The embattled business lobby group Federation of Korean Industries is stuck in a tight spot as it attempts to devise a reform plan without much enthusiasm or support from its major members.None of the heads from the nation’s top five conglomerates -- Samsung, LG, Hyundai, SK and Hanwha -- attended the organization’s meeting on Thursday morning, which was held to gather opinions about the future direction of the organization. The heads were absent from the meeting amid growing calls for the lobby

The Korean stock market is likely to be relieved by the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, as the outcome was widely expected and already priced into the market.　On the day of the vote, the Kospi index remained stable, only falling slightly by 0.31 percent. The index had been on the rise over the three days since the opposition parties proposed the impeachment bill on Tuesday.“(The stable market) is because the vote today is different from the political impeachment of the late president Roh

Korean conglomerates embroiled in bribery allegations are on alert after the embattled President Park Geun-hye was impeached in a parliamentary vote Friday.Seven business moguls were included in the impeachment motion proposed by three opposition parties, on claims they donated money to the Mir Foundation run by Park’s close friend, Choi Soon-sil, after meeting with the president.　The motion also mentions Samsung C&T Corporation and its controversial merger with Cheil Industries, as well as SK a

Korean battery maker Samsung SDI confirmed Thursday its latest supply deal with the US electric vehicle startup Lucid Motors, which industry watchers estimated to be $520 million.Samsung SDI is slated to provide its cylindrical batteries to the California-based EV maker.Lucid Motors, which aims to compete with Tesla and other luxury EV brands, announced last week to build a $700 million auto factory in Arizona. It plans to launch high-end sports electric vehicles, which run more than 644 kilomet

The US Supreme Court sided with Samsung Electronics in a patent dispute with Apple, sending back the ruling that the Korean tech giant pay $399 million for infringing on Apple’s iPhone design patent.The court returned the case to the lower court Tuesday, saying the damages should be computed based on the profit Samsung gained from specific infringing parts of the phones, not necessarily based on the entire product. The $399 million in penalty -- equivalent to the total profit Samsung gained from

The parliamentary hearing Tuesday to question nine business moguls involved in a political scandal failed to reveal new facts, leaving only scars on the companies’ reputations, industry watchers said. The rare televised hearing failed to hit the spot as lawmakers repeated outdated and often irrelevant questions and chiefs feigned ignorance.“There were no new facts discovered from the hearing. The same questions that have been addressed during the prosecution’s investigation achieved little excep

The market shares of televisions made by Korean electronics makers in China have dropped below 5 percent due to strong sales of the appliances made by Chinese companies, according to research firm IHS on Monday. IHS data showed the market shares of TVs made by Chinese firms have steadily risen from 76.6 percent in 2014 to 81.9 percent in 2015. The figure increased to 84.3 percent this year through September. (Herald DB)Meanwhile, the portion of Korean TV makers, including Samsung Electronics and

Chinese tech company Lenonvo announced Monday that it is rolling out its augmented reality smartphone Phab 2 Pro in the Korean market on Tuesday.The Phab 2 Pro is the world’s first smartphone to include Tango -- a new technology from Google that enables augmented reality gaming and utilities. The technology allows users to place virtual objects over the real world through 3-D. For instance, a user can install an app to see how new furniture would look in their home, while raising virtual pets an