About 20 large businesses will face hefty fines for mistreating their suppliers over the next six months, Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Dong-soo said.The antitrust regulator has been conducting an extensive inquiry into 40 large companies since last year. In a media interview, he said about half of them were found to have been involved in wrongdoings including unfair pricing and arbitrary can

The government is looking to China and other cash-rich emerging countries to invest in Korea’s fast-growing energy, technology and service sectors.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Monday that Korea aims to draw more than $15 billion in foreign direct investment this year. It marks a 15 percent increase from a record-high $13 billion that arrived last year.To achieve the goal, the government

Individually tailored equity portfolios may double in Korea this year as investors shift cash from index-tracking mutual funds, advisory firm Korea Creative Investment said. Brokerages sold $1.2 billion of products to individual investors based on Korea Creative’s stock picks within a month of the company starting business Dec. 13, Seo Jae-hyeong, chief executive officer of the Seoul-based firm, s

Korea Electric Power Corp., the country’s biggest electricity producer, posted a narrower fourth-quarter loss after the government allowed power prices to increase for the first time in more than a year and a stronger won cut the cost of its foreign-currency loans.The loss shrank to 18.2 billion won ($16.2 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31 from a deficit of 336.4 billion won a year earlie

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. has delivered its 1,700th vessel, becoming the world’s first shipyard to pass the milestone figure, the firm announced Monday.The shipyard’s 1,700th vessel, a car carrier capable of loading 8,100 vehicles, was delivered to the Seoul-based EUKOR Car Carriers Inc. EUKOR Car Carriers is one of the world’s largest shipping firms specializing in automobile transportation, a

  Plunging prices of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, a key component in personal computers, have hit the bottom line and will rebound soon, senior officials from Samsung Electronics Co. and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. said Monday.   The remarks from Kwon Oh-hyun, president of Samsung's semiconductor division, and Kwon Oh-chul, Hynix's chief executive officer, come after DRAM devices for PC

  South Korean stocks ended 1.81 percent lower on Monday as foreigners dumped shares amid growing concerns over political protests in Cairo, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 38.14 points to 2,069.73. Trading volume was moderate at 316.9 million shares worth 7.29 trillion won ($6.5 billion), with

 Anti-government protests in Egypt will likely have a limited impact on South Korean financial companies in light of their minimal exposure to the North African country, the financial regulator said Monday.   As of the end of September, domestic financial companies owned no securities of or loans to Egypt and their borrowing from the country reached only US$6 million, the Financial Supervisory Ser

  South Korea's anti-trust watchdog is investigating price-rigging allegations that Korean Air, the nation's flag carrier, colluded in fixing prices with a Mongolian airline company for flight services to the central Asian country, officials said Monday.   The investigation by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) focuses on relatively expensive flight ticket prices between Incheon and Ulan Bator offere