Kia Motors Corp.’s midsized sedan K5 and the compact SUV Sportage R are to receive the top prizes in this year’s Red Dot Design Award, the carmaker announced Tuesday.According to Kia, this is the first time Korean automobiles have been selected to receive the top honors in the German design award. K5 (top) and Sportage RThe K5 has been selected as the Best of the Best award winner in the automobil

State-run natural gas developer Korea Gas Corp. said it will further boost its efforts for achieving mutual growth with its contractors and other philanthropic activities, the firm said. KOGAS’ service was recognized last year when it was made Fortune Magazine’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. The firm ranked the fourth in the energy firm category. It received good marks for its excell

KOSPI plummets below 1,900 during trading session, shedding 2.4% at closeKorean stocks tumbled 2.4 percent to a 15-week low on Tuesday hit by rising worries over radiation leaks from Japan’s quake-stricken power plant.The benchmark KOSPI fluctuated during the day, plunging to 1,882.45 at one point though it later managed to contain falls to close at 1,923.92.A day before the index stood at 1,971.2

Korea is drawing up measures to induce price cuts by oil refineries, the nation’s top economic policymaker said Tuesday, expressing suspicion that they are not setting prices for domestic consumers in a transparent manner.The remarks by Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun are the latest in his series of strong words against the nation’s oil refinery industry. He has been accusing the industry of keep

Mahindra and Mahindra completes acquisition of Korean automakerSsangyong Motor Co. will invest 240 billion won ($212 million) in developing new products and building its brand, new CEO Lee Yoo-il said at the press conference announcing the completion of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. on Tuesday.The Indian company was chosen as the preferred bidder for Ssangyong in August 2010, about 18 months after th

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― At five years old, Twitter is just starting to change the world.Jack Dorsey fired off the first tweets on March 21, 2006, an automated “just setting up my twttr” message which he followed with the first “human” tweet ― “inviting coworkers.”It was Dorsey who proposed the idea for Twitter while working with Biz Stone and Evan Williams at podcasting company Odeo.Since then, Twit

Developing content will be key to success of new television setsWhat’s the use of having a high-fangled 3D TV or a smart TV if there is nothing to watch? This is a question that 30-year-old bride-to-be Kim Eun-jung keeps asking herself as she shops for appliances ahead of her wedding. Her concerns seem universal, as netizens are busily asking similar questions in online communities about whether t

Facebook Inc. plans to test a Groupon-inspired service that will sell discount offers, an effort to use its 500 million-plus members to capitalize on the surging online-deal market.The service will get started in San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Atlanta, and Austin, Texas, the company said last week in a statement. It will be part of Facebook’s existing Deals program, which lets businesses offer

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest carmaker, may lose output of at least 40,000 vehicles after Japan’s strongest earthquake damaged factories and crippled nuclear power plants, causing electricity shortages. Toyota closed 12 plants in the nation through Wednesday, Shiori Hashimoto, a spokeswoman for the company, said by phone Monday. The manufacturer’s profit will be cut by 6 billion yen ($72

Economists uncertain how Japan disaster will affect oil demand, though imports likely to riseNEW YORK (AP) ― The earthquake and tsunami in Japan took some steam out of the rally in oil prices by reducing the country’s oil imports. That won’t last long.Japan consumes about 4.4 million barrels of oil per day, most of it imported. Only the U.S. and China consume more. With steel plants, auto manufact

 WASHINGTON (AFP) - More Americans are getting their news from the Internet than from print newspapers for the first time as audience figures for cable news programs fall, according to a report released on Monday.The State of the News Media 2011 report by the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism said that in another first, online advertising revenue topped that of print newspapers last year.Fo