Korando C wins Dutch motor race

Ssangyong Motor Co. said Friday its flagship sports utility vehicle, the Korando C, has won the ScanCovery Trial 2012 held in the Netherlands, demonstrating its high driving performance.The team Voorthuizen, arranged by Ssangyong Motor’s official Dutch dealer Ssangyong Benelux, finished first to beat some 60 rival teams, which drove popular models by companies such as Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, the company said.In the competition, all cars were required to race the 7,000 kilometer course from the

MobilityJan. 20, 2012

Hyosung promotes third son

Hyosung Group promoted chairman Cho S.R.’s third son Cho Hyun-sang to executive vice president in its latest annual management overhaul, the group said on Friday.The younger Cho, in charge of corporate strategy and trade of industrial materials, is the only son promoted this year among the senior Cho’s three sons involved in running the group’s units. The move brings the group’s third-generation management closer to a possible splitting of its units for the second time since it was founded in195

IndustryJan. 20, 2012

Offshore plants, LNG ships may save Korean shipbuilders in 2012

Decline in new orders for bulk carriers, tankers to hurt medium-sized shipbuildersThe shipbuilding sector will be hit hard this year as financially squeezed European ship owners are expected to cut back or cancel orders amid the eurozone debt crisis.Shipbuilding market research firm Clarksons said this year’s orders would shrink by 9.7 percent compared to last year due to concerns that the European financial woes will spread and other global uncertainties. The impact will vary, however, between

IndustryJan. 20, 2012

Europe, oil may hit Korean exports

A toxic mix of eurozone News ANALYSIS crisis and rising oil prices likely to hurt Korean economyKorea’s policymakers are headed for their hometowns during the Lunar New Year holiday with an assortment of concerns about the domestic economy. The biggest concern is the negative outlook over the country’s exports, which may be faltering faster than expected. For export-dependent Korea, this is an unsettling development, especially at a time when other external factors such as the eurozone debt woes

Jan. 20, 2012

Officials to discuss sale of Woori Finance this month

Low stock prices of the financial group could be hurdle for speeding up privatizationPolicymakers will hold their first official meeting of this year at the end of this month to revitalize the government’s stalled project to privatize Woori Financial Group.Newly formed members of the Public Fund Oversight Committee are scheduled to have a workshop on the state-controlled Woori Financial sale plan this month, according to government officials.The six members of the PFOC, under the wing of the Fi

Jan. 20, 2012

Controversy rekindled over cap on chaebol investment

Controversy over the revival of an old law to limit conglomerates’ equity investment has resurfaced after Rep. Park Geun-hye, a major presidential hopeful from the ruling camp, hinted Thursday at toughening regulations. “We will seek to tighten the regulation over their growth with mergers and acquisitions through excessive equity investing,” said Park, who is serving as chairwoman of the ruling Grand National Party’s emergency council. “Large companies may be the country’s growth engines, but m

IndustryJan. 20, 2012

Samsung loses first German case against Apple

Samsung Electronics Co. lost a patent infringement suit against rival Apple Inc. on Friday at a court in Mannheim, Germany. Attendees walk past Samsung signage during the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. The 2012 CES trade sh

IndustryJan. 20, 2012

Samsung sells 5 million Galaxy S2s in Korea

Samsung Electronics said Thursday that the company has sold up to 5 million units of its flagship smartphone Galaxy S2 in Korea.It is the first time that a single smartphone model has reached the 5 million mark in sales in the country, according to Samsung officials.  This also indicates that one out of every four smartphone owners here is using the Galaxy S2, considering that there are about 20 million smartphone users in Korea, its officials said.As a result, Samsung recorded a 53 percent mark

IndustryJan. 19, 2012

U.S. obesity epidemic shows no hint of shrinking

CHICAGO (AP) ― America’s obesity epidemic is proving to be as stubborn as those maddening love handles, and shows no sign of reversing course. More than one-third of adults and almost 17 percent of children were obese in 2009-2010, echoing results since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.“It’s good that we didn’t see increases. On the other hand, we didn’t see any decreases in any group,” said CDC researcher Cynthia Ogden.Early in the decade, slight increases w

TechnologyJan. 19, 2012

Marathoners show low heart incident risk

NEW YORK (AP) ― It’s dramatic news when a marathon runner collapses with no pulse. Now a big study finds such calamities are rare and usually due to a pre-existing heart problem.The study also found such incidents are increasing as more runners try to go the distance.“You hear about this more and more,” said Dr. Aaron Baggish, senior author of the study.Baggish, who runs a program for athletes with heart issues at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-authors present their analysis in Thursday’

TechnologyJan. 19, 2012

Panic disorder

Case vignette: “When returning home, I suddenly had a cold sweat, felt dizzy, felt my heart tighten and felt like I could die. Also, I felt like I had difficulty breathing. Also, I not only had numbness in my hands and feet but also felt my heart beating. This was intolerable. I was very nervous that such things would happen again.” An office worker, Mr. K, experienced a sudden onset of the above symptoms. Now he is worried that he will again have a sudden onset of panic symptoms that are both f

TechnologyJan. 19, 2012

Three steps to deal with strokes

Strokes remain one of the biggest causes of death in Korea, and signs of onset are vagueAs Korea continues to become an aging society, more attention should be placed on the possibility of and risk factors leading to strokes, since they are more common among the elderly.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, cerebral diseases were the No. 2 cause of death among Koreans in 2008, with 73.6 deaths per 100,000 people. Among cerebral diseases, strokes are the single largest cause of death,

TechnologyJan. 19, 2012

KRX to accelerate overseas expansion

CEO discusses 2012 strategy, cross trading with Japanese exchange,corporate reforms and CSRKorea Exchange will accelerate its expansion into overseas markets this year, providing stock market solutions to strategic partners in Asia and elsewhere, its chief said. “Korea Exchange has formed solid partnerships with Southeast Asian countries by offering its market solutions, and is already making progress in central Asia, as well,” Kim Bong-soo, chairman and CEO of the KRX, told The Korea Herald. “

Jan. 19, 2012

E-Land buys two major Saipan resorts

E-Land Group acquired two major resorts in Saipan, expanding its international corporate hunt from fashion brands to resorts. The Korean apparel and retail company signed a deal to acquire Pacific Islands Club Saipan and Palms Resort Saipan, but declined to disclose the purchasing prices, citing a confidentiality agreement.“We cannot talk about the details such as price under a provision on confidentiality,” an E-Land official said.Run by PIC, a subsidiary of InterPacific Group, PIC Saipan is po

IndustryJan. 19, 2012