Kia Motors Corp., Korea’s second-largest automaker, announced plans last week to raise output at its Georgia plant by 20 percent, underscoring the U.S. industry’s biggest market-share gain this year.Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., raised its U.S. share 0.8 percentage points to 3.8 percent through May, topping gains of 0.7 point for General Motors Co. and 0.6 point for Hyundai, according to

Toyota Motor president Akio Toyoda vowed to become the champion of sales among foreign automakers in Korea by 2014, promising tough competition with German players.During his visit to Seoul over the weekend, Toyoda said, “Though we may not able to restore our brand image all at once, we will make efforts to top the list of Korea’s import car market within three years.”The CEO’s commitment came dur

High-end vehicles lead foreign carmakers’ charge in Korean marketBuoyed by a growing love for sports cars by the well-to-do, foreign luxury car brands are upping their share of the domestic car market.Auto analysts say more are turning to exotic options accompanying fast, topless thrills often with luxury amenities like rain-sensing windshield wipers and automatic climate control with pollen filte

ATHENS (AFP) ― Hundreds of people from Greece’s two main private and public sector unions protested in central Athens Saturday to condemn the government’s new bailout deal with international lenders.Around 1,500 people marched to the capital’s main Syntagma Square, in front of the Greek parliament, with banners proclaiming: “No to the new memorandum” and “Resist!”Protesters from a communist-backed

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The International Monetary Fund said Friday it had okayed a sixth tranche of $225 million in financing for Iceland, citing Reykjavik’s “impressive progress” in post-crisis restructuring.The IMF said Iceland’s economy would likely return to growth this year, but still faced risks from inflationary pressures, delays in investment projects, joblessness and slow private sector debt

Kumho Petrochemical Chairman Park Chan-koo was on Friday summoned by prosecutors over allegations that he created slush funds and gained illegal profit on the back of exclusive, internal information.The prosecution believes the slush funds may amount to up to 30 billion won ($27.7 million).Park, however, denied any wrongdoing, saying he would “clear everything” during the questioning session. Park

Korea launches task force to enforce strict origin managementLack of strict origin management by the government is making it difficult for local exporters to take advantage of preferential tax treatment they are entitled to once the Korea-EU free trade agreement goes into effect on July 1.Only one-quarter of local companies eligible for tax benefits from the trade deal have attained certificates p

The government announced its telecom fees discount plan on Thursday, which included a 1,000 won cut in SK Telecom’s basic service fees and 50 free text messages every month.The Korea Communications Commission, the state telecom regulator, said it agreed with SKT, the country’s top mobile carrier, to provide a 1,000 won discount for all customers, along with more text messages, both beginning in Se