A ratification motion for the free trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union will be presented to a parliamentary committee on Thursday for approval, lawmakers said.   The ruling Grand National Party aims to pass the Korea-EU FTA motion through the National Assembly Committee on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification next Wednesday after two days of intensive discussion at its leg

South Korea's industrial output grew for the 19th straight month in January, a strong indication that the national economy is continuing to expand, a government report showed Thursday.   According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining and manufacturing industries rose 13.7 percent last month from the same month a year earlier. The output has increased since July 2009.   Outpu

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves climbed to a new high in February as a weaker U.S. dollar boosted the conversion value of assets in other currencies, the central bank said Thursday.   The country's foreign reserves reached US$297.67 billion as of the end of February, up $1.71 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.   The reserves rose for the third consecutive mont

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Thursday, fueled by advances in shares of automakers and technology firms, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose17.37 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,945.61 in the first 15 minutes of trading.   Autos propped up the KOSPI with Kia Motors rising more than 2 percent and Hyundai Mobis, the country's largest auto par

Samsung Electronics Co. announced Tuesday that it won 30 prizes, including two top honors, at an international design exhibition.The Korean electronics giant said it grabbed 30 awards at the 2011 iF Product Design Award. Organized by the International Forum Design in Hanover, Germany, since 1953, the award recognizes products for their overall design, originality and their consideration for enviro

Korean TV makers were overtaken by Taiwan‘s Vizio Inc. in North America’s liquid crystal display TV market last year, according to a market research firm Wednesday.Vizio sold 6.96 million LCD TVs in the United States and Canada, accounting for 18.2 percent of LCD TVs sold in the market last year, according to data from market researcher DisplaySearch. Samsung sold 6.72 million LCD TVs in 2010, cla

Improving overseas shipments boosted five South Korean carmakers’ sales in February, industry data showed Wednesday.Compared to February 2010, Hyundai Motor Co.’s sales increased by 12.1 percent to come in at just 281,000 units. Hyundai’s overseas sales recorded a year-on-year rise of 14.8 percent, while domestic sales increased by less than 500 units or 0.9 percent.The country’s second largest ca