South Korean consumer electronics giant LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday its second-quarter earnings declined 8 percent from a year earlier largely due to increased marketing costs and one-off costs.Net profit reached 156 billion won (US$140 million) in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 169 billion won a year earlier, LG Electronics said in a regulatory filing.Revenue jumped 10.1 percent on-year to 15.23 trillion won over the cited period, while operating profit declined 9 perce

South Korean stocks were almost flat late Wednesday morning, as large-caps traded mixed amid upbeat expectations on improved corporate earnings, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.63 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,905.78 as of 11:20 a.m.Top-cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.3 percent, while second-largest Hyundai Motor went up 0.2 percent. Chemical companies and shipyards were bullish but financial blue chips lost ground. No. 4 lender Shinhan Financial Gro

South Korean stocks reverted to a slight gain on Wednesday after a bearish start, following the 1.3 percent rally of the previous session, analysts said. After opening a tad lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 0.34 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,904.49 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech and auto blue-chips led the decline, with Samsung Electronics slipping 0.3 percent and Hyundai Motor falling 0.2 percent. But LG Chem, a leading chemical maker, and top g

A House Democratic leader on trade policy on Tuesday said the time is right to press Japan on its closed markets as Japan formally joins the United States and 10 other Asia-Pacific nations in negotiations to create a major new trade bloc.Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, proposed that the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, talks should link the reduction of U.S. auto tariffs to the opening of the Japanese auto market. He said there should also be an enf

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's leading smartphone marker, was found to have one of the most favorable working conditions in South Korea and to have contributed the most to the local economy, a report showed Wednesday.According to the report released by Chaebul.com, a business researcher, the tech giant saw its working environment index reach 66.3 points out of 100, marking the highest grade among 300 local companies tallied.The index takes four criteria -- contributions to the economy, emp

New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner said Tuesday he won't drop out despite the revelation of racy correspondence with a young woman _ which she says began months after he resigned from the U.S. Congress for similar behavior.“This is entirely behind me,” Weiner told a news conference, just hours after he confirmed exchanging sexually explicit photos and text messages online. “There was no question that what I did was wrong,” he added.He resigned his Congressional seat in June 2011 afte

Apple's sales of older, less expensive iPhones climbed in its latest quarter, highlighting the challenges facing the world's most valuable technology company as it tries to reverse a recent decline in its earnings and prove that it can still innovate.The results announced Tuesday topped the projections of analysts who steer the way investors tend to react to financial reports. That helped lift Apple's stock by $14.61, or more than 3 percent, to $433.60 in extended trading after the numbers came

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker said Tuesday that U.S. automobile sales to South Korea have sharply grown since a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) went into effect in March last year.She was stressing the effects of existing FTAs with South Korea and other nations as Washington seeks to expand similar bilateral or multilateral trade deals."To help our exports keep growing, the (Barack Obama) administration has implemented new trade agreements. They are already bearing fruit," she s

China‘s vice president will visit North Korea this week for Korean War commemorations following a period of strained relations between the communist neighbors.Vice President Li Yuanchao will be the highest ranking Chinese official to visit North Korea since Kim Jong-un took over as leader of the impoverished hard-line communist state upon his father’s death in December 2011.The trip lasting Thursday through Sunday affirms a warming trend in relations between a deeply isolated Pyongyang and Beiji

South Korean stocks closed 1.27 percent higher Tuesday as investor sentiment was boosted by upbeat expectations on second-quarter corporate earnings, analysts said.The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 23.80 points to finish at 1,904.15. Trading volume was moderate at 347.8 million shares worth 4.24 trillion won ($3.79 billion) with advancers outpacing decliners 495 to 301. "Investors are getting their hopes high as compan

외교부와 재외공관을 대상으로 한 해킹 시도가 5년새 3배가량 급증한 것으로 나타났다.23일 외교부에 따르면 올해 외교부와 재외공관 인터넷 홈페이지를 대상으로 한 사이버 침해 시도는 1분기만 1천27건에 이른다. 월별 추세로 보면 연말까지 4천108건에 이를 것으로 전망된다. 이는 지난해보다 72%나 증가한 것이다.연도별 사이버 침해 시도는 2009년 1천309건에서 2010년 1천941건, 2011년 2천686건, 지난해 2천381건, 올해 전망되는 4천108건 등으로 급증하는 추세다.지난 2009년과 올해만 비교하면 5년새 3배가량 증가했다.사이버 침해는 인터넷 홈페이지를 대상으로 해킹 시도를 하는 것을 의미한다.  사이버 침해의 증가는 기본적으로 국내외 해커들이 우리나라의 외교문서를 훔치려는 의도에 따른 것이다.하지만 외교부는 인터넷과 외교전산망을 분리해 운영하기 때문에 해커들이 기밀 문서를 빼가는 것은 거의 불가능하다고 설명하고 있다.군사기밀 문서가 많은 국방부도 외교부와 마찬

Hacking attempts this year targeting South Korea's foreign ministry and its diplomatic missions are expected to be triple the 2009 figure, the ministry said Tuesday. Just in the first three months of this year, attempts to break into the websites of the foreign affairs establishments totaled 1,027, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. If the current pace continues, the total number of hacking attempts on the ministry and its overseas offices will exceed the 4,000 mark for all of 2013, nearly tr

South Korean stocks traded 1.04 percent higher late Tuesday morning, fueled by gains in large-cap tech and financial firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 19.57 points to 1,899.92 as of 11:20 a.m.Top-cap Samsung Electronics jumped 2.2 percent, with No. 4 lender Shinhan Financial Group surging 3.7 percent. LG Electronics shot up 4.3 percent. But auto shares lost ground. Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors fell more than 1 percent and 0

More than 100 famous musicians including Madonna, Elton John and Sting called Monday for Russia to release two members of feminist punk-rock band Pussy Riot, jailed for an anti-government protest performance.In an open letter coordinated by rights group Amnesty International, the celebrities voiced their support for Maria Alyokhina, 25, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23, and decried their "shockingly unjust trial and imprisonment."The two women are being held in separate Russian penal colonies to s