A nuclear reactor at an atomic power plant in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province, automatically stopped running Monday afternoon after its reactor protection system gave warning signals, the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said.The 1-million-kilowatt Yeonggwang-6 unit came to a halt at around 2:57 p.m., according to the company. The unit had been under special treatment due to fuel rod defects that caused radioactivity levels in the reactor coolant to rise on April 30. The KHNP said it was lookin

Korean stocks finished 0.8 percent higher Monday on optimism that European policymakers will take action to ease the debt crisis, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 14.63 points to close at 1,843.79. Trading volume was moderate at 333.1 million shares worth 3.8 trillion won ($3.3 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 425 to 367.“Investors are cheered by the highly anticipated moves of European leaders and are opt

Korean manufacturers’ business confidence for August fell to a more than 3-year low as the eurozone debt crisis and China’s slowing growth cooled sentiment, the central bank said Monday.The index of manufacturers’ outlook on business conditions came in at 70 for August, down from the 81 recorded for July, according to a monthly survey by the Bank of Korea. The index measures manufacturers’ expectations for the coming month.The August figures marked the lowest level since the index reached 69 for

Korea has secured exclusive rights to explore and develop a deep ocean mine in the Indian Ocean that can produce over $300 million worth of minerals per year, the government said Monday.At a general assembly held in Kingston, Jamaica last week, members of the International Seabed Authority unanimously agreed to recognize the country’s rights to the offshore mine that lies across an area of 10,000 square kilometers in the Indian Ocean, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Aff

Sales at duty-free shops in airports and downtown Seoul surged to a record high in the first half of the year on the back of a rise in inbound and outbound tourists, industry sources said Monday.Hotel Shilla Co., a South Korean luxury hotel and resort operator, posted sales of 956 billion won ($843 million) at its duty-free shops in the first half, up 39 percent from a year earlier.Its operating income spiked to 60 billion won from a mere 15 billion won over the cited period, according to the so

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. will likely reach an agreement over their patent disputes as neither of the two companies has been a clear winner, Fitch Ratings said Monday.Samsung Electronics and Apple, the world’s two largest smartphone makers, have been waging a series of legal suits against each other, blaming each other for patent infringement in design and technology patents on their key mobile devices.“Fitch sees the legal battle continuing for at least th

Korea and Turkey are scheduled to ink a bilateral free trade agreement and an agreement on trade in goods on Wednesday in Ankara, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said on Monday.Trade Minister Bark Tae-ho and Turkish Minister of Economy Zafer Caglayan will sign the trade pact, which will be the ninth FTA to be signed by Korea. Turkey will be the 46th country to sign an FTA with Korea.The two countries had announced in March that they concluded the FTA negotiations, which began in March 2010.Bark is also s

The government neared its legal limit for temporary borrowing ― 20 trillion won ($17.56 billion) ― due to increased loans taken out by the Bank of Korea, stoking concerns of a negative impact on the central bank’s credit and monetary policy.As of the end of June, the government’s temporary borrowing stood at 19.1 trillion won, including 8.1 trillion won in treasury bill balance and another 11 trillion won in the central bank’s outstanding loans. Treasury bills have a maturity of one to three mon

Customs agency finds 1.65 million knockoffs of 211 brandsLouis Vuitton was the most widely copied brand for sale in Korea, the results of a crackdown by the Korea Customs Service on counterfeit products showed Monday.The customs agency found over 1.65 million imitation products of 211 brands offered for sale in the first half of this year, about 5 percent of which copied Korean brands.Among the knockoffs worth a total of 615.9 billion won, Louis Vuitton was the most frequent victim, followed by

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea will hold an early bird special for this year’s Labor Day Picnic on Sept. 1.Those who register by Aug. 10 will receive discounts between 10,000 won and 20,000 won. The event is free for children under age 8. The event will be held at the Misari Motorboat Racing Park, located in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province. Visit www.amchamkorea.org for more details. (renee@heraldm.com)