Toyota and other Japanese car sales down more than a fifth in JuneLocal automakers led by Hyundai, Kia and SsangYong reported all-time high sales with double-digit growth in the first half, benefiting from the demand-drop for Japanese vehicles after the March earthquake.Domestic sales at Hyundai Motor Co., the industry leader, jumped 7.2 percent on-year to 344,422 units in the January-June period.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s BMW brand outsold Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz last month, expanding its lead as the top-selling luxury auto brand in the U.S. so far this year.BMW’s U.S. sales, helped by deliveries of the new 5 Series sedan and sport-utility vehicles, rose 13 percent last month to 21,637 compared with a year earlier, the Munich-based automaker said yesterday in a statement.Mercedes sa

Unionized workers at SC First Bank are expected to drag out their strike for an extended period of time in opposition to the management’s push for a performance-based pay system.The dispute between the management and workers continued as about 3,000 workers went on strike for a fifth day on Friday, leading to customer concerns of a prolonged walkout.The local unit of Standard Chartered Plc is tryi

Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan addresses a news conference on Thursday. (Yonhap News)Growth outlook lowered to 4.5%, inflation likely to be 4% this yearThe government has cut its growth forecast for the economy and raised the outlook for inflation this year, backing off from its ambitious growth plan due to weakening consumption and persistent price hikes. In a downbeat assessment of Asia’s fourth-

NongShim, the country’s largest instant noodle maker, was fined 155 million won ($143,022) for deceptive advertising of its latest product, Shin Ramyun Black, the corporate watchdog said Monday.The Fair Trade Commission called the company’s description of the item as an “ideal product meeting the nutrition ratio” misleading and ordered them to fix the advertisement.“Some food manufacturers, of lat

Jeju United striker Shin Young-rok is awake after a 50-day coma, resulting from a serious heart attack in May, Cheju Halla General Hospital announced on Jeju Island, Monday.Shin is now capable of communicating freely and will eventually be able to return to his normal life with the help of rehabilitation therapies, the hospital said. Jeju United manager Park Kyung-hoon (right) clasps hands with st

CJ CheilJedang, Korea’s largest food company, was slapped with 340 million won ($316,000) in fines for interrupting the corporate watchdog’s probe into alleged price-fixing activities, the Fair Trade Commission said Wednesday. The fine is the largest single penalty imposed for unlawful interference in an investigation by the watchdog. The FTC said it is seeking to punish five workers at the compan

Credit rating agency Fitch noted the rising short-term external debt held by Korean banks in recent months, but said its portion relative to overall external debt was still sustainable.“The South Korean government has been trying to reduce the industry’s short-term external debt but the level is back on the rise,” Andrew Colquhoun, Fitch’s head of Asia Pacific sovereign ratings, said in an intervi