Park Marguerite Clark, wife of the late honorary chairman of Kumho Asiana Group Park Seong-yawng, passed away due to a chronic illness at St. John’s Health Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday. She was 81. After being cremated, the ashes of her body will be moved from L.A. to Seoul through an Asiana flight on Tuesday and a memorial room will be set up at Sinchon Severance Hospital. A visit to pay condolence is possible from the same day and the funeral procession will leave the hospital on Thursda

Chuseok is a time when tens of millions of Koreans visit their hometowns to reunite with their family and friends. It is also a chance to be reminded that the spirit of sharing lives on. Subcontractors were among the recipients of the spirit of Chuseok, as the Federation of Korean Industries, the largest business lobby group comprised of Korea’s biggest conglomerates, announced last week that its members would make pre-payments of up to 4.8 trillion won ($4.4 billion) to their vendors. Among the

Lee Hae-jin, head of Internet portal operator Naver, saw the value of his stock holdings rise more than any other Korean this year, according to a business data provider.A financial report released by FnGuide showed Monday that Lee’s stock assets in two companies including Naver were worth 885 billion won ($818 million) as of last Thursday, securing him 16th place on Korea’s stock-rich list, up from 30th at the beginning of the year.The value of Lee’s stocks have risen 74.1 percent, or 377 billi

LG Uplus announced Thursday that it would launch a mobile network service that is twice as fast as the current long term evolution service. The mobile carrier expects the “broadband LTE” to bring new momentum for growth. “Along with its existing LTE and LTE-A networks, the new service will help LG Uplus lead the market by providing the most stable and fastest LTE services,” said Lee Chang-woo, executive vice president of the mobile firm.  LTE subscribers of LG in Seoul and surrounding areas will

Mobile service provider KT said Thursday that it was named one of the world’s most sustainable telecommunications companies for three consecutive years in a review by Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.S&P Dow Jones Indices, one of the world’s largest providers of financial market indices, and RobecoSAM, an investment company focusing on sustainable investment, announce the review every year that evaluates 2,500 global firms on their financial and non-financial performance including supply chain m

BERLIN ― A leading display market researcher has predicted difficult times are in store for the TV market, emphasizing the importance of the roles Korean TV makers play in overcoming the obstacles that lie ahead.“The TV industry has hit a barrier for growth, the rules of the game are changing,” said Paul Gray, a director of European TV search at Display Search, in an interview with The Korea Herald last week. “TV makers have chosen a better resolution as a solution to the challenges ahead. Howev

BERLIN ― LG Electronics this week revealed its goal to win over energy-conscious European consumers and take the lead in the world’s largest home appliance market.“By 2015 LG will take the lead in the European market, which accounts for 25 percent of the world’s home appliance market with energy-efficient and localized products. The leadership in the fiercest battlefield will be a stepping stone in winning the world market,” said Jo Seong-jin, president of LG’s home appliance unit, at a press me

BERLIN ― LG Electronics on Friday sought to dispel skepticism on the local electronics firm’s competitive edge over Samsung and other rivals from China and Japan. “LG will forge full cooperation with its affiliates such as LG Display, LG Chem and LG Innotek to reach the top of the TV market,” said Kwon Hee-won, the president of LG’s home entertainment business. He dismissed the challenges posed by Sony, which unveiled a 65-inch LED curved TV, UHD TVs unveiled by Chinese firms, and pledged to wid

BERLIN ― In contrast with electronics makers such as Samsung and LG that are vying for leadership in the European market, the head of Philips’ TV joint venture says the firm is not out to secure the largest market share.“We play in a different way from Samsung, which is the No.1 player in Europe. We are not aiming to challenge the top position. We do not only just focus on growth, but also look for creating value for shareholders and consumers,” said Maarten de Vries, CEO of TP Vision, a joint v

BERLIN ― This year’s IFA, one of the world’s two largest consumer electronics trade fairs along with the CES in Las Vegas, kicks off on Friday for a six-day run, with buyers, tech enthusiasts and visitors flocking to Berlin to get a glimpse of the latest high-end technology.More than 1,300 electronics firms from 50 countries including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Sony, Acer, Huawei and HTC will exhibit their flagship products and technology, including ultra-high-definition and smart TVs,

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar da Silva, Gareth Bale and Son Heung-min have more in common than being outstanding soccer players: They either are sponsored by or have a contract with Korean companies. Sports sponsorship is not new. It has long been used by private firms to build a close bond with consumers and promote their brand images.Samsung and LG, which currently market themselves through sports including soccer, baseball, basketball and cricket, are ratcheting up their sports mark

Top business leaders expressed concerns over an indecisive government’s stance on the definition of ordinary wages and overly strict environment regulations. “Over the past decades, businesses have abided by the government rules on regular wages. However, the government now says it will wait for the decision of the Supreme Court on what constitutes the wage,” said Kim Young-vae, vice chairman of the Korea Employers Federation. “(The government’s act) must have caused a legal dispute if it was do

Hyundai Motor Group said Friday that it would launch a new social contribution program called “H-Jump School” aimed at fostering creative talent and bridging the educational divide.Group officials said under the new CSR program, the conglomerate selects a group of college students and provides them with resources development education to grow into global talents. In return for receiving such benefits, the selected students are required to help poor teens study, the officials said. The conglomera

Japanese tech firm Sharp has abruptly ended its talks with Korean electronics company Samsung Electronics, which is trying to make inroads into the copy machine industry, according to Japanese media Wednesday.The exact reason why the once-leading Japanese electronics behemoth called off the collaboration is not clearly known yet but, cross-license patents that Sharp shares with other Japanese copier makers including Canon are said to have contributed to the breakup. Samsung declined to comment o

Samsung Electronics is beefing up its efforts to release a new operating system for smart devices. The electronics giant said Tuesday that it opened up registration for the first Samsung Developers Conference, scheduled to be held in San Francisco from Oct. 27-29.Expectations are high over whether the Seoul-based firm will release a new version of its mobile operating system Tizen ― a project pushed mainly by the Korean firm along with other mobile manufacturers and service carriers including In

LG Display CEO Han Sang-beom pledged Tuesday that the display firm would create new products through innovative display technology and cooperation with other sectors at an academic conference in Daegu on Tuesday. “Scientists reason and predict based on technology while novelists and comic artists imagine. The future we are dreaming of can come true by harmonizing technology and imagination,” said CEO Han while giving a keynote speech under the title “Display Your Dream: Better Life with Dream Di

LG Electronics said Monday that it would bolster its “G Project” marketing to promote a premium brand image and take back market leadership. LG started the project last year, labeling its then-flagship smartphone “Optimus G,” followed by “Optimus G Pro.”Officially started in February under three themes ― “great” for great capacity and efficiency, “genius” for smart functionality, and “good design” ― the project now dons additional themes.Products that create a new “generation,” higher-than-expec

LG Electronics has launched the sales of its curved OLED TV in Germany, company officials said Sunday. Slated to hold a launching event of the product at the HIFI Profis electronics trade show in Frankfurt on Wednesday, the home appliance maker said it would soon begin selling the product in other European countries.“LG is fully committed to delivering the most advanced OLED TVs to European customers,” said Lee In-kyu, vice president and head of the TV division at LG’s home entertainment company

Samsung Electronics topped the global flat-screen TV market by sales in the first half of this year, solidifying its status as the world’s top TV maker for the 30 fiscal quarters since 2006. Samsung recorded a 27.1 percent market share in the flat-panel TV market, followed by its longtime rival LG with 16.3 percent and Japan-based electronics firm Sony with 6.7 percent. Samsung also secured the top spot in the LCD, PDP and 3-D TV markets, marking 25.9 percent, 45.2 percent and 31.4 percent marke

TOKYO ― LINE Corp. said Wednesday that it planned to issue an initial public offering once its user base surpassed 300 million worldwide. “LINE would be able to issue the initial public offering when the firm secures a stable number of users, say, over 300 million,” said Hwang In-joon, CFO of NHN, the holding company of LINE Corp.The current number of LINE users stands at 230 million, having grown rapidly in just over two years since its release. He said where the firm would issue the IPOs was “