Most South Korean big businesses signed negotiated contracts for intra-group trading last year without going through public bidding, industry data showed Wednesday, amid rising concerns about business transparency and fair competition.The ratio of direct agreement contracts for the 699 companies affiliated with the country's 30 biggest business groups reached 93.2 percent, or 135.8 trillion won ($121 billion), of the total volume of trading between business affiliates of 145.7 trillion won, acco

South Korea's ratio of tax burden to its gross domestic product will likely reach fresh record highs this year and next on a potential tax hike and rapidly rising government spending, government data showed Wednesday.According to the finance ministry, the government is expected to collect more than 250 trillion won ($223 billion) in national taxes by the end of 2017, up from an earlier target of 242.3 trillion won.Through May, tax revenue reached 123.8 trillion won, up 11.2 trillion won from a y

South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo on Wednesday emphasized the need for closer cooperation with the United States to handle security risks on the peninsula.During an introductory meeting with Marc Knapper, the acting US ambassador to Seoul, the minister reaffirmed his commitment to a stronger alliance."The current security conditions on the Korean Peninsula are graver than any other time due to the advancement of North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities," Song told the envoy in t

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. said Wednesday its second-quarter net profit nearly tripled from a year earlier as it won more housing and plant projects.Net profit for the three months that ended June 30 soared to 148.1 billion won ($132 million) from 53.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. "We posted high profits in housing, social infrastructure and overseas plant projects we received," Daewoo E&C said in a statement.  (Yonhap)The builder expected its n

Prosecutors are intensifying their probe into alleged corruption at South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, as they raided its headquarters once again Wednesday to obtain evidence for suspected price manipulation. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office sent investigators to the headquarters of the Korea Aerospace Industries Co. in Sacheon, 437 km south of Seoul, and its offices in the capital earlier in the day, it said. They mainly searched KAI's development division this time, based

Samsung Electronics Co.'s share of the Chinese smartphone market for the second quarter is estimated at 3 percent, data showed Wednesday, remaining in doldrums as Chinese rivals continued to roll out price-competitive models.According to the data compiled by Counterpoint Research, Chinese smartphone makers took up 87 percent of their home market in the April-June period. The top four brands -- Huawei Technologies Co., OPPO Electronics, Vivo Mobile Communications Co., and Xiaomi Inc. -- took up 6

South Korea's rapidly aging population is likely to reduce the nation's overseas equities investment as seniors will likely move to sell assets due to falling living standards, researchers at the Bank of Korea said Wednesday. As the global financial markets become more interconnected, older people will have a bigger impact on the nation's foreign currency market, Lim Jin-soo and Kim Young-rae said in a report.  If South Korea's overseas equities investment declines rapidly, it could affect

LG Display Co. said Wednesday it is considering various options, including loans, to fund its major investment plan announced earlier this week aimed at beefing up its competitiveness in the organic light-emitting diode panels."While funds for investment, in principle, should be raised from businesses, they should also come in a timely manner," the company said during a conference call with investors.The remark came after LG Display said it will invest 7.8 trillion won ($6.9 billion) to build fa

The ruling Democratic Party decided Wednesday to issue "grave" written warnings to 26 lawmakers whose absence at last week's parliamentary session caused a temporary lack of a quorum for a parliamentary vote on the extra budget bill.The party's decision-making Supreme Council made the decision as critics say that the lack of a quorum underscored its complacency when it dealt with the 11.03 trillion won ($9.8 billion) budget bill that President Moon Jae-in had pushed to help create jobs and spur

The number of newborn babies in South Korea plunged at a double-digit rate for the sixth straight month in May despite yearslong efforts to boost the country's low birthrate, a government report showed Wednesday.About 30,300 babies were born in May, down 11.9 percent, or 4,100, from 34,400 tallied a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.Childbirths have been on the decline since a 3.4 percent on-year gain in November 2015, logging a double digit on-year drop for six straight

The amount of chemical substances discharged from business establishments in South Korea recorded 53,732 tons in 2015, slightly down from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday. The figure decreased by 529 tons, or 0.97 percent, from 54,261 tons recorded in 2014, according to the data by the Ministry of Environment. The emission rate also edged down to 0.0312 percent from 0.0332 percent. A total of 3,634 workplaces in the country emitted some 215 different kinds of pollutants in 2015,

The South Korean government said Wednesday that it will remove legal and administrative regulations in the local service sector as part of its efforts to promote fair market competition and boost growth.The Fair Trade Commission, the country's antitrust watchdog, said it checked 39 restrictions that restricted competition in the sectors of food, leisure and public services.Related government ministries and agencies have already agreed to get rid of eight of them, with a detailed deregulation sch

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., South Korea's top power equipment maker, said Wednesday that it has taken over a US gas turbine service provider in a bid to boost its presence in the US market.In June, Doosan Heavy said it signed a preliminary deal to buy ACT Independent Turbo Services, a Houston-based gas and steam turbine repair service provider, for an undisclosed amount.With the acquisition Doosan Heavy will be able to secure a foothold in the US' 16GW gas turbine market.Doosan C

South Korean stocks traded lower late Wednesday morning, as declines in tech shares weighed on the market. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 3.02 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,436.88 as of 11:20 a.m.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.36 percent, and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, declined 4.26 percent.Korea Electric Power Corp. dropped 0.77 percent.No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor, meanwhile, rose 1.03 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors also moved up 1.63 percen

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Wednesday renewed the government's commitment to developing the reclaimed land in the southwestern coastal area of Saemangeum, pledging a set of support measures such as an expanded budget for infrastructure construction.During a ground-breaking ceremony for a project to build a 26.7-kilometer road, Lee vowed to pay keener policy attention to developing the Saemangeum area, some 280 kilometers south of Seoul, into a "national asset.""Under the Moon Jae-in government

The rate of return for equity funds of Samsung Electronics Co. and other Samsung Group-related firms exceeded 30 percent this year amid the bullish market backed by solid corporate earnings and the global economic recovery, industry data showed Wednesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 20.40 percent to 2,439.90 Tuesday from 2,026.46 as of the end of last year. The stock prices of 16 companies affiliated with Samsung Group jumped 32.42 percent during the same time span. The y

South Korea will lower the maximum legal lending rate to 24 percent from next year and strengthen supervision of private lenders, in a move to help ease financial burdens for desperate borrowers, the nation's top financial regulator said Wednesday. Choi Jong-ku, the new chairman of the Financial Services Commission, also said he will encourage banks and other financial institutions to make loans to small and medium-sized firms, instead of households and the property sector. By law, private lende

The top military officers of South Korea and New Zealand agreed Wednesday to bolster bilateral cooperation against North Korea's unrelenting saber-rattling.Army Gen. Lee Sun-jin, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed Army Lt. Gen. Tim Keating, chief of the New Zealand Defense Force, on the security conditions on the peninsula during their meeting here, Lee's office said.Lee requested New Zealand's support for South Korea's policy on North Korea and its handling of the communist neighbor

S-Oil Corp., the No. 3 oil refiner in South Korea, said Wednesday that its second-quarter profit dropped 85 percent from a year earlier, as low oil prices drove up inventory losses.Net profit reached 66.9 billion won ($59.8 million) in the April-June period, compared with 444 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Operating income dropped 82 percent on-year to reach 117 billion won over the cited period, while sales rose 11.1 percent on-year to reach 4.67 trillion wo

South Korea has ordered carmakers, domestic and multinational, to recall more than 1.3 million vehicles so far this year, with the figure expected to set a record high in 2017, the transport ministry said Wednesday. A total of 1,308,758 vehicles have been ordered to be recalled this year through Wednesday in 172 cases, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation.In the next one to two weeks, the number of cars subject to recalls is expected to exceed the country's record