General Motors Co., boosting the reliability of Cadillac and Chevrolet models, had its best performance ever in J.D. Power & Associates’ new-car quality survey, with three of four brands above the industry average.Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus luxury line topped the survey for the second consecutive year and its namesake brand ranked eighth. Honda Motor Co. had the highest-rated mainstream brand at No. 5, one spot ahead of its Acura luxury line. Jaguar leaped 18 spots to a tie for second with Porsc

South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Sunday it has imposed 1.51 billion won (US$1.3 million) in fines on the Korean unit of Dutch electronics giant Philips for preventing South Korea's online shopping malls from offering discount prices.The move by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is the first punitive action against a foreign company for blocking price cuts following the implementation of a free

South Korea and Chile agreed to expand mining and energy cooperation that can help ensure better use of important natural resources, the government said Friday.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said that under the memorandum of understanding reached in Santiago, both sides concurred on the need for joint exploration of resources, sharing information on development projects and technological exchange.At the gathering between government officials and entrepreneurs from the two countries, Seoul exp

Kia Motors was selected as the Best Car Manufacturer in the 2012 Which? Award, announced the carmaker on Friday. Which? is a consumer organization in the U.K. with more than 650,000 members.The carmaker was recognized by the organization for the best customer satisfaction achieved by its seven-year warranty service and excellent durable quality. It beat off other renowned brands like Hyundai, BMW and Toyota. Which? said that Kia’s new Rio, Sorento and Picanto all impressed in its test lab, while

Samsung Electronics released Friday the results of research jointly conducted with U.S.-based Environ on the working environment safety of its semiconductor assembly lines at an international conference in Indianapolis.At the event called “AIHce 2012,” Environ, a U.S. consultancy specializing in environmental and health issues, announced the occupational exposure in the Korean firm’s manufacturing areas evaluated was below levels developed by the scientific community to protect worker’s health,

South Korea will end special inspections of all U.S. beef imports over the weekend, nearly two months after Washington confirmed its fourth mad cow case, the government said Friday.Seoul toughened checks on U.S. beef on April 25, when an old dairy cow in central California was confirmed to have come down with an atypical mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy. “The current system of checking half of all beef shipments will be discontinued on Saturday,” the Ministry for Food, Agricu

Samsung Engineering Co., one of South Korea’s leading builders, said Friday that it has clinched a $2.47 billion order to build a petrochemical plant in the United Arab Emirates. The company said it received a formal letter of agreement from Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Co., an affiliate of state-own Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., to build the carbon black and delayed coker facility in the industrial city of Rewais.The city is located 240 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi city on the Persian Gulf. Under the “

An administrative court on Friday ruled in favor of five large retailers over new ordinances by two ward offices in Seoul that prohibit them from doing business on Sunday to protect small, family-run stores.The ruling by the Seoul Administrative Court marked the first of its kind putting a brake on a government-wide move to restrict operating hours of big retailers, also known as "super supermarke