United Asset Management Company, South Korea's biggest bad loan investment firm, said Thursday it will invest 500 billion won ($442.6 million) into a private-public fund that will help restructure small and medium-sized enterprises.The 8-trillion-won fund will be financed over the next five years from stat banks and other investors with the aim of restructuring SMEs, the nation's financial regulator said earlier this month. State-run financial institutions, including the National Pension Service

The number of egg-laying hens in South Korea fell to the lowest level in 12 years in the first quarter, data showed Thursday, sparking concerns that egg prices could go up further.The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that the number of hens came to 51.6 million as of March 1, down 26.5 percent from a year earlier.(Yonhap)The decline came as South Korea slaughtered more than 37.8 million poultry -- 25.2 million of those being egg-laying hens -- in recent months to contain the bird flu tha

Hyundai Steel Co., South Korea's second-biggest steelmaker by sales, said Thursday that its first-quarter earnings more than doubled on robust sales of high-end products and cost reduction efforts. Net profit for the three months ended March 31 jumped to 341.11 billion won ($302 million) from 158.58 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.(Yonhap)"To offset lower demand from carmakers and shipbuilders, the company increased sales of value-added products such as high-intensity

South Korea plans to sell a combined 7.75 trillion won ($6.84 billion) in state bonds next month, the finance ministry said Thursday.The government will issue 1.8 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of three years and 1.9 trillion won in five-year bonds.It also plans to sell 1.8 trillion won worth of 10-year Treasurys and a combined 2.25 trillion won of bonds with a maturity of between 20 and 30 years.For June, the ministry said it is planning to issue a total 8 trillion won worth of state bon

More than 600 small and medium-sized companies in South Korea have clinched deals with partners based abroad over the past year through a trade convention for overseas Korean entrepreneurs and smaller firms, expanding their foothold outside the country, its organizing body said Thursday. The World Federation for Overseas Korean Traders Association said a total of 661 small and medium-sized companies signed a total of 1,227 trade deals with some 374 World-OKTA members, consisting of Korean entrep

The three-year-old free trade agreement with Vietnam will allow South Korean companies to further increase their auto, steel and petrochemical exports on tax removal or cuts, customs experts said Thursday. In a seminar held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, customs experts called on Korean companies to aggressively take advantage of tariff benefits in the third year of the bilateral free trade pact with Vietnam and afterwards."Exports to South Korea's major mar

CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea's leading maker of processed foods, said Thursday sales of its flagship precooked dumplings soared this year from a year earlier on the back of the growing one-person household and eat-alone trends that have spurred demand for instant foods. The company has sold more than 50 billion won ($44.3 million) worth of its Bibigo Dumplings in the first four months of this year ending April 26, up 31.5 percent from the previous year, it said in a release.(Yonhap)The on-y

Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers has gone deep for the second time in his first three-hit game of the 2017 season. Choo went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run in the Rangers' 14-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday (local time). The 34-year-old also collected his first triple of the season, but came up short to complete the cycle as he failed to hit a double.  In this Associated Press photo, Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers hits a triple aga

A massive amount of South Korean foods and cosmetics were denied import approval in China last month, sources said Thursday, as diplomatic tensions between the two countries deepened over the ongoing deployment of a high-tech US missile defense system in South Korea. China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine refused to give import licenses to a total of 466 items in March and 83 of them were those from South Korea, the industry sources said, quoting the min

A ceremony was held here Thursday for the construction of liquefied natural gas storage facilities and distribution pipelines that aim to provide the southern resort island with a cleaner source of power by mid-2019.The work involves building two storage tanks and pipelines capable of distributing 120 tons of LNG per hour on 74,786 square meters of reclaimed land in Aewol Port, northwest of Jeju Island, by August 2019, officials at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.(Yonhap)The mini

The South Korean baseball league champions Doosan Bears have signed a contract with a pitcher who had been investigated by local prosecutors for illegal gambling last year. The Bears, the winners of the 2016 Korean Series in the Korea Baseball Organization, said Thursday they inked a contract with Jin Ya-gob for the 2017 season on April 17. The KBO said it has already notified the Bears' signing to nine other clubs last week.In this file photo taken on May 19, 2016, Doosan Bears pitcher Jin Ya-g

Farming industry in South Korea is undergoing a big change, as more urbanites choose to venture into agricultural businesses by moving to the countryside and bringing with them growth potential and cutting-edge IT expertise, observers said Thursday. With a history of having pulled off rapid industrialization in the second half of the 20th century following a devastating war, the farming business here has often been marginalized as something that is outdated with little chance of future success.

Hyundai Motor Co., the country's largest carmaker by sales, has cut the prices for its i40 models to boost sales amid a prolonged economic slowdown, the company said Thursday. For this year's models, Hyundai Motor said in a statement that the prices of the i40 wagon and i40 sedan have been slashed by up to 1 million won ($880) starting Thursday. Hyundai i40 wagon (Yonhap file photo)After the price cuts, the 2.0-liter gasoline-powered i40 wagon and sedan are selling at 24.2 million won to 26.6 mi

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday ruled out speculation that Galaxy S8 smartphones have faulty displays, claiming the controversial red tint on some devices can be changed by users.During a conference call held after the company released its first-quarter earnings report, Samsung Electronics claimed that the company has conducted a thorough inspection of the Galaxy S8 to ensure product quality. (Yonhap)"Due to the nature of Super AMOLED displays, there can be natural differences in color," Sam

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., a major construction firm here, said Thursday that it suffered a 50 percent on-year slump in first-quarter net profit due to currency losses. Net profit for the three months ended March 31 plunged to 43.9 billion won ($39 million) from 86.9 billion won a year earlier, the builder said in a statement.  (Hyundai E&C)The won's ascent to the US dollar cut into the quarterly bottom line, but its drastic cost-cutting efforts helped the company post an increased