South Korea's antitrust watchdog might consider expanding its law aimed at punishing intra-group transactions of large local conglomerates to include deals taking place with their overseas affiliates, a source said Thursday.Intra-group deals are criticized for sidelining smaller companies in bidding processes and also cited as a secret measure employed by owners of conglomerates to transfer their wealth to their family without paying due taxes by awarding them business contracts with favorable t

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Thursday on worries about the direction of the U.S. monetary policy following a vague stance from the Federal Reserve after its meeting, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.13 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,050.45 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most shares lost ground across the board, with top-cap Samsung Electronics sliding 0.3 percent and Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's biggest shipyard, dipping 1.

Popular K-pop girl group KARA will simultaneously release a new single album and a best-of album next month, the girls' management agency said Thursday.The title of the new single is "French Kiss," a mid-tempo ballad that depicts the romantic atmosphere of a couple spending Christmas Eve together, according to the DSP Media.The best-of album, titled "Best Girls," consists of two CDs, each containing the group's Japanese and Korean-language hits.The Japanese version has 14 titles, including the g

U.N. investigators began public hearings Wednesday in the U.S. capital aimed at gathering information on North Korea's human rights abuses.The two-day hearings are part of overseas activities by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) looking into whether there are crimes against humanity in the secretive communist nation.The three-member body, led by retired Australian Judge Michael Kirby, conducted similar events in Seoul and Tokyo in August, followed by a session in London this week.The COI's probe h

Three senior journalists at the defunct News of the World tabloid have already pleaded guilty to hacking phones, a prosecutor revealed Wednesday, calling it a sign of the scope of the illegal behavior at the Rupert Murdoch-owned publication.Prosecutor Andrew Edis said ex-news editor Greg Miskiw, ex-chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck and former reporter James Weatherup all entered guilty pleas ahead of this week's high-profile phone hacking trial of former News of the World editors Rebekah Brooks a

President Barack Obama's top health official apologized Wednesday for wasting consumers' time as they tried to use the crippled website that allows them to buy government-mandated health insurance under the overhaul known as Obamacare.Obama later in the day defended the value of the signature legislation of presidency, telling an audience in Boston, “We are going to see this through.”Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told a Congress committee that the access problems for the

The Federal Reserve says the U.S. economy still needs support from the Fed's low interest-rate policies because it is growing only moderately.In a statement released Wednesday after a two-day policy meeting, the Fed says it will keep buying $85 billion a month in bonds to keep long-term interest rates low and encourage more borrowing and spending.It also says it plans to hold its key short-term rate at a record low near zero at least as long as the unemployment rate stays above 6.5 percent and t

South Korean stocks closed 0.38 percent higher Wednesday as investors remained anxious over the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary meeting on a stimulus cut, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.82 points to finish at 2,059.58. Trading volume was light at 258.0 million shares worth 4.06 trillion won (US$3.82 billion) with gainers outnumbering losers 450 to 351. Analysts said the KOSPI

Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of Indian sport utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Wednesday that it swung to the black in the third quarter from a year earlier due to strong sales.Net profit reached 1.5 billion won ($1.4 million) in the July-September period, compared with a loss of 13.7 billion won a year earlier, the Seoul-based company said in a regulatory filing.Sales jumped 19.8 percent on-year to 837.4 billion won in the third quarter, and operating income reached 74

Twitter Inc. said it plans to launch "promoted tweets," its advertising products, in South Korea later this week to help local companies better approach potential customers.The U.S. microblogging site on Tuesday posted on its website that its so-called Promoted Tweets, Promoted Accounts and Promoted Trends will debut in South Korea on Friday.Twitter said Promoted Tweets are purchased by advertisers who want to reach a wider group of users and spark engagement from their existing followers.In som

South Korean stocks traded 0.17 percent higher late Wednesday morning, led by gains in tech and financial large caps, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 3.55 points to 2,055.31 as of 11:20 a.m.Market behemoth Samsung Electronics edged up 0.4 percent, with chip giant SK hynix soaring 2.5 percent. Shinhan Financial Group and Hana Financial Group gained 0.3 percent and 2 percent, respectively. But auto and telecom issues trended lower, with Kia Motors fallin