South Korea’s labor productivity rose from a year earlier in the third quarter with improvements in both the manufacturing and service industries, the government said Thursday.The labor productivity for the manufacturing industry rose 2.6 percent to 121.8 from the same period last year with that of the service industry rising 1.3 percent to 108.4, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.Labor productivity is measured by dividing industrial output by labor input during a given period of ti

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are planning to showcase new 55-inch OLED televisions at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month.According to industry sources, the two TV makers are looking into commercializing the large OLED TVs later this year after unveiling them at the electronics trade show which launches on Jan. 10.OLED ― Organic Light Emitting Diodes ― televisions are known to be thinner, lighter, brighter and more efficient, presenting faster refresh rates and better

With economic doldrums gripping many parts of the world, Korea plans to cultivate fresh strategic export items and stimulate small and medium businesses to cash in on free trade pacts next year and keep Asia’s fourth-largest economy afloat.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy on Thursday announced measures to boost transactions with its 45 trade partners and shore up exports, the bellwether for the national economy, at an emergency meeting of top economic officials presided over by President Lee My

Experts note risk factors related to North Korea are short-livedMonetary policy in the U.S. and the debt woes in the eurozone have caused greater volatility in Korea’s financial market than the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, data showed Thursday.Research by the Korea Center for International Finance found that investors this year were more concerned about how the economy fared in advanced countries for the trade-dependent market here than the North Korea problem. The cost of insuring

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― AmorePacific Corp., South Korea’s No. 1 cosmetics manufacturer, will target sales growth of more than 30 percent in China next year as it continues to expand its business there, company officials said Thursday.AmorePacific officials expected the company’s sales could jump as high as 34 percent on-year to reach 1.4 billion yuan ($221 million) in 2012 from this year’s expected 1.04 billion yuan, largely due to its steady growth in door-to-door sales.Since 2006, direct sel

China’s role deemed critical in Pyongyang’s next move on economyWhen it comes to North Korea’s future following the death of its leader Kim Jong-il, peaceful denuclearization is often cited as key. Equally important, however, is the outlook for the isolated state’s battered economy, especially as any change would have a great impact on neighboring countries. The problem is that analysts and experts in Korea and elsewhere seem baffled by the sheer lack of information about the chosen successor, K

Ferrari S.p.A. is looking to build an ultra-large theme park near Seoul as part of its tourism-inspired promotion drive, officials here said Thursday.Senior officials of the city of Paju, about 50 kilometers northwest of Seoul, said they have begun talks with the Italian company over the development of the amusement park dedicated to racing cars, similar to Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi.The carmaker launched the world’s largest indoor theme park in the capital of the United Arab Emirates last year.