The Korea Herald

Seoul sets up coordinator for arms exports

IndustrySept 5, 2011

The government on Monday unveiled a new planning body for the country’s growing defense industry to boost exports of military equipment and speed up the regulatory process.South Korea’s defense and economy ministries joined forces to craft the Defense Industry Development Council, which originated f
12 savings banks on close watch list

Sept 5, 2011

FSS warns that the banks may be subject to business suspensionAt least 10 savings banks have been on the close watch list of financial regulators for their poor financial statements, officials said Monday.As a “prior warning” to the industry, the Financial Supervisory Service has reportedly informed
Foreign investors dump W6tr of shares in Aug.

Sept 5, 2011

Foreign investors dumped nearly 6 trillion won ($5.6 billion) worth of South Korean stocks in August amid the first-ever U.S. credit cut rating and continued fears of Europe’s debt crisis, the financial regulator said Monday.Overseas investors sold a net 5.9 trillion won of local equities in August,
AhnLab shares sparkle as founder mulls mayoral bid

IndustrySept 5, 2011

Shares of AhnLab, the country’s best-known internet security solutions provider, jumped by the daily limit of 15 percent for a second day after its founder Ahn Cheoul-soo said he is mulling a mayoral bid.AhnLab shares soared 14.95 percent from Friday’s close as investors flocked to bet on the likeli
Salt prices increase to 30-year record

IndustrySept 5, 2011

Salt prices surged 42.8 percent in August from a year earlier, the highest growth since 1981, government data showed Monday.According to Statistics Korea, salt prices have increased for eight consecutive months this year. In August the prices jumped 13.6 percent from July. Fears over the potential r
FSS seeks insurance globalization

Sept 5, 2011

500 officials in 70 nations to attend global regulatory meetingAbout 500 regulatory officials and CEOs in the insurance industry from 70 nations are set to attend one of the world’s three major financial supervisory meetings, slated for later this month in Korea.The 18th annual conference of the Int
Shinsegae to build mammoth shopping mall

IndustrySept 5, 2011

Shinsegae Group said Monday it will build a multiplex shopping mall in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, by 2015 in a partnership with a U.S.-based developer Taubman Centers. Located at a 117,000-square-meter site in Hanam, one of Seoul’s satellite cities, Hanam Union Square will be the largest shopping mal
Eyes turn to ‘passive’ 3-D display technology

IndustrySept 5, 2011

Easier, cheaper 3-D glasses to attract greater number of consumersBERLIN ― The launch of 3-D televisions is nothing new to the industry. In fact, the products dominated last year’s global electronics trade show IFA.The industry, however, is eying the future development of passive 3-D technology, als
Murdoch turns down $6m bonus over hacking

World BusinessSept 5, 2011

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― News Corp.’s 38-year-old heir apparent, James Murdoch, says he’s declining his $6 million bonus for the past fiscal year because of the phone hacking scandal at the British tabloid he oversaw as an executive.Even without the bonus, he was awarded a pay package totaling $11.5 milli
Chinese students join Taiwan universities despite strict rules

World NewsSept 5, 2011

About 1,000 Chinese students are joining their Taiwanese counterparts at college campuses here today, as the new academic year starts.They are the first mainlanders to study here as full-time degree students under a new initiative that the Taiwanese authorities hope will boost cross-strait understan
Aquino performance hampers growth in Philippines

Sept 5, 2011

Administration’s under-spending on infrastructure blamed for slower economic growthLess optimistic than most assessments tracking the slump of Philippine economic growth since President Benigno Aquino took office in July last year, Credit Suisse, the Swiss financial services firm, has downgraded its
[Editorial] Ahn Chul-soo candidacy

EditorialSept 5, 2011

Ahn Chul-soo’s candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election late in October is getting closer to reality day by day despite his ambivalence, alerting both ruling and opposition parties. Close associates of the 49-year-old software businessman-cum-social critic say his running for Seoul mayor is “90 p
[Editorial] Park Geun-hye’s essay

EditorialSept 5, 2011

Park Geun-hye contributed an article to the September-October edition of Foreign Affairs, the New York-based international affairs magazine, to discuss how to achieve genuine peace on the Korean Peninsula. In the 2,250-word article, the frontrunner on the 2012 presidential race said Seoul must be mo
Inflation as solution for the U.S.? No, thank you

ViewpointsSept 5, 2011

We just endured and survived a major political crisis over the possibility that the U.S. government might default on its debts. Most people ― other than a few high-stakes poker players on the right wing of the Republican Party ― agreed that this would be a terrible thing. But now, a growing number o
[David Ignatius] David Petraeus’ CIA challenge

ViewpointsSept 5, 2011

WASHINGTON ― In taking over as CIA director this week, David Petraeus will confront a tricky problem: CIA analysts who will be working for him concluded in a recent assessment that the war in Afghanistan is heading toward a “stalemate” ― a view with which Petraeus disagrees. The analysts made t