North Korea’s imports of digital television sets from China have more than quadrupled this year, a South Korean trade group said Sunday, amid reports that the country is moving to introduce digital TV broadcasting.In the first four months of the year, China shipped digital TVs amounting to some $17.66 million to North Korea, up 338 percent from $4.02 million during the same period last year, according to the Korea International Trade Association.The figure is the fifth-largest amount for any sin

South Korean companies’ dividend payouts to foreign investors surged nearly 14 percent from a year earlier in 2013, partly reflecting a growth in foreign investment in the local market, related data showed Sunday. According to the Korea Securities Depository, local firms that settle their annual accounts in December paid a combined total of 4.63 trillion won ($4.51 billion) in dividends to foreigners last year, up 13.9 percent from 2012. The increase was largely attributed to the payouts by Sams

The state-run Korea Post offering postal banking services said on Sunday that it fully recovered from a computer network failure that occurred early Saturday morning. A computer system failure caused suspension in postal banking services for more than two hours on Saturday, officials said.The accident happened around 5 a.m., bringing all Korea Post banking services down, such as withdrawals and deposits through ATMs, money transfers, credit card payments and smartphone banking. Normal services r

Underwriter Goldman Sachs is scheduled to accept bids for LIG Insurance next Monday to pick the preferred bidder among six contenders, including KB Financial Group, Lotte Group and the Tong Yang Life-Vogo Fund alliance.The other three potential bidders that have submitted preliminary proposals are MBK Partners, China-based Fosun Group and the Middle East-based Jabez Partners.LIG Group plans to dispose of its 20 percent stake, worth 370 billion won ($350 million), in LIG Insurance to raise funds

South Korea’s top central banker said Friday that the Bank of Korea is closely watching the foreign exchange market amid growing currency volatility.In a meeting with commercial bank heads, Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said the central bank was keeping tabs on the market for any herd behavior.Lee’s remark is the latest in a series of comments by South Korean financial officials who voiced firm will to act against speculative forces and sharp volatility in the foreign exchange market.Earlier this week, Vice

U.S.-based insurer Cigna said Friday it will provide customized health management tips via a healthcare app on Samsung Electronics’s newest smartphone Galaxy S5. The new “Coach by Cigna” will be added to the smartphone’s pre-loaded S-health 3.0 app and released in 36 countries in 26 languages. The insurer said the provided contents will allow users to keep track of their daily health conditions and activities by linking them to healthcare data stored on the app.The Galaxy S5 is the first smartph

Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, said it will showcase 27 vehicles, including seven different variants of its new Carnival minivan at the Busan International Motor Show, which will kick off on May 29. The country’s second-largest automobile manufacturer said an “outdoors” car, a limousine and a light “mover” will be shown to the Korean public for the first time at the show. The minivan, a multipurpose vehicle, made its debut at last month’s New York International Auto Show and is

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee, who has been under treatment after a heart attack since Saturday night, is gradually recovering, his doctors said Friday, curbing the public’s woes over the fate of the 72-year-old business tycoon.“Chairman Lee’s condition is getting better,” said Yoon Soon-bong, the president of Samsung Medical Center where Lee is hospitalized. When asked about rumors surrounding Lee’s health, including suspicions he is in critical condition, Yoon said, “If the situatio

Daewoo Engineering and Construction, one of top three local builders, said Friday it won a $910 million highway construction deal in Qatar. The builder said it signed part of the New Orbital Highway and Truck Route contract from Ashghal, the Middle East country’s public works authority. The highway contract is the third-largest road construction order secured by a South Korean construction company in a foreign country.Daewoo E&C will be in charge of engineering and design as well as construction

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix recouped its position as the world’s No. 2 maker of dynamic random access memory chips in the first quarter of this year, data showed Wednesday, three months after it slipped to the third spot following a fire at its Chinese plant.The data from market researcher DRAMeXchange showed that SK hynix garnered 28.2 percent of the global DRAM market in the January-March period, outpacing U.S. Micron Technology, which posted 28 percent. The latest figure marks a turnaroun