NEXON, the country’s top game company, said Thursday it will merge with its affiliate NEXON Mobile in a bid to strengthen its mobile platform.The two firms signed an agreement for the merger on Thursday and it is expected to be completed by April, according to NEXON officials.NEXON Mobile, established in September 2001, is known for launching several popular games such as MapleStory and KartRider Rush.“The measure was put in place to focus on the growth of the mobile business with NEXON’s intell

Financial regulators are close to ruling on Lone Star Funds’ eligibility as the biggest shareholder of Korea Exchange Bank.“Inspectors have been in the last-minute review on the issue as to whether Lone Star has been a non-financial investor (which is banned from owning a local bank),” Financial Services Commission chairman Kim Seok-dong told reporters Thursday.But Kim said the FSC has yet to decide whether to announce its stance on the U.S.-based equity fund at the panel discussion, slated for

Korea’s business sentiment for February edged up slightly but remained in negative territory due to the deepening European debt woes and concerns over the sluggish domestic economy, a poll showed Thursday.The monthly business survey index for the upcoming month came in at 91, up 2.7 points from the 88.3 forecast for January, according to the survey by the Federation of Korean Industries, the lobbying group for the country’s large businesses.The latest number stood below the break-even 100 mark f

Korean investors cut back their holdings of foreign equities last year primarily due to the angst over global uncertainties stemming from the eurozone debt crisis, data showed Thursday. The value of foreign stocks traded by local investors totaled $2.92 billion in 2011, down 49.2 percent from the $5.75 billion tallied in the previous year, according to the data by the Korea Securities Depository. The 2011 figure is lower than the $3.3 billion and $3.1 billion tallied in 2008 and 2009, respective

Korea’s current account balance is feared to swing into the red in January due to a large deficit in trade and service accounts stemming from high oil prices and a strong local currency, data showed Thursday. The country’s imports jumped 19.8 percent on-year to $32.03 billion in the first 20 days of January, while exports rose 5.9 percent to $29.1 billion, bringing its trade deficit to $2.93 billion, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service.If exports fail to outweigh imports by around

LG Electronics said Thursday that it will launch four new wireless gadgets, including a 5-inch smartphone, by the first half of this year.Starting with the release of its tablet PC Optimus Pad LTE, the firm will unveil three more smartphones as it aims to make a comeback this year with devices that run on the fourth generation Long Term Evolution network.“Including the Optimus Pad LTE and the 5-inch smartphone, we plan to roll out two other smartphones in the first half,” said an LG official. Th

With a surging number of Chinese tourists here, their shopping list are becoming more diverse to include sanitary napkins and rubber kitchen gloves, industry officials said Thursday.China has been boasting of their growing appetite for air travel, luxury goods and other high-end products as the middle class expands rapidly in the world’s second-largest economy.A typical shopping list for a Chinese visitor to Korea would include designer-brand bags, cosmetics, jewelry and clothes. During Asia’s b

Two leading mobile carriers, SK Telecom and KT Corp., said Thursday they would begin selling used smartphones at outlets across the nation in the upcoming months.KT plans to sell used smartphones online and offline starting in March and its rival SKT expects to offer used smartphones at the firm’s outlets a month later in April.KT is also planning to devise a discounted monthly payment plan called the “green sponsor” policy in May to give further assistance to used phone purchasers, according to

Backed by family-owned corporate network, chaebol progeny chase easy moneyFounders of Korea’s major enterprises devoted their lives to building a manufacturing powerhouse of the world’s best ships, cars and electronics, but their grandchildren are more interested in selling pastries and importing luxury items. A slew of chaebol offspring have jumped into the bakery or coffee shop business, possibly driving out small, individually owned confectioneries. The number of bakeries run by self-employed