The Korea Herald

Telecoms to ban wireless access to foreign porn sites

IndustryOct 26, 2011

The government and telecom companies have agreed to ban access to foreign pornography via wireless devices such as tablet PCs and smartphones from as early as November, communications authorities said. According to the Korea Communications Commission, the nation’s top three telecom services providers ― KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus ― are pushing to revise their policy terms to block access to obsc...
Korea, China agree to double currency swap facility

Oct 26, 2011

Two central banks agree to increase trade settlements in yuan, won South Korea and China agreed Wednesday to double their won-yuan swap arrangement from the existing $26 billion to $56 billion in an effort to secure foreign exchange liquidity, officials in Seoul said. The move ramped up Korea’s financial safety net measures following a similar deal reached with Japan last week. China Vice Prem...
$Doosan Infracore launches excavator plant in China$

Doosan Infracore launches excavator plant in China

Oct 26, 2011

Doosan Infracore Co. has started operation of its new plant in China as it seeks to recapture the top spot in the earth-moving equipment market by rolling out compact excavators. The Korean engineering firm said Wednesday the facility in Suzhou in the eastern province of Jiangsu will churn out 9,800 eight-ton or smaller excavators annually. It has injected 72.9 billion won ($64.5 million) in the...
Seoul shares up 0.3% on eurozone policy hopes

Oct 26, 2011

South Korean stocks ended 0.3 percent higher on Wednesday as continued optimism over the eurozone’s policy efforts to salvage the region from a debt crisis kept investor sentiment afloat, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. After opening lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 5.66 points to 1,894.31. Trading volume was moderate at 379 million s...
LG Electronics swings back into the red

IndustryOct 26, 2011

LG Electronics posted operating losses of 32 billion won ($29.57 million) in the third quarter, swinging into the red for the first time this year. In its quarterly earnings report, the company said it recorded 12.9 trillion won in sales, a 4 percent decrease from the same period last year, largely due to its sluggish sales of mobile phones. The company posted operating losses of 185.2 billion ...
KT to deliver K-pop content via Ustream

IndustryOct 26, 2011

KT, the nation’s major telecom services provider, said Wednesday that it has agreed with U.S.-based live video streaming site Ustream to set up a joint venture to spread K-pop content around the world. The tentatively named “Ustream Korea” will support the distribution of Korea’s diverse cultural contents into the global market and offer business opportunities for smaller producers, KT said. KT...
S. Korean economy to grow 3.7 percent next year: think tank

Oct 26, 2011

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's economy will likely grow at a slower pace than the government's forecast next year as exports are expected to lose steam and domestic demand is predicted to plateau due to the global economic downturn, a local think tank said Wednesday. The Korea Institute of Finance (KIF) said that the Korean economy is forecast to grow 3.7 percent in 2012, slowing from ...
LG Electronics swings to Q3 loss on smartphone woes

IndustryOct 26, 2011

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- LG Electronics Inc., the world's third-largest mobile phone maker, said Wednesday that it swung to a net loss in the third quarter of this year due to its struggling smartphone business. Net loss amounted to 413.9 billion won (US$366.7 million) in the July-September period, compared with 75.7 billion won of net profit one year ago, it said in a regulatory filing. The ...
IBM names its first female CEO

IndustryOct 26, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — IBM Corp. ushered in Virginia Rometty as the company's first-ever female CEO on Tuesday, as Sam Palmisano stepped down from the position. Palmisano, who turned 60 this year, has been CEO for nearly a decade. He will stay on as chairman. Virginia "Ginni" Rometty, 54, is in charge of IBM's sales and marketing, and has long been whispered about by industry watchers as Palmisano...
Regulator set to order Lone Star to sell KEB stake

Oct 25, 2011

South Korea's financial regulator is expected to order Lone Star Funds to sell the bulk of its stake in Korea Exchange Bank after the U.S. buyout firm said it cannot meet the requirements as the major shareholder of the fifth-largest lender, watchers said Tuesday. Lone Star reported to the Financial Services Commission on Monday, the last day of a one-week deadline, that it cannot find a way to ...
Samsung, LG showcase new products in Iraq show

IndustryOct 25, 2011

Two local electronics giants said Tuesday they are taking part in the four-day trade show in Iraq until Thursday to display their cutting-edge technologies in the Middle East. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics said they have set up booths at the Erbil International Fair, which is the largest trade show in Iraq, participated by about 850 global firms. Their lineup of smartphones, 3D televisi...
Department stores charge small vendors double

IndustryOct 25, 2011

The Fair Trade Commission said Tuesday that smaller vendors pay almost 32 percent of their profits as commission fees for using the floor space of three major department stores. The antitrust regulator over the past two weeks surveyed 73 small- and medium-sized companies that supply products to Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai department stores. Shirt and tie vendors were found to have paid the hig...
Korea to closely monitor impact of China slowdown

Oct 25, 2011

South Korea will keep tabs on the potential fallout from a slowdown in the Chinese economy, although the world’s No. 2 economy is likely to make a soft landing despite some downside risks, officials here said Tuesday. The consensus was reached during a monthly policy consultation meeting between the finance ministry and the Bank of Korea earlier in the day in Seoul. The meeting was attended by V...
Regulator poised to order Lone Star to sell KEB stake

Oct 25, 2011

South Korea’s financial regulator is expected to order Lone Star Funds to sell the bulk of its stake in Korea Exchange Bank after the U.S. buyout firm said it cannot meet the requirements as the major shareholder of the fifth-largest lender, watchers said Tuesday. Lone Star reported to the Financial Services Commission on Monday, the last day of a one-week deadline, that it cannot find a way to ...
SC First Bank reopens more branches after labor strike

Oct 25, 2011

SC First Bank, the South Korea unit of Standard Chartered Plc, said Tuesday that it has reopened a total of 27 branches that had been temporarily closed due to a labor strike over the introduction of a merit pay system. SC First Bank has resumed operations at 27 of the 42 shuttered branches, a bank spokeswoman said. But there is no timetable for reopening the other branches and developments wil...