South Korea held favored North Korea to a 1-1 draw at the final Asian women's Olympic football qualifying tournament Monday in Japan, a decent start to the quest for their maiden Summer Games appearance.At Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka, Jung Seol-bin put the 18th-ranked South Korea on board just past the half-hour mark, but Kim Un-ju scored the 79th-minute equalizer for world No. 6 North Korea to salvage a draw.The result snapped South Korea's losing streak against North Korea at nine. North Kor

Debt-to-income ratio of deficit households, whose spending is higher than their disposable income, reached 42 percent 2014, according to a report released by the LG Economic Research Institute on Monday. The proportion of income spent on debt repayments is far higher than the overall figure for all households of 28.3 percent.The ratio for households in deficit has risen steeply since it exceeded 30 percent for the first time in 2009, peaking in 2013, when their DTI ratio hit 42.7 percent. “Consi

DRUMMING UP COMMERCIAL WASHER BUSINESS -- Tech giant LG Electronics has recently invited partners from 12 global markets, including China and France, to Korea to showcase its latest commercial washing machine lineup. The electronics firm aims to double the global sales of the commercial washer business this year over last year. (LGE)

DEBUT OF SK-SPONSORED HANDBALL TEAM -- SK hynix holds an event to celebrate the launch of the SK Hawks, SK hynix’s sponsored male handball team, on Monday in North Chungcheong Province. (From third from left, first row) Coach Hwangbo Sung-il, SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, SK hynix chief executive Park Sung-wook and head coach Oh Se-il participate in the event. (SK hynix)

TWITTER COMMEMORATES MARCH 1 MOVEMENT-- In order to commemorate the "March 1 Independence Movement" in 1919, Twitter Korea runs the #Remember1919 hashtag campaign featuring an emoticon based on a caricature of female independence activist Ryu Gwan-soon. (Twitter Korea)

Kakao, the nation’s largest mobile messenger operator, has been showing an endless appetite for new revenue sources by acquiring start-ups in recent months.Many of the investments were focused on the online-to-offline, or O2O, sector, which proves that Kakao has its eyes set on both the online and offline world.  A KakaoTalk messenger user initiates the mobile messenger. (Yonhap)On Monday, the mobile messenger firm announced it had taken over another fledgling start-up, called Parking Square, wh

S-Oil, South Korea’s third-largest oil refiner, is working to give back to the local community through its ongoing social contribution efforts, which touch upon the diverse needs of Korean society.The company’s so-called “Sunshine Sharing” campaign seeks to recognize the sacrifices made by local firemen, offer aid to underprivileged members of society, and advocate environmental protection.S-Oil CEO Nasser Al-Mahasher (left) hands plaques and cash prizes to eight selected firefighters during a c

As part of Samsung Group’s efforts to streamline its complex business structure, the conglomerate is seeking to sell its security arm S-1 Corporation to Japanese security firm SECOM, according to industry insiders.“Samsung is currently realigning its businesses to improve management efficiency and is looking to sell S-1 Corporation to SECOM,” said a Samsung official who declined to be named. Samsung group vice chairman Lee Jae-yong. (Samsung Group)The Japanese security company is the largest sha

Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have been recognized for their excellence in design at this year’s iF Design Award, an annual design competition organized by the International Forum Design Awards. Samsung and LG picked up a total of 38 and 28 awards, respectively, for their superior design in a range of areas, including product and packaging. Global buyers and dealers look at LG Eelectronics‘ Signature washing machine, which features front-loading on top and a top-load

삼성그룹이 국내 보안업계 1위 회사인 에스원을 일본 보안 회사 세콤에 매각하는 계획을 하고 있다고 알려져 파장이 예상된다.삼성그룹의 한 내부 관계자는 “삼성그룹은 현재 계열사들을 자르고 붙이는 등 재편성을 하고 있는 중”이며, “에스원을 세콤에 매각한다는 이야기가 돌고 있다” 라고 전했다.이재용 삼성그룹 부회장 (삼성그룹)세콤은 현재 에스원의 25.65%의 지분을 가지고 있는 최대주주이다. 삼성그룹은 1980년 세콤과 합작으로 에스원의 전신인 한국경비보장을 인수했고, 에스원은 1991년 한국안전시스템을 거쳐 1996년 현재의 사명을 변경했다.비록 삼성SDI, 삼성생명, 삼성카드, 삼성증권, 삼성화재가 총 20.93%의 에스원 지분을 가지고 있지만, 삼성계열사 중 어느 곳도 에스원의 최대주주로 있지 않아 삼성그룹의 “비주력 계열사” 중 하나로 인식되어 왔다.이건희 삼성그룹 회장이 2014년 5월 10일 서울 한남동 자택에서 심근경색 증세로 쓰러진 이후, 삼성그룹의 후계자로 지목되고 있

SK Telecom faces another hurdle in its plan to merge the nation’s No. 1 cable TV operator CJ HelloVision with its own IPTV unit as a global corporate advisory firm has opposed the deal that is crucial for it to gain leadership in the paid TV market. The Institutional Shareholder Services claimed Thursday the changes in corporate articles of the merged entity will pose “significant dilution risk” to shareholders of CJ Hellovision.A screenshot image of a report on SK Telecom’s merger, which was re

Korea’s three major telecom firms -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- clashed again over SKT’s controversial merger and acquisition plan Wednesday. SKT announced last year that it would take over CJ HelloVision, a CJ Group subsidiary that runs mobile virtual network operator, broadband and cable TV businesses, and merge it with the firm’s wholly owned subsidiary SK Broadband, a broadband and an IPTV services firm.The announcement sparked a backlash from the mobile and pay TV markets. KT and LG Upl

Korean telecom operator KT is accelerating its efforts to become a dominant global player by rolling out advanced network technologies and seeking partnerships with overseas firms, its chief executive said Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.“Becoming the global No.1 is not a far-fetched dream, but a goal that we must achieve in the future,” KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu said in a press meeting at the trade fair, adding that the Korean firm also aims to introduce its vision of “GiG

SK Telecom CEO Jang Dong-hyun, who is participating in the Mobile World Congress underway in Barcelona, said teaming up with global network operators will be a key strategy for the firm to make inroads in global markets.The chief of South Korea’s largest telecom operator is meeting with chiefs of global device makers and telecom firms at the trade show. SK Telecom CEO Jang Dong-hyun (left) and Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Hoettges pose at the press meeting in Barcelona on Tuesday. (SKT)Network

Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom said Tuesday that it has joined forces with U.S. social network firm Facebook to establish an organization, dubbed Telecom Infra Project, aimed at advancing the global telecommunications infrastructure and achieving innovation in mobile services.Global information technology companies, network operators and device makers, including Nokia and Intel, have also agreed to join the organization through which they will share core telecom technologies and run j

Korea’s largest telecommunications firm KT said Monday it would form an alliance with global mobile carriers and network equipment makers to take the lead in setting up standards for the next-generation network, or 5G.The Korean network operator said it has agreed with Japanese mobile carrier NTT Docomo, U.S. mobile network operator Verizon and SK Telecom of Korea to establish the 5G Trial Specification Alliance, aimed at cooperating to develop systems and platforms for test services of the 5G n

Samsung Electronics took the wraps off the seventh generation of its flagship Galaxy smartphone in Barcelona on Sunday, a day before the opening of the Mobile World Congress trade show.The firm, which is the world’s largest smartphone marker by sales, also unveiled the next generation of the Galaxy’s variant model with curved displays.  Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung Electronics’ mobile communications business, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shake hands at Samsung’s launch event for the Ga

Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom said Sunday it would expand global partnerships by showcasing new services and products at the upcoming Mobile World Congress trade show to be held in Barcelona next week.The Korean mobile carrier was in the spotlight at the annual mobile trade fair last year with its information technology products, such as its smart handheld projector, an educational robot and a smartphone case equipped with a film solar panel -- mostly developed in collaboration with

Network operator LG Uplus said Sunday that it had started an Internet service that offers connection speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second over cable in Seoul.The 1 Gbps speed is 10 times faster than existing 100-megabits-per-second Internet services and enables users to download a 1.2-gigabyte movie in 10 seconds. The fast Internet service offers Wi-Fi services with speeds of up to 867Mbps as well. LG Uplus said Sunday it had started offering an Internet service that offers speeds of 1 gigabit p

LG TO UNVEIL NEW WIRELESS HEADSET -- LG Electronics said Sunday that it would showcase an upgraded model of neckband Bluetooth headset Tone+, which offers top-notch sound quality through technology developed by audio system developer Harman Kardon, during the Mobile World Congress trade show to be held in Barcelona from Feb. 22 to 25.(LGE)