South Korea’s economy is slowing down, but its downward pace seems to be “moderating” despite the lingering eurozone debt problems, high oil prices and other cloudy global economic conditions, a state-run think tank said Wednesday.Inflation is also showing signs of stabilizing, easing worries that higher price levels could dampen the country‘s overall economic recovery going forward, according to the Korea Development Institute.“The Korean economy is slowing down at a moderating pace and the inf

A group of South Korean researchers has developed a way to commercially utilize carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, that may also offer a new approach to dealing with climate change, the government said Wednesday.The team from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) has successfully produced carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme that catalyzes the interconversion of carbon dioxide and water to bicarbonate and protons that, in turn, could produce substances widely used in indu

South Korea’s money supply edged up 0.3 percent in January from the previous month on the rise of short-term money trusts, the central bank said Wednesday. The country‘s M2, a narrow measure of the money supply, reached a seasonally adjusted 1,757.6 trillion won ($1.56 trillion) in January, compared with 1,752.1 trillion won the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. Compared with one year earlier, the M2 also expanded 4.9 percent in the month. Since January, the central bank began rele

The popularity of South Korean popular culture in Asia and other parts of the world is beneficial to businesses seeking to expand overseas, a poll showed Wednesday.The survey on 300 companies conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry showed 51.9 percent of the respondents saying the Korean wave contributing to greater sales abroad.The Korean wave, or “hallyu,” refers to the popularity of TV shows and music that have secured hordes of fans in Asia, Europe and the American continent.

The amount of container cargo processed at South Korea’s seaports rose 14.1 percent from a year earlier to an all-time high for February on growths of both export-import cargo and transshipments, the government said Wednesday.The amount of container cargo handled at the country‘s seaports last month is estimated to reach 1.67 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs), according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.“This is the largest volume ever recorded in February, which was

South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung Group said Wednesday it plans to draw up energy-saving measures this month as high oil prices are expected to hurt its profitability.“The global economic downturn and continuation of high oil prices are weighing on the Korean economy and the costs of using energy is rising,” the group said in a statement.High oil prices are one of the biggest threats to the Korean economy, which relies almost entirely on imports for its oil needs.South Korea is the worl

Cheap tablets looming threat to Samsung and LGDeck: Samsung diversifies lineup to counter threat while LG remains skeptical of their successBy Cho Ji-hyunThe local tablet PC market is being challenged by online shopping malls selling low-priced tablet PCs to consumers here through joining hands with smaller manufacturers.Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest IT firm, has unveiled plans to release low-tier tablets in the first half of the year, while its rival LG Electronics has no plans to

NEW YORK (AP) _ Apple is expected to reveal a new iPad model on Wednesday, with a sharper screen and perhaps an option for faster wireless broadband. The upgrades are relatively minor, but the iPad is secure in its position as the king of tablets.As usual, Apple has kept the features of the new devi

Three foreign automakers will soon make inroads into Korea as the nation’s import car market continues to expand.Mitsubishi Motors and Citroen have decided to reenter Korea in March and April, respectively. Fiat is fine-tuning the timing of its advancement.Mitsubishi Motors will resume sales in the local market in mid-March after a year-long hiatus.Its official importer and distributor has been changed to CXC Motors from the former MMSK.CXC Motors is poised to open large showrooms for the Japane

Retail prices of gasoline in Korea hit a fresh monthly record in February on the back of escalated tensions surrounding Iran and upbeat economic figures from the U.S. and China, data showed Tuesday.According to the state-run Korean National Oil Corp., the average price of regular gasoline was 1,986.54 won ($1.77) per liter last month, up 5.52 won from the previous high logged in November. That is also 31.46 won higher than in January. Oil prices have been skyrocketing over the last year as persi

The United Arab Emirates is expected to place orders for four more nuclear power plants next year beside the four units currently being built by a Korean consortium, Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo said. “I heard that the UAE is planning orders for about four additional nuclear power stations,” Hong said in a press conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday, according to the ministry.About the nuclear power plants currently under construction in the UAE, Hong said the project has great meaning in