Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it will launch its flagship Galaxy S3 smartphone operating on the fourth-generation long-term evolution network in its home turf next week.The world’s top mobile phone maker said the LTE model will be available through all three local mobile carriers starting Monday, two weeks after the third-generation version of the latest Galaxy series phone was released locally.Samsung said the new model, powered by an LTE network and a quad-core processor, enables enhan

Refined petroleum products led South Korea’s exports in the first half of this year thanks to higher prices, accounting for 9.9 percent of all outbound shipments, a report showed Thursday.The report by the Korea Petroleum Association said exports of petroleum products totaled $27.28 billion in the January-June period, up 11.5 percent from a year earlier.“The gain is mainly due to a steep rise in crude oil prices that also marked up refined product costs,” the association said.The average price o

The Korea Communications Commission said Thursday that the Korea Broadcasting Station, or KBS, was the only broadcaster in the nation to record over 30 percent viewership in 2011.According to the commission, KBS came in first place, grabbing about 36 percent of total viewers, followed by the Munhwa Broadcasting Corp., and its affiliates with 18.4 percent. The Seoul Broadcasting Station, or SBS, and CJ E&M came in at 11.2 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively.But the newly-opened cable television

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat on Thursday as investors refrained from trading ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) policy rate meeting and Samsung Electronics' guidance release, analysts said. The local currency gained against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.04 points, or 0.06 percent, to 1,875.49. Trading volume was moderate at 318.4 milli

Volkswagen AG agreed to buy the 50.1 percent stake in Porsche SE’s automotive business that it doesn’t already own for 4.46 billion euros ($5.6 billion), ending a seven-year takeover saga that divided two of Germany’s most powerful families. VW was able to proceed with the transaction after reaching an agreement with German tax authorities, it said in an emailed statement late yesterday. The cash

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Thursday as investors stepped to the sidelines ahead of the European Central Bank's policy rate meeting, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 2.97 points, or 0.16 percent, to 1,871.48 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Major blue chips lost grounds with Hyundai Motor and Samsung Electronics falling 1.06 percent

Refined petroleum products led South Korea's exports in the first half of this year thanks to higher prices, accounting for 9.9 percent of all outbound shipments, a report showed Thursday.The report by the Korea Petroleum Association (KPA) said exports of petroleum products totaled $27.28 billion in the January-June period, up, 11.5 percent from a year earlier."The gain is mainly due to a steep ri

Lotte Shopping Co., the flagship affiliate of retail-oriented conglomerate Lotte Group, said Wednesday that it has been picked as the preferred bidder for the purchase of electronics appliance retailer Hi-mart Co.“Lotte was tapped because private equity firm MBK Partners Ltd. opted not to bid for Hi-mart,” a company representative said. He added results related to the purchase negotiations will be announced in the near future, indicating that the deal is close to being sealed.Independent market

BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Audi top the listThe nation’s import car industry saw its vehicle sales reach an all-time high during the first half of the year, posting a monthly average of 10,373 units.Their sales came to 62,239 units in the first half, up 20.5 percent over the same period last year, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said Wednesday.For sales in June, import car brands reported an 18 percent year-on-year growth with sales of 10,578 units, though they inc