The South Korean economy expanded 0.9 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier as consumption recovered and builders increased investments, central bank data showed Thursday.The third-quarter figure marks an improvement from the 0.5 percent on-quarter growth logged in the April-June period, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. The revised data is on par with an earlier estimate by the central bank on Oct. 24.From a year earlier, gross domestic product, the broadest measure o

POSCO wrapped up a deal to sell its specialty steel-making arm POSCO Specialty Steel to SeAH Group by selling its 72 percent stake, the steelmaker said in a regulatory filing. With the end of the deal, SeAH will advance as the largest specialty steel manufacturer in Korea. With the acquisition, SeAH will be able to push up its annual production capacity from 3 million tons to 4 million tons.POSCO has pushed the deal since August when it announced a plan to sell its affiliate as part of its busin

A free trade agreement between South Korea and Australia will go into effect next week, the South Korean government said Thursday, two days after the deal was ratified by the South Korean parliament.“The government exchanged letters with Australia on Dec. 3 (saying) that the countries’ domestic procedures have been completed, and agreed to enact the Korea-Australia FTA from Dec. 12,” the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release.The Korea-Australia FTA will be South Korea’s

Customers take a close look at a collection of wines in a wine section at a local supermarket chain in Seoul. (Yonhap)Armed with affordable price tags, Spanish and South African value wines appear to be penetrating the Korean wine market at a fast pace.According to data from the Korea International Trade Association, imports of South African wines rose 50 percent in the first 10 months of this year, compared to the same period last year. Inbound shipments of Spanish wines also rose 20 percent in

CJ Group, the nation’s largest food-maker, said Thursday that it received a global award for activities for creating shared value, or CSV.The company was the first Korean winner of the CSV Porter Prize. The Institute for Industrial Policy Studies, the Korean partner for the award, hosted the award ceremony at Sheraton Grande Walkerhill in Seoul.The award was named after management guru Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard University, who first proposed the concept of “creating shared value.” C

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Wednesday that it has decided to reject a commitment agreement request by major movie chains suspected of abusing their market power. A commitment decision refers to a process in which the Fair Trade Commission finalize a case swiftly without making any determinations on illegality if companies under investigation voluntarily come up with reasonable corrective measures. CJ CGV Co., CJ E&M Corp. and Lotte Shopping are accused of abusing their market power in

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves declined for a fourth straight month in November due mostly to the weakening value of some currencies, data showed Wednesday.The country’s foreign exchange reserves reached $363.1 billion as of end-November, down $630 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. It is the lowest level since May this year when the amount hit $360.9 billion.Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, Internation

Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth-largest automotive conglomerate, said Tuesday that its U.S. sales had dipped 2.76 percent on-year to 98,608 units, mainly due to weaker demand for older models. The on-year decrease, however, was offset by more cars sold by the two carmakers compared to the month before, when combined sales hit 94,775.Hyundai Motor America, the distribution and marketing arm of the group’s flagship company, said sales were down 4.16 percent to 53,672 cars, while Kia Motors

Most listed companies affiliated with South Korea’s top 10 conglomerates have suffered losses on the Seoul bourse this year due to the global economic slowdown and the strengthening of the South Korean won, with listed subsidiaries of CJ and SK being the lone gainers, data showed Wednesday.The data was compiled by Daeshin Securities, based on its tallies of the companies’ market capitalization between the end of last year and Tuesday.Manufacturers in the shipbuilding, chemical and refinery secto

South Korean exports are expected to top the $600 billion mark for the first time ever in 2015 thanks to the faster pace of global economic growth and trade, an international traders organization said Wednesday.The landmark figure represents a 4.3 percent increase from the $576 billion worth of goods that is expected to be exported for the whole of this year, the Korea International Trade Association said. It said South Korea’s trade surplus may reach $44 billion in 2015, down from an estimated

The government is considering measures aimed at easing “inflexibility” in employment at large businesses and public companies as part of its structural reform, a key policy objective to be included in its economy management plan for next year, government sources said Tuesday.It is hoped the measures will make it easier for companies to adjust salaries and working hours for regular workers. An extension of the current two-year contract period for irregular workers to three years will also be incl

State-run Korea Electric Power Corp., the nation’s biggest utility company, is expected to streamline its overseas energy development business by selling its stakes in money-losing projects, industry sources said.This likelihood of KEPCO’s portfolio restructuring was included in a report from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, which is responsible for the reform of public enterprises. Entitled “Guidelines for Public Enterprises’ Investment in Overseas Energy Development Projects,’’ the minist

Tension is riding high in the nation’s corporate world as the majority of South Korean conglomerates are set to announce their annual personnel reshuffles this month. “Unlike previous times, Korea will see more executives in their 30s from chaebol owner families at the year-end as conglomerates seek to stabilize their corporate governance amid rising uncertainties in the local and global business environments,’’ industry sources said. The prediction was made based on the recent personnel reshuff

South Korea’s finance minister called the newly-launched won-yuan trading market a startup with “high potential” on Monday, promising to provide necessary support for its successful operation.South Korea held a ceremony earlier in the day to mark the launch of the won-yuan trading market at the headquarters of Korea Exchange Bank in central Seoul. The market, which opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m. every business day, is expected to help reduce overall exchange costs in exchanging between the

South Korea’s exports dropped slightly from a year earlier last month, but its trade surplus widened as imports shrank at a faster rate, the government said Monday.Outbound shipments came to $46.99 billion in November, down 1.9 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports dropped 4 percent on-year to some $41.38 billion. The country posted a trade surplus of about $5.61, compared with a surplus of 4.8 billion in November 2013. It was Kore

Car sales by five South Korean automakers moved up 2.2 percent in November from a year earlier, due to a rise in demand for new vehicles at home and abroad, and more aggressive marketing efforts by carmakers, industry data showed Monday.The combined sales of local car manufacturers reached 782,055 vehicles last month, a gain from 765,345 vehicles sold a year ago.The total excludes complete knockdown kits shipped abroad for assembly. Carmakers said new models released by carmakers such as Hyundai

Kim Chang-beumHanwha Group, the nation’s 10th-largest conglomerate by assets, named Kim Chang-beum, CEO of Hanwha Advanced Materials, as new head of its chemical arm Hanwha Chemical. “Top management of Hanwha Chemical will take a bigger role in the group’s business portfolio, following a recent deal with Samsung,” the group said in a press release. By taking the two chemical arms of Samsung ― Samsung General Chemicals and Samsung Total ― Hanwha has taken the top post in the nation’s petrochemica

South Korea’s mobile carriers said Friday they will start selling the new iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 from early next month, following their Seoul debut in October. The latest tablet series by Apple will be available for purchase at retail stores from Dec. 3, SK Telecom and KT Corp. said in a press release. The release comes about a month after the tablets were first unveiled in South Korea on Oct. 31. A few thousand of them will be available for prepurchase, starting from Friday, until the stock

The South Korean unit of Australia-based asset manager Macquarie Funds Group faces a three-month business suspension and was fined 100 million won ($91,000) for business malpractice linked to bond trading, the country’s financial watchdog said Friday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, Macquarie Investment Management Korea has been involved in the business malpractice of “parking” bonds at brokerages for a certain period, not immediately recording bond purchases on the balance sheets

SK Innovation, South Korea’s top petrochemicals company, said Friday it will end a battery-cell joint venture with German partner Continental AG due to slow growth in demand for electric cars.SK Innovation and Continental, Europe’s second-largest car parts maker, established a joint venture in January 2013 to develop and produce lithium-ion battery systems for vehicles. Although the companies agreed to invest 270 million euros ($336 million) over five years, they are ending the partnership early