The Korea Herald

Financial industry to tighten IT security

Apr 21, 2011

Companies considering bigger budget and greater restrictions to protect data The local financial sector geared up to tighten security of its IT systems after watching hackers take advantage of security loopholes in the nation’s top financial firms, sources said Thursday. Major banks here said they were devising measures to step up security, such as beefing up their oversight teams or banning em...
BAT Korea raises cigarette prices

IndustryApr 21, 2011

British American Tobacco Korea said Thursday it has raised the price of its cigarette products by 200 won ($0.20) to 2,700 won per pack on rising raw material prices. The price increase of 8 percent is the first in six years for the firm which holds an 18 percent-market share in the country. It is widely known for popular brands such as Dunhill, Kent and Vogue. “BAT Korea has been making every ...
International 3-D Society to open Korean branch in May

IndustryApr 21, 2011

KT Corp., the country’s largest fixed-line service operator, said Thursday it will lead the launch of the International 3-D Society’s Korean branch next month. KT organized a reception for the creation of a new country branch, inviting experts and industrial leaders in the field of 3-D, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, broadcasters KBS, SBS, EBS and KT Skylife. Participants also in...
Central bank, FSS agree to tighten oversight of FX trade

Apr 21, 2011

The central bank and the financial regulator decided to jointly examine banks’ foreign currency trade activities to keep them in check against speculative investments. The inspection comes as the won this week advanced to its strongest level in 31 months with capital inflows into local assets. The market’s understanding of the latest move is that the Finance Ministry is masterminding regulators ...
Three tycoons make Asia’s top executive list

Apr 21, 2011

Fortune’s list includes Lee of Samsung, Chung of Hyundai Motor and Koo of LG Three Korean top business leaders ― Lee Kun-hee, Chung Mong-koo and Koo Bon-moo ― were included in a U.S. magazine’s recently released list of Asia’s 25 most powerful business people. Lee, chairman of Samsung Electronics, was ranked fourth while Chung, chief of Hyundai Motor, and Koo, chairman of LG Group, were placed ...
Hanwha wins $1b order for Saudi plant

IndustryApr 21, 2011

Builder to construct power station and desalination plant Hanwha Engineering & Construction said Wednesday that it has signed a $1.05 billion deal to build a power station and desalination plant in Saudi Arabia. The builder said it is to establish the plant at Yanbu industrial complex, the biggest of its kind in Saudi Arabia and located on the western side of the country, by 2014 under the deal...
[Herald Interview] Chang sees difference in FTA with China

Apr 21, 2011

Says free trade benefits vary with levels of development A noted critic of free trade agreements has offered a mixed assessment of a potential FTA between South Korea and China. Chang Ha-joon, an economist at the University of Cambridge in the U.K., has written numerous publications critical of free trade agreements. In books such as “Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret Histor...
3-D erotic comedy shakes up Hong Kong box office

TechnologyApr 21, 2011

HONG KONG (AP) -- A pioneering 3-D erotic comedy has taken the Hong Kong box office by storm, beating the first-day record set by ``Avatar'' and drawing viewers from mainland China as it eyes a global rollout. The $3.5 million Cantonese-language production ``3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy'' had earned 17 million Hong Kong dollars ($2.2 million) as of Tuesday since opening last week on 73 screen...
Samsung Life earnings more than double in 2010

Apr 21, 2011

Samsung Life Insurance Co., South Korea's top life insurer, said Thursday that its earnings more than doubled in fiscal 2010 from a year earlier thanks to investment gains from its securities holdings. Net income came to 1.93 trillion won ($1.8 billion) during the fiscal year that ended on March 31, compared with 906.1 billion won a year earlier, Samsung Life said in a regulatory filing. Samsun...
8 out of 10 Internet surfers using SNS: Nielsen

TechnologyApr 21, 2011

Eight out of 10 Internet users are using or have used at least one social network service, according to the survey conducted by Nielsen Company Korea. The survey was conducted on 1,000 Internet users in major cities in Korea including Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju and Busan from Feb. 25 to March 4 this year. Among the SNS platforms, Cyworld ranked most popular with 74.9 percent of respondents ...
KT introduces new mobile financial service

TechnologyApr 21, 2011

KT, a major telecom operator here, launched on Wednesday a prepaid financial service named “Mobile Money” that will be linked with accounts of Industrial Bank of Korea. The service is designed for smartphones equipped with the Android operating system 2.1 or higher. Compared with other “smart” banking systems, Mobile Money has a faster and easier authentication procedure, KT said. Users can cha...
Korea to halt old reactor for security check

IndustryApr 20, 2011

Nuclear reactor stoppages raise controversy over life extension of aged power plants State-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said Wednesday that it had decided to temporarily halt the operation of a nuclear reactor in Busan which experienced a power failure last week. “We decided to carry out a thorough safety check on the Gori-1 unit and resume its operation after its safety has been confirm...
U.S. ‘mindful’ of progress in S. Korea-EU FTA: envoy

Apr 20, 2011

The United States is “mindful” of progress South Korea and the European Union have achieved in ratifying their free trade agreement, the top American envoy here said Wednesday, as Seoul and Washington make their last push to bring their own deal to life. “Yes, we are very mindful that our friends in Europe also have a free trade agreement,” U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens said d...
LS Cable and System launch committee to help suppliers

IndustryApr 20, 2011

LS Cable and System, the country’s largest producer of cables and wires, joined the growing ranks of large firms promoting shared-growth with small- and medium-sized enterprises. Shared-growth refers to large companies’ efforts to support smaller suppliers and associated companies’ expansion efforts, which has gained increasing attention with the government promoting it as a major policy. LS Ca...
Obama calls for more investment in broadband to catch up with Korea

IndustryApr 20, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ― U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday called for more investment in broadband lines and other infrastructure in the United States to catch up with South Korea and other countries. “Our roads, our bridges, our sewer systems are all deteriorating,” Obama told a town hall meeting at Northern Virginia Community College, in Annandale, Virginia. “We don’t even have a serious high-s...