The global economy faces greater risks of cyclic downturns as the financial markets have become more interconnected since the demise of Lehman Brothers five years ago, the Bank of Korea chief warned.In a meeting with commercial bankers on Friday, BOK Gov. Kim Choong-soo said the interconnectedness of markets worldwide had become “stronger” as economies tried to fix the global crisis.This market development is likely to increase financial risks worldwide, the central bank chief said.He added that

South Korean seas are still safe from the radiation leak at a Japanese nuclear power plant, the government said Thursday in an attempt to ease growing public concerns here.A recent radiation check of six areas close to Japan found no or only minuscule traces of induced or artificial radioactive materials, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.“The result of an analysis of waters from six sea areas that was conducted jointly with the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission showed no tr

The Federation of Korean Industries, the nation’s largest lobby group, expressed concerns about proposed legislation related to workers’ wages and the use of chemical materials.“The revision bills concerning ordinary pay and chemical substance registration currently under debate can be a roadblock to creating jobs and spurring investment,” the FKI said in a statement released after a meeting of its leaders on Thursday.The FKI said such regulations may prompt foreign investors to avoid investment

South Korea‘s well-established business groups enjoyed stellar asset growth over the past five years while newly formed business groups experienced financial troubles, data showed Thursday.According to the data by research firm CEO Score, the combined assets of 18 conglomerates including Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG and SK rose to 1,054 trillion won ($973.2 billion) at the end of 2012, up from 525 trillion won five years earlier. Their combined assets took up 67.7 percent of all assets held by 51

WIN&WIN, a domestic sporting goods company, is a leading player in the global market for archery equipment with 40 percent of the market share.The company led by CEO Park Kyung-rae, a retired athlete from the Korean national archery team, provided 52 percent of the bows for the 2012 London Olympics. It has also dominated about 60 percent of the Japanese market and is competing with Hoyt, its rival firm in the United States, to become No. 1 in the global market.  Utilizing the technology and tech

Freight charge hike, increase in ship orders stir up optimistic views

POSCO Energy began operating a highly efficient and environmentally friendly “off-gas combined cycle power plant” in Pohang on Wednesday, company officials said.The station in North Gyeongsang Province has a capacity of 145 megawatts and is the first to produce power through mixed combustion of off-gases such as blast-furnace gas, FINEX off gas and coke-oven gas.Unlike steam power plants, the gas turbine and steam turbine in this station are connected together, helping to reduce costs. They are

South Korea's jobless rate inched down in August from a month earlier and job creation also accelerated, raising hopes that labor market conditions are improving, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 3 percent last month, down from 3.1 percent in July. The jobless rate adjusted for inflation also fell from 3.2 percent to 3.1 percent.Job creation is picking up speed. The number of employed people was 25.29 million in August, u

MOTIE considers joining Trans-Pacific Partnership led by U.S.

South Korean defense company LIG Nex1 broke ground Monday for a factory to build an anti-ship missile with indigenous technology with the goal of completing it by 2015, the company said. LIG Nex1 will work with the Agency for Defense Development to build the surface-to-air, anti-missile guided by an inertial navigation system, which will be deployed in the South Korean Navy’s destroyers, the company said. The missile, named Haegung (sea bow), is designed to launch from a vertical platform on a d

LG Electronics Inc., the world’s No. 3 smartphone maker, said Monday that it plans to roll out the LG G Pad 8.3 tablet, the latest addition to its G Series lineup of premium mobile devices, in some 30 countries by the end of the year.LG Electronics last week unveiled the G Pad 8.3, which has the Full HD display. The tablet runs on Snapdragon 600 Processor with 1.7GHz Quad-Core CPU, which helps enhance the viewing experience with powerful performance, the company said in its release.One of its ke