Korea will expand financing support for local shipbuilders struggling with cash shortages caused by less global demand and tightened credit lines, the finance ministry said Thursday.Shipbuilders are facing bleak business conditions as the eurozone debt problems and global economic slowdowns result in less demand. Financing needed to produce ships has also been squeezed as European banks reduced lending in the wake of their recent credit downgrades. Korea is home to world leading shipbuilders, in

Experts forecast deal will boost financial group’s competenceThe likelihood is increasing that KB Financial, the nation’s largest financial group, will take over ING Life Korea. KB Financial was the sole contender in the bid for the Netherlands-based insurance firm’s Korean arm on July 16, according to industry sources. Insiders see the Korean financial group to be the naturally preferred bidder. ING Life Korea is the fourth-largest life insurance firm in the country by market share, and is wort

For many attorneys licensed outside of Korea, the nation’s ratification of free trade agreements with the European Union and the United States in the past year represent new opportunities. The real competition, however, may have to wait for five years.Prior to the agreements, lawyers from the U.S. and EU member countries could work in Korea, but under the designation of “foreign legal consultants.” An FLC may assist a client in matters relating to foreign or international law, and potentially in

NHN Corp., South Korea's biggest Internet portal operator, aims to launch its social networking service in China this year, officials said Thursday. NHN Japan Corp., a subsidiary of NHN, hopes to introduce LINE to the world's fastest growing smartphone market, as the company targets 100 million users worldwide this year, the company officials said. In June 2011, The company released LINE, a free g

South Korean stocks closed 0.74 percent higher Thursday as investors hunted for bargains following a recent plunge, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 13.16 points to 1,782.47. Trading volume was moderate at 398.9 million shares worth 3.63 trillion won ($3.16 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 502 to 3

LG Display Co., the world's No. 2 maker of liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, said Thursday it stayed in the red for the fourth straight quarter as a one-off payment for a price-rigging settlement outweighed recovering profitability.Net loss came to 112.3 billion won ($98 million) in the April-June period, shifting to negative territory from the previous year, the company said in a regulatory f

Ssangyong Motor Co., the smallest automaker in South Korea, said Thursday that its net loss narrowed in the second quarter from a year earlier mainly due to decreased costs.Net loss came to 20.9 billion won ($18.23 million) in the April-June period, compared with a loss of 34.9 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales fell 2.3 percent on-year to 712 trillion won. T

South Korean stocks turned lower after a strong start on Thursday as poor U.S. corporate earnings raised concerns over a global economic downturn, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.24 points, or 0.13 percent, to trade at 1,767.07 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market heavyweights traded mixed, with top-cap Samsung Electronics rising 0.35 percent and f

SK Hynix Inc., the world's No. 2 memory chip maker, said Thursday it logged a net loss for the fourth straight quarter as weak cheap prices and currency losses ate into its profit.Net loss reached 53.3 billion won ($46.4 million) in the April-June period, a sharp turnaround from a 473 billion won profit a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales slipped 4.6 percent on-year to 2.

The quarterly growth of the South Korean economy more than halved in the second quarter from three months earlier as the persisting eurozone debt crisis eroded exports, the central bank said Thursday.Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 0.4 percent in the April-June period, slowing from a 0.9 percent on-quarter expansion tallied in the first quarter, according to an advance estimate by the Bank of K

Nearly seven in 10 foreign companies in Korea said they would consider withdrawing from the country if their tax burden continued to grow, a poll showed Wednesday.According to a survey of 158 foreign businesses conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 69 percent of the respondents said “withdrawal could seriously be contemplated” if the nation chooses to levy heavier taxes.The KCCI reported that most of the respondents expressed unease about the nation’s corporate tax environment