Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee on Thursday said Samsung was coming under intense scrutiny from more and more firms, saying it was not only Apple, but even those outside the IT industry trying to keep his company at bay. “It’s a matter of (wanting) to hammer in a protruding nail,” Lee told reporters during a rare visit to Samsung Electronics headquarters in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul. He

Earnings-driven buying sprees in IT shares, in a market waiting for a second round of capital inflows, are pushing Seoul shares to record high levels, analysts said Thursday.“Investors, including foreigners, are holding their long positions as they’re waiting for more capital inflows to push up the KOSPI. Because there is less selling, the index keeps breaking all-time highs with even small purcha

The nation’s savings banks have reaped more than 1 trillion won ($900 million) in service fees per annum over the past five years, a lawmaker revealed Thursday.Citing data gained from financial regulators, Rep. Bae Young-shik of the ruling Grand National Party unveiled the figure during a two-day parliamentary hearing on the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service on po

The central bank and the financial regulator decided to jointly examine banks’ foreign currency trade activities to keep them in check against speculative investments. The inspection comes as the won this week advanced to its strongest level in 31 months with capital inflows into local assets. The market’s understanding of the latest move is that the Finance Ministry is masterminding regulators to

Fortune’s list includes Lee of Samsung, Chung of Hyundai Motor and Koo of LGThree Korean top business leaders ― Lee Kun-hee, Chung Mong-koo and Koo Bon-moo ― were included in a U.S. magazine’s recently released list of Asia’s 25 most powerful business people.Lee, chairman of Samsung Electronics, was ranked fourth while Chung, chief of Hyundai Motor, and Koo, chairman of LG Group, were placed 10th

Builder to construct power station and desalination plantHanwha Engineering & Construction said Wednesday that it has signed a $1.05 billion deal to build a power station and desalination plant in Saudi Arabia.The builder said it is to establish the plant at Yanbu industrial complex, the biggest of its kind in Saudi Arabia and located on the western side of the country, by 2014 under the deal with

Says free trade benefits vary with levels of developmentA noted critic of free trade agreements has offered a mixed assessment of a potential FTA between South Korea and China. Chang Ha-joon, an economist at the University of Cambridge in the U.K., has written numerous publications critical of free trade agreements. In books such as “Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of

 HONG KONG (AP) -- A pioneering 3-D erotic comedy has taken the Hong Kong box office by storm, beating the first-day record set by ``Avatar'' and drawing viewers from mainland China as it eyes a global rollout.The $3.5 million Cantonese-language production ``3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy'' had earned 17 million Hong Kong dollars ($2.2 million) as of Tuesday since opening last week on 73 screens,