Alcohol sales at local retailers were rising this month, coming out of a slump from nationwide mourning following a deadly ferry sinking in April, industry data showed Thursday.E-Mart, South Korea’s largest discount chain operator, said its overall alcohol sales rose 14.8 percent during the first 13 days of May from a year ago.Alcohol sales at the retailer had risen 1 percent during the 15 days after the April 16 sinking of the ferry Sewol that killed more than 280 people, most of them high scho

South Korea’s automobile output grew more than 12 percent from a year earlier last month on increasing sales in home and overseas markets, the government said Thursday.In April, South Korea exported 299,268 cars, up 14 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The country’s total output surged 12.3 percent on-year to 433,799 units as domestic sales of locally produced vehicles jumped 10.2 percent to 131,053.“Outbound shipments jumped 14 percen

Asiana Airlines, South Korea’s second-largest carrier, said Thursday it posted a net loss of 46.6 billion won ($45.3 million) in the first quarter, mainly due to a drop in passenger traffic from Japan.Operating profit also stood in minus territory at 2.1 billion won, with sales dipping 0.4 percent to 1.41 trillion won from 1.42 trillion won tallied a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.“Frayed relations and the weak yen caused a noticeable drop in inbound passenger traffic from

The U.S. federal funds rate is poised to increase as the world’s largest economy recovers and sees its unemployment rate decline and inflation rise to target levels.The global market had pondered about when the Federal Reserve would actually make its move until Fed Chair Janet Yellen shed some light on the future direction of its monetary policy. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, D.C., in March

Home sales continued to grow significantly in April, reflecting recovery signs in the country’s real estate market, the government said Thursday.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the number of home transactions surged 16.6 percent from the same month last year to 92,691 in April. This follows a 34.2 percent on-year spike in the previous month and marks the fourth consecutive month that the country’s home sales posted an on-year gain.The growth in April was most visible in t

Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday it will complete the re-merger of the state-run Korea Development Bank with a policy lender by the end of this year, pushing ahead with the plan that overturns a decision by the previous administration.The regulator also said it will establish a maritime financing guarantee agency within this year.Last year, the newly inaugurated Park Geun-hye government unveiled a blueprint for reuniting KDB with the Korea Finance Corp., which was spun off in 2009 as pa

They say that time heals all wounds.For young musician hopefuls such as Lee Hyung-jin and Lee Hyun-soo, not only time but also music has helped them overcome their personal difficulties and allow their scars to heal as they discovered their gifts.Both coming from poor backgrounds with their parents constantly working long hours, the lives of Hyung-jin and Hyun-soo, who are not related, were never easy. Hyung-jin lives in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, and Hyun-soo in Icheon, Gyeonggi Provi

Jay HahmCloud computing is no longer a buzzword. It is now a critical and strategic component for businesses across sectors. The cloud initiative means that IT decision makers have to sort through a copious amount of information to make the right choices, focusing on a holistic view of all aspects of the organization ― not only IT ― that are impacted, including people, processes and technology. Effectively defining and building a complete cloud implementation can lead to a total business transfo

Samsung Electronics shares have been rallying over the past two days despite its owner and chairman remaining in the hospital after a heart treatment.Analysts said expectations of Korea’s largest conglomerate improving its corporate governance through equity restructuring efforts since last year have boosted investors’ sentiment toward Korea’s most liquid stock.Samsung Electronics rose 0.86 percent to 1.4 million won on Tuesday.Investors see that Samsung will not likely face a management vacuum

Perhaps the market should have seen it coming that one day people of this country would see Samsung boss Lee Kun-hee in hospital and either bid him farewell or hope that he recovers.Thankfully, Samsung said the 73-year-old chairman is doing okay and is no longer on life support after an emergency procedure on his heart and arteries in the wee hours on Sunday.His health will be back to normal in 24 hours, by Tuesday, and Samsung is operating as usual, the group said. No need to panic.But Korea wa

LG G Pad. (LG Electronics)LG Electronics, South Korea’s No. 2 tech giant, said Monday it plans to expand its tablet PC lineup to cover various sizes and also give better connectivity with smartphones.The company said it will add 7-inch, 8-inch and 10.1-inch sizes to its flagship G Pad, without elaborating on key features or the release date. The showcase will be held in June, it said.LG had introduced its first G Pad in October last year, an 8.3-inch model.LG said the new models will be equipped

South Korea will remove nearly one-third of government regulations on trade and foreign investment, and ease other restrictions that hamper investment, the government said Monday.Of the 62 regulations that currently apply to trade or foreign investment 19, or 30.6 percent, will be completely eliminated before the incumbent Park Geun-hye administration’s five-year term ends in February 2018, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The decision came at a public hearing chaired by V

After electricity was discovered, it took about 200 years for light bulbs and lamps, and other electrical products, to hit the market.The Web was created in the 1990s following the invention of the ARPANET system in the 1970s through a collaboration between the Pentagon, scientists and businesses that aimed to reduce inefficiency by sharing resources via network connections.A new market in which all sorts of physical objects ― ranging from home appliances and streetlights to roads and cars ― can

As was seen in the dot-com industry, venture entrepreneurship has been the key to creating not only new technologies but also new industries and values that can forever reshape conventional markets.Start-ups will be called upon again to develop an entirely new market where every physical object can connect to the Internet.With the Internet of Things gaining momentum, ventures such as Bitfinder and SinglePet are seeking to come out with their own connected innovative products and services that ho

An Oracle yacht that uses IoT technology (Oracle)A man walks into a clothing store and sees customized advertisements based on his shopping data as soon as he gets his eyes scanned.This scene is from Hollywood blockbuster “Minority Report” but a similar situation could soon become reality thanks to the Internet of Things.Cisco Systems, the U.S. networking equipment giant, said people can already get a similar experience.“If you use, for example, Cisco’s Connected Mobile Experience, what happens

As an example of the potential for the Internet of Things, take for instance the mousetrap. It has been a very long time since anyone has built a genuinely better mousetrap.But with the ubiquity of device connectivity these days, it is now possible for the janitorial staff in a commercial warehouse to be notified via smartphone when a mouse has been caught in some dark corner of the building ― and subsequently inform the end-user that it is time to set another trap. In short, IoT can improve eff

Not so long ago, automakers were all about competing to produce and market vehicles with better horsepower and fuel-efficiency.With the Internet of Things coming around the corner, automakers’ focus has shifted from not only introducing cars with powerful engines that consume less gas, but also to dashboards with in-car networks.Automakers are revving up to form an alliance either with Apple, Google or both, following the introductions of their in-car platforms that can be linked with drivers’ i

Samsung SDS’ announcement to launch an initial public offering this year has not only put Samsung family owners and the company’s affiliates, including Samsung C&T and Samsung Everland, under the spotlight, but also a non-Samsung company KCC.The company’s IPO, in what seemed like a move aligned with Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee’s inheritance plan for his three children, has further boosted the value of Samsung C&T, the group’s construction and trading arm that is the second biggest shareholder o

Governments worldwide are placing big bets on the age of the widespread use of physical objects, infrastructure and systems connected to the Internet, or the Internet of Things.The new era is expected to increase productivity and efficiency across all industrial sectors, but foreshadows a growing security risk stemming from the emerging technology.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announced in April that it would develop the IoT industry with the aim of generating 30 trillion won

When Jim Clark, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur who started Netscape, set out to build his high-tech yacht called the Hyperion that could be controlled via sensors connected to a computer network, the market viewed his grand plan as no more than a dream.But the idea that objects and solutions can be connected to and operated through wireless networks is becoming a reality, thanks in part to the emergence of mobile technology.Further progress is needed to prepare for the Internet of Things and ev