South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics said Monday it would hold a two-day conference on open-source software to allow developers to share ideas on the new industrial trend.The Samsung Open Source Conference, which kicks off Tuesday, aims to cover various themes, such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, and other sectors in relation to open-source software. U.S.-based Intel Corp. and the Linux Foundation are also sponsors of the event.Open-source software is programs whose

South Korea posted a trade surplus for the 31st consecutive month in August although the surplus shrank significantly from a year earlier on dwindling exports, customs data showed Monday.The country’s overall exports came to $46.2 billion last month, down 0.2 percent from the same month last year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.Imports gained 3.1 percent on-year to $42.9 billion.Earlier this month, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy estimated that exports would inch

President Park Geun-hye vowed Monday to revitalize the ecosystem of the creative economy in South Korea through innovation centers. The creative economy ― a key policy objective of Park ― calls for boosting the economy by turning creative ideas into real businesses through science and technology, and information technology.The pledge came two weeks after the government announced a plan to link the country’s conglomerates to innovation centers as part of efforts to build a creative economy.The in

Macoll Consulting Group said on Monday that it had opened its Jeju branch in Nohyeong-dong, Jeju City. It will be providing a specialized communication consulting service in the Jeju Free International City.Macoll Consulting’s Jeju branch is now capable of providing prompt and locally optimized service for the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, relevant government authorities, and domestic and foreign companies.It will service those currently running a business or planning to extend their bus

Major South Korean companies have remained stingy about paying dividends over the past few years, while smaller firms have delivered a relatively high percentage of returns to their shareholders in the form of dividends, data showed Monday.According to Chaebul.com, which tracks the nation’s big business groups, a total of 25 companies had a dividend yield ratio of over 5 percent in the 2011-2013 period, a mere 1.4 percent of the 1,785 companies listed on South Korea’s stock market. In the cited

The government said Friday it would the double the residence and automobile taxes in two to three years. The Ministry of Security and Public Administration said it would issue an advance notice of the revised legislation for the local tax overhaul next week with the aim of boosting local budgets by focusing on broadly raising taxes that were unchanged for decades.The ministry said the tax increase was “inevitable to secure finances for the government’s spending on welfare and security.”Under the

A Seoul appeals court, partly overturning a lower court‘s ruling, on Friday handed down a reduced jail sentence of three years to the chairman of food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group, who is charged with embezzlement and tax evasion.The Seoul High Court, however, did not immediately lock up Lee Jay-hyun, citing his poor health. Lee was earlier temporarily released from jail for hospital treatment.In a lower court ruling earlier this year, the 54-year-old tycoon had been sentenced to four

Korea Development Bank is expected to set up a private equity fund to take control of Dongbu Power Dangjin Corp. after talks to sell off the thermal electricity generation plant fell through last week, industry sources said Friday.The bank, in charge of arranging the sale of the plant to help bail out cash-starved Dongbu Group, is likely to take the step after Samtan, an energy and coal mining company that was tapped as the preferred bidder early last month, walked away after making a down payme

The government said Friday that it will soon launch a feasibility study on the expansion of Jeju International Airport amid a fast-growing number of visitors to the southern resort island of Jejudo.The move follows a recent study, published earlier in the day, that suggested the number of air passengers to and from Jeju will more than double from some 20 million in 2013 to over 44 million in 2030, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The airport, including its runway,

Samsung Engineering said Friday that it has secured an $80 million order to design plants for a major Mexican oil refiner, thanks to its proven track record in large construction projects.The South Korean industrial plant builder said it plans to complete the order placed by Mexico’s state-run oil refiner, Petroleos Mexicanos, by September 2015.The Mexican refiner is pushing to build a refinery with a daily production capacity of 38,000 tons of ultralow sulfur diesel in the Salamanca region, loc

South Korea’s central bank on Friday held the base rate at 2.25 percent in a widely expected move, a month after it cut the policy rate for the first time in 15 months under government pressure.The decision is in line with a poll conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. All 16 analysts surveyed forecast the Bank of Korea would freeze the key rate to assess the policy effects of ongoing stimulus measures. “Given that the economy has not further deteriorated and t

The government said Friday it will impose fines of up to 50 million won ($48,300) on those who hoard cigarettes in a bid to stabilize the market following its decision this week to hike tobacco prices.The penalty will go into effect as of noon Friday, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The government announced on Thursday that it plans to raise the price of cigarettes by 2,000 won per pack, an 80 percent increase, a move it said is aimed at lowering the country’s smoking rate, wh

The loan delinquency ratio for South Korean insurance firms edged down in June from a month earlier on decreases in both overdue corporate and household debts, the financial watchdog said Friday.The average bad debt ratio of local life and nonlife insurers stood at 0.53 percent at the end of June, down 0.08 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Compared with a year earlier, the figure declined 0.19 percentage point, it added.A delinquent loan is

Sales at local department stores and discount chains rose in August, preliminary government data showed Friday.According to the data by the Finance Ministry, department store sales increased 11.7 percent on-year in August, following a 2 percent gain tallied in July.Sales at discount chains also expanded 3.1 percent in August, rebounding from the previous month’s 4.6 percent decline, the report showed.Sales of domestically produced passenger vehicles, however, dropped 4.8 percent in August, while

LG Chem has developed the world’s first OLED light panel with high luminous efficacy and long-lasting performance that can compete with LED lights.The industrial materials giant said Thursday that its OLED light panel has an efficacy rate of 100 lumens per watt that can last about 40,000 hours. Existing OLED lights have 60 lm/w.Fluorescent lights typically have the same luminous efficacy as OLED lights, but only last about 20,000 hours, while 100 lm/w LED lights have a longer lumen output by abo

Intel is again seeking to partner with Apple to supply its mobile communication chips for future iPhones.Most of Apple’s smartphones have used chips from Qualcomm.“Chances are high that global smartphone makers such as Apple and LG Electronics will use Intel’s baseband chips in their products down the road,” said Lee Hee-sung, the president of Intel Korea, at a press meeting on Thursday. Intel Korea president Lee Hee-sung introduces new chips for data servers at a press conference in Seoul on Th

The head of South Korea’s biggest automaker, Hyundai Motor Group, emphasized localization to win over new overseas markets as he toured company plants in India and Turkey that have undergone a shift in focus.“The greatest competitiveness comes from localization,” Chung Mong-koo was quoted as saying in company press releases. “The plants in India and Turkey should win over new markets in India, the Middle East and Africa as the two pillars in localization,” he said. Hyundai Motor Group chairman C

LG Uplus Corp., South Korea’s No. 3 mobile carrier, will sell Apple Inc.’s latest iPhones in South Korea along with its bigger rivals SK Telecom Co. and KT, industry sources said Wednesday, marking the first time for LG Uplus to distribute Apple products here. Apple on Wednesday released the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, which are 6.9 mm and 7.1 mm thick, respectively. While the devices are set to be available starting Sept. 19, the launch schedule for the South Korean market has

Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s leading tech giant, saw its market capitalization fall below the 200 trillion won ($195.1 billion) mark for the first time in two years, data showed Wednesday, as its mainstay mobile unit continued to suffer amid the rise of Chinese rivals. Samsung’s market cap came to 198.34 trillion won on Sept. 2, falling below the 200 trillion won mark for the first time since Sept. 7, 2012. While it managed to return to 200.5 trillion won on Thursday, it slipped back to 19

South Korean securities companies have slashed more than 10 percent of their payrolls and shut down over 200 offices at home and abroad over the past year amid a prolonged economic slump, data showed Wednesday.As of end-June, the nation’s top 28 brokerage houses by revenue had a combined 33,091 workers, down 10.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by Chaebul.com, which tracks the country’s family-run conglomerates, known as chaebol.The securities firms had a total of 1,344 domest