WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday threatened to hold up a trade pact with Korea unless President Barack Obama’s administration moves ahead on separate deals with Colombia and Panama.Obama, who faces skepticism on free trade from part of his Democratic Party’s base, has publicly called for approval of deals with all three nations this year but wants time to fine-tune the packages with

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will review the entire text of the Korean-language version of the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement, and correct any errors found before the provisional session of the National Assembly scheduled to begin in April.“Review will take place over the next three weeks from today until the end of March,” Deputy Trade Minister Choi Seok-young said. “A temporary taskf

The Fair Trade Commission ruled on Thursday Hana Financial Group’s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank does not violate competition rules, bringing the nation’s fourth largest banking group a step closer to winning regulatory approval due next Wednesday.The watchdog notified the Financial Supervisory Commission that the planned purchase does not necessarily reduce competition in the industry as the nu

Korea’s biggest investor the National Pension Service said Thursday that it would stop placing stock and derivative orders with the Korean branch of Deutsche Bank AG for six months following the regulator’s six-month suspension of the local unit. The pension fund will not trade through the German brokerage “to limit exposure to institutions that received regulatory penalties, in order to reduce th

A consortium led by state-run Korea Resources Corp. has dropped a bid for an Australian coal producer to focus more on other businesses, KORES said Thursday.“Coal is no longer a priority when it comes to our business. We have been concentrating more on developing other minerals such as rare earth metals and lithium lately,” a KORES official told The Korea Herald. The consortium also includes local

State-run Korea Trade-Investment Agency said Thursday that it will offer visiting consulting services for foreign firms in the country, aiming to boost their investments. “The consulting service is expected to raise the amount of foreign direct investments in the country, as we will visit foreign firms here and try to solve their difficulties from now on,” the trade agency said. The Investment Con

But industry officials complain that multiple issues still have to be dealt withAttention is focusing on what impact the revised bill to open up the game market will have on the local gaming industry.The parliamentary legislation committee passed a revised bill on game industry promotions Wednesday, following a two-year delay.According to the revision, games that are designed to be released in an

Ssangyong Motor Co., Korea‘s smallest automaker, emerged from bankruptcy protection Wednesday following the sale of its stake to Indian utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., the company said in a regulatory filing.Ssangyong, previously owned by China’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., has been under court protection since February 2009 when its Chinese parent abandoned it in the face