South Korean stocks closed lower Monday as investors sat on the sidelines on weaker-than-expected Black Friday sales in the United States, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 14.09 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,030.78. Trading volume was low at 224.3 million shares worth 3.2 trillion won ($3.02 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 525 to 299.Analysts said the local stock market lost ground as the weaker-t

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos revealed Sunday that his company is looking to the future with plans to use "octocopter" mini-drones to fly small packages to consumers in just 30 minutes.The US retail giant's ambitious project still requires additional safety testing and federal approval, but Bezos estimated that Amazon "Prime Air" would be up and running within four to five years.A demo video posted on the company's website showed the tiny robotic devices picking up packages in small yellow buckets from

The financial regulator has widened its probe into alleged corruption at a local bank to an all-out scrutiny against former heads of four major banking groups here, amid growing criticism over their arbitrary management, regulatory officials said Monday.The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), began to look into managerial-level malpractices involving the former chairmen of four banking firms -- KB Financial Group Inc., Hana Financial Group Inc., Woori Finance Holdings Co. and Shinhan Financial

Samsung Group promoted group owner Lee Kun-hee’s second daughter Seo-hyun, senior executive vice president of Cheil Industries Co., to president of the fashion business at Samsung Everland.The nation’s top conglomerate also named seven other presidents of its affiliates in its annual reshuffle carried out Monday.“The personnel reshuffle has been conducted, as it was in the past, based mainly on the performance of each figure,” Rhee In-yong, president of corporate communications team at Samsung G

More than 120 companies slashed the salaries of their highly-paid executives, data showed Sunday, in what could be an attempt to avoid a mandatory remuneration disclosure.Listed companies are required to reveal the salary details of executives whose annual income tops 500 million won ($472,000) under a revised bill on the capital market.South Korean listed firms had been previously making only the average annual salaries of their executives open to the public. Last year, 219 companies paid more

North Korea allowed a Swedish diplomat to meet with the 85-year-old U.S. citizen who has been detained in the communist country for more than a month, media reports monitored in Seoul said Sunday.News wire services such as AFP and CNN said a consul met Merrill Newman at a hotel in Pyongyang and delivered medication sent by his family. The Scandinavian country's mission in Pyongyang acts as the "protecting power" for Americans in North Korea, and its diplomats provide consular services.The media

평양 주재 스웨덴 외교관들이 북한 당국에 한 달 이상 억류된 미국인 메릴 뉴먼(85)씨를 30일(현지시간) 방문했다고 그의 가족 등이 밝혔다.평양 주재 스웨덴 대사관은 이날 북한으로부터 뉴먼씨에 대한 영사접근을 허가 받았다고 AFP통신과 CNN방송 등이 미국 국무부를 인용해 보도했다.뉴먼 씨가 북한에 억류된 이후 서방 관리들이 그를 면담한 것은 이번이 처음이다.평양 주재 스웨덴 대사관은 북한 내 미국 시민과 관련된 문제에서 미국의 '이익 대표국'(protecting power) 역할을 하고 있다. 가족들은 북한 주재 스웨덴 대사가 뉴먼씨가 거처하는 평양의 양각도 호텔을 방문, 의약품을 전달했다는 사실을 국무부로부터 전해들었다고 성명을 통해 밝혔다.가족들은 "방문 결과로 메릴의 건강 상태가 양호하다는 사실을 알게 됐다"며 " 메릴은 좋은 대접을 받고 있고 음식도 괜찮다고 이야기했다고 한다"고 전했다.이들은 스웨덴 대사에게 감사를 표하고서 "인도주의적 연민에 따라 그의 건강 상태와 나이

South Korea plans to hold strategic talks with the United States, China and Japan within the next month to cope with rising security challenges facing Northeast Asia, government sources said Sunday.The plan comes as China unilaterally drew a new air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea that overlaps similar lines draw by South Korea and Japan, as well as a move by Tokyo to seek an aggressive policy on its right to collective self-defense that could allow the country to projec

삼성갤럭시가 3년 연속 국내 브랜드가치 순위에서 1위에 올랐다.브랜드가치 평가 회사인 브랜드스탁이 1일 발표한 '2013 대한민국 100대 브랜드'에서 삼성갤럭시는 브랜드가치 평가지수(BSTI)가 938점으로 2위인 이마트(923점)를 크게 앞서며 3년 연속 대한민국 100대 브랜드의 정상을 지켰다.올해 '갤럭시라운드', '갤럭시기어' 등을 선보인 삼성전자는 내년에도 스마트폰 시장을 주도해나갈 것으로 예상돼 삼성갤럭시 브랜드의 강세는 지속할 것으로 전망된다.이어 KB국민은행이 작년보다 2계단 상승하며 3위에 올랐다. 지난해 3위였던 네이버는 올해 각종 악재가 불거지며 10위로 미끄러졌다.대한항공(4위), 롯데백화점(6위), 롯데월드(7위), 인천공항(8위), 신한카드(9위) 등 각 부문 대표 브랜드들이 지속적인 상승세를 보였다.특히 올해에는 경기 불황으로 식음료, 유통 등 전통 브랜드가 강세를 보였다. 참이슬(11위), 신라면(12위), 제주삼다수(15위)가 각각 6계단, 24계단,