Tax revenue from cigarette sales is expected to reach more than 12.68 trillion won ($10.72 billion) next year, nearly double the increase from 2014, a report showed Monday.The independent Korea Federation of Taxpayers said in its report that this increase is attributable mainly to the sharp tax hike early this year but little reduction in sales volume.The government raised a total of 6.74 trillion won in tobacco tax revenue in 2014 before the tax hike took effect on Jan. 1 this year. Cigarettes

South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. showcased two new phablets on Thursday in the United States, with one being the larger edition of the Galaxy S6 Edge that curves on both sides, in its latest bid to revitalize its mobile business. JK Shin, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics holds the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ (left) and the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 during a presentation, Thursday at Lincoln Center in New York. (AP-Yonhap)Dubbed the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge+, the p

Shin Dong-joo, the first son of Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho, unveiled a document signed by his father that the 93-year-old tycoon ordered the firing of his brother Dong-bin and six other board of directors at Lotte Holdings.Dong-joo revealed the document during his interview with the public broadcaster KBS on Thursday after arriving in Seoul a day before to compete with his younger brother Dong-bin for the succession of the retail giant.Dong-joo also claimed that through a separate document, he w

Following is the second in a four-part series featuring the battle between Samsung C&T and Elliott Associates over the Korean builder’s merger with Cheil Industries and its implications. -- Ed.　　Samsung Group, Korea’s top conglomerate seeking a controversial merger between its two key units, is setting a final showdown with U.S. activist investor fund Elliott Associates opposing the high-profile deal at the coming shareholder vote.In May, Samsung C&T, the group’s construction and trading unit, a

Engineers from KT and Ericsson pose at the Swedish company’s headquarters on Wednesday after they succeeded in test-driving the world’s first Dual Connectivity technology. The technology allows a user to receive data from two base stations simultaneously, improving data speed and station capacity at less energy consumption.  (KT) 　　　

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. told investors to reject Samsung Group's proposed merger of two units, setting back the South Korean conglomerate's efforts to push through a deal that would solidify the founding family's control over their business empire.Investors in Samsung C&T Corp. should decline group affiliate Cheil Industries Inc.'s all-stock buyout offer when the deal comes to a shareholder vote on July 17, the proxy advisory firm said in a report. Management's revenue targets ar

A total of 113 people were on board an Indonesian air force transport plane that crashed Tuesday into a major city on Sumatra island, the country's air force chief said. There were 12 crew and 101 passengers on the Hercules C-130 when it went down and burst into flames in Medan city, Agus Supriatna told Indonesian television station MetroTV. Authorities have previously given the death toll as at least 45. (AFP)

Lee Jae-yong, heir apparent to South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group, offered an apology Tuesday over a massive outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome at a group hospital, pledging support for the quick containment of the viral disease.Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul has been blamed as a major source of infections and has voluntarily shut down most of its operations after nearly half of all transmissions occurred there. Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong apologi

A South Korean jetliner ran off the runway as it landed at Japan's Hiroshima Airport on Tuesday, leaving almost 20 people slightly injured, according to officials and news reports.Asiana Airlines Flight 162, carrying 73 passengers and seven crew members, came to a stop after veering off the runway at 8:05 p.m., as it came in to land. The Airbus 320 passenger plane departed from Incheon International Airport in South Korea at 6:30 p.m. More than 20 people were injured after an Asiana Airways Airb

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. estimated Tuesday its first-quarter operating profit at 5.9 trillion won (US$5.44 billion), which hoavered above a market consensus.The preliminary estimate represents a 30.51 percent fall from the operating profit of 8.49 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. The figure, however, marks a 11.53 percent increase from the operating profit of 5.29 trillion won posted over the October-December period of 2014.The estimate

South Korea said Thursday it has successfully sent a new science satellite into space, its radio communication with the country's ground station indicating that the satellite is operating properly.The Korea Multipurpose Satellite-3A (KOMSAT-3A) was launched at 3:08 a.m. (7:08 a.m. KST) from the Yasny launch base, located some 1,800 kilometers southeast of Moscow.A radio communication between the satellite and South Korea's ground station was established at 1:05 p.m. KST, or 5 hours and 57 minute

Rival game developers Nexon and NCSoft appear to have failed to find a major breakthrough in their feuds over control of the latter’s management. On Tuesday, the country’s No. 2 game-maker NCSoft responded to shareholder Nexon’s recent proposal to become a more active investor by participating in the rival firm’s management based on its stake. The two firms said they agreed not to disclose the contents of the response, but industry watchers predicted that NCSoft rejected Nexon’s bid for wider in

 Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin (fifth from right), Singapore Changi Airport CEO Lee Seow Haing (fourth from right) and other VIPs pose at the grand opening ceremony of the Shilla Duty Free store inside the airport on Tuesday. The shop -- Shilla’s first overseas outlet -- will sell perfumes and cosmetics until 2020.  

LG Uplus Inc., South Korea's smallest mobile carrier, backed out Wednesday from the stake sale of U.S. Groupon Inc.'s wholly-owned local daily deal firm Ticket Monster Inc., just days before the final bidder is slated to be announced. "(We have) made a final decision not to take part in the ongoing stake sale of Ticket Monster," the company said in a regulatory filing. LG Uplus officials declined to comment further on the matter, but said the firm "is always open to mergers and acquisitions and

South Korea's top financial regulator on Wednesday imposed a three-month partial business suspension and a fine of 100 million won ($92,000) on the local unit of Australia-based asset manager Macquarie Funds Group for engaging in illegal bond trading.In November, the Financial Supervisory Service, the financial overseeing body, put forth the penalty for Macquarie Investment Management Korea Co., formerly known as ING Investment Management Korea, accusing it of involvement in "parking" bonds at b

Six investors including SK Networks Co. and private equity firm MBK Partiners have submitted their final bids to buy South Korea's biggest car rental firm KT Rental, in what could be the largest merger and acquisition deal in the first half, industry sources said Wednesday. KT Corp, the parent of KT Rental, put their entire stake in the car-rental service firm up for sale in June in a deal expected to fetch up to 800 billion won ($737 million).    The sources said a consortium comprising of two

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's leading home appliance and smartphone maker, said Wednesday its net profit more than doubled in 2014 from a year earlier on upbeat sales of its TV sets and flagship smartphone G series.  Net income reached 501.3 billion won ($462 million) in the January-December period, compared with 222.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. The figure falls far short of a median estimate of 914 billion won polled by Yonhap Infomax, the financia

►인도 주정부, 1월 초 인도 전역 소재 광산 개발권 (mining licence) 경쟁 입찰 시행령 실행 이후, 포스코 오디샤 주 광권 확보 다시 불투명 ►권오준 포스코 회장, 차질없는 철광석 광권 확보 위해 모디 총리 면담 요청 한 듯 포스코 10년 숙원 사업인 인도 오디샤 주 제철소 건설 프로젝트가 최근 광산개발권에 대한 인도 주정부 법령 변경으로 다시 암초를 만났다.  (Bloomberg)올해 1월 초, 인도 중앙정부는 광산업 개혁을 위해 인도 전역에 소재한 광산 개발권 (광권) 관련 경쟁을 도입한 경매 형태로 할당하겠다는 행정명령을 내렸다. 이는 철광석 광권 확보가 핵심인 포스코의 인도 제철소 프로젝트에도 영향을 미칠 것으로 예상된다. “인도 제철소의 성공을 위해서는 광권 확보가 가장 중요하다”고 포스코 관계자는 본지에 밝혔다. 포스코는 2005년 인도 오디샤 주정부와 MOU를 맺고 연산 1천200만톤 규모의 제철소를 건설하기로 한 120억 달러 (13조원) 프로젝트에 시동

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's top electronics firm, and Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry on Thursday denied an earlier media report about their takeover talks. "It is not true," a spokeswoman at Samsung Electronics said, adding that the company "does not respond to rumors." BlackBerry, in a press release on its website, also denied the report on the potential deal, saying it "has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer," declining to comment furthe

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of smartphones and memory chips, said Thursday it likely posted operating profit of 5.2 trillion won ($4.73 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2014. The guidance marks a 37.4 percent decline from a year earlier and an 28.1 percent on-quarter increase, the company said in a regulatory filing. The final earnings figures are due to be released later this month.    Revenue in the October-December period was estimated at 52.0 trillion won, down 12.3 perce