-month low in August as the protracted eurozone debt crisis and China's slowing economy heightened economic uncertainties, the central bank said Monday.The consumer sentiment index (CSI) -- a gauge of consumers'overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending -- came in at 99 for August, down from 100 tallied in the previous month,

U.S. tech giant to file injunction, Samsung says U.S. verdict is ‘not the final word’Apple is setting the next stage of its patent battle against Samsung Electronics by filing sales injunctions against the Korean tech giant’s flagship Galaxy smartphones in the U.S., following a court ruling in favor of the U.S. tech giant.A federal court in San Jose, California near Apple’s headquarters ruled that Samsung infringed on patents for several technology features and designs of Apple’s iPhone and iPad

GENEVA (AFP) ― The Green Climate Fund, which will help poor countries fight global warming, will hold its next meeting from October 18 to 20 in South Korea, the body said Saturday.The fund was launched at a UN climate conference in Durban, South Africa, last year to help channel up to $100 billion (80 billion euros) a year in aid to poor, vulnerable countries by 2020 via investments from both public and private sources.Its 24-member board wrapped up a first meeting in Geneva on Saturday after th

Hana Financial Group announced Friday that Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank received awards from Hong-Kong-based magazine Finance Asia.The magazine named Hana Bank on Friday the Best Bank in Korea and KEB the Best Foreign Bank in Korea. Finance Asia announces the best banks in different Asian countries every year through Country Awards. The magazine commented that Hana Bank has shown stable financial growth and growing market share despite the unstable financial environment in and out of the co

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Apple Inc.’s victory over Samsung Electronics Co. in a lawsuit in the United States will likely force Apple’s competitors to be more creative, market watchers said Sunday.Investment bank UBS said if the jury recommendation is upheld in the U.S. court, it will have far-reaching implications throughout the industry, especially for rival smartphone makers.“In the short to intermediate-term, an Apple win that forces competitors to come up with different designs should be po