Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee and his wife Hong Ra-hee have donated a total of 12 billion won ($11.2 million) since last year to help build a Won-Buddhist temple in New York, industry sources said Friday.Hong is known to be a devoted follower of Won-Buddhism, a Buddhist sect originating from Korea. Lee has no religion. Established in 1916, Won-Buddhism aims to modernize and rejuvenate Buddhism by using conventional teachings for practical purposes.Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-

Public participation in the upcoming expo in Yeosu is picking up steam as more than 45,000 have applied to volunteer, its steering committee said Sunday.The committee said it had accepted applications between April 1 and July 10 for volunteer work at the event, which will kick off May 12 in Korea’s southern port. Only 13,000 will be selected in April after document examinations, interviews and onl

A Korean consortium forged an agreement with Bolivia’s state-run miner Comibol on Saturday to set up a joint venture to manufacture lithium-ion battery parts, boosting Korea’s bid to preemptively tap the vast Latin American mineral deposits.Under the deal, the Korea Resources Corp., POSCO and Comibol will form a task force next month or so to discuss details, a KORES official said. The scale of in

S-Oil Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter net profit more than quadrupled compared to a year earlier, driven by brisk sales of petrochemicals and lubricants.In a regulatory filing, Korea’s No. 3 refiner posted 239.7 billion won ($227.7 million) in net profit for the April-June period, up 346.4 percent year-on-year.Sales shot up 63.4 percent to top 8 trillion won for the same period, setting a r

Kim Kuen-ho, chief executive of the Korea Water Resources Corp., will retain the office for another year, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Tuesday.The ministry said it received approval from President Lee Myung-bak for its request that Kim be reappointed for an additional year. His three-year term expired Wednesday. Kim Kuen-hoThe decision reflects the ministry’s efforts t

Air France, the first European carrier to enter the Korean market almost three decades ago, weathered a fair amount of storms here, but it never once thought to cut its services.Instead, it bet even bigger and pledged to stay for the long-term.This unwavering sense of commitment became the driving force behind the company’s fast and steady growth in Korea and Asia, said Erik Varwijk, executive vic

Korea Kumho Petrochemical Co. and its three subsidiaries plan to spend 880 billion won ($837 million) by 2014 to scale up their production lines in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province the companies said Tuesday.The deal reflects the firms’ efforts to meet surging demand for their materials, which are used in automobiles and consumer electronics. When completed, Kumho Petrochemical will be able to churn o

 Lee Jae-young, an urban housing and planning specialist, took office on Monday as the new president of the Gyeonggi Urban Innovation Corporation.A former chief the of the land and housing unit at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, he will orchestrate the state-funded company’s residential land development activities. Lee Jae-yongAt his inauguration ceremony in Suwon, Gyeonggi P

Korea plans to set up high-tech facilities to stave off flooding at the country’s seaports, including flap gates similar to those being built in Italy’s Venice, the government said Monday.The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs unveiled a package of measures to minimize the impact of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, typhoons and tidal waves, which are increasingly freque

Korea’s electronics giants Samsung and LG are grappling with faltering television businesses as slack demand in wealthy countries and nose-diving display prices combined to dent their second-quarter earnings.Samsung Electronics, the world’s top TV producer, estimated its operating profit at 3.7 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in the three months to June, down nearly 27 percent year-on-year. LG Display

Competition is heating up between mobile messenger operators in Korea as Kakao Talk, the formidable smartphone application, appears to be developing its internet phone call services. Industry watchers said Sunday the venture firm has been recruiting engineers who have experience in mobile voiceover Internet protocol, technology that enables voice and multimedia communications between users via bro

JEJU ― Korea should crank up efforts to ease regulations and cut taxes to up corporate competitiveness, said Sohn Kyung-shik, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry.At a forum hosted by the country’s largest business lobby, Sohn called on the government to remain steadfast in its plan to lower corporate taxes to 20 percent from the current 22 percent starting next year. KCCI chairman

Participants agreed that the mainstay of economic growth is leaning to emerging markets led by BRICs — Brazil, Russia, India and China — since a financial calamity in 2007.JEJU ― Leaders in the country’s business circle and academia underscored the significance of innovation and speed in surviving the rapidly changing economic environment. Around 600 business leaders, scholars and government offic

Market for robots nearly doubles to 1.93tr won in 2010Korea’s robotics industry is making rapid headway as local developers chalked up record growth in output, sales and exports last year on the back of surging investment in factories, a government study showed Tuesday.According to the survey by the Korea Association of Robot Industry of 395 firms, their combined sales nearly doubled to 1.93 trill

Choi Jong-seok, son of former President Choi Kyu-hah, has been picked to head Korea Investment Corp., officials said.The country’s sovereign wealth fund and Ministry of Strategy and Finance have reviewed four applicants for the post and selected Choi, former chief executive of Allianz Global Investors Korea Ltd. and former vice president of Hana Bank.  Choi Jong-seokChoi, 60, will replace Chin You

A panel of the World Water Council embarked on a three-day visit to Korea on Monday to assess the country’s bid for the 2015 World Water Forum, officials said.The world’s largest summit in the water-related industry fosters global collaboration on issues ranging from water supplies and sanitation to access rights. Korea announced its bid last year and is competing against Scotland’s Glasgow. Prime

The Royal College of Art, a prestigious London-based art school, plans to offer design workshops for Korean students, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Monday.Two week-long courses will take place July 18-22 in Seoul and July 25-29 in Daegu.These are the first events where students can directly learn from RCA professors here. The curriculum borrows from the institution’s innovation design eng

Inter-Korean relations are unlikely to remain perpetually tense, a high-level government official said Sunday, signaling that the government is willing to continue efforts to improve ties despite recent troubles caused by the North's disclosure of details of secret talks with the South."The door to dialogue remains open," the official told reporters, requesting not to be named due to the sensitivi

Lotte Confectionary Co. announced Sunday it plans to merge with Lotte Pharm Inc. in a bid to foster synergies in their health food business.The Korean snack and sweets maker will remain the largest stakeholder in its pharmaceutical unit as it already holds a 100 percent share. Lotte Aluminum Co. has a controlling stake in Lotte Confectionary with 15.29 percent.The merger, which needs statutory app

Korea has completed the construction of its first offshore plant to extract lithium from seawater in a bid to supply spiraling demand for the scarce metal in the automobile and electronics industries.The “Seawater Lithium Research Center” located in Gangneung in the country’s east entered test-production and will develop technology to churn out 30 tons of high-purity lithium carbonate annually sta