SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's POSCO <005490.KS>, the world's fourth-biggest steelmaker, expects the steel industry to remain lacklustre in the second half of this year because of China's weak demand and the weaker Japanese yen that is hurting South Korean exporters. "We face an uphill battle in raising product prices," Kim, Jae-yeol, senior vice president, said during an earnings conference.

By Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean construction stocks <.KRXCNST> have lost almost 20 percent of their value this month, falling to levels last seen four years ago, after huge losses at two firms sparked widespread fears of overseas projects going sour. After the 2008 financial crisis, South Korean builders such as Samsung Engineering Co Ltd <028050.KS> and GS Engineering & Construction Corp <006360.KS> won a raft of foreign orders, particularly in the Middle East.

Taiwanese authorities said Monday they had launched an investigation into allegations that South Korean tech giant Samsung hired students to post malicious comments about local rival HTC online. "The case was set up last week after we received complaints," Fair Trade Commission spokesman Sun Lih-chyun told AFP. He said the probe would look into allegations that Samsung engaged in false advertising and that if the allegations were upheld, Samsung and its local advertising agent could face a fine of up to Tw$25 million ($835,000).

South Korean refiners scaled back their research and development expenditures last year due to sluggish earnings, industry data showed Tuesday. According to the data, SK Innovation Co., the holding company of South Korea's biggest refiner SK Energy Co., spent 149.4 billion won (US$ 130.8 million) in research and development in 2012, down 2.8 percent from 153.8 billion won a year ago. Last year's sluggish earnings dampened the investment sentiment of SK Innovation, which had, until 2011, increased its R&D expenditure by an annual average of more than 20 percent since 2008 wh