Korean Air, the country’s largest carrier, forecast record operating profit this year as it seeks to lure more premium-class travelers and begins to operate Airbus SAS A380 superjumbos.Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, may rise 14 percent to 1.28 trillion won ($1.1 billion), the company said in an e-mailed statement Thursday. Sales may increase 8.

South Korea will more than triple its investment in overseas resources development to $7 billion this year as it strives for a stable supply of key materials including rare earth metals, the government said Thursday.Of the total, $2.6 billion, or 37 percent, will come from state-run firms and the rest from the private sector, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said. State-run developers Korea Elect

   South Korea's current account surplus widened in December from the previous month on robust exports, with the country posting its fourth-largest ever surplus last year, the central bank said Thursday.   The current account surplus reached $2.11 billion in December, up from $1.93 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cros

South Korea’s workforce productivity in 2009 was lower than that of most Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development-member nations, a government report showed Wednesday.The country’s per-capita labor productivity marked $56,374, which ranked 23rd among the 31-member OECD, according to research jointly carried out by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and Korea Productivity Center. The two

Korea has significantly narrowed the gap with advanced countries in water-related technologies under a government initiative to nurture growth, officials said Wednesday.For the past decade, the level of Korea’s technological capabilities in related fields have risen to about 80 percent that of advanced nations from 40 percent, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. A to

Korea and the U.S. will soon conclude work on the final text of their recently concluded free trade agreement, paving the way for the pact to be ratified in both countries, a high-ranking trade official said Wednesday.In December last year, both countries reached a final agreement focusing on U.S. demands that Korea soften its automotive safety and environmental standards.The Korea-U.S. free trade

Exports of Korea’s traditional rice wine makgeolli reached an all-time high last year thanks to high demand in Japan and a spike in shipments to China, a report showed Wednesday.Makgeolli exports reached $19.1 million in 2010, up from $6.3 million a year earlier, said the report by the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp.By country, Japan topped the list of importers with shipments totaling $15.6 mill

Volume of cargo handled at Korea’s seaports hit a record high last year thanks to improving economic and business conditions, the transportation ministry said Wednesday.The nation’s seaports handled an all-time high of 1.2 billion tons of cargo last year, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to a report by the ministry. In December, cargo handling also jumped to a monthly record of 110 m