The Korea Herald

7.2 quake in Turkey kills 138, collapses buildings

World NewsOct 23, 2011

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) _ Cries of panic and horror filled the air as a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, killing at least 138 people as buildings pancaked and crumpled into rubble. The death toll was expected to rise as rescuers sifted through the rubble and reached outlying villages.Tens
BOK chief hints at rate hike

Oct 23, 2011

South Korea’s central bank will resume its efforts to raise the interest rate if a set of external economic uncertainties are reduced, its chief has said.Bank of Korea policymakers face a dilemma in how to deal with lingering inflation concerns and heightened economic uncertainty sparked by dimmer g
BJFEZ gains key momentum

Oct 23, 2011

Operation of the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone is gaining momentum, aided by the Korean operations of prominent foreign organizations based in the special economic zone.On Oct. 17, Tsubakimoto Automotive Korea’s plant in the zone was completed. The plant will produce timing chains used in automobile engines for Hyundai Motor Group’s two carmakers, and the company plans to increase the number to 107 by 2014 from the current 45. According to BJFEZ Authority, the Tsubakimoto Chain Co-owned plant
Korea to see price rises outpace economic growth

Oct 23, 2011

Korea’s economic growth rate is forecast at far below the estimated inflation gain this year, data showed on Sunday, raising fears that the country might be entering an era of a chronically slow growth. According to the data by the Korea Center of International Finance, 10 foreign investment banks p
Import car sales to top 100,000 units in 2011

TransportOct 23, 2011

The nation’s automobile market is set to mark an epoch-making figure in import vehicle sales this year as more foreign companies’ expand their marketing and businesses here.Apart from the big four ― BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Audi, new competitive players such as Nissan and Jaguar/Land Rover
Hotel Skypark looks beyond Toyoko Inn

Oct 23, 2011

Newcomer aims to become Korea’s tourism-focused business hotel chainChoi Young-jae still reminisces about his days in the ‘90s as a sports reporter at a local daily, struggling to find an affordable place to stay when he traveled other parts of the country.That is exactly what has dragged the 53-year-old journalist-turned-entrepreneur into the hospitality industry, launching Hotel Skypark in Myeongdong, downtown Seoul last year.“I thought we could penetrate a niche market for those who feel bur
Golfer Choi Kyoung-ju wins own tournament on home soil

GolfOct 23, 2011

Choi Kyoung-ju claimed his own tournament on home soil Sunday, taking the inaugural the CJ Invitational Hosted by K.J. Choi with a final round comeback. Choi shot a five-under 67 in the final round at Haesley Nine Bridges in Yeoju, about 105 kilometers south of Seoul, for a
SK Wyverns advance to championship series in S. Korean baseball

BaseballOct 23, 2011

BUSAN (Yonhap) -- The SK Wyverns defeated the Lotte Giants 8-4 in the deciding fifth game of the second round of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) playoff on Sunday, reaching the championship Korean Series for a record fifth straight year. At the Giants' home Sajik Stadi
Global ban on exports of toxic waste advances

World BusinessOct 23, 2011

CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) ― More than 170 countries agreed Friday to accelerate adoption of a global ban on the export of hazardous wastes, including old electronics, to developing countries.The environmental group Basel Action Network called the deal, which was brokered by Switzerland and Indonesia,
Fired Olympus CEO dismisses internal probe

World BusinessOct 23, 2011

LONDON (AP) ― The ousted chief executive of Japan’s Olympus Corp. says the company isn’t doing enough to investigate a massive $687 million payment to mysterious financial advisers as part of a takeover.The camera and medical device maker says outside lawyers and accountants will be part of what it
Google mulling role in possible bid for Yahoo

World BusinessOct 23, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― Google is exploring the possibility of helping to finance a possible deal by others to acquire Internet search company Yahoo, according to a report published by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday.Google Inc. has talked to at least two-private equity firms about potentially assisting
Japan to take ‘decisive action’ against yen’s rise

World BusinessOct 23, 2011

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan’s finance minister vowed to take “decisive action” against speculative moves in currency markets after the yen hit a record high against the dollar, Kyodo news agency reported.The dollar touched 75.78 yen in New York on Friday, breaking its record low of 75.95 yen on Aug. 19 as y
Pole who spirited Jewish woman from Auschwitz dies

World NewsOct 23, 2011

WARSAW (AP) ― The young Catholic man spirited his Jewish girlfriend out of Auschwitz in 1944, saving her life. Yet it took 39 years for them to see each other again.Jerzy Bielecki, a German-speaking Polish inmate at the same Nazi death camp, lived to age 90 and died peacefully in his sleep Thursday
Wheldon remembered as a ‘champion of our sport’

World NewsOct 23, 2011

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) ― Of all the indelible moments from Dan Wheldon’s public memorial service ― fellow IndyCar drivers Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan serving as pallbearers, his father carrying his racing helmet and country music star Wynonna Judd singing two gripping songs ―
LG co-founder Koo Doo-hwoi dies

PeopleOct 23, 2011

Koo Doo-hwoiKoo Doo-hwoi, LG Group’s co-founder and honorary chairman of city gas supplier Yesco, died from chronic diseases at the age of 83 on Friday.Borned in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, in 1928, he graduated from Korea University in 1955 and received his master’s degree in business at New