South Korea and six Central American countries led by El Salvador began their first round of negotiations to seal a free trade agreement in Seoul on Monday. The talks will continue through Friday.　Cheong Seung-il, director general for FTA Policy at Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is representing Korea while El Salvador’s Vice Minister of Energy Luz Estrella Rodriguez de Zuniga is leading the talks on behalf of the six countries. Cheong Seung-il (second from right), Korea’s chief

　Shares of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, a leading South Korean pharma company, surged by more than 11 percent Friday following news that the company has moved a step closer to globally commercializing a lung cancer treatment drug that is under development.　Hanmi is looking to carry out the Phase II clinical trials of its third-generation lung cancer treatment drug HM61713 -- sold in July to Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim for around $730 million in the biggest local drug license agreement to date -- in

Lotte Group is speeding up its global hotel business expansion to compete with the world’s top-tier hotel chains like Hilton and InterContinental .　Lotte Hotels & Resorts said it aims to take over or build 33 hotels by 2018, and ultimately 50 hotels by 2020, with the latest being Lotte New York Palace in Manhattan. The group currently operates 11 hotels in Korea and six abroad.　The new five-star luxury hotel, previously named The New York Palace Hotel, was acquired for $805 million from U.S. rea

Samsung Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries on Thursday denied that they were seeking to merge again after last year’s failed attempt. 　“We are not considering a merger plan,” the two companies said in separate regulatory filings. 　The announcements came as their shares rallied after Samsung Heavy president Park Dae-young hinted they could seek to merge again.  Samsung Engineering (Yonhap)　In September last year, Samsung Engineering announced it would merge with Samsung Heavy to enhance its

An employee at leading online shopping site Auction, operated by eBay Korea alongside Gmarket, was charged Thursday with spreading malignant rumors regarding the death of a worker at rival firm Coupang, according to police.　　A 27-year-old female Auction employee surnamed Choi has been detained for spreading false rumors via KakaoTalk on Sept. 8 that “a 34-year-old female Coupang managing director died of a heart attack, likely stemming from extremely high workload pressures and frequent overtime

Consumer dissatisfaction over the use of flight mileage is rising, as a rising number of people reportedly face difficulties in purchasing tickets or upgrading their seats using their air mileage.　The number of related claims filed to the Korea Consumer Agency has risen by 60 percent on-year from 280 to 448 cases as of July 2015, according to data provided by the KCA to Rep. Park Byung-suk of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy.  (123rf)　“An increasing number of consumers are

SK LEADS ENERGY EDUCATION -- SK Energy was recognized Thursday by the Ministry of Education for its excellence in promoting energy education in South Korea. Since May 2014, the company has been running an energy awareness campaign on Junior Naver, a portal website for children, as well as airing animation programs on kids-friendly TV networks. (SK Energy)

　Underaged children of the families of South Korea’s large business conglomerates own close to 100 billion won ($84.78 million) in shares, according to data by the Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday.　A total of 39 minors who are directly related to the owners of 15 conglomerates held stakes in their affiliates as of 2014, according to data provided by the FTC to Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy. (123rf)　Their total shares were valued at 96.2 billion won ($81.5 millio

　OCI, a South Korea-based chemical company, has finished constructing its first solar plant in Jiaxing, China, accelerating its push into the country’s fast-growing photovoltaic power generation business.　The firm held a ceremony Monday to mark the completion of the new 2.5 megawatts PV solar power plant, having invested a total of $3.35 million, according to OCI. OCI CEO Lee Woo-hyun (second from left) examines the company’s newly-constructed solar plant located on the rooftop of the CMAG compa

　Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s biggest automaker, announced Monday a plan to hire 6,000 temporary subcontractor workers as permanent employees by 2017, in a bid to end controversy over the company’s labor practices.　After agreeing to promote 4,000 subcontractor workers to regular positions last year, the company management and the heads of the related labor unions agreed to hire 2,000 more by 2017. Hyundai Motor management strikes an agreement with related labor unions in Seoul on Monday to hire

CHEMISTRY FOR KIDS -- BASF Korea managing director Shin Woo-sung (left) participates in the BASF Kid’s Lab, an interactive chemistry education program for children led by the chemical company, in Ulsan on Tuesday. The education program aims to raise children’s interest in science and help them understand the importance of chemistry in their daily lives. Since the program’s foundation in 1997, more than 90,000 children around the world have participated, including 3,400 in Korea since 2003. (BASF

General Motors Korea and Renault Samsung Motors, both of which are categorized as Korean automakers, are expanding their imported car business on the back of the rising popularity of foreign car brands in all market segments.　Renault Samsung’s QM3, manufactured in Spain, and the recently-introduced Chevrolet Impala, produced in the United States and imported by GM Korea, are creating new success stories in the local mass vehicle market. Renault Samsung`s QM3 (Renault Samsung)　The two brands targ

　Samsung Group, South Korea’s leading conglomerate, has taken a significant step toward driving forward its newly-established biopharmaceuticals business, an emerging sector expected to become one of the company’s future growth engines.　Samsung Bioepis, the conglomerate’s biotechnology research and development unit, said Monday that it had gained approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to begin selling Brenzys, its biosimilar copy of Amgen and Pfizer’s rheumatoid arthritis treatment E

Kia Motors, South Korea’s second-largest automaker under Hyundai Motor Group, said Friday that its cumulative sales in Russia have surpassed 1 million units since it started direct operations in the country in 2009.Kia held a ceremony in Moscow Thursday to mark the achievement. Kia Motors Russia president Kim Seong-hwan attended the event with local officials as well as the country’s 1 millionth Kia customer, Ivan Lobanov.Kia Motors Russia president Kim Seong-hwan (left) poses with the 1 million

HONOR FROM BRAZIL -- SKC chairman Choi Shin-won (right) poses with former Brazilian ambassador to South Korea Edmundo Fujita after receiving the Order of Rio Branco in a ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday. Choi has become the fourth Korean, after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-mun, former POSCO chairman Lee Koo-taek and Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, to receive this high honor for his role in advancing business ties and cultural exchange between Korea and Brazil. (SKC)　 

　Global chemicals company BASF is seeking to lead the way in increasing the use of less environmentally hazardous materials to manufacture chemical products in South Korea.　　BASF Korea said Tuesday that it had become the first in the industry to use a new chemical compound with a superior environmental profile to produce its flagship insulating polystyrene foam Neopor.　The German firm now produces Neopor using a newly-developed polymeric flame retardant, instead of hexabromocyclododecane or HBCD

　South Korea’s No. 1 wireless carrier SK Telecom announced a partnership deal with Finland-headquartered network equipment-maker Nokia on Tuesday to work on developing Internet of Small Things technology, which connects small sensors and devices. 　The two counterparts will collaborate on developing network technology, such as machine type communication, which is required to support large-scale transmission of kilobytes of data, and applications leveraging the MTC technology, according to the Seo

　The Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center, jointly established by SK Group and the South Korean government in a bid to nurture local start-ups, officially welcomed a new batch of venture firms to its facilities on Tuesday.　A total of 10 start-ups specializing in a diverse spectrum of businesses -- including the Internet of Things technology, health care, semiconductors, energy, solutions and fintech -- are set to receive tailored business mentorship and support at the center for the next 1

S-OIL SUPPORT FOR ETHIOPIA — S-Oil CEO Nasser Al-Mahasher (second from left) delivers 100 million won ($85,000) to World Vision Korea CEO Yang Ho-seung (second from right) in Seoul on Tuesday to support Ethiopian children. S-Oil plans to continue donations to Ethiopia for the next 10 years. (S-Oil)

　RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) - At least six people were killed and 206 injured in Saudi Arabia Sunday when a fire broke out at a residential complex housing employees of oil giant Saudi Aramco, authorities said.　　The fire started in the basement of a tower in the eastern city of Khobar, the kingdom‘s civil defence said on Twitter.　　It added that several of the injured were in a “critical condition” and that the casualties were from “various nationalities,” without giving details.　　Photographs pub