Korea confirmed three new cases of bird flu on Sunday as the outbreak that began last month further hits farmers who are also battling the nation’s worst-ever outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.The Agriculture Ministry confirmed three new cases of the highly contagious virus at duck farms in the southwestern county of Yeongam, bringing the total number of cases to seven since Dec. 31.At least 396,

LAS VEGAS ― Internet connectivity in electronic devices was clearly a major theme for this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, according to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association. His organization owns and is responsible for the production of CES, the world’s largest electronics tradeshow held in Las Vegas annually to a bustling crowd of eager buyers. “In terms of tr

The average number of credit cards held by Koreans hit a record high last year thanks to a well-established payment system and improving economic conditions, a report showed Sunday.A total of 114.94 million cards had been issued by the end of the third quarter of last year, according to the report by the Credit Finance Association. Given that the number of economically active people totaled 24.99

The Bank of Korea’s top policy priority this year will be to stabilise inflation, while adjusting monetary policy in view of the global economic situation, the central bank said Thursday.Separately, the Finance Ministry pledged to make an effort “on all fronts” to curb price pressures, at a time when surging oil and commodities prices are fanning inflation expectations around the region.The govern

Korea kimchi exports rose 10 percent on-year to $98.4 million last year thanks to solid overseas demand for the spicy fermented side dish, the government said Thursday.The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the outbound shipment total was the second-highest annual figure after the $102.7 million reported for 2004.The annual increase is noteworthy because problems in supply

Korea’s stock market lured nearly 30 percent of foreign equity funds poured into emerging Asian countries last year, becoming the second-biggest investment destination after India, a report showed Thursday.Foreign investors bought a net $18.9 billion of domestic shares in 2010, representing 29.7 percent of the total $63.9 billion in foreign net purchases among seven key emerging markets in the Asi

Korea must look for new opportunities in newly emerging markets, such as Africa and South America, to continue expanding its exports, while also seeking to establish a stronger presence in the $9 trillion global public procurement market, a local trade agency said Thursday.The announcement came as the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) launched a global market forum at a Seoul hotel,

Korea has effectively halted imports of German pork and poultry products after high levels of dioxin were discovered, the government said Thursday.The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it has confirmed recent media reports that dioxin, a toxic compound that can damage the human immune system and cause cancer, has been detected in pork, poultry meat, eggs and animal feed m

China boosted its holdings of Korean bonds last month even as lawmakers in Seoul reinstated a tax on interest income from debt securities. China’s net purchases of Korean Treasury notes totaled 444 billion won ($395 million), 23 percent more than in December 2009, the Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday. The addition more than tripled China’s holdings of Korean fixed-income securities to 6

Government intervention to control rising food and necessities prices should be resisted, the head of a South Korean free market think tank said Wednesday.Center for Free Enterprise head Kim Chung-ho said that any government attempts to micro-manage prices of food and other necessities were destined to fail and were more characteristic of a “command economy.”Food prices surged more than 33 percent

Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, said Wednesday his company plans to invest about 12 trillion won ($ 10.64 billion) this year, up 15 percent from last year.The nation‘s second-largest conglomerate also plans to employ “a large number of staff” this year when its steel-making unit, Hyundai Steel, is set to complete its third blast furnace, Chung said in a New Year meeting of financi

Television makers will use the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to introduce new Internet services and blunt efforts by Google Inc. and Apple Inc. to dominate home entertainment. Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc., the set-top box supplier, will unveil applications, signaling they won’t cede leadership to Google, Apple or other upstarts angling to get consume

Korean stocks finished 0.12 percent lower on Wednesday as investors sat on the sidelines following recent rallies that had set fresh record highs, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.59 points to 2,082.55 after reaching a new intra-day high of 2,087.14 at one point. Trading volume was moderate at 379.1 million shares

The economic gap between South and North Korea remained wide across the board with differences in income level and trade more apparent than in other areas, data showed Wednesday. According to the data by Statistics Korea, South Korea’s per-capita gross national income amounted to $17,175 at the end of 2009, about 18 times larger than the $960 tallied for the North. During the cited year, the South

Daewoo International Corp., a Korean trading firm, said Tuesday that it has signed a $30 million deal to supply buses powered by compressed natural gas to Bangladesh.Under the deal with the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation, Daewoo International will ship 255 CNG buses and necessary spare parts by July.The deal was partly financed by Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund, the trading c

NEW YORK (AP) ― What do you call it when you have 120,000 people and an elephant in the room?The International Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off this week in Las Vegas.The elephant is Apple Inc. It won’t be at the show this year, but its tablet computer, the iPad, is the most important new product for an industry that needs to once again excite consumers. Sales of the iPad have been stron

National Pension Service, Korea’s biggest investor, may set up a private equity fund with the nation’s business groups, including Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group, to invest in overseas resource development. SK Group, GS Group and KT Corp. may also join the plan, Kim Seok-joo, a spokesman for the pension fund, said by phone Tuesday. The timing and size of the fund have yet to be decided, he s

Korea will seek to secure more rights to rare earth element deposits in the new year to counter moves by China to reduce its export quota for the vital resource, the government said Tuesday.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said action must be taken to deal with potential shortfalls in supply that could have a serious industrial impact.Rare earth elements, deposits of which are centered in only a

Korean stocks rose 0.93 percent to a record high on Monday as foreigners and institutions snapped up shares on expectations for a rally at the start of the year, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.On the first trading session, the benchmark KOSPI surged 19.08 points to 2,070.08, renewing its previous record close of 2,064.85 on Oct. 31, 2007. Trading volume was modera

Korea decided Monday to greatly expand animal vaccinations to stem outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, which continues to spread throughout the country despite nationwide quarantine efforts, the government said.Farm Minister Yoo Jeong-bok said in a news briefing that shots will be administered to all animals in Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul and large parts of Chungcheong in the country’s ce