President Lee Myung-bak has appointed Kim Dae-ki, a bureaucrat-turned-professor, as his new senior secretary for economic affairs, Lee's office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.   Kim, formerly the head of Statistics Korea and vice culture minister, replaces Choi Joong-kyung, who became the knowledge economy minister last month.   Kim, 55, now serves as a professor at Seoul National University's Gradu

  South Korea's consumer prices spiked in January mainly due to a rise in agricultural and energy-related product costs, adding to concerns that mounting inflationary pressure could undercut the nation's economic recovery, a government report showed Tuesday.   According to the report by Statistics Korea, the country's consumer price index surged 4.1 percent last month from a year earlier. The figu

  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 swimmer Park Tae-hwan said Monday he will need plenty of work to stay competitive at this year's world championships.   Speaking to reporters before departing to Australia to begin his training, Park said despite his Olympic and world championships gold medals, he doesn't yet deserve recognition as a "top-class" swimmer.   "In terms of techniques, I am still at the lower rungs of th

  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 foreign ministry said Monday it is working on increasing the number of flights from Cairo to Seoul to transport South Korean nationals back home amid raging anti-government protests there.   "As the situation gets worse, there aren't enough flights compared to the number of our people who would like to leave Egypt," said a ministry official. "We are in talks with Korean Air to inc

  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

  South Korea's industrial output grew for the 18th straight month in December, suggesting the economic recovery remains on track, a government report showed Monday.   According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining and manufacturing industries expanded 9.8 percent last month from the same month a year earlier. The output has expanded since July 2009.    Production grew 2.8 p

  The Obama administration will likely submit the pending free trade deal with South Korea to Congress in late March after undergoing a series of congressional hearings next month, reports said Sunday.   U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is expected to appear at hearings at the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee in mid-February to "pave the way for a mock markup of th

  South Korean manufacturers' business confidence inched down for February on concerns that rising raw material prices could crimp their profitability, the central bank said Monday.   The index of manufacturers' outlook on business conditions reached 91 for February, down from 92 for January, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions for

  South Korea's computer chip exports are expected to reach $52.5 billion in 2011, fueled by greater overseas demand for system semiconductors, the government said Monday.   The total represents a growth of 3.5 percent compared to the previous year, with outbound shipments of system semiconductors used to make products like smartphones and tablet PCs expanding 18.7 percent on-year to $19.1 billion

  South Korea sent a North Korean man back to his communist homeland Friday after he drifted across the maritime border to the South in a boat in waters off the peninsula's west coast last month, the Red Cross said.   The man, who has since expressed his desire to return home, was handed over to the North Friday afternoon at the border village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone separating

  South Korean stocks closed 0.34 percent lower on Friday as investor sentiment was dampened by the downgrade of Japan's credit rating by Standard & Poor's, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 7.14 points to 2,107.87, snapping a four-day run of gains.Trading volume was moderate at 347.8 million shares wo

  The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Friday it will make its Sunday counseling tour of foreign resident communities a year-round event from this year.   Since 2009, city officials have visited neighborhoods with high foreigner population every Sunday, except during winters, to offer legal and other counseling services especially to foreign workers, students and marriage immigrants who cannot s