POSCO shares staged a brisk rise on Thursday after its executives bought stock en masse to display their confidence and help stabilize the market. The world’s fourth-largest steelmaker said its 73 executives led by chief executive Chung Joon-yang purchased a total of 4,351 shares, worth more than 1.82 billion won ($1.6 million). Chung, who was recently elected to a second term, and president Choi Jong-tae each added 100 to their existing 1,614 and 1,786 shares. Another 70 officials acquired betw

On the first page in its Nov. 30, 2011 edition, The Korea Herald, citing financial sources, reported that Financial Services Commission (FSC) chief Kim Seok-dong pushed ahead with the decision to impose a “mild sanction” on Lone Star Funds despite some working-level officials’ resistance.But it was not confirmed that FSC chief Kim pushed ahead with the decision and that there was resistance from working-level officials. We hereby correct the article. This correction was mediated by The Press Arb

Philip Morris International Korea’s recent plan to raise its cigarette prices is fueling concerns over inflation as rumors swirl that its bigger rival KT&G will soon follow suit. The Korean unit of the U.S. tobacco giant is to slap an unexpected price increase averaging 6.8 percent starting Feb. 10 to offset rising raw material and labor costs.The hike, the first in seven years, will send the prices of Marlboro, Parliament and Lark to 2,700 won ($2.4) a pack from the current 2,500 won. Virginia

LG Electronics said Wednesday that it will set a 35-million-unit smartphone sales target this year, with plans for smartphones to grow to 70 percent of its handset portfolio.In an earnings briefing at its headquarters in Yeouido, its chief financial officer Jung Do-hyun said the company will produce less feature phones and focus on the premium smartphone lineup, especially smartphones that run on the fourth generation Long Term Evolution network.“We will not make feature phones if profits aren’t

Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the world's second-largest maker of computer memory chips, said Thursday that it swung to the red in the fourth quarter as memory chip prices fell on slowing demand for computers.Net loss amounted to 239.9 billion won (US$213.1 million) in the October-December period, a tur

Apple Inc. lost a bid in a Munich court for a preliminary ban on sales of Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy 10.1N and Galaxy Nexus mobile phone. The Munich Regional Court rejected the motion in a case where Apple invoked a patent granted last year protecting some technology related to touch scre

 GlaxoSmithKline Korea Ltd. said Wednesday that Korea’s drug agency has extended approval for its hot-selling pneumococcal vaccine to be used in babies born premature at 27 to 28 weeks and children up to 5 years old.The expanded approval makes Synflorix the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine with posology for premature babies in Korea, the local unit of the U.K.-based corporation said. The vaccine was first cleared by the Korea Food & Drug Administration in 2010 for the prevention of invasive

Korea’s five automakers led by market leader Hyundai Motor Co. on Wednesday reported a 1.7 percent drop in January sales due to a slump in domestic demand.The combined sales of the carmakers came to 617,506 vehicles in January, compared with 626,806 units sold a year earlier, according to data released by the companies.Their domestic shipments reached a combined 96,448 units last month, down 20 percent from 120,557 a year earlier. Overseas sales, however, including cars exported from South Korea

Lotte Duty Free, a leading Korean retail operator, said Wednesday that it has opened its first overseas shop at Indonesia’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.The duty-free shop covers 900 square-meters and will sell various cosmetics, perfume, liquor and tobacco products to travelers using the airport located about 20 kilometers west of Jakarta.The duty-free operator, which is part of the Hotel Lotte chain, said it has also set up an interactive screen featuring Korean pop stars to give its s

Korean credit card companies’ assets have grown to alarming levels due to their proliferating competition, industry data showed Wednesday, raising the specter of a bubble.The total assets of credit card firms stood at 79.3 trillion won ($70.4 billion) as of the end of 2011, surpassing the 78.9 trillion won tallied in 2003, a year after the country’s economy was hard-hit by a credit card bubble, according to the data. Their assets dropped as low as 65 trillion won in 2008, but soon rebounded by n

Production and sales of Korean tiremakers grew slightly last year amid a deepening economic slump at home and abroad, a trade association said Wednesday.According to the Korea Tire Manufacturers Association, Korean tire manufacturers led by Hankook Tire Co. and Kumho Tire Co. produced 97,694,000 units in 2011, up 2.5 percent from the previous year.Sales rose 1.6 percent on-year to 96,942,000 units last year.In the domestic market, a total of 9,997,000 units for original equipment were sold last