South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Daum Kakao Corp. said Monday it has purchased a whole stake in Kids Note Inc., a local childcare solutions provider, in line with its efforts to expand its "online to offline (O2O)" business portfolio. Under the move, Daum Kakao plans to offer childcare application services to 14,000 local kindergarten, private institutions, and other childcare-related...

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., South Korea's leading power equipment maker, said Sunday that it has clinched a 340 billion won (US$308 million) deal to build a power plant in Kazakhstan. Under the deal with Karabatan Utility Solutions, Doosan Heavy will build the coal-fired power plant with a 310-megawatt capacity in Atyrau on the northern banks of the Caspian Sea. The construction...

South Korea’s transportation ministry launched an internal inspection Thursday into how it conducted its investigation into Korean Air’s “nut rage,” pressured by mounting criticism that it intended to acquit the airline and its troubled former vice president. “We will thoroughly review all proceedings of the investigation to see if there were any flaws,” an official from the Ministry of Land, In...

ULSAN, July 31 (Yonhap) -- Union leaders of South Korea's top automaker on Thursday declared a breakdown in wage talks before workers take time off for summer break. The announcement, which followed the 14th wage and collective bargaining agreement negotiation at the carmaker's main production plant in this industrial city 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, claimed workers have reached the end o...

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., an affiliate of South Korea's biggest conglomerate Samsung Group, said Friday that its board has decided to sell its entire stake in Samsung Card Co. to improve its financial health and resources. Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans to sell its 4.42 million shares to Samsung Life Insurance Co., another Samsung Group affiliate, for 157.6 billion won (US$149.7 million), ...

Prosecutors said Friday they are seeking an arrest warrant for the head of family-run conglomerate Hyosung Group on suspicions that he created large amounts of slush funds and evaded taxes. Chairman Cho Suck-rai, who was summoned by prosecutors twice earlier this week for questioning, is facing multiple charges including embezzlement, tax fraud and breach of trust, prosecutors said. "Senior pr...

South Korean conglomerate Dongbu Group said Sunday it plans to sell two of its affiliates and other assets in a bid to tide over a crisis and improve its financial health. Dongbu Group said it plans to sell stakes in its electronics unit Dongbu HiTek Co. and Dongbu Metal Co. by 2015, and also have its other affiliates sell assets to secure a combined 3 trillion won ($2.82 billion). The conglome...

In a desperate bid to overcome the liquidity crisis, Tong Yang Group said Tuesday it intends to sell off the entire stake in its thermal power arm, after the embattled conglomerate failed to get help from creditor banks and its ex-affiliate. The family-run company said it is willing to sell a 100-percent stake in Tongyang Power Inc., which is valued at about 1 trillion won (US$931.1 million), ac...

The head of Kumho Tire Co. has said his company is seeking to complete construction of its suspended plant in the United States, a move that could give South Korea's second-biggest tire maker a foothold in the world's second-largest auto market. Kumho Tire broke ground for its first plant in the U.S. state of Georgia in 2009, but the construction has since been stalled as creditors placed the ke...

Naver, which runs the nation’s biggest Internet portal, announced on Thursday it will set up the “Naver Partner Center” next month to better cooperate with smaller businesses. The move came a month after the company announced it would take a flurry of measures to seek coprosperity with small enterprises amid intensifying public criticism over its monopolistic practices. Naver controls a wide...

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest flat-screen TV maker, said Tuesday that it plans to roll out its first 55-inch curved OLED TV with full HD capabilities in Europe with a price tag of 7,999 euros. In June, Samsung introduced the TV set on its home turf, joining the race for the next-generation TV market. Early this month, Samsung also rolled out the TV in the U.S. Samsung said the TV...

A consortium led by POSCO Energy Co., a unit of South Korea‘s leading steelmaker POSCO, has been named as the preferred bidder for a 1.5-trillion-won ($1.34 billion) power plant project in Mongolia, the company said Tuesday. The consortium will build and operate the 450-megawatt coal-powered power plant for 25 years, and then transfer it to the Mongolian government, according to POSCO Energy. T...

South Korea’s leading steelmaker POSCO said Sunday it is moving to develop a new type of clean energy in resource-rich Mongolia together with a local company there. POSCO said it has joined hands with MCS Group, one of the largest private companies in Mongolia, to start a coal-to-liquid business in the country and is in the process of obtaining approval from Ulan Bator. To that end, the steel g...