SEOUL, KOREA – The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. held on December 4 an opening ceremony for its new Shin-Gori nuclear power reactors No. 1 and 2. More than 400 guests were present at the event including Minister of Knowledge Economy Hong Seok-woo and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power president Kim Kyun-seop. The 1-million-kW-class reactors were built with KSNP (Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant)

SEOUL, KOREA – Banks are doing very well in attracting retirement pension deposit accounts. In contrast, the insurance companies that had accounted for more than 60 percent of the market since the retirement pension scheme made a debut in December 2005 have quickly lost grounds to a level of 30-percent market share.As of the end of October, the total amount deposited in retirement pension fund

SEOUL, KOREA – Despite its recent fuel efficiency scandal, Hyundai Motor saw its monthly sales reach an all-time high in November 2012Hyundai Motor sold 420,365 cars last month, up 11.9 percent from a year ago, including domestic sales of 61,608 and overseas sales of 358,757. This figure is higher than its previous monthly record set in October 2012 when it sold 412,189.Domestic sales grew by 12.6

SEOUL, KOREA − As an increasing number of foreign financial service companies announce their plans to leave Korea, including HSBC's retail banking business, UK insurance group Aviva, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, some in the financial service industry are wondering whether more and more foreign companies will withdraw in droves.Given ING Life and ING Asset Management will soon be sold off,

SEOUL, KOREA – LT new business and NP growth slowed at non-life insurers in Oct, as anticipated.And, the slowdown is likely to continue over the next two to three months. As such, we believe there is some downside risk to our 3QFY12 (end Dec) earnings forecasts for non-life insurers (excluding Samsung F&M).Going forward, policy change regarding insurance (lower standardized target investment r

SEOUL, KOREA – Strong rebounds to continue with record salesHyundai Motor (Hyundai) and Kia Motors’ (Kia) record-breaking sales rally continued in Nov for a second straight month and will continue in Dec due to expanding production capacity and strengthening lineups amid the record-low global inventories. As for the fuel economy issue, the anticipated solid Nov US sales numbers will dispel the con

SEOUL, KOREA – The Korea International Trade Association said that Korea next year will make a 4-percent growth in exports and reach a trade surplus of USD 30 billion. According to the Institute for International Trade on December 2, the exports next year would be USD 575 billion, up 4.6 percent from this year's 549.6 billion. The forecast trade surplus figure would also surpass USD 30 billion

SEOUL, KOREA – Despite the ongoing recession in major economies, Korea's exports in November hit a record high for the year and have continued trade surplus for ten consecutive months. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said on December 2 that the November exports were USD 47,795 million, 3.9 percent higher than the same month last year. The imports for the month were USD 43,320 million, up 0.7

SEOUL, KOREA – The Korea Gas Corp. will set out on developing an offshore natural gas field near the Republic of Cyprus, the southern part of the island of Cyprus, in partnership with Italy's multinational oil company ENI S.p.A. If the exploration project turns out successful, KOGAS is expected to secure the supply of 60-million-ton natural gas. Currently Korea's annual natural gas consumption is

SEOUL, KOREA – The Korea Small Business Institute (KSBI) predicted that Korea’s economic growth would reach 3.1 percent next year, a level below the nation’s potential economic growth rate. KSBI also stressed that the slow pace of economic recovery would make it difficult for any visible improvement in the business environment surrounding small- and medium-sized enterprises. KSBI also noted

GWANGYANG, KOREA - In October 2003, the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone (GFEZ) was designated by the government to develop the bay area into a global business. Over 85.28㎢ of land in the areas of Yeosu, Suncheon, and Gwangyang in Jeollanam-do, and Hadong in Gyeongsangnam-do will be developed into leading business and residential districts -- Gwangyang, Yulchon, Sindeok, Hwayang, and Hadong.

SEOUL, KOREA – Where there is a will, there is a way. But in Europe where Greek’s economic crisis is swamping the EU members, people are losing their will to find a way. They as a result stop spending, and consumer markets contract. In the United States, though news reports are willing to show signs of reviving economy, it still is a long way to go. And Korea, as one of the world’s few economic po

SEOUL, KOREA — Recent reports in the foreign press have taken a closer look at Korea’s past development and its current progress as a leader in technological innovation and business.The June 24 edition of Spain’s largest daily newspaper El Pais included a special two-page spread on Korea’s importance as a launch site for future technologies and trends.“Scenes from the Seoul Metro give us a pre

SEOUL, KOREA — More than 8 out of 10 Korean consumers(82 percent) think that Korea is in an economic recession, according to a new study from Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy. Nielsen’s study shows that more than half of these respondents (53 percent) say that Korea will not be out of recession in the next 12 months.The Nielsen Glob

“South Korea, the center of global investment pipelines, is one of the most attractive destinations for investment in the world. Korea, which has successfully hosted a series of international events, such as the 2010 G20 Seoul Summit, the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit and Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea and entered into the KORUS (Korea and the U.S.) FTA, is growing into the hub of Asia-bound investment. In

SEOUL, KOREA - KB Financial Group has staged large-scale social contribution activities under the campaign slogan "We think of the people first."Through its 1,200 "KB Star Dream Service Corps," the entirety of the group's 25,000 executives and staff members will engage in the campaign for "one person, one service activity" throughout the country, KB Financial Group Chairman Euh Yoon-dae said. "T

SEOUL, KOREA — Global consumer confidence increased five index points to 94 in Q1 2012 compared to Q4 2011, hitting record high since Q3 2007 (94 points) and showing a sign of recovery, according to global consumer confidence findings from Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy.According to The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence

SEOUL, KOREA — Moody’s, a US credit rating agency, upgraded Korea’s sovereign credit rating from Stable to Positive on April 2, 2012.    The credit rating corporation, which rated Korea’s credit as A2 or Stable in 2007, and maintained the rating on April 14, 2010, upgraded the country’s rating to A1 or Positive on April 2, 2012.      Today’s  upgrade  is  the  result  of  the  improvement  of  fis

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA- Ms. Samjeen Yun, Research Analyst, Automotive Practice Asia Pacific at Frost & Sullivan said that the South Korean telematics market is expected to reach the advanced growth phase from 2012 to 2015. She noted that the commercial vehicle telematics market in South Korea is mainly driven by the aftermarket as original equipment (OE) telematics service is not available currently.

SEOUL, KOREA — Korea ranked fourth among OECD nations in the fourth quarter of 2011. Korea's GDP last quarter increased 3.4 percent more than double the OECD average of 1.3 percent.  With the economic downfall in the euro zone and a decrease in the Japanese economy, OECD nations saw their average growth rate decrease 0.4 percentage points from the previous quarter. The Bank of Korea and the OEC