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S. Korea, U.S. to stage drill for WMD removal

DefenseAug 7, 2011

South Korea and the U.S. will form a joint taskforce to practice detecting and eliminating North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction during the upcoming annual joint military exercise later this month, a government official said Sunday. “The allies will form the joint taskforce and conduct virtual and actual drills during the Ulchi Freedom Guardian scheduled to take place from Aug. 16-29,” the o...
Controversy over Jeju naval base mounts

DefenseAug 7, 2011

Opponents call for halt to plan; ministry vows to push for its construction Controversy over the ongoing project to build a strategic naval base on Jeju Island is escalating as opponents vehemently call for its suspension while the Defense Ministry vows to push ahead with its construction. Since Gangjeong Village in Seogwipo of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province was designated as the site of ...
Free meals poll sets up left-right clash

PoliticsAug 7, 2011

Free school lunch vote to set tone for welfare policy, impact Seoul mayor’s political future The Seoul Metropolitan Government’s announcement last week that it will hold a referendum on Aug. 24 on how much to expand its free school lunch program has signaled the start of a fierce campaign. In the vote requested by conservative civic activists trying to invalidate a Seoul City Council ordinance ...
A portrait of Korea’s aging population

Social affairsAug 7, 2011

Korea’s elderly population grew by 24 percent in the five years from 2005 while the country’s younger population decreased by 13 percent in the same period, the nation’s census showed. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in the Korea report of its 2007 Economic Surveys that Korea faces “exceptionally rapid population aging” and that it needs to address social-economic ...
Impact of U.S. downgrade uncertain

World BusinessAug 7, 2011

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Given the size of the U.S. economy and the preeminent role of the dollar worldwide, the cut to Washington’s credit rating ought to spill over throughout the global economy. But for the same reason ― that the dollar and U.S. debt are so widely held and relied on in finance and trade ― many analysts think the impact will not be too heavy, at least in the short run. Standard & P...
ESTsoft’s involvement with hacker attack sparks dispute

TechnologyAug 7, 2011

A massive hacking incident that hammered SK Communications, which runs popular social network site Cyworld and the third-ranked portal Nate.com, is now exposing additional security loopholes at other IT companies. Police said the ESTsoft server might have been used by a hacker who stole the personal information of SK’s 35 million users. ESTsoft is none other than a security solution provider whi...
Suggested pricing to prompt hikes for food products

IndustryAug 7, 2011

Further price increases for some processed food products appear unavoidable with the revival of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price from this month, industry sources said Sunday. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy announced in June that food products such as instant noodles, snacks and ice cream will no longer be listed for the current “open-price policy” starting in August. Suggested pric...
Gloomy outlook gripping investors, policymakers

Aug 7, 2011

Fears of a new financial crisis stoked by last week’s market turmoil For South Korea, where memories of two major financial upheavals in the late 1990s and 2008 are fresh, the dramatic nosedive of the Seoul bourse on Friday raised investor fears of a third financial crisis. The pattern was eerily familiar. The rout on Wall Street on Thursday led to a steep fall in Korean shares the next day. Th...
Won poised to weaken amid risk aversion: analysts

Aug 7, 2011

The Korean won is poised to weaken further against the greenback this week over the risk of economic slowdown in the U.S., analysts said. The won dropped lower against the U.S. dollar in the past week after Washington avoided a partial debt default, averaging a 4.23 won loss each day from Aug. 2 onwards. It traded down 0.53 percent against the dollar on Friday and closed at 1,067.4, after fallin...
Seoul stocks hit hardest among big Asian markets

Aug 7, 2011

Korean banks see risks grow to eight-month high Korea has seen its stocks plummet the most among major Asian markets over the past four days after the U.S. and European fiscal woes hit the global markets. The KOSPI tumbled by 10.5 percent last week, posting the sole double-digit fall among the major indices of Japan, China and Taiwan. After closing at 2,172.31 last Monday, the KOSPI continued ...
Import cars to grab 10% of Korean market by 2012

TransportAug 7, 2011

Foreign carmakers are expected to capture 10 percent of Korea’s automobile market in about a year after they saw the market share surpass 1 percent for the first time in 2002. Buoyed by active sales of smaller sized sedans among newcomers such as Peugeot and Honda Motor in early 2000s, import vehicles’ combined market share continued to grow to top 5 percent in 2007. Over the past one year, for...
Toyota struggles with iQ as Kia’s Soul soars

TransportAug 7, 2011

Toyota Motor Corp.’s Scion brand, created in 2003 to attract young buyers with quirky cars and low prices, is trying to revive flagging sales with the tiny iQ. Scion is in need of a revival: Sales have fallen for four straight years, sliding 74 percent from a 2006 peak of 173,034. While deliveries of xB wagons, xD hatchbacks and tC coupes rose 27 percent in the first half, they totaled only 26,6...
M.K. International explores Africa, emerging markets

World NewsAug 7, 2011

“We need to set up long-term strategic planning. Continuing to push the activities and keeping patient are the key words to develop stronger but successful relations with Africa. Selective business and concentration is essential to achieve the goals of African business in public and private sectors,” Dr. Jung Hae-jung, the President of M.K. International Inc. has dared to mention. M.K. has been ...
Cte d’Ivoire celebrates independence anniversary

World NewsAug 7, 2011

The Republic of Cte d’Ivoire celebrated its 51st national day on Sunday. In South Korea, the event will to be marked by a reception given by his Excellency EKRA Kouassi Florent, Ambassador of Cte d’Ivoire on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Lotte Hotel in Seoul. Business environment Being one of the key countries of West Africa, Cte d’Ivoire has several assets favorable for investments such as: •An abun...
S&P defends U.S. downgrade

World BusinessAug 7, 2011

Rating agency says U.S. debt woes likely to continue WASHINGTON (AP) ― Standard & Poor’s says it downgraded the U.S. government’s credit rating because it believes the U.S. will keep having problems getting its finances under control. S&P officials on Saturday defended their decision to drop the government’s rating to “AA+” from the top rating, “AAA.” The Obama administration called the move a ...