한국GM이 앞으로 5년간 8조원을 투자하겠다는 청사진을 내왔다. 지난 2002년 출범 이후 10년간 10조원을 투자한 것과 비교하면 60%가 확대되는 것이다. 신규 투자를 바탕으로 신차 6종을 국내에서 생산, 계발하고 내수시장 점유율은 현재 9.5%에서 두자리수를 달성하겠다고 발표했다. 현재 GM의 경차 및 소형차의 디자인을 담당하고 있는 부평 디자인스튜디오는 두배 이상 규모를 키워 미국, 브라질에 이어 세번째로 큰 디자인센터가 될 예정이다. 　"한국GM은 오늘날 GM의 성공스토리에 크게 기여했다. 우리는 한국에서, 한국과 함께, 한국을 위하여 역량을 키워갈 것이다"고 팀리 GM해외사업부문 사장이 금요일 간담회에서 밝혔다. 최근 지분매각과 크루즈국내생산 중단 등으로 불거진 "GM철수설"에 대해서는 "8조원 결코 가볍게 투자할 수 있는 금액 아니다"며 "GM은 한국에 남을 것"이라고 강조했다. 　(코리아헤럴드 이지윤 기자)　<관련 영문 기사>GM renews commitment to

A South Korean activist has sent packages of data verifying South Korea's ownership of the Dokdo islets to Japan's media outlets as part of his protest against the neighboring country's Friday event to promote its territorial claims to the islets.Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University and activist helping promote Korea's Dokdo ownership, said he sent the packages to about 120 Japanese newspapers and broadcasting firms last week while he was visiting Kyoto.The packages include

A former football player at Southern Utah University has pleaded guilty to charges he downloaded child pornography in 2010, officials say.Cameron Anthony Morgan, 22, was charged last year with 10 counts of second-degree felony sexual exploitation of a minor.Morgan's attorney stipulated during a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Cedar City that child pornography was on his client's computer.Morgan pleaded guilty to all 10 counts.In court documents, Morgan had said he accidentally received the chil

South Korean stocks traded 0.47 percent higher late Friday morning due to gains in carmakers and shipbuilders, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 9.46 points to 2,024.68 as of 11:20 a.m.Carmakers led the market gain, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor advancing 1.39 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors adding 0.73 percent. Top auto parts manufacturer Hyundai Mobis moved up 0.65 percent.Shipbuilders also gathered ground, with Hyundai Heavy Industrie

South Korean handset maker LG Electronics Inc. said Friday it will release its flagship Optimus G smartphone in Europe this month.LG said the 4.7-inch display phone that runs on Qualcomm Inc.'s Snapdragon S4 Pro processor will go on sale in Sweden this month before being released in France and Germany.The move comes after LG released the premium smartphone in Canada, Japan, South Korea and the United States as part of its efforts to regain its presence in the mobile market.The company has sold m

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.68 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,008.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics losing 1.35 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO falling 0.82 percent. No. 2 carmaker Kia Motors moved down 0.73 percent.U.S. stocks ended lower Thursday on concerns that the F

State-run power company Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) is facing the worst debt problems among public organizations due to government regulations, a report said Friday.The report by the Korea Institute of Public Finance classify public organizations in four categories in terms of financial stability -- very dangerous, dangerous, cautious and safe -- and said that KEPCO's financial status is "very dangerous" given its current debt problems.KEPCO received the worst grading as its debt came to

The United States and Japan will discuss North Korea's latest provocation of conducting its third nuclear test during the upcoming summit talks, the White House said Thursday.The U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet on Friday in Washington. In a conference call with reporters, Daniel Russel, the senior advisor for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said the leaders of the two countries are expected to exchange opinions on the North Korean issu

Another person suffering from a SARS-like virus has died in Saudi Arabia, the World Health Organization said Thursday, bringing the worldwide number of fatalities from the mystery illness to seven.The Saudi health ministry had informed the U.N.'s health body that the patient had been hospitalized on January 29 and had died on February 10, WHO said in a statement.A laboratory had confirmed on February 18 that the person had died from the so-called novel coronavirus, or NCoV, it added.This brings