South Korean stocks finished marginally higher Tuesday as foreign investors snapped up blue-chip tech and auto exporters, outweighing losses in banks and steelmakers, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.After bobbing in and out of negative territory, the benchmark KOSPI edged up 0.6 points, or 0.03 percent, to 1,909.63. Trading volume was moderate at 348 million shares worth 6.19 trillion won ($5.56 billion) with losers leading gainers 541 to 290. “Foreign investors co

Multiple Korean cities were internationally recognized for their management of the local environment at the closing ceremony of the International Awards for Livable Communities held in Seoul on Monday. Tongyeong City, South Gyeongsang Province, received first prize as the most “livable” city with a population of 75,001-150,000, in recognition of its efforts in developing a sustainable island resort for tourists, among other projects.Namwon City, North Jeolla Province, took third place for its hi

Borrowing conditions in the dollar bond market improved after Korea secured expanded currency swaps with Japan and China in October, local banks said Tuesday. Commercial banks said Korea’s $300 billion-plus foreign exchange reserves and the expanded currency liquidity through currency swaps are lowering funding costs for them.“We saw an immediate bounce of interest in the secondary buying of dollar-bonds on Oct. 19 when market heard of Seoul’s expanded currency swap with Japan from $13 billion t

Prices of memory chips used in personal computers and mobile devices logged another drop, according to the latest industry data Tuesday, reflecting still fragile demand for consumer electronics products. Prices of NAND flash memory devices hit a 32-month low in the second half of last month, while prices of dynamic random access memory chips failed to make a rebound and held steady in the same period, according to DRAMeXchange Technology Inc. The Taiwan-based company, Asia’s largest operator of

DP demands Lee’s word on ISD deletion The Grand National Party on Tuesday was moving to have a floor vote on whether to ratify a free trade agreement with the U.S., as a parliamentary subcommittee was unable to deliberate the bill due to strong opposition objections. According to reports, GNP leaders were discussing ways to have the FTA bill by-pass the foreign affairs and trade committee. The committee delayed handling of the FTA ratification bill to Wednesday, after opposition members physical

The credit card commission dispute has entered a new phase as the country’s bars, night clubs, massage parlors, hagwon, and other small businesses plan to go on a nationwide strike at the end of this month over transaction fees. The Federation of Professional Economic-Person Societies, which covers the so-called nightspot business, said on Tuesday it would hold a 50,000 people-strong rally in Seoul on Nov. 30 to call on credit card companies to lower the transaction commission rate to 1.5 percen

PARIS (AP) -- Palestine became a full member of the U.N. cultural and educational agency Monday, in a highly divisive move that the United States and other opponents say could harm renewed Mideast peace efforts.U.S. lawmakers had threatened to withhold roughly $80 million in annual funding to UNESCO if it approved Palestinian membership. The United States provides about 22 percent of UNESCO's funding.Huge cheers went up in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization afte

President Lee Myung-bak will hold summit talks next week with Vietnamese President Trong Tan Sang, who will make a three-day state visit, Lee’s office said Monday.The two leaders will exchange views on bilateral cooperation in foreign policy, security, energy and resource development as well as economic and trade ties at the summit next Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release. During his visit, Sang is scheduled to visit Korea’s industrial facilities, meet with Korean business leaders to

Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook was acquitted Monday of charges that she took illegal political funds from a builder in 2007. This is the second time the ex-premier has been found not guilty of accusations by prosecutors. Last April the Seoul Central District Court cleared her of charges that she had received $50,000 from Kwak Young-wook, former chief executive officer of Korea Express, in December 2006 in exchange for helping him obtain the top post at a state-run corporation.This time, H

On overseas adoption...Why not? If babies can’t find a home here, there are tons of families around the world who would welcome a child of their own! The flipside I guess would be a loss of Korean identity. The foreign adoptive parents might not foster a sense of Korean identity in their child once he or she has grown up. Nonetheless, if the child can not be placed in Korea, the best alternative is to find a family, any family, who will welcome them and love them.― Desiree Althea Cooper, Gwangju

Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. clinched a combined 50 percent share of the U.S. TV market in the July-September period, an industry report showed Monday, thanks to strong demand for their premium TVs with 3-D features and Web connectivity. It marked the first time the combined sales of Samsung and LG, the world’s two largest TV makers, accounted for half of the U.S. TV market on a quarterly basis, according to data released by NPD Group Inc, a market research firm. Samsung accou

South Korea’s industrial output continued to grow in September from a year earlier, despite persistent uncertainties in the global economy, a government report showed Monday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining and manufacturing industries expanded 6.8 percent last month from a year earlier. The September figure represents the 27th consecutive on-year expansion since July 2009. The report also showed production gaining 1.1 percent compared to the previous month,