China's Amperex Technology Limited became one of the two main suppliers for Samsung Electronics Co.'s new Galaxy Tab S3 tablet computer, an industry source said Friday. The move indicated that Samsung would maintain its cooperation with ATL, which supplied the batteries to Samsung that caused the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to catch fire.  This recently released photo shows an invitation to a press conference by Samsung Electronics Co. at the Mobile World Congress in Spain. (Yonhap)The Tab 3 will

South Korea's top financial regulator called on the local insurance industry Friday to take the rapid technology development related to self-driving cars into account in setting premiums.Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, cited a looming paradigm shift in the financial sector in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, speaks at a meeting on the fourth industrial revolution in Seoul on Feb. 24, 2017, in

Kia Motors Corp. is aiming to export up to 10,000 units of the soon-to-be-launched plug-in hybrid vehicle version of its Niro small SUV this year, industry sources said Friday.Kia, the No. 2 carmaker in South Korea, is scheduled to unveil the Niro plug-in hybrid in South Korea in April and debut the model in the United States and Europe during the second half of this year. The Niro hybrid electric vehicle (Kia Motors Corp.)According to the sources, Kia has set a temporary export target of around

Huh Chang-soo, the current chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, will stay in office for another three years as finding a new chief for the country's largest lobby body has made little progress with key members withdrawing their membership, industry sources said Friday.FKI board members will recommend Huh continue his duties for another three years at a board meeting to be held later in the day, according to the sources.The FKI board meeting came amid a mass withdrawal of key FKI memb

Unionized workers at South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. launched an all-out strike for a second day on Friday demanding better working conditions and opposing the firm's spin-off scheme.The labor union leaders told all 15,000 union members to stage an eight-hour walkout starting from 8 a.m. (Yonhap)But only about 10 percent, or some 1,500 unionized workers, actually took part in Friday's strike, according to the labor union. In the previous day, around the same number of union

South Korean display maker LG Display Co. kept its No. 1 spot in global shipments of liquid crystal displays for televisions in January this year, industry data showed Friday. LG Display's LCD TV panel shipments rose 5 percent on-month to 4.28 million sheets last month, although the global shipments of LCD TV panels fell 8 percent on-month to 19.88 million sheets, according to industry tracker WitsView.  (Yonhap)The decline in global shipments came after Chinese and Taiwanese display makers clos

South Korea's financial authorities plan to ease restrictions on real estate investment by leading local investment banks in a bid to help them raise global competitiveness, officials said Friday.The government is pushing to foster homegrown, mega-sized IBs modeled after Goldman Sachs. It has decided to revise legislation within this year to allow them to expand their businesses beyond brokerage services. An image of capital investment provided from Yonhap News TV (Yonhap)Under a proposed bill,

South Korea's overall consumer sentiment improved this month from a month earlier, central bank data showed Friday, as the economy got a boost from increased exports and investments.The composite consumer sentiment index for February came to 94.4, compared to 93.3 in January. The January figure was the lowest since March 2009 when it stood at 75, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.A separate index gauging the people's se

Mercedes-Benz Korea, the local importer and distributor of the German vehicle, will recall some 280 cars sold here for an airbag issue that has affected millions of cars of various brands throughout the world, the transportation ministry said Friday.The latest recall is part of the Takata airbag recall that has affected more than 9 million cars globally. Dimitris Psillakis, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, holds a press conference in Seoul, South Korea on Jan. 16, 2017, to announce his company's busi

The recent killing of the half brother of North Korea's leader would serve as momentum for relisting the communist regime as a state sponsor of terrorism, a senior South Korean official said Thursday.Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late former leader Kim Jong-il, died on Feb. 13 at an airport in Kuala Lumpur after apparently being poisoned by two Asian women. Malaysian police named eight North Koreans, including a diplomat, as suspects, though Pyongyang denies its involvement. (Yonhap)"There hav

North Korea's latest missile test shows the communist nation is moving solidly toward perfecting capabilities to strike back with a nuclear weapon if it comes under a nuclear attack, a US expert said Thursday.The North carried out the missile launch on Feb. 12 in its first provocative act since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. Pyongyang said the launch represented a successful test of a newly developed intermediate-range missile powered by solid fuel, calling it the Pukguksong-2. 

The presidential office on Thursday dismissed growing rumors that President Park Geun-hye may opt to step down before the Constitutional Court rules on her impeachment in an apparent bid to shun the prosecution over a corruption scandal."(The presidential office) has never weighed (the possibility of her resignation)," a presidential official told reporters on the condition of anonymity. "I have no idea why such rumors keep surfacing when nobody (at Cheong Wa Dae) has ever discussed it."Despite

Three-quarters of South Koreans want the Constitutional Court to confirm President Park Geun-hye's impeachment and deliver the ruling by March 13, when one of the justices is set to retire, a poll showed Thursday.The joint survey by NGO People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and two pollsters found that 74 percent of those polled wanted the court to deliver its verdict before acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi completes her term. (Yonhap)Park's ouster requires the approval of at least six

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to hold a shareholder meeting on March 24, an industry source said Thursday. Samsung's board of directors will hold a meeting on Friday to decide the date and agenda for the annual shareholder meeting, according to the source.  (Yonhap)Attention is focused on how Samsung will respond to shareholders over the arrest of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who has been in jail since last Friday, over his alleged role in a presidential influence-peddling scandal. The arre

Senior officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet in Washington next week to coordinate their policies toward North Korea, including the recent assassination of its leader's half brother, according to the foreign ministry Thursday.The three countries' top envoys on the North Korean nuclear issue will sit together on Monday in their first joint meeting since the President Donald Trump administration took office last month. (Yonhap)"The meeting will be taking place very time

Special prosecutors in Seoul are attempting to arrest an incumbent presidential aide in connection with allegations President Park Geun-hye received medical treatments from those without due safety checks, their spokesman said Thursday.The investigation team, led by Independent Counsel Park Young-soo, is trying to locate the whereabouts of Lee Young-seon with a court-issued warrant after he repeatedly disobeyed its summons, spokesman Lee Kyu-chul told a regular press briefing. Lee Kyu-chul, spok

South Korea's state financial watchdog said Thursday it has taken punitive steps against listed firms here for a total of 185 violations related to disclosure-related rules last year.It marks a sharp increase from 126 cases discovered in 2015 and 63 a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The logo of the Financial Supervisory Service (Yonhap)The FSS added it has imposed 2.2 billion won ($1.9 million) in fines in connection with 63 cases in 2016.Other administrative measur

Impeached President Park Geun-hye is set to mark the fourth anniversary of her inauguration on a gloomy note this weekend amid speculations that she could become South Korea's first leader to be relieved of her post before the end of the five-year term.The anniversary falls on Saturday as the Constitutional Court's trial on Park's impeachment over a corruption scandal involving herself and her friend is heading into the homestretch with its ruling expected to be handed down next month.If the cou

South Korean girl group GFriend will drop a new album next month amid anticipation that it will follow the success of the group's previous hits, its management agency said Thursday.  (Yonhap)The upcoming EP, slated to come out March 6, is the first in eight months after its full-length album "LOL," according to Source Music.The six-member act -- Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB and Umji -- rolled out two albums last year and enjoyed enormous popularity at home and abroad with back-to-back hits "R

A diplomatic row between North Korea and Malaysia is deepening as Pyongyang blamed the Southeast Asian country for its probe into the death of the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, experts said Thursday.In its first official response, North Korea said that Malaysia colluded with South Korea in its investigation into the killing of Kim Jong-nam, claiming that Seoul is masterminding an anti-North Korea conspiracy.Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur have maintained diplomatic ties for more th