Korean Air has demanded a plastic surgery clinic change the design of its staff’s uniform, claiming that it closely resembles that of its flight attendants.The nation’s flag carrier said it sent a certified letter on Tuesday to the medical clinic in Gangnam, southern Seoul, indicating that it could bring the matter to court for design patent theft. “The uniform really accounts for the brand image of a company, and they (the clinic) have plagiarized our design against the protective law on design

Korea Communications Commission said Thursday that it will strengthen its supervision and management of the country’s three telecom companies ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― to further prevent personal data and information leaks.Its announcement came after KT, Korea’s second largest mobile carrier, was found to have had its system breached by a hacker, a company telemarketing agent, last month.KCC, the country’s broadcasting and telecom watchdog, has launched a team of inspectors to probe KT, wh

Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday it will examine HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank’s Seoul branches over money laundering cases allegedly involving the British banks. HSBC’s U.S. office is currently under investigation, accused of offering money laundering channels to hide transactions for terrorists and weapons dealers. The British bank’s Mexico office paid a fine of $27.5 million last month for not reporting on a suspicious transaction considered to have been involved in drug

Korean financial firms, hit by the economic slowdown, are tightening their belts through job cuts and asset sales to shore up their falling profitability and put their balance sheets in better shape, market watchers said Thursday.Local brokerage houses are leading the way in reducing workforces and streamlining businesses.The total number of employees at 63 local brokerage firms reached 42,388 at end-March this year, down 0.7 percent from three months earlier, the first decrease since the second

Financial authorities seek to curb card debt rolled over past due dateAbout 1 million credit cardholders with low credit are facing further credit downgrades due to potential defaults on their revolving credit, prompting financial authorities to revise related rules.The revolving credit system allows cardholders to pay only between 5 and 10 percent of their monthly credit card bills and have the rest rolled over to the following month until it is fully paid off. Credit card firms charge consumer

South Korean stocks closed 1.96 percent higher Thursday on strong foreign buying fed by optimism over a global economic recovery, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 37.33 points to 1,907.13. Trading volume was moderate at 483.1 million shares worth 6.32 trillion won ($5.60 billion) with advancers outstrippi

South Korea's central bank froze the key interest rate on Thursday in a bid to gauge the impact of its surprise rate cut in July on the local economy amid the protracted eurozone debt crisis.As widely expected, Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his fellow policymakers held the benchmark 7-day repo rate steady at 3 percent for August. The move followed the BOK's quarter-percentage point r

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.75 points, or 0.56 percent to 1,913.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Blue chips pushed up shares, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 0.23 percent and No. 4 lender Shinhan Financial climbing more than 2 percent.U.S. mark

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it will inspect a Chinese supplier alleged of exploiting child labor.New York-based labor rights group China Labor Watch released a 31-page report Tuesday on HEG Electronics Co., a partner of the South Korean electronics behemoth, saying the Chinese firm employs children under the age of 16. "Samsung Electronics has conducted two separate on-site inspections