Korea named two possible locations -― Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang Province and Samcheok, Gangwon Province ― to build new nuclear power plants, speeding up its policy to expand the atomic power supply. The Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. on Friday announced the two candidates, ruling out a third in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province. Four atomic power plants will be built in each of the two loca...

Hope rises for company to turn around next year on LTE, home appliances LG Electronics, the world’s No. 3 handset maker, is currently in the process of successfully listing their new shares in the market, raising expectations that the firm may see a turnaround next year. The company said on Friday that the subscription rate in the first stage of its new share selling process ― offering the new ...

Median consensus of analysts forecast 2012 operating profit at near 20 trillion won Samsung Electronics, the world’s top smartphone maker, is expected to record an all-time high operating profit figure next year, amounting to nearly 20 trillion won ($17.27 billion), analysts said Thursday. The firm’s operating profit in 2012 was forecast to reach 19.98 trillion won, about 28 percent higher than...

Ukraine is seeking to become a favorable investment destination for Korean companies looking to enter into the region. “Ukraine is a transitional market economy with significant investment potential and has shown the highest rate of GDP growth in Europe during the last 10 years,” the Ukrainian investment delegation chief said in Seoul. Igor Zhovkva, director of Foreign Direct Investments and In...

POSCO and its affiliates delivered 10 billion won ($8.6 million) for charity to the Community Chest of Korea on Thursday. POSCO and POSCO Engineering and Construction offered 8 billion won and 1 billion won, respectively, and POSCO Specialty Steel and Daewoo International gave 500 million won each. POSCO and its affiliated companies have donated 10 billion won each year for charity since 2007, ...

Oil refiner plans to spend W10b through 2015 on social contribution The social contribution activities of GS Caltex come in two forms: “green sharing” for an eco-friendly, sustainable future, and “regional participation” to help local communities. The oil refiner set up a department exclusively in charge of social contribution in 2005 and launched the GS Caltex Foundation in 2006. The company ...

Korea’s TV set market, long-dominated by local electronics giants Samsung and LG, has been heating up recently with the entry of new players ― supermarket chains. Amid their fierce pricing competition, the nation’s top three retailers, E-Mart, Homeplus and Lotte Mart have marketed their own brand of TV sets at almost half the existing prices. Lotte Mart, the No. 3 retailer, on Wednesday launche...

Chey vows to develop chipmaker as SK’s new axis of growth SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won on Thursday vowed to develop Hynix Semiconductor into “SK’s new axis of growth” during his first visit to the world’s second-largest computer chipmaker since deciding to buy it last month. “I had meant to visit earlier after SK Group decided to buy Hynix last month, but the situation was not allowed for sev...

The presale reservations for Nokia Lumia 710, the first smartphone in Korea running on Microsoft’s new mobile operating system Mango, started Thursday ahead of its release scheduled for Dec. 26. Windows Phone represents Microsoft’s attempt to establish itself as a viable competitor in the smartphone arena, while its rivals Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android have taken the lead in sales. The Ma...

KT chairman Lee Suk-chae will serve his second term after a special review committee on Wednesday recommended him as the only candidate for the top position at the nation’s largest fixed-line carrier. Even though the final decision is made during a shareholder’s meeting early next year, his reappointment has actually been confirmed, industry sources said. Lee’s official term of three years expi...