Koo Ji-eun, former vice president at Ourhome　Koo Ji-eun, vice president of LG Group’s catering unit Ourhome, on Monday was stripped of her position and was ordered to wait for further instructions in the chairman’s room. The 48-year-old is the youngest daughter of Koo Cha-hak, chairman of Ourhome and son of the late LG Group founder Koo In-hoe. She joined the company in 2004 and was appointed as vice president in February. She had been a strong candidate for the presidency and possible future ch

Franchisees of global dining brand Pizza Hut on Monday visited their Korean headquarters in southern Seoul to demand an audit into the marketing and other fees they have paid to the head office for the past several years.About 20 people representing a group of 247 Korean franchisees requested the pizzeria chain to disclose the usage of the 5 percent of sales revenue that each franchisee has paid to the headquarters for marketing fees. The amount is assumed to be more than 10 billion won ($8.87 m

U.S. hedge fund Elliott Associates has added its name to the stakeholders’ list of two additional Samsung affiliates -- Samsung SDI and Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance -- ahead of the July 17 Samsung C&T shareholders meeting in which the controversial merger deal between C&T and Cheil Industries will be put to a vote. Elliott’s expansion of its investment in Samsung Group is seen as an attempt to gain more control over Korea’s largest business conglomerate, which analysts have said is in the p

Prosecutors said Friday they have raided the Seoul office of POSCO, the latest in a series of investigations into alleged corruptions involving South Korea's top steelmaker.Prosecutors confiscated accounting books, internal documents and computer hard disks at the Seoul office. POSCO's headquarters is in Pohang, about 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul.The raid came hours after prosecutors secured accounting books and other internal documents from Dongyang Construction, a small builder in Pohang,

A group of lawmakers in the United States has expressed opposition to Japan's bid to get world heritage status for its industrial facilities linked to wartime Korean slave labor, calling on Tokyo to include their history if it wants the inscription, documents showed Friday.A set of early mining and steelmaking sites in Japan has been shortlisted for the UNESCO World Heritage list, with the final call to be made later in the day. But it has sparked international controversy as Tokyo left out the

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake that shook China's far-western region of Xinjiang killed three people, injured 71 and collapsed thousands of houses, officials said Saturday.The quake hit Pishan county in the Hotan region of Xinjiang early Friday. Earlier reports on state media said that six people had died, but by Saturday the China Earthquake Administration gave the tally as three killed and 71 injured. "Buildings were trembling and people rushed to the streets," said Jin Xingchang, an express couri

Another doctor at Samsung Group's hospital is confirmed to have contracted Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, the government said Saturday, putting the total number of those diagnosed with the disease at 185. A doctor from Samsung Medical Center, whose identity is being withheld, has been added to the patients list and is under examination, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said. No fatalities have been reported over the past four days. The country's death toll from the viral disease stands at 3

Boko Haram carried out a fresh wave of massacres in northeastern Nigeria on Friday, locals said, killing nearly 200 people in 48 hours of violence President Muhammadu Buhari blasted as "inhuman and barbaric".The militants have staged multiple attacks across restive Borno state since Wednesday, gunning down worshippers at evening Ramadan prayers, shooting women in their homes, and dragging men from their beds in the dead of night.A young female suicide bomber also killed 12 worshippers when she b

Hyosung announced Friday it would invest 1 trillion won ($893.3 million) to establish a 300,000-ton polyketone manufacturing plant and a research and development center in Korea’s southeastern industrial city of Ulsan. The industrial conglomerate and the local government of Ulsan signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday to jointly work on the development scheduled to be completed in 2021. The 208,000-square-meter site is set at Yongyeon-dong, which is close to another Hyosung plant, and

Steelmaker POSCO said Friday that it has produced more than 800 million tons of steel products, about 43 years since manufacturing started in 1972. 　According to the company, the cumulative production amount surpassed 800 million tons as of 7 a.m. on June 25. POSCO held celebratory ceremonies at its plants in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, and Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, to encourage the field workers. 　“We are especially proud because the record was set amid the long-standing economic

　Hyundai Motor on Thursday launched the 2016 Sonata, the facelift version of its best-selling sedan, in an attempt to win back midsize sedan buyers who have recently been drawn to foreign diesel cars or sport utility vehicles. 　Opening a wider range of options, the 2016 Sonatas will come in seven different models and begin sales immediately. 　“The new lineup of Sonatas will show the revival of Korea’s most popular midsize sedan. It will inherit Sonata‘s 30-year heritage, but armed with a state-o

　ATHENS -- While financial leaders of the eurozone sought to agree to terms with Greece on another bailout program, people were torn over Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who they elected to oppose the creditors’ demands. 　Greece risks default if a bailout is not secured, but, unwilling to agree to creditors’ demands, Tsipras announced that the bailout offer would be put to a referendum.　On the streets of the country’s capital, the pressure to refuse the terms was high.　On Thursday evening, the tr

EBay Korea’s star sellers pose for an award ceremony.　(eBay Korea)　EBay Korea, the operator of Korea’s largest online shopping site Gmarket and Auction.co.kr, signed a deal with the Small & Medium Business Corporation to support domestic small and medium-sized company’s online cross-border trade last week. 　The pact will help vendors receive eBay For Business, a seven-month training and education program on cross-border commerce and marketing via the eBay platform. Launched in May, the program c

Korea International Trade Association’s e-Biz Support Center has built up a reputation of being a “seamless e-Business” booster across Asia. 　Starting with signing a pact with the Department of International Trade Promotion of Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce for sales of the website- and marketing-design models to the Southeast Asian country, KITA is now spreading the service to Vietnam and Indonesia as well as South American states such as Peru.　“KITA has been the only institution in Korea that

Hyundai‘s autonomous driving technology demonstration (Hyundai Motor)Google’s self-driving car (AFP)   For many people who think of driving as a chore, driverless driving might just sound like a dream. 　But the recent news of German carmaker Audi as well as tech giant Google’s success in developing “self-driving cars” has shown that this has neared our doorstep, enabling all passengers to enjoy reading, eating, sleeping and whatever they want while their car and its artificial intelligence sort

President Park Geun-hye has said "considerable progress" has been made with Japan on the issue of former South Korean sex slaves for Japan's World War II soldiers, according to an interview posted Friday.   Seoul-Tokyo relations remain badly frayed largely because of Japan's refusal to atone for its past wrongdoing stemming from its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. One of the key pending issues is a demand by former Korean sex slaves for an apology and compensation from Japan.

   Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., South Korea's No. 2 shipping line, said Friday that it will sell off its stake in a brokerage affiliate as part of efforts to improve its financial health.   In a regulatory filing, the shipping company said that its board has made the decision to sell 53,070,736 shares of Hyundai Securities to Buffalo Finance. They represent 22.4 percent of its outstanding shares.   Buffalo Finance is a special purpose company established by Orix Corp., a Japanese financial giant

  The ruling Saenuri Party unilaterally adopted a confirmation report on Prime Minister-designate Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday, brushing aside the opposition's resistance toward the nominee over influence-peddling and lobbying allegations.   The report was adopted by the special parliamentary committee on the nominee, with only seven ruling party members of the 13-member panel present. The adoption of a confirmation report allows the National Assembly to put a confirmation bill to a vote in a plenary

 SYDNEY, (AFP) - A 6.3-magnitude quake struck off the Pacific nation of Tonga late Friday, the US Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami warning.   The tremor hit at 11:07 pm local time (1107 GMT) 89 kilometres (55 miles) east-northeast of Hihifo, Tonga, and 235 kilometres southeast of the Samoan capital Apia, USGS said.    The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no tsunami warnings were in effect.   Geoscience Australia measured the quake at 6.2 with a depth of 30 kilomet

      LILLE, France, (AFP) - A French court on Friday acquitted former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of pimping charges, drawing a line under a series of legal woes over his sexual escapades.   The 66-year-old economist merely nodded his head in acknowledgement of the verdict, the finale of a colourful trial which dragged intimate details of his sex life into the public eye.   His acquittal on the charge of "aggravated pimping" did not come as a surprise after the prosecutor called for him to