The Korea Herald

All That Cruise readies Korea’s largest liner

May 2, 2011

Cruise ship operator All That Cruise announced Monday that it will begin operating cruise tours from January. The vessel, tentatively named the Hallyu Star, will be used on routes covering China, Japan and Southeast Asian destinations. Hallyu is a Korean word meaning “Korean wave” that refers to the popularity of Korean pop culture in other countries. While other Korea-based cruise operators ha...
‘Greentech’ to drive KEPCO’s growth

May 2, 2011

Energy company to invest 3 trillion won, aiming to reach global top five State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. said it is to spend 3.1 trillion won ($2.8 billion) to foster environmental technologies including carbon capture storage and smart grids as its fresh growth drivers. “Should KEPCO win in the global ‘green race’ with its challenges and aspirations for green growth, it would be able to l...
Sony chiefs ‘sorry’ for security breach

May 2, 2011

Executives bow in apology for security breach in PlayStation Network online service TOKYO (AP) ― Sony executives bowed in apology Sunday for a security breach in the company’s PlayStation Network that compromised the personal data of some 77 million accounts on the online service. “We deeply apologize for the inconvenience we have caused,” said Kazuo Hirai, chief of Sony Corp.’s PlayStation vid...
Package of tax, loan supports set for builders

May 1, 2011

Investors will also get tax benefits The government said Sunday it would extend tax benefits to real estate investors in the Seoul metropolitan area and widen financial support for local builders as a way of shoring up the sluggish housing market. In their joint statement, the Land Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Financial Supervisory Commission said the government will urge banks to rol...
STX Group chairman targets global market

May 1, 2011

DALIAN, China ― On Friday, STX Group announced the “Vision 2020” at its shipyard in Dalian, China at an event celebrating the group’s 10th anniversary. The group hopes to become one of South Korea’s seven largest conglomerates with combined sales of 120 trillion won ($112 billion) by 2020. STX Group Kang Duk-soo, however, says that he has his eyes set on the global market. “Sales of 120 trilli...
Hyundai, Kia launch hybrid Sonata, K5

May 1, 2011

Hyundai Motor Group’s two carmakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. are receiving orders for their first gasoline-hybrid electric vehicles from Monday. While the carmakers had introduced hybrid electric vehicles based on the compact cars Avante and Forte with liquefied natural gas-electric powertrain, the hybrid Sonata and K5 are their first gasoline-electric hybrids. The vehicles are fi...
[Herald Interview] Woman’s touch puts Sempio on the map

May 1, 2011

In just a month, Sempio Foods has raised its target for the sales of “A Hundred Years” to 60 billion won ($55.9 million) by 50 percent after watching the bottles of citron vinegar fly off the shelves. Behind the smash hit is Suh Dong-soon. The 46-year-old director of marketing is the first female executive at the condiment maker in its 65 years in business. Under her guidance, “A Hundred Years...
Asiana lounge in Incheon named best in Asia-Pacific

May 1, 2011

Asiana Airlines said Sunday the company’s lounge in Incheon International Airport was picked as the best lounge in the Asia-Pacific region by Priority Pass. The country’s No. 2 air carrier said that its lounge, located on the third floor of the departure section at the airport, was named the Priority Pass lounge of the year in Asia-Pacific, after the group conducted an annual online vote. Prior...
[News Focus] Doubts plague new ‘Cinderella’ law

May 1, 2011

Rule to limit access to video games likely hard to enforce The National Assembly passed a controversial bill to ban teenagers from accessing online games midnight last Friday. But parliament is immediately facing criticism about the measure’s effectiveness. The law goes into effect in November. Critics are raising doubts about effectiveness as user information, such as the age of registered peo...
China jails 14 in tainted milk case

May 1, 2011

BEIJING (AP) ― Chinese courts have sentenced 14 people to prison for producing or selling melamine-tainted milk powder, news reports said Saturday, highlighting Beijing’s struggle to stamp out rampant sales of phony or tainted food and medicine. Three years after use of melamine in infant formula killed six babies and prompted a shake-up of China’s dairy industry, authorities still are seizing t...
Obama calls for end to oil firm tax breaks

May 1, 2011

Expecting soaring pump prices, U.S. keeps up push to end tax breaks for oil, gas companies WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama says oil companies are profiting from rising pump prices and he wants Congress to end $4 billion in annual tax breaks for the oil and gas industry. “These tax giveaways aren’t right,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday. “They aren’t smart....
Industries for smaller players to be chosen

Apr 29, 2011

A semi-government committee on mutual growth said it will select in August the industries conglomerates would be discouraged from entering or expanding in to give their smaller counterparts more opportunities. At their meeting in Seoul, the members, led by former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, said for now, they have confirmed the selection guidelines and will be choosing the industries based on ...
STX Group sets sights on seventh-biggest spot

Apr 29, 2011

DALIAN, China ― STX Group aims to become one of South Korea’s seven largest conglomerates in terms of assets by 2020, the company announced in Dalian on Friday. The business group revealed its “Vision 2020” plan to coincide with the conglomerate’s 10 year anniversary event held in the Chinese city. Among other things, the plan calls for increasing the group’s annual sales to 120 trillion won ($1...
Samsung profit lowest in 7 quarters

Apr 29, 2011

World’s top memory chipmaker sees tough conditions in coming quarter Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it logged 2.95 trillion won ($2.7 billion) in net profits for the first quarter of this year amid globally weak demand for flat panels and TVs sets. It is a 33 percent decline from the same period last year and it is the lowest operating profit in seven quarters. Its sales stood at 36.99 tri...
Samsung Electronics Q1 net down 30% on weak TV, PC demand

Apr 29, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top memory chip and liquid crystal display (LCD) panel maker, said Friday that its first-quarter earnings fell 30.3 percent on-year, hurt by weak demand for TVs and PCs that eroded component prices. Net profit reached 2.78 trillion won (US$2.59 billion) in the January-March period, compared with 3.99 trillion won during the same period a year earlier, the com...