The Korean unit of General Motors said Monday it would reduce production this week by up to 10 percent because of a possible lack of parts from Japan following the devastating earthquake.GM Korea ― formerly GM Daewoo ― said it would stop four hours a day of overtime work from Monday at its plants in the western city of Bupyeong and in the southwestern port of Gunsan.The company said it would also

Managers at Hansalim, Korea’s biggest cooperative of consumers, recently realized the depth of the food scare when they took a look at the surging number of their cooperative’s members. Established in 1986, Hansalim saw its membership swell by nearly 20 percent to 250,900 in January from a year ago, just by word of mouth. It spends almost nothing on public relations.The sharp increase in membershi

Prices of liquid crystal display panels have been falling since a devastating earthquake hit Japan earlier this month, industry data showed Monday, beating market forecasts that prices would trend higher on an undersupply.According to market research firm DisplaySearch, prices of LCD panels for 46-inch TVs came to $330 and those for 40 and 42-inch TVs stood at $234 as of Saturday, down about $4-14

SEOUL (AFP) - The South Korean unit of General Motors said Monday it would reduce production this week by up to 10 percent because of a possible lack of parts from Japan following the devastating earthquake.GM Korea -- formerly GM Daewoo -- said it would stop four hours a day of overtime work from Monday at its plants in the western city of Bupyeong and in the southwestern port of Gunsan.The compa

Samsung Group said Sunday it will make an additional donation of supplies to Japan amid a near rush by businesses here to help people in the neighboring country hit by the powerful earthquake and tsunami.The nation’s largest business group earlier gave 100 million yen ($1.23 million) and 2,000 sets of emergency relief supplies, worth about 30 million yen, to Japan’s Red Cross Society.The group wil

Damages to South Korean businesses from the quake in Japan are still limited, but they may become more visible and serious if the problems facing Japanese firms become prolonged, market observers said Sunday.The most direct damage to South Korean companies came from the loss of containers containing products awaiting delivery in Japan.The Korea Maritime Institute estimated the country’s shipping c

North Korea has sent a wreath to Hyundai Group to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung, the conglomerate said Sunday, amid efforts by Pyongyang to improve ties with Seoul that quickly deteriorated following the North’s sinking of a South Korean warship and attack on a border island last year.The wreath from the North’s Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee wa

South Korean stocks will trade in negative territory this week as uncertainties in Japan and the Middle East are likely to dampen investors’ appetite for risks, analysts said.After moving with great volatility, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1,981.13 on Friday, up 25.59 points, or 1.31 percent, from one week ago.The Seoul bourse was the sole stock market in Asia that fin

The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies fell to a record-low level in February on the back of the country’s continued economic recovery, the central bank said Sunday.The number of companies that went bankrupt totaled 99 last month, down from 102 in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The latest figure marked the smallest monthly number of business failures since the centr

The Financial Supervisory Service is set to reprimand a local asset management firm and a brokerage house for incurring huge losses by conducting allegedly reckless investments in stocks last November.The companies which faced regulatory punishment are Wise Asset and Hana Daetoo Securities. They were reportedly negligent in internal controlling, according to the FSS.Though the FSS had planned to f

Finance ministers from the Group of 20 member nations will hold a meeting in Washington, D.C. next month to discuss the economic impacts of the Japanese crisis and measures to curb volatility in global financial and commodity markets, government officials said Sunday. The meeting, slated for April 14-15, is mainly aimed at gauging the aftereffects on the energy sector amid the nuclear crisis follo