SEJONG, Nov. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The land ministry will conduct research and development to build structure exteriors that can better withstand earthquakes, officials said Tuesday. A magnitude 5.4 tremor in the southeastern city of Pohang on Nov. 15 showed a building’s outer surface falling apart, raising new safety concerns that current construction regulations do [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – KB Kookmin Bank, South Korea’s largest retail lender, will focus on providing customized services to the public without drastic job cuts or sharply reducing the number of outlets, the lender’s new president said Tuesday. After integrating some redundant branches, KB Kookmin Bank currently operates 1,061 outlets in South Korea, [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – An increasing number of officetels – South Korean high-rises that are home to multi-purpose residential units – are getting the luxury treatment amid growing competition to attract residents. From gyms, guesthouses, and screen golf facilities to conference rooms, construction companies are ramping up efforts to build recreation facilities to [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., a major construction firm here, said Monday it will partner with Tata Projects Ltd. to build a 953 billion-won (US$863 million) bridge in India. Daewoo E&C and TPL won the order from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). MMRDA plans to build the [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – The family that owns South Korea’s No. 1 conglomerate Samsung Group fell a notch in the list of Asia’s richest families, data showed Monday. According to the list compiled by U.S.-based business magazine Forbes, the Lee family held assets estimated at US$40.8 billion this year, which puts them below [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of car accidents caused by senior drivers more than quadrupled over the past 10 years, insurance data showed Monday, leading to 304.8 billion won (US$277.21 million) in damage. The accident tally for private drivers from the Korea Insurance Development Institute showed there were some 29,000 accidents caused [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Friday as institutions and retail investors dumped local stocks offsetting a buying spree by foreign traders. The South Korean won extended its rally against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 0.8 point, or 0.03 percent, to close [...]
SEJONG, Nov. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – The home ownership rate in South Korea came to 55.5 percent in 2016, data showed Friday. The annual data released by Statistics Korea said 10.7 million households out of 19.36 million across the country owned homes in 2016. Statistics Korea said 26.9 percent of 10.07 million households owned two [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – Despite record KOSPI earnings, only a small number of conglomerates have reported significant increases in profits this year. According to reports from the Korea Exchange, the accumulated net earnings of 525 KOSPI-listed companies during the first three quarters were estimated to be around 92.5 trillion won, up 34.2 percent from [...]
SINGAPORE, Nov. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – Singapore recently banned all commercial trade with North Korea in compliance with the U.N. resolutions against the communist country’s nuclear and missile tests. In its Nov. 7 Circular sent to traders, Singapore Customs announced a prohibition of all commercially traded goods that are imported from or exported to the North through Singapore. As to noncommercial transactions with the North, the ban applies to [...]