The personal data of 175,000 more customers were found to have been leaked from credit card firms that were responsible for a massive data theft earlier this year, financial sources said Tuesday.The classified data of up to 140,000 shop owners were leaked from KB Kookmin Card, along with information on 35,000 customers of NH Nonghyup Card, according to the sources.The additional breach comes just months after some 103 million cases of data leak were discovered at KB Card, NH Card and Lotte Card.

The local stock market began on a lower note on Friday on losses in technology firms and carmakers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 6.04 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,971.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Builders traded lower, with Daewoo Engineering & Construction falling 0.76 percent and Daelim Industrial losing 0.75 percent. GS Engineering & Construction shed 1.4 percent.Carmakers lost ground, with No. 1 Hyundai Motor falling 0.2 percent and its

Korea’s largest beer manufacturer, Oriental Brewery, is to launch an original ale brand in April, throwing down the gauntlet to rival HiteJinro and Europe’s premium beer brands.OB held a press conference on Wednesday to reveal Alestone, a British-style premium ale brand which will be launched on April 1.Though the company has the manufacturing license for Hoegaarden, a popular Belgian white ale, Alestone is to be its first original ale, officials said.The label “Alestone” is a combination of “al

The government will unveil information on the original prices of imported goods and how they pass through retailers so that customers can better understand the pricing policies, according to the Korea Customs Service.The authorities are also considering various deregulatory measures so that customs services can begin to contribute to the economy. These and other plans are a part of a government blueprint called “Government 3.0,” aimed at widening government access to administrative data that can

Despite economic uncertainties, local firms listed on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market appeared to have increased their investment in 2013, according to government data on Wednesday.A total of 241 KOSDAQ-listed firms spent a combined 3.87 trillion won ($3.59 billion) last year, compared with 3.76 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the KOSDAQ-Listed Companies Association.The tallied firms spent a combined 2.17 trillion won buying stakes in other firms last year, up 17.1 pe

Korea Exchange, the country's bourse operator said Wednesday that it had signed a deal to complete an information technology system for Uzbekistan’s stock market by 2015.In 2011, the Korea Exchange inked a deal with the State Property Committee of Uzbekistan to provide and assist the Uzbek stock market with an operating system that covers trading, payment and brokering. The process was initially scheduled to be completed by 2013 but was delayed due to procedural matters and differences over the

Hyundai Motor said Thursday that it will move to build a new production plant in Chongqing of China to make yet another leap into the world's largest new vehicle market.The company said its chairman, Chung Mong-koo, will meet with top Chongqing officials on Thursday and sign a strategic cooperation pact.Hyundai said the pact will outline the carmaker's intent to give top priority to the city located in southwest China when it picks the site for its fourth passenger car assembly plant, while Chin

South Korean stocks closed lower Tuesday as investors took a wait-and-see attitude toward the market on weaker-than-expected industry data from the United States and China. The South Korean won closed lower against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved down 4.3 points, or 0.22 percent, to 1,941.25. Trading volume was low at 222 million shares worth 3.72 trillion won ($3.45 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 425 to 376.Analysts said Seoul shares closed lower due

South Korean stocks ended higher on Monday on hopes for an economic recovery in China, while the South Korean currency closed higher against the U.S. greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 10.61 points, or 0.55 percent, to 1,945.55. Trading volume was low at 225 million shares worth 3.26 trillion won ($3.02 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 426 to 380.Analysts said Seoul shares were buoyed by rising hope over an economic recovery in China following the country’

The local stock market started higher on Monday on the back of gains in automakers and mobile carriers, according to analysts.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 14.23 points, or 0.74 percent, to 1,949.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Carmakers led the gain, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor adding 0.64 percent and its autoparts affiliate Hyundai Mobis rising 1.33 percent. Kia Motors, the country's No. 2 carmaker, moved up 0.51 percent.Mobile carriers also gathered

Samsung Electronics has upstaged its top global rival Apple in the tablet market, according to a U.S.-based consumer magazine on Monday.Consumer Reports cited Samsung's Wi-Fi-based 10.1 Galaxy Tab Pro as the best tablet PC for users for large-sized models.It also said that the South Korean tech giant's 8.4-inch model won a comparable rating for smaller models.As a relative newcomer to the tablet market, Samsung's Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 won the combined grade of 90 in its evaluation, which compiled

What does it take for both domestic and foreign consumers to log in and buy items on Korean e-commerce sites?The answer is “patience.” There are about a dozen steps to go through to download security programs, set up personal authentication functions and enter personal information, and on some low-end computers this can take ages. Furthermore, they need to agree to a long list of conditions and hand over sensitive data such as resident registration numbers before typing in their credit card numb

Korea Gas Corp., the nation’s sole liquefied natural gas provider, is expected to help shine the spotlight on Asia’s gas leadership by hosting the 2014 Gastech conference and exhibition.It marks the first time for the world’s largest gathering of energy professionals in the gas industry to meet in East Asia, and will take place at KINTEX, an exhibition facility in Gyeonggi Province from March 24 to 27.“The arrival of Gastech in Korea means that the global gas industry is paying closer attention

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, is emerging as a key player in the global market for liquefied natural gas carriers and LNG offshore plants.The company completed the world’s first LNG floating storage regasification unit, or LNG FSRU, in February this year.Named “Independence,” the newly built offshore plant can store up to 70,000 tons of natural gas in its liquid form, which is then regasified before being supplied to various facilities via onshore pipelines. The unit

Local Internet giant Naver Corp. turned out to have made the largest corporate donations in comparison to its earnings in 2013, according to data on Sunday.Naver, which contributed 116.2 billion won, posted the highest donation-to-sales ratio at 5.02 percent, far outpacing all other players, which held figures hovering far below 1 percent, according to CEO Score.The operator of South Korea's most-visited website increased its donations by nearly five-fold, despite its sales shedding 3.4 percent

The South Korean stock market is likely face more pressure this week as investors try to assess the market conditions after global markets reacted to a a slew of international events including the uncertainties in Ukraine and hints from the U.S. Fed of a rate hike. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished at 1,934.94 this week, a 0.02 percent dip from a week earlier following some volatile trading.The main bourse, though managing to shrug off geopolitical uncertainties co

  (연합) 호텔신라 이부진 사장의 숨겨졌던 선행이 알려져 화제다. 지난달 25일 오후 5시쯤 서울 중구 장충동2가의 서울 신라호텔에서 모범택시 1대가 호텔 출입구 회전문을 들이받는 사고가 벌어졌다. 택시 운전기사 A씨(82)는 보험에는 가입돼 있었지만 신라호텔의 피해액은 5억 원 수준이어서 A씨는 4억 원이 넘는 돈을 변상해야 할 처지에 놓였다. 보고를 받은 이부진 사장은 “우리도 피해가 있었지만 운전자도 놀랐을 것”이라며 그의 가정 상황을 탐문하고 “배상을 요구하지 말고 필요하면 치료비도 지급하라”고 지시했다. 실제로 호테신라 임직원이 방문해보니 A씨는 단칸방에서 뇌경색으로 쓰러진 아내를 돌보며 어렵게 살고 있었다. 이부진 소식을 접한 누리꾼들은 “이부진, 배포 큰 마음 존경스럽다”, “이부진, 통큰

박근혜 대통령은 20일 해외 시장에선 이미 사라진 낡은 규제들이 한국의 경제발전을 저해하고 있다며 이는 지난 정부의 과오라는 견해를 내비쳤다.박 대통령은 이날 청와대에서 <규제개혁장관회의 및 민관합동 규제개혁점검회의>를 주재한 자리에서 “역대 정권들이 모두 규제개혁을 관철하기 위해 노력했지만 세계 어느 나라에도 없고 우리나라에만 있는 규제가 많다”며 이같이 밝혔다.참석자들과의 토론에 앞선 모두발언에서 박 대통령은 여러 부처에 걸쳐 있는 덩어리 규제들이 여전히 많다고 지적했다.이어 “정부가 기업들에게 투자 확대를 주문하면서 정작 투자를 가로막는 규제를 개혁하는 데 소극적이라면 어느 누구도 그런 정부를 믿고 투자에 나서지 않을 것”이라고 말했다.박 대통령은 또 ‘한류’가 경제에 미치는 막대한 영향을 언급하고 쓸데없는 규제가 이를 가로막고 있다고 말했다.박 대통령은 우리 드라마를 본 중국 시청자들이 한국 쇼핑몰에서 결제를 시도했으나 공인인증서 문제 때문에 구매에 실패한 사례를 지적했다.

The central bank’s debt level has risen to a new record high of more than 440 trillion won, while its net profit has fallen to the lowest in six years, data showed on Thursday.The debt grew 3.1 percent to 448.4 trillion won ($417 billion) in December 2013, compared with 435 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.The BOK data comes amid growing concerns about the country’s escalating public and household debts. The 2013 data also shows that the BOK’s debt had grown at a

The stimulus tapering by the U.S. Federal Reserve, a move that had long been anticipated, is unlikely to have a big impact on the local industry, according to top Korean business people on Thursday.Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen announced after the two-day-long Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting Wednesday that the U.S. will scale back its quantitative easing (QE) scheme by $10 billion in April.The move will reduce the amount of bond purchases to $55 billion a month from $65 billion. This