Korean TV makers were overtaken by Taiwan‘s Vizio Inc. in North America’s liquid crystal display TV market last year, according to a market research firm Wednesday.Vizio sold 6.96 million LCD TVs in the United States and Canada, accounting for 18.2 percent of LCD TVs sold in the market last year, according to data from market researcher DisplaySearch. Samsung sold 6.72 million LCD TVs in 2010, cla

LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday that it has won an injunction from a Dutch court to temporarily ban Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. from shipping PlayStation game consoles to Europe. “LG requested the import ban on products that infringed on our patents as part of our patent protection policy,” Yoon Won-il, LG’s spokesman at the company’s headquarters, said by phone. The order from a civi

Korean exports to the European Union are expected to register solid gains once a bilateral free trade agreement takes effect, a local trade organization said Wednesday.The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said a survey of Europe’s 26 largest importers showed they will increase their purchases of Korean products by up to 15 percent once the Korea-EU FTA is enforced.The trade deal, si

Doosan Engine Co., the world’s second-largest maker of ship engines, said orders may more than double this year as shipping lines resume fleet-enlargement plans and the company works to expand its non-marine businesses.Contracts may climb to 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) from 890 billion won last year, chief executive Lee Sung-hee said in an interview at the engine maker’s headquarters in Changw

Korean people’s spending on communications services grew at the fastest pace on record last year as a growing number of people used smartphones, which usually rack up a higher monthly bill than ordinary cell phones, government data showed Tuesday.Monthly household spending on communications services including the use of Internet and mobile phones averaged 136,682 won ($121) last year, up 4.8 perce

Securities companies in Korea saw their earnings inch up in the first three quarters of fiscal 2010 from a year earlier, the financial regulator said Tuesday.A total of 62 local and foreign brokerage houses operating in the country posted 2.09 trillion won ($1.8 billion) in net income for the April-December period, just 2.2 billion won more than a year earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service sa

Saudi Arabia’s Polysilicon Technology Co. said it has awarded a $380 million contract to two South Korean companies for construction of the first stage of a plant to make polysilicon for use in solar-energy panels.KCC Corp. and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. were selected to build the facility, which will have a capacity to produce 3,350 metric tons a year of solar-grade polysilicon, the S

Surplus down from January but country posts record daily exports of $2.05b despite Mideast turmoilKorea posted a $2.85 billion trade surplus in February, the 13th straight month that it has recorded a favorable balance, official figures showed Tuesday.The preliminary figures marked a slight decline from the revised $2.92 billion surplus for January, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.Exports i

Korea’s major think tanks are expected to revise up their 2011 inflation outlooks for the country as oil and commodity prices are rising at a faster-than-expected pace.Industry sources said Tuesday that the nation’s leading private-sector think tank Samsung Economic Research Institute will likely raise its inflation outlook to mid-3 percent from its previous forecast of about 3 percent.LG Economic

Korea will expand the amount of powdered milk and frozen pork belly subject to no import taxes as part of efforts to ease price hikes sparked by the massive slaughter of livestock amid the spreading foot-and-mouth disease, the finance ministry said Monday.The measure, finalized during a Cabinet meeting held earlier in the day, will go into effect from early March under the government’s quota tarif

The Financial Services Commission is expected to approve Hana Financial Group’s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank in March, an official said on Monday. “There seems to be no major problem with its funding plans,” said an FSC official.He said the regulatory body is likely to approve Hana’s request at a meeting on March 16. His remark came after several securities firms raised the possibility that Han

The only Korean-American to have served in U.S. Congress expects the KORUS FTA to be ratified in the U.S. soon, possibly within the spring. “I think it’s going to be ratified easily, perhaps by May,” Jay Kim told The Korea Herald last week. “There’s no problem here, (but) I’m concerned about Korea.” Kim, born Kim Chang-jun in Seoul in 1939, emigrated to the U.S. in 1961, where he studied civil eng

Korean shares will likely remain bearish this week as the political unrest in the Middle East will continue to drive up oil prices, adding more inflationary pressure on the economy, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,963.43, down 2.5 percent or 49.71 points from a week earlier on massive selling by foreign investors, who dumped 600 billion won ($531 m

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― The main Chinese subsidiary of SK Group has launched a mobile joint venture in the country in a bid to tap into its mobile solution industry, the group’s flagship company said.SK China, established in July 2010 through the joint investment of SK Group subsidiaries, has established a 19 billion won ($16.8 million) joint venture called “SKMtek” with MtekVision, Korea’s lead

Korea’s government is delaying carbon emission trading to 2015 after opposition from the industry to implement it in two years.The revised bill, which reflects feedback from businesses, will be submitted to parliament in March, Kim Sang-hyup, the presidential secretary for green growth, said Saturday.President Lee Myung-bak said on Feb. 7 the emission-trading plan will be implemented in a “flexibl

SK Telecom, Korea’s top mobile operator, will start selling the iPhone next month in a break from Apple’s practice of selling the smartphones via a single distributor in each major market, industry source said Thursday.“Negotiations between SK Telecom and Apple are in the final stage,” said the source who is familiar with the matter. “As the negotiations are going smoothly, it is virtually decided

Finance minister calls for policy focus on price stabilityKorea will participate in the Group of 20’s efforts to control sharp price hikes in key commodities that have a direct bearing on economic growth and inflation, the government said Wednesday.The finance ministry said playing a role in the G20 arrangement could allow Seoul to work with other countries to better cope with a rise in energy, gr

Korean banks and currency dealers are keeping close tabs on whether the parliament will approve a bill to introduce a bank levy that could cut the inflow of dollars, market sources said Tuesday.In a bid to stem excessive foreign capital flows, the government is seeking to introduce a bank levy that will be imposed on non-core foreign currency borrowing in the second half. The National Assembly, no

Hyundai Group plans to cancel filing a law suit on the failed purchase of Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., the group said Tuesday. Hyundai Group hopes a compromise plan will come from Hyundai Motor Group, which was chosen by the builder’s shareholders as a preferred bidder, according to the statement.Hyundai Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding with creditors of the builder last

Growing unrest in the Middle East and soaring crude oil prices are casting clouds over the Korean economy and placing the government and businesses on emergency footing.Construction and airline firms led a plunge in stocks in Seoul on Tuesday on concerns that protracted protests in Libya and the region could deal a major blow to Korean businesses there and Brent prices approached $107 in Asian tra