Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Hyundai Motor to turn factory rooftops into solar power plant
Hyundai Motor announced plans on Thursday to convert the rooftops of its Asan factory in South Chungcheong Province into a huge solar power plant by the end of this year. About 40,000 solar panels will be installed across 213,000 square meters on the rooftops of four factory buildings there, about 68 percent of the total rooftop area at the factory. Hyundai, which has teamed up with regional power generation company Korea Midland Power, said the new facilities would supply 11.5 million kilowatt-
IndustryMay 2, 2013
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Baby boomers’ quality of life falls in 2012: MetLife
South Korean baby boomers’ quality of life apparently deteriorated in 2012 from two years earlier, as they were forced to spend more on health care and children’s education despite decrease in income, data showed Thursday.According to the data by MetLife Mature Market Institute and Seoul National University, the baby boomers’ expenditures on children education jumped 27.2 percent over the cited period, while they spent 14.6 percent less on leisure activities.In contrast, their average monthly in
May 2, 2013
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LG Chem CEO outlines company’s core values
LG Chem’s chief executive Park Jin-soo on Thursday emphasized the company’s core values of a safe corporate environment, fair trade and mutual growth with smaller players.“In creating a safe working environment, (achieving) 99.9 percent is meaningless,” Park said at a quarterly executive meeting at the company’s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. “In this case, minus one does not equal 99, but zero. That’s how important a safe environment is.” The same priority applies to the corporate principles o
IndustryMay 2, 2013
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HiteJinro taps Indian market with soju
HiteJinro said Thursday that it will make inroads into India’s liquor market with its soju products next month.Its advancement into the country reflects the liquor producer’s vision to penetrate fresh markets overseas such as Southeast Asia and South Asia and expand its presence in East Asia, company officials said.“We embarked on the project of diversifying export destinations two years ago when Hite Brewery and Jinro merged,” said a spokesman.HiteJinro recently signed a contract with Advent Br
May 2, 2013
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East Sea FEZ aims to become high-tech materials industry hub
DONGHAE, Gangwon Province ― The new free economic zone to be established on the east coast will focus on attracting foreign materials and parts companies toward the goal of building an industrial cluster in Korea, officials said.The East Sea Free Economic Zone Authority, which will oversee the massive project, was launched on Tuesday with the aim of completing the construction of the East Sea (Donghae) FEZ by 2024.An FEZ refers to a specially designated economic zone intended to attract foreign
IndustryMay 2, 2013
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Conglomerates call on Park to help derail bills
Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo said Thursday that he agrees with the “general frame” of the government’s economic democratization initiative, hinting that Hyundai is playing its part well.“We know the direction where Hyundai should be headed,” Chung told reporters ahead of a dinner he hosted for Prime Minister Chung Hong-won and the Federation of Korean Industries, the mouthpiece for local conglomerates. Hyundai recently decided to add more small and mid-sized suppliers to its list
May 2, 2013
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Seoul shares fall 0.34 pct on weak U.S., China data
South Korean stocks closed 0.34 percent lower Thursday, tracking its U.S. peers overnight as disappointing economic data in major countries dampened investor appetite, analysts said. The local currency edged down against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 6.74 points to finish at 1,957.21. Trading volume was moderate at 342.2 million shares worth 4.05 trillion won (US$3.67 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 485 to 315. "U.S. markets saw
May 2, 2013
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Gas leak at Samsung plant injures three workers
Three people were injured Thursday after a toxic gas leaked again at Samsung Electronics Co.’s chip plant in Hwaseong, Gyeongggi Province, the company said.In January, one worker was killed and several others injured after they were exposed to poisonous hydrofluoric acid gas. At 11:30 on Thursday, a small amount of the gas leaked while the workers were replacing a pipeline inside the Central Chemical Supply System.They were slightly injured and treated at a nearby hospital, according to the comp
IndustryMay 2, 2013
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Facebook rejects anti-Zuckerberg ad
Facebook refused to put up an ad criticizing its founder Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, U.S. media reported.According to the San Francisco Chronicle, progressive mobile carrier CREDO Mobile requested Facebook to carry an ad critical of Zuckerberg for his advocacy of constructing the controversial Keystone XL pipeline that may harm the neighborhood environment. Facebook turned down the company’s request, saying the ad may confuse Facebook users to regard it as an actual message of the CEO. “Users
TechnologyMay 2, 2013
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Seoul shares down 0.39 pct in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.39 percent lower late Thursday morning, as major banking firms and oil refiners widened losses, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 7.67 points to 1,956.28 as of 11:20 a.m. Shinhan Financial Group, the 10th largest company by market cap, sank 2.4 percent, with leading oil refiner SK Innovation slumping 3 percent. In contrast, tech giant Samsung Electronics edged up 0.3 percent, with auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis gaining 1
May 2, 2013
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Kakao teams with Evernote for chat-memo service
Kakao, the operator of the country’s biggest mobile messenger Kakao Talk, announced Wednesday that it has formed a strategic partnership with Evernote for a service that will allow users to use the U.S.-based tech firm’s memo app while chatting. Under the agreement, Kakao Talk users will be able to not only make memos while using the app, but also to save the contents of their chats and share them with others. The Evernote app allows the users to record text or voice and send them online.The mov
TechnologyMay 2, 2013
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Seoul shares open lower on weak U.S., Chinese data
South Korean stocks opened a tad lower Thursday as weak economic indicators from the United States and China renewed worries over the global slowdown, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.1 points, or 0.06 percent, to 1,962.85 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Financial firms and steelmakers drove the shares down. No. 2 lender KB Financial Group shed nearly 1 percent and Dongkuk Steel Mill dropped more than 2 percent. The latest U.S. payroll data fell s
May 2, 2013
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Foreigners eligible for state debt relief fund
The nation’s financial authorities said on Wednesday that expatriates are equally eligible for the application for the “National Happiness Fund” recently set up to rescue individual credit defaulters.The relief plan is by principle entitled to all borrowers and lenders of this country, officials at the Financial Services Commission said. “When a foreign worker here loses his job, relies on debt, and his credit falls, he will need a debt relief plan, too,” said a FSC spokesperson. News reports sa
May 1, 2013
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Measures unveiled to boost investment
The government unveiled Wednesday a set of deregulatory measures aimed at boosting corporate and foreign investment to offset weak facility investment and construction activities as part of its efforts to overcome low domestic growth and boost business confidence.The Ministry of Finance said Wednesday that it would move to cut red tape and make its regulatory systems efficient so that domestic and foreign-invested companies can speed up their investment projects in the country. Such deregulatory
May 1, 2013
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[Graphic News] Korean, Japanese billionaires acquire wealth differently
Most of Korea’s billionaires accumulated their wealth through inheritance, while the Japanese superrich built up their wealth by creating their own business, according to a recent survey by CEO Score, a local online corporate management evaluator.In the survey of the top 50 richest people in Korea and Japan based on their stock ownership, 78 percent of Korea’s richest are second and third generation chaebol chiefs. In contrast, 60 percent of the top 50 richest Japanese are entrepreneurs. In Kore
May 1, 2013
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Authorities check financially distressed firms
Financial authorities are in the process of evaluating and reviewing credit standings of domestic companies in financial turmoil in the industrial sectors, such as shipping, shipbuilding and construction, that have been in a prolonged slump.The Financial Services Commission and its financial regulatory enforcement arm, the Financial Supervisory Service, are said to be engaged in due diligence of companies that borrowed more than 50 billion won ($45.4 million).There are reportedly around 1,000 pa
May 1, 2013
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Trade surplus narrows to $2.58b in April
South Korea’s trade surplus narrowed in April from a year earlier as local exporters lost ground in overseas markets in the face of a weaker Japanese yen, the government said Wednesday.The country chalked up a trade surplus of $2.58 billion last month, compared with a surplus of $3.36 billion a month earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Exports gained 0.4 percent on-year to $46.29 billion last month, while imports inched down 0.5 percent to $43.71 billion over the ci
May 1, 2013
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Hyundai Merchant may issue shares amid liquidity woes
The nation’s No. 2 shipping firm Hyundai Merchant Marine may move to increase its capital by issuing new stocks this year to overcome a prolonged liquidity problem.The logistics company, in an inquiry disclosure earlier this week, denied that it has plans to recapitalize, saying it would issue 130.4 billion won ($118 million) in convertible bonds on the Singapore Exchange, officials said.But considering the 200 billion won ($181 million) worth of corporate bonds that expire this month, it is wid
IndustryMay 1, 2013
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Big businesses under pressure to hire more regular workers
A growing number of businesses here are joining a recent move of granting regular status to their contract workers, responding to enhanced calls for them to shoulder heavier social responsibilities. On Tuesday, SK Group announced it will elevate the status of up to 5,800 of its temporary workers to regulars this year and lower the proportion of irregulars to around 3 percent by 2015. Following similar announcements made by Hanwha and Shinsegae in recent months, more than 20,000 contract workers
IndustryMay 1, 2013
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LINE messenger breaks 150m user milestone
South Korea’s top portal operator NHN Corp. said Wednesday that its free messenger application LINE broke the 150-million download mark as worldwide smartphone users rushed to connect with one another through the mobile messenger service.The milestone came four months after the service drew 100 million users in January this year. The free messenger service was launched in June 2011.Since the initial launch, the company has expanded the service to roughly 230 countries in 11 languages, including
IndustryMay 1, 2013