South Korea must diversify its export markets in order to achieve a sustainable expansion of overseas shipments and prepare for the possibility of another global economic crisis, according to a government report.

Dongbu has begun shipping the display chip used in 19-inch computer monitors to LG Display. The contract will pave the way for us to strengthen our position as a display chip-focused manufacturer," a company spokesman Kwon Ki-joo has said.

Uni-chem has signed a MOU to buy Hynix's memory chip plant and the accompanying land in Eugene, Oregon, for US$50 million. It plans to use the plant to make solar cells as part of the company's new business.

The world's leading semiconductor manufacturers plan to discuss ways to prevent overproduction and enforce fair competition at an industry-wide annual meeting on Jeju Island, according to the South Korean government.

South Korean telecom regulators have approved the sale of Apple's iPhone in a market currently dominated by local handset manufacturers. Officials at KT, the country's number-two mobile service provider, said they plan to start selling iPhones next month.

Korea Exchange Bank sent out bid notices to around 40 conglomerates on September 7, and four to five were believed to be interested. But only textile conglomerate Hyosung submitted a letter of intent.

A court in August had sentenced Lee Kun-Hee to a suspended three-year prison term and a fine of 110 billion won (91.2 million dollars) for his role in a 1999 bond issue.

South Korean exports in September 2009 will probably post their best performance in almost a year and confidence among its exporters has surged to the strongest in almost six years.

Samsung, which saw its operating profits jump five-fold to 2.5 trillion won in the second quarter, is expected to report 3.8 trillion won in the third, analysts said. The growth can be attributable to increases in chip and panel prices.

Samsung Electronics has taken its first step towards the mass-production of its solar cells with the launch of a pilot production line for solar cells in Giheung. The vendor held a ceremony on September 13 to mark the opening of its R&D and testing facility for crystalline silicon solar cells.

The South Korean won against the dollar strengthened to a one-month high of 1220.50 in early Asian deals on September 11. On the upside, 1218.3 is seen as the next target level for the Korean currency.

Creditors of South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor have started the sale process for their controlling stake in the second-largest memory chipmaker.

"Taiwan is politically similar to South Korea where real power sits with the president, and there is unlikely to be much political instability as a result of the premier's resignation," said an economist.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics said in a disclosure that it is no longer pursuing a plan to purchase SanDisk.

South Korea's exports fell for a tenth consecutive month as global demand for the nation's automobiles, mobile phones, textiles and steel faltered.

"The operation of our 8-inch DRAM line in Austin, Texas, will be stopped from October due to production inefficiencies. We will upgrade the line to a 12-inch facility," company spokesman Kenneth Hong told The Korea Times.

South Korea recorded real GDP growth of 2.3% on quarter in the second quarter of 2009—a stronger performance than the Economist Intelligence Unit expected.

Samsung Group's former chairman Lee Kun Hee was found guilty of breach-of-duty for his role in causing losses at Samsung SDS.

LG Chem has consolidated its position as a global power in car batteries, in a deal with carmaker General Motors for its eco-friendly vehicle, Volt. Samsung SDI is following up with its own major deal with BMW, a German premier carmaker. But Japanese battery makers currently capture 95% of the nickel-metal hybrid batteries market.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics (LGE) and SK Telecom will work with other local companies to make semiconductors for hightech digital appliances that can replace imports, the government said Monday.

South Korea's unemployment rate hit a three-month high in June as the prolonged downturn discouraged companies from hiring workers.

Governments across Asia have launched massive stimulus packages focused on renewable energy in recent months, and some analysts think the new infusion of cash could reshape a solar industry reeling from the economic downturn.

South Korea has announced that it had concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU that it hoped would encourage US lawmakers to ratify a free trade deal with the country.

A day after the Korea Communications Commissions (KCC) announced that Ericsson will build a Korea-based R&D center and create more than 1,000 jobs over the next five years, a company spokesman has said the announcement was merely a government "guesstimate."

South Korea said Friday it had identified and blocked five IP addresses used to distribute computer viruses that caused a wave of Web site outages in the US and South Korea. South Korean and American officials have said they believe North Korea was behind the attacks, but none of the blocked Internet Protocol addresses - the Web equivalent of a street address or phone number - were for computers in North Korea.

When it comes to economic performance, it's hard to believe that impoverished North Korea could do better than its affluent capitalist neighbor to the south. South Korea's economy is known for its exports of Hyundai cars, LG phones and Samsung semiconductors. Meanwhile, the North Korean economy's export prowess is limited largely to nuclear weapon technology and counterfeit dollars.