More women take up key research positions at major securities companiesWomen are making inroads into the financial sector at a rapid pace, taking up more specialist positions such as fund managers and analysts. According to brokerages and the Korea Financial Investment Association, the proportion of female analysts and fund managers is rising, following the broader trend of the gender gap narrowing in the workplace. The most significant change is taking place in the research divisions of major s

Hyundai Group plans to enter the hotel business as it was named the preferred bidder for a controlling stake in Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul, a six-star luxury resort in central Seoul, on Monday. Hyundai proposed a bid of 160 billion won ($140 million) to acquire the shares on the condition that the group will pay in several installments. Starting with the potential acquisition, the group said, it would step up efforts to find the new growth engines that Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun s

Six Korean construction companies are estimated to have secured orders exceeding 10 trillion won ($8.7 billion) in 2011 due mainly to increased overseas contracts, industry sources said Monday.POSCO Engineering & Construction Co., GS E&C and Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. ranked in the top three in terms of orders won, with Samsung C&T Corp., Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and Daelim Industrial Co. also faring well, they said.“POSCO orders surged by 3 trillion won to around 14.4 t

The chief of a panel on shared growth on Tuesday lashed out at large conglomerates for boycotting discussions on sharing profits with their smaller partner companies.Former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan who heads the commission for shared growth said the business giants were “neglecting their social responsibility” as they refused to show up at the panel’s first meeting this year.Of the 25 members of the commission, nine representing the large companies did not attend the meeting Tuesday.“We have

South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan left for Denmark Tuesday, embarking on a four-day tour that will also include Turkey, for talks aimed at strengthening economic and political ties with the two nations, officials said. Kim is scheduled to arrive in Copenhagen later in the day to meet Danish Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal, who extended the invitation to the South Korean minister, the ministry said in a statement. Kim and Soevndal plan to discuss a wide range of economic and trade issue

North Korea has a long list of provocative acts against South Korea, which were aimed at tightening internal control by raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.The sinking of a South Korean naval vessel and the bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island last year, which claimed 50 lives, were the latest in a series of strikes the North has launched against its southern neighbor for decades.Since being anointed successor to his father, North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung in 1974, Kim Jong-il was believed to

South Korean stocks ended 1.8 percent higher Tuesday as investors shrugged off recent eurozone sovereign downgrades and snapped up shares of blue-chip banks and exporters, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI soared 33.47 points to 1,892.74. Trading volume was heavy at 426.6 million shares worth 5.91 trillion won ($5.16 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 553 to 269.Foreigners scooped a net 393.3 billion won worth of shares, extendi

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that it will begin producing 46-inch transparent liquid-crystal displays by the end of this month, becoming the world’s sole manufacturer of such displays.The new transparent display, the second attempt made by the global IT giant, is currently expected to be placed in refrigerator doors with the cooperation of some U.S. firms, according to Samsung officials.Locally, the 46-inch displays will also be installed as the screen doors for the subway stations on subway

It is discriminatory to deny service based on a customer’s ethnicity, the state’s human rights watchdog said Tuesday.The ruling by the National Human Rights Commission came after a bathhouse in Busan denied service to a naturalized Korean last year.The NHRC recommended the bathhouse cease denying service to non-ethnic Koreans and foreigners in the November 25, 2011 ruling.It also recommended the Busan Metropolitan Government and the Dong District Office where the bathhouse is located implement m

Mobile network carriers will be obliged to warn consumers about a potential “bill shock” from July as part of a revision to telecommunication law that took effect on Tuesday. With the rapid adoption of data-heavy smartphones here, consumers have complained about damages from expensive data rates in excess of their fixed-bill plans. Even though local telecom operators have carried out safety measures voluntarily to prevent consumer damages, now such efforts have become legally binding from July 1

Resource diplomacy official denies allegations; audit result due later this monthThe Foreign Ministry suspended a senior diplomat in charge of energy and resource diplomacy last week over his alleged involvement in a high-profile stock manipulation scandal, officials said Tuesday.Kim Eun-seok is suspected of helping boost the stock price of C&K Mining, a local resource development firm, through a government press release in 2010 on its success in winning the rights to develop a diamond mine in C