SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ―A federal judge has cleared the way for Apple’s ailing leader Steve Jobs to be deposed in a class-action lawsuit charging the iPod maker turned iTunes into a digital music monopoly.U.S. Magistrate Judge Howard Lloyd ruled on Monday that attorneys for the plaintiffs may question Jobs for a total of two hours, but only about an iPod update making RealNetworks digital music inope

South Koreans now spend more time online and on mobile phones than five years ago, a survey said Wednesday, the latest sign that the Internet has become a daily necessity for many people in one of the world's most wired countries.   South Koreans surf the Internet for an average of 37 minutes during weekdays, up 25 minutes from 2005, according to the findings of a research institute of KBS, a majo

Apple Inc. said Wednesday that it will roll out the iPad 2 tablet computer in South Korea next month amid worries that high U.S. demand and component shortage may delay overseas shipments.Apple will release the iPad 2 in 25 countries, including France and Germany, this Friday and in Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore next month, the company said in a press release. "We're experiencing amazing demand for iPad 2 in the U.S., and customers around the world have told us they can't wait to get thei

South Korea's financial watchdog plans to announce its road map to resume the sale of a major stake in state-owned Woori Finance Holdings Co. by the second quarter of this year, its chief said Wednesday.   The Financial Services Commission (FSC) put the 56.97 percent government stake in the second-largest banking group up for sale in November last year but suspended the sale process in December af

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Wednesday it has decided to delay the scheduled launch of its popular K5 passenger sedan in the European market until the second half of the year due to an undersupply.   The vehicle, currently sold as the Optima in the U.S. market, was initially scheduled to be shipped to Europe in the first half of the year.   "We earlier planned to

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's No. 2 maker of mobile phones, unveiled on Wednesday two new tablet computers aimed for the U.S. market, eying a bigger market share on Apple Inc.'s home turf with ultra-thin devices.   Samsung unveiled the company's third tablet computer, the Galaxy Tab 8.9, and a U.S. version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 during a trade show in Orlando, Florida, it said in a statemen

South Korea will tighten its rules on loans for home purchases amid growing concerns that rising household debts could emerge as a drag on the nation's economic recovery, the government said Tuesday.The plan, announced jointly by the finance, public administration and land and construction ministries, however, calls for the government to lower acquisition tax rates for home purchases in a bid to b

Hyundai Motor Co. launched the midsized truck Mighty in Brazil on Monday, tapping into South America’s largest commercial vehicle market. The Mighty trucks sold in Brazil will be shipped as complete knockdown kits and assembled at CAOA Group’s facility in Anapolis in the state of Goias, the company said.CAOA Group is also responsible for sales of Hyundai vehicles in Brazil.The company has set the

Korean imports of Japanese fishery products have dropped in the past week due to consumer concerns over their possible contamination with radiation and disruptions in supply in the neighboring country, the customs office said Tuesday.Before the 9.0-magnitude quake struck Japan on March 11, Korea’s daily weekday imports of fishery products from the country averaged $3.4 million, according to the Ko

Korea’s mid-size builders have been dogged by severe financial problems due to a prolonged slump in the local housing market, a trade association said Tuesday. Over a quarter of the top 100 local builders, including LIG E&C Co., were put under a workout program or court receivership as of Tuesday, according to the Construction Association of Korea.The biggest reason for their cash shortages is a p

A South Korean consortium including Korea Resources Corp. has acquired a 90 percent stake in an Indonesian bituminous coal mine for $84.15 million, the state-run mineral developer said Tuesday.KORES said it was involved in a joint venture with Korindo, a Korean-run developer in the Southeast Asian country, to buy the share for the 244 million-ton Kapuas mine from PKP Group, a local mineral exporte