Samsung Display outperformed global rivals in small- and medium-sized panels to retain its top spot for the fourth consecutive year in 2013, data showed Thursday.The affiliate of Samsung Group is estimated to have sold $11.1 billion worth of 9-inch and smaller display panels around the globe, the data compiled by DisplaySearch showed.Samsung has been in the top spot since the fourth quarter of 2009 when it outpaced Japan’s Sharp Corp. for the first time. The Korean firm’s market share came to 26

South Korea’s leading companies plan to invest 132.9 trillion ($124 billion) won in research and development and facility upgrades in 2014, a poll showed Thursday.The total represents a 6.1 percent increase from 125.3 trillion won in 2013, said the Federation of Korean Industries, an association for big businesses. The survey was conducted on the 600 largest companies in terms of sales as of late 2012, with 450 companies responding. The FKI said that of those that replied, 225 said they planned

Imported car sales in South Korea jumped 31.2 percent in February compared with the same period last year, a report by a local trade association said Thursday.A total of 13,852 new foreign-made cars were sold last month, compared with 10,556 units a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said. The on-year gain comes after annual foreign car sales hit a record high of 156,497 units in 2013. The latest tally, however, showed that compared with January this year w

South Korea’s National Pension Service said it will vote against the reappointment of Mando Corp. chief executive officer, saying he damaged shareholder interests when approving the bailout of an affiliate.NPS, the second-biggest shareholder in Mando, will vote against CEO Shin Sa-Hyeon reappointment tomorrow, the world’s third-largest pension fund said in an e-mailed statement. Shares of Mando, which makes auto parts, tumbled to a record low in April last year after it bought a stake in constru

State-run power giant Korea Electric Power Co. said on Wednesday that it has completed the construction of a gas-fueled power plant in Chihuahua state, Mexico.It is the first power plant that the Korea consortium has built in Latin America, KEPCO said in a press release. Other members in the consortium included Samsung Construction & Trading, which was responsible for organizing the project. Building the 433-megawatt combined cycle power plant is part of the Norte II project that the KEPCO-led c

Credit card spending grew at the fastest pace in 14 months in January, data showed on Tuesday, amid signs that the local economy is on a recovery track. Purchases made with credit cards reached 46.9 trillion won ($43.8 billion) in January, growing 9 percent from a year earlier, the largest gain since November 2012, according to data compiled by the Credit Finance Association.The data includes transactions on credit, debit and prepaid cards. Cash advances, overseas spending and card loans were no

South Korea’s bio industry has grown over 50 percent in just five years, largely on exports that grew at an equally fast rate, the trade ministry said Tuesday. The overall output of the country’s bio industry amounted to nearly 7.13 trillion won ($6.65 billion) in 2012, up 58 percent from 4.51 trillion won in 2008, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The 2012 figure also marks an 11.5 percent surge from 6.39 trillion won in the previous year. The ministry attributed the growt

A fresh round of negotiations for a three-way free trade agreement with Japan and China began in Seoul on Tuesday with the countries expected to focus on setting the overall level of market liberalization.The fourth round of negotiations, to continue until Friday, comes a little over two months after the last session in Tokyo, in which the three countries made what South Korean officials have called minor but significant progress in setting the overall guidelines for negotiations, especially in

Dongbu Farm Hannong, the agrochemical business unit of Dongbu Group, said on Monday that it would close its farm business by selling off related assets. “As the continued opposition from farmers against the firm’s new business has dealt a blow to sales of other key products, the company decided to pull back on its plan to enter the farm business,’’ the company said in a press release. Farmers are key customers for Dongbu Farm Hannong, which deals mainly in crop protection products, fertilizers a

GS Engineering & Construction, the construction arm of GS Group, is likely to be fined 2 billion won ($1.9 million) by the nation’s financial regulator for failing to address investment risks, industry sources said Sunday. The fine will be the largest issued under current disclosure rules. “In a regular meeting on March 12, the Securities & Futures Commission will decide whether the builder broke the rules or not when the firm issued corporate bonds last year,” an official from the Financial Ser

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the world’s second-largest shipbuilder, is expected to take the lead in the global gas vessel construction business this year.“A growing number of liquefied natural gas exploration and production projects around the world have given their approval for (using) DSME,” said Han Young-soo, an analyst at Samsung Securities. DSME’s core business lies in building liquefied natural gas, or LNG, carriers. The tankers are built to ship LNG that is produced offshor

The first crowdfunding site for creative and innovative design projects will make its debut in Korea in the first half of this year, the head of the Korea Institute of Design Promotion said in a press meeting on Thursday.“Benchmarking internationally renowned crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, we are preparing to launch the site to help designers raise funds for their creative projects from many different sources in a short period of time,” said Lee Tae-yong, president of the Korea Institute o

The State-run Korea Water Resources Corp., better known as K-water, is seeking an innovation in water management, declaring a shift to “smart” water management. The change came after the new K-water CEO Choi Gye-woon presented a corporate vision on Jan. 2 addressing the challenges lying ahead for the nation’s long-time sole water resource developer. “K-water has contributed to the nation’s economic development and enhancement of people’s lives with a clean and stable water supply since its found

Korea will soon launch a project to make Ulleungdo Island, located some 120km east of the Korean Peninsula, a carbon-free island.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy unveiled the plan on Monday in its 2014 policy plan briefing to President Park Geun-hye. “This will be the nation’s second pilot project for the creation of a green and clean island, following the ongoing Gapado project,” Sung Si-nae, an official with MOTIE, said.Gapado, a small volcanic island near the southern coast of Jejud

Foreign exchange turnover by South Korean banks grew 1.3 percent in 2013 from a year earlier on an increase in trade and foreigners’ stock investment, the central bank said Friday.The daily FX turnover averaged $45.98 billion last year, compared with $45.38 billion the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea. The daily trading volume of spots came to $18.18 billion last year, up 1.2 percent from a year earlier, it added.The daily foreign exchange turnover of forward deals gained 7.3 percen

Shares of major Korean construction companies were skyrocketing on Friday on the back of a sign of recovery in housing market and a series of massive overseas orders. “The rebound in overseas plants orders, in particular, is expected to give a big hand to lift the industry throughout the year,” industry sources said.This month, a group of South Korean builders, led by Hyundai Engineering and GS Engineering, secured a $6.04 billion contract to build an oil refinery in Iraq. So far this year, loca

SK Innovation, the holding company for energy businesses of SK Group, said on Friday that it has won the car battery-related patent lawsuit which LG Chem filed in 2012. The two electric vehicle battery makers have clashed over patents on the inorganic material-coated separator, a key part of large to midsize rechargeable batteries. Seoul Central District Court’s ruling said, “LG Chem’s patent rights for the porous structure of the active layer coating the separator is different from SK Innovatio

OCI, a leading solar power solution provider, is likely to auction off OCI Materials, a noncore business unit, to raise funds for investment into both its existing core business and other areas as well, according to industry sources on Thursday. OCI’s main source of business comes from manufacturing polysilicon, which is a key component of solar panel construction. OCI is the No. 1 maker of polysilicon in Korea.In a regulatory filing, however, OCI declined the speculation that it is reviewing th

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, said it completed the construction of the world’s first LNG-Floating Storage Regasification Unit for Hoegh LNG of Norway. LNG FSRU refers to an offshore facility that stores LNG in its liquid state while floating on the sea and regasifies it to supply to facilities on land via submarines or onshore pipelines. The units come in various shapes, and in this case, it was shaped to look like a vessel. Measuring 294 meters high and 46 meters w

As work becomes more flexible and people opt for more mobility, so grows the demand for truly flexible workplaces. “We are living in an era where we can all work on the move,” Chun Woo-jin, country manager of Regus Korea, said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “The number of working professionals who work remotely from the office is rising, and this new trend is fanning the demand for flexible workspaces, including serviced business centers, business lounges and meeting rooms.’’Luxembourg-b