Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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S. Korea, Japan could consider simplified entry agreement: Seoul official
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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[Herald Interview] Guggenheim Museum makes a push for technology-based art with LG
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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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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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'The Roundup: Punishment' becomes fastest 2024 film to top 2 mln admissions
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New chief named to anti-corruption body
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[Music in drama] An ode to childhood trauma
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POSCO's net profit dips 36 pct in 2012
POSCO, South Korea's leading steelmaker, said Tuesday that its earnings sank 36 percent last year from a year earlier on weak demand and increased costs.Net profit reached 2.39 trillion won (US$2.17 billion) on a consolidated basis last year, compared with a profit of 3.71 billion won a year earlier, the company said.Sales slipped 7.7 percent on-year to 63.6 trillion won, and operating income also dropped 33.2 percent to 3.65 trillion won over the cited period, it said.Shares of POSCO closed at
Jan. 29, 2013
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Seoul shares up 0.84 pct on tech, auto gains
South Korean stocks ended 0.84 percent higher on Tuesday, as automakers and technology firms rebounded from their recent slides, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 16.25 points to 1,955.96, snapping four straight sessions of losses. Trading volume was moderate at 459 million shares worth 4.57 trillion won (US$4.21 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 440 to 350. "The KOSPI's recent drops stoked i
Jan. 29, 2013
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Smoking addiction linked to brain’s self-control
Smokers’ craving for cigarettes is directly linked to brain’s self-control circuitry, a study showed Monday.A research team studied the relationship between the changes in brain activities and the level of craving for a cigarette after participants watched a neutral video and a video of people smoking. Before the experiment, some respondents were told that smoking would be allowed after watching the video, while others were told to wait 4 hours to smoke after the experiment was over. Scanning th
TechnologyJan. 29, 2013
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Parents paying tuition linked to lower GPA
U.S. college students who get their education paid for by parents may not study as hard, but they have better odds of graduating, a researcher says.Laura T. Hamilton, a sociology professor at the University of California, Merced, found students‘ GPAs decreased with increased financial support from their parents.However, the study also found students with financial aid from their parents were more likely to complete college and earn a degree.“Students with parental support are best described as s
TechnologyJan. 29, 2013
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Text app said violating privacy laws
WhatsApp, which allows text messaging over the Internet without incurring SMS messaging charges, violates Canadian and Dutch privacy laws, officials say.Canada’s privacy watchdog, in a joint investigation with Dutch authorities, determined the popular mobile messaging app breaches Canadian and Dutch privacy laws by forcing many of its users to grant access to their entire address book to use it, Canadian Broadcasting Corp. News reported Monday.“The address book contains phone numbers of both [Wh
TechnologyJan. 29, 2013
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Seoul shares up 0.82 pct in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.82 percent higher late Tuesday morning, buoyed by gains in automakers and technology firms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 16 points to 1,955.71 as of 11:20 a.m.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 2.41 percent and top automaker Hyundai Motor surged 5.04 percent.In contrast, POSCO slipped 0.84 percent ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings release scheduled for later in the day. The local currency was trading hands at
Jan. 29, 2013
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Seoul shares open higher as exporters rebound
South Korean stocks began higher on Tuesday as key exporters returned to positive territory after recent losses, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 7.55 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,947.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.38 percent, poised to stem a four-session losing streak, while top automaker Hyundai Motor gained 1.26 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,088.6 won to the U.S. dollar as of 9:15
Jan. 29, 2013
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S. Korean manufacturers' biz sentiment for Feb. hits 4-month high
South Korean manufacturers' business confidence for February rose to the highest level in four months, underscoring optimism that the incoming government will unveil economic stimulus steps, the central bank said Tuesday.The index of manufacturers' outlook on business conditions came in at 72 for February, up from 70 tallied for January, according to a monthly survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' expectations for the coming month.It marked the highest level since
Jan. 29, 2013
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Japan’s weak yen drive ignites currency war, deals blow to Korea
When Japan set its inflation target and declared a change in its monetary regime for a weak yen, global investors and economists took this as a sign that currency wars would soon be launched to aid the economy, especially the export sector.Japan’s weak yen policy, aimed at pulling its economy out of deflation and recession, became one of the hottest topics at the recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters that its central bank w
Jan. 28, 2013
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Samsung’s Lee owns homes worth W26b
Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee owns the most expensive houses among the nation’s top 50 business leaders, data showed Monday. Lee owns three homes in Seoul’s Itaewon, Samseong and Seocho areas, whose combined value stood at 26.31 billion won ($24.32 million) last year, according to Chaebul.com, a conglomerate-tracking website. Lee is followed by Shin Choon-ho, chairman of food giant Nongshim Group, who has two houses together worth 8.57 billion won. The two top owners, Lee and Shin, we
IndustryJan. 28, 2013
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Final preparations under way for launch of Naro space rocket
The Korea Space Launch Vehicle, the Korean-made space rocket also called Naro-1, began final preparations on Monday for its Wednesday launch. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced Monday that Naro-1 had been moved to the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province.The Naro-1 is scheduled to blast off from the Naro Space Center on Wednesday at around 4 p.m. A final rehearsal for the launch will take place Tuesday, and the preparation committee will
TechnologyJan. 28, 2013
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[Power Korea] LG Chem targets top global position
LG Chem is expanding in petrochemicals and electric car battery technology.Since merging with LG Daesan Petrochemicals and LG Petrochemicals in 2006 and 2007, respectively, it has vertically integrated its production system at the company.Dividing its business project scope into two different areas ― petrochemicals, and information and electronics materials that include batteries ― the firm has seen increases in sales and total market value since 2009.Total sales jumped 49 percent from 15.52 tri
IndustryJan. 28, 2013
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[Power Korea] LG grows into full-fledged global brand
Many still remember the black-and-white Gold Star televisions manufactured in the 1960s.It was a symbol of wealth, since a large portion of middle- and lower-class families did not have the funds to buy such a costly television at the time. Instead they stuck to their old-fashioned radios ― which were also first introduced in the country by Gold Star, now LG, in 1959.LG Group was founded as Lucky Chemical Industrial Corp., now LG Chem, in Busan, South Gyeongsang Province, in 1947.Earning profits
IndustryJan. 28, 2013
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Samsung Card posts massive loss in Q4
Samsung Card Co. said Monday it posted a net loss of 2.6 billion won ($2.4 million) in the fourth quarter of 2012 due to a decrease in commission income.From October through December, the nation’s No. 2 credit card firm made sales of about 7.95 billion won, down about 7.4 percent from the same period in 2011.The firm’s operating loss amounts to about 3.1 billion won, a sharp contrast to the 73 billion won operating profit posted a year earlier. A decrease in commission rates caused the loss, Sam
Jan. 28, 2013
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Incheon Airport CEO offers to resign
Incheon International Airport Corp. said Monday that its CEO Lee Chae-wook has offered to resign before his official term expires in September. “He may have decided to offer an opportunity for his successor to oversee the planned expansion project of the airport from the beginning,” said an airport official. Lee, the former Asian chief of General Electric, took office to lead the nation’s main gateway in September 2008. He has been reappointed twice on his strong performance. Incheon Airport pla
IndustryJan. 28, 2013
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POSCO opens English corporate blog
POSCO, the nation’s top steel giant, launched an English-language corporate blog (globalblog.posco.com) Monday to strengthen two-way communication with global stakeholders, the company said. POSCO developed the English version of Hello POSCO, the first corporate blog run in Korean from September last year, in a bid to update corporate news and activities globally and to open communication with visitors from around the globe. The steel giant also established a corporate page on Linkedin.com, a U.
IndustryJan. 28, 2013
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Hyundai, Kia rank 4th in British car market
South Korea’s leading carmakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. ranked fourth in the British automobile market last year on the back of brisk sales, industry data showed Monday.According to the data, their combined sales soared 20.9 percent on-year to 140,914 vehicles in 2011 from 116,515 units sold a year earlier.The market share of Hyundai and Kia, the flagship companies of Hyundai Motor Group, climbed one notch to fourth place with 6.89 percent, beating Germany’s BMW AG with 127,530 un
Jan. 28, 2013
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Hana Financial to buy additional shares in KEB
Hana Financial Group Inc. said Monday it plans to buy an additional 40 percent stake in the Korea Exchange Bank in April by swapping shares, taking firmer control of South Korea’s No. 5 lender.Hana Financial completed the deal to buy a 51.02 percent stake in KEB from Lone Star Funds for 4.69 trillion won ($4.34 billion) in February 2012, making it Korea’s No. 3 banking group. It also bought further stakes to raise its holdings to 60 percent last year.The group said it plans to buy the remainder
IndustryJan. 28, 2013
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KOTRA urged to focus on supporting SME exports
Backing her earlier pledges to foster small businesses and promote economic equality, President-elect Park Geun-hye urged the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency to prioritize its support for the overseas expansion of small and medium enterprises.“Small and medium-sized companies are often discouraged from reaching out to foreign markets because of the lack of information and local expertise,” Park said during the presidential transition committee’s economic forum late on Sunday.She pointed
Jan. 28, 2013
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Dong-A Pharm split-up plan passes shareholders’ meeting
Dong-A Pharmaceutical’s controversial plan to put its cash cow energy drink business Bacchus under an unlisted firm wholly owned by a new holding company passed the shareholders’ meeting on Monday.Present shareholders of 73 percent of the firm’s stake approved Dong-A’s plan to split itself into two business corporations that make prescription drugs (Dong-A ST) and over-the-counter drugs (Dong-A Pharm), and set up a holding company (Dong-A Socio Holdings) that holds a 100 percent stake in Dong-A
IndustryJan. 28, 2013