The Korea Herald

Air France-KLM official honored by French Embassy

IndustryDec 1, 2011

The Korean unit of Air France-KLM SA said its airport chief Lee Young-kil recently received an award from the French Embassy in Seoul for his contribution to the two countries’ economic and business ties. Lee serves the European airline as station and service manager at Incheon International Airport. The National Order of Merit award was created in 1963 by former French President Charles de Gau...
Woongjin takes LG to FTC in spat over water purifiers

IndustryDec 1, 2011

Woongjin Coway said Thursday it filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission against LG Electronics’ sales outlet chain, accusing it of spreading false information about its water purifier products. Woongjin Coway, the nation’s top maker of water purifiers, has continued to criticize the electronics giant for entering its business two years ago. Water purifiers were excluded from the latest ...
Regulators consider stand-alone rating

Dec 1, 2011

Conglomerate units, public firms relying on external support likely to see their ratings drop Korea’s financial regulators are considering the introduction of stand-alone ratings to weed out nonviable affiliates which have inflated their corporate ratings through their links with parent firms with better ratings. According to officials at local ratings firms and financial authorities, the new s...
KCCI urges Assembly to reduce taxes

Dec 1, 2011

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Thursday it delivered a proposal to the National Assembly calling for lower corporate and income taxes. The government had planned to lower the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from the current 22 percent for firms with over 200 million won in earnings beginning next year. But the plan is being held up in the National Assembly as some lawmakers ar...
SKT starts fair price system for phones

IndustryDec 1, 2011

SK Telecom, the nation’s largest telecom operator, started selling mobile phones at fixed prices in its all on- and offline outlets nationwide Monday. The government plans to implement the fair price initiative in the telecom industry from January, aiming to revolutionize its retail structure. Thus far, vendors have lured customers with “free phones” explaining the normal benefits for long-term...
REVISION PLEASE USE French chamber to hold year-end gala with korean celebrities

IndustryDec 1, 2011

French Chamber to hold year-end gala with Korean celebs By Yoav Cerralbo The French Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry will hold a year-end gala on Saturday, which officials said will toast the new business opportunities brought by the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement. The officials said the event at the Grand Hyatt hotel will be attended by L’Oreal model and “Lost” actress Kim Yun-jin and M...
Car sales down again in Nov.

TransportDec 1, 2011

Korea’s major automakers once again recorded contrasting sales performances at home and abroad in November. Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors saw their exports increase in November from a year earlier, but their sales at home dropped. Hyundai Motor sold 320,790 units, including exports and overseas production, abroad last month, up 26.1 percent from a year ago. Five major overseas plants in the U.S...
More than half of banks’ foreign debts come from Europe

Dec 1, 2011

More than half of the debts South Korean lenders borrowed overseas were from European banks, data showed Thursday, raising concerns about a possible foreign liquidity drain amid the spiraling eurozone debt crisis. As of end-June, South Korean lenders’ borrowing from European banks stood at $187.3 billion, or 53.6 percent of its total $349.4 billion foreign claims, according to the data by the Ba...
Korea’s trade set to exceed $1 trillion

Dec 1, 2011

Trade volume nears $987 billion with exports surpassing $500 billion Korea has arrived at the threshold of $1 trillion in trade volume for the first time ever as government figures show on Thursday that this year’s exports have already topped $500 billion. As of end-November, the country’s trade volume reached $986.7 billion with exports exceeding $508 billion, according to the Ministry of Know...
Telecom regulator to censor SNS, mobile apps

IndustryDec 1, 2011

Telecom authorities plan to censor social networking services and mobile apps starting as early as next Wednesday, the Korea Communications Committee said Thursday. A review committee at the state-run telecom regulator on Thursday discussed a revised bill to set up a new team responsible for examining offensive and immoral content in new media. The revision also contains separate teams to monit...
Shares soar 3.72 percent on acts by central banks

Dec 1, 2011

South Korean shares closed up 3.72 percent on Thursday, encouraged by developments in the eurozone crisis, including the cut in borrowing costs by major central banks, and overnight rallies on Wall Street. Seoul’s main index, the KOSPI, closed up 68.67 points to 1,916.18. The tech-packed KOSDAQ ended up 3.52 points, or 0.71 percent, to 496.33. The rally of the local bourse, as with other Asian ...
Samsung chief rules out promotion of heir apparent

IndustryDec 1, 2011

Chairman Lee pledges to make active investments next year Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee said Thursday his heir apparent and the company’s chief operating officer Jae-yong, and daughter and Cheil Industries’ No. 2 Seo-hyun will not be promoted in the group’s new management lineup set to be announced soon. “The position and role of Lee Jae-yong will remain unchanged and the same goes f...
Exports of makgeolli set to top $50 million in 2011

IndustryDec 1, 2011

This year’s exports of makgeolli, a traditional Korean rice wine, are set to surpass $50 million for the first time on a sharp rise in demand from Japan and China. According to the Korea Customs Service, 37,027 tons of makgeolli worth $45.29 million were exported in the 10 months to October, about triple the amount sold abroad in the same period last year. Korea saw $15 million in makgeolli expo...
Korea‘s industrial output grows 6.2% in Oct.

Nov 30, 2011

South Korea’s industrial output continued to grow in October from a year earlier, despite persistent global uncertainties caused by eurozone woes and problems facing advanced industrialized economies, a government report showed Wednesday. According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining and manufacturing industries expanded 6.2 percent last month from a year earlier. The Oct...
Montreal mayor seeks Korean involvement in design forums

Nov 30, 2011

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay has expressed hope for Korean companies and communities’ participation in two design conferences to be hosted by the Canadian city in May. Tremblay recently visited Seoul to invite Korea’s design and related business communities to the UNESCO City of Design forum and the C2 conference of designers and business leaders from around the world. “The C2 conference is a...