The Korea Herald

Seoul shares open higher on eased European woes

Oct 7, 2011

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street underpinned by a European Central Bank (ECB) plan to support the region's struggling lenders, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 49.68 points,
Samsung puts Q3 operating profit at 4.2 trillion won

IndustryOct 7, 2011

SEOUL (Yonhap News) -- Samsung Electronics Co., the world's biggest maker of computer memory chips and the No. 2 mobile-phone maker, estimated Friday that it had logged an operating profit of 4.2 trillion won ($3.49 billion) in the third quarter.The preliminary estimate for the July-September period
Obama challenges GOP senators: Vote for jobs bill

World NewsOct 7, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama defiantly challenged lawmakers Thursday to vote for his jobs plan or explain why not. "This is not a game," he declared.In keeping with the sharp new tone the president has adopted against Republicans, he challenged them to support him or spell out what
Yu Jung-geun nominated as first female leader of Red Cross

PeopleOct 6, 2011

The Korean Red Cross on Thursday said that it has nominated Yu Jung-keun as its next president.Yu, 66, has been vice president of the organization since January.If confirmed by President Lee Myung-bak, Yu will be the first woman president in the Korean Red Cross’ 62-year history. Yu Jung-keun“Yu was
‘Creative Korea’ is the future

Arts&DesignOct 6, 2011

“Creative Korea is a slogan that I have thought of for the future of Korea,” said Kim Young-se, who is regarded as a rock star of design in Korea.Speaking with The Korea Herald at iDEA Herald Design Forum in Seoul on Thursday, chief of Inno Design Kim said that the conference had a deeper meaning th
[Editorial] R&D efficiency

EditorialOct 6, 2011

In recent years, Korea’s R&D investment by both public and private sectors has increased sharply. The incumbent government has been keen to boost R&D spending under the so-called “Science and Technology 577 Plan,” which calls for increasing the nation’s R&D investment to 5 percent of GDP by 2012 and
[Editorial] Boost for software industry

EditorialOct 6, 2011

Lee Suk-chae, chairman of KT Corp., one of Korea’s leading telecom operators, has recently surprised domestic software developers by announcing that it will reform its predatory software procurement practices. His reform initiative deserves attention as it could revitalize the domestic software indu
[Trudy Rubin] As world turned, we became our own worst enemies

ViewpointsOct 6, 2011

These days, any assessment of American foreign policy seems to circle back to whether we can get our act together at home.This country cannot command respect overseas when its domestic politicians act like irresponsible children. The world looks agog at our paralyzed Congress. A sagging superpower u
[Ban Ki-moon] The power to terminate poverty

ViewpointsOct 6, 2011

NEW YORK ― Growing up as a child during the Korean War, I knew poverty first hand. I saw it around me every day; I lived it. One of my earliest memories is walking up a muddy track into the mountains to escape the fighting, my village burning behind me and wondering what would happen to my family an
Tiny Qatar’s big plans may change U.S. policy

ViewpointsOct 6, 2011

Qatar, a country of fewer than 2 million people set on a peninsula smaller than Connecticut, seems an unlikely candidate to become a regional power. Yet with little fanfare and less warning, tiny Qatar has emerged as one of the Middle East’s most influential states. As the U.S. struggles to understa
[Naomi Wolf ] The worst places in the world to be a woman

ViewpointsOct 6, 2011

OXFORD ― The top and the bottom of the list of countries in Newsweek’s recent cover story, “The 2011 Global Women’s Progress Report,” evoke images of two different worlds. At the top of the list ― the “Best Places to be a Woman” ― we see the usual suspects: Iceland and the Scandinavian countrie
[Shlomo Ben Ami] Has Palestine won battle at U.N.?

ViewpointsOct 6, 2011

TEL AVIV ― The somber spectacle of Israel’s isolation during the United Nations debate on Palestinian statehood marks the political tsunami that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s critics warned would arrive if Israel did not propose a bold peace initiative. But, more importantly, the speeches at t
Artists talk how their designs changed the world

Oct 6, 2011

The third session of Herald Design Forum 2011, “Culture and Design,” kicked off with a keynote speech by Chung Joon-mo, curator and general director of the Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2011. He discussed the roles of curators and critics, and the role of art museums, galleries and exhibitio
FSC to order Lone Star to sell KEB shares

Oct 6, 2011

(Yonhap News)Regulator says sale terms will be decided laterThe Financial Services Commission said Thursday that it is considering ordering Lone Star Funds to sell 41.02 percent of its total 51.02 percent stake in Korea Exchange Bank.The regulator’s policy comes shortly after the Seoul High Court ru
Brain disease treatment through technology

HealthOct 6, 2011

We live in an era of technology innovation when many things only seen before in science fiction come true. Treatment of brain disease by delivering electrical pulses through an implanted device is one of those examples.Currently its application in clinical medicine, so-called neuromodulation, is bec