South Korea's top three shipbuilders failed to clinch any new orders last month, mirroring a protracted slump in the global shipbuilding sector, industry data showed on Thursday.According to the data compiled by global research firm Clarkson Research Services, the nation's top three shipyards -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. -- won no new orders last month.But Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., an affiliate of Hyundai Heavy In

Financially troubled Hanjin Shipping Co. has not made any progress in its negotiations with the owners of its chartered ships to cut leasing rates, one of the key preconditions set by its creditors to avert court receivership, industry sources said Thursday.According to the sources, the country's No. 1 container shipping line had contacted the owners of its charter fleet to slash the rates, but failed to receive any "positive" responses from them.The shipper's struggle for the charter rate cut i

Participating carmakers in this year's Busan International Motor Show have something in common amid the lingering impact of Volkswagen AG's diesel emissions scandal: environmentally friendly vehicles.In the biennial motor show, which opened Thursday and will continue through June 12 at the BEXCO exhibition hall in Busan, 453 kilometers south of Seoul, most of the 25 domestic and imported carmakers came up with a reinforced lineup with hybrid or pure-electric models or with a plan to add such mod

The number of subscribers to South Korea's state pension fund is expected to start to drop from 2017 in the wake of the country's falling birthrate, a report said Thursday.The National Pension Service is likely to see the number of subscribers reach 21.67 million next year, down 100,000 from this year, according to the report by the National Pension Research Institute.The figure is forecast to reach 21.77 million people at the end of this year, up from 21.56 million a year earlier. The number of

Exports of fruits and vegetables have grown 22.9 percent over the past five years on rising demand from Asian countries and the United States, customs data showed Thursday.A combined $304 million worth of fruit and greenstuffs were shipped overseas last year, up from $248 million in 2011, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. (Yonhap)Shipments of fruit including pears and strawberries rose 29.8 percent to $127 million over the five-year period, while exports of vegetables

South Korean banks' non-performing loans have soared to a 15-year high amid an extensive revamp of troubled shipbuilding and shipping companies, government data showed Thursday.As of end-March, the total amount of bad loans held by local banks reached 31.3 trillion won ($26.3 billion), up 1.3 trillion won from the end of last year, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service.The figure was also up 6.6 trillion won from a year earlier and marks the highest level since 38.1 trillion w

South Korea's economic growth slowed in the first quarter from three months earlier due to still sluggish demand at home and abroad, central bank data showed Thursday.In the January-March period, the country's gross domestic product expanded 0.5 percent from the previous quarter, slowing from a 0.7 percent on-quarter expansion three months earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)The latest reading marks a slight increase from an earlier estimate of 0.4 percent on-q

Mercedes-Benz Korea, the local unit of the German luxury car brand, will recall 1,135 units of E-class sedans for problems with their powertrain control system, the transportation ministry here said Thursday.An error in the model's powertrain software may fail to transmit engine power to the automatic transmission, causing a possible accident while driving, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The problem has been detected in 1,135 E-Class sedans produced between Dec.