Korea's food safety watchdog said Wednesday that it banned imports of Taiwanese products suspected of containing an environmental hormone, following reports that some Taiwanese firms are under investigation for using the potentially cancer-causing material.   The temporary import ban will be applied to beverage products, jams, syrups, jellies and other food products suspected of containing DEHP, a

More than 1 million millionaires live in China, their ranks swollen last year by economic growth, savings and a strengthening currency, according to a Boston Consulting Group survey. Millionaire households jumped 31 percent to 1.11 million in 2010 from the previous year, a BCG Global Wealth Survey released Tuesday showed. That puts China in third place for millionaire households, behind the 5.22 m

SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer prices grew at a slower pace in May, but they were still quite higher than the government's inflation target, raising concerns that price hikes still remain a drag on the nation's economic recovery, a report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the country's consumer price index rose 4.1 percent last month from a year earlie

The China-based real estate developer Baitong Group will invest $70 million in a resort complex development project on the South Korean island of Jeju.According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Baitong Group plans to build condominiums on the southern island that will be sold to Chinese consumers. The Chinese company’s intentions were confirmed at an event held on the sidelines of a conferenc

Foreigners’ ownership of South Korean land edged up 0.7 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, posting a much slower growth rate seen before the recent global financial crisis, the Land Ministry said Sunday.As of the end of March, foreigners owned a combined 225.3 million square kilometers of land, 1.57 million square kilometers more than at the end of 2010, the Ministry of Land,

Korean airlines are expected to jack up their fuel surcharges on international flights for July and August, but the increase rate will likely slow amid easing fuel prices, officials and industry sources said Sunday.The average price of jet fuel hovered at about $3.16 a gallon on the Singaporean spot market from April to May 28, compared with $3.02 per gallon between February and March, according t

The Fair Trade Commission imposed a combined 3 billion won ($2.78 million) in fines on nine pharmaceutical companies for unfair trade practices, including the provision of illegal rebates to doctors and wholesalers, it said Sunday.The toughest punishment of 753 million won was slapped on Pacific Pharma Corp., for paying kickbacks to doctors in forms of gift cards, golf tours and cash.Those involve

Hyundai Engineering and Construction is looking to boost efficiency and cut costs by using aluminum cables in place of copper ones.According to the company, it has been working with a cable manufacturer to develop aluminum cables for low voltages that meet Korean standards since last year. The company was able secure a source of aluminum cables that passed Korea Electrical Safety Corp.’s safety st

North Korea’s trade volume soared 22 percent in 2010 from a year earlier as the communist state boosted exports of minerals to earn hard currency and increased imports of fuels, mostly oil, a local trade agency said Friday.North Korea’s imports and exports, excluding those with South Korea, jumped 22.3 percent on-year to $4.17 billion last year, according to the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Pr

Korea’s major companies remain positive about their business conditions for June on expectations of growing exports and improving economic conditions, a poll showed Sunday.The monthly Business Survey Index for the upcoming month came in at 104.3, unchanged from May when the reading turned positive after it dipped to 98.4 the previous month, according to the Federation of Korean Industries, the cou

The average term of a chief executive officer at listed firms was 31 months, data showed on Sunday.It was also found that a single firm reseated its CEO an average of 3.7 times over the past 10 years, according to data released by Chaebul.com, a website that provides information on the country’s conglomerates. The survey was conducted on 992 listed firms.A firm that changed its chief executive in

The government is delaying its announcement of a telecom fees discount plan until next week after fierce opposition from political circles early this week.According to the draft plan, prepared following talks between a state taskforce and local telecoms, mobile carriers are to offer 50 more free text messages every month and subscription costs for mobile phone services are to be halved for teenage

A majority of Korean businesses believe their earnings will worsen this year due to the local currency’s ascent against the U.S. dollar, a poll showed Wednesday.According to the survey by the Federation of Korean Industries, 55.9 percent of respondents said the local currency will likely trade at a band of 1,000 won to 1,050 won to the greenback this year, up from the 2010 average of 1,156 won.The