The Korea Herald

Korean builders to spend $500,000 in Libyan aid

IndustryAug 30, 2011

Korea’s 16 construction firms on Tuesday unveiled a plan to provide $500,000 worth of humanitarian aid to Libya’s new leaders, joining the government’s efforts to step up economic and diplomatic ties.The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs named Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Da
Hana Financial sees growth with soundness

Aug 30, 2011

In the years since the 2008 global financial crisis, Hana Financial Group has been successful in attaining qualitative growth and asset soundness at home and abroad over the past few years.A variety of indices show that the nation’s fourth-largest financial group has made headway in its move to crea
Firms’ loan growth hits near-2-year high in Q2

IndustryAug 30, 2011

South Korean financial firms’ corporate loans grew at the fastest pace in nearly two years in the second quarter as the economic recovery continued, the central bank said Tuesday.Corporate lending extended by banks and non-bank institutions stood at 746.5 trillion won ($695.1 billion) as of the end
Questions arise over loan controls

Aug 30, 2011

Skepticism emerges on real role of financial authoritiesTop financial regulators’ move to curb the growth of household lending in the banking sector doesn’t appear to have gained widespread support, even among ordinary regulatory officials.Financial Services Commission chairman Kim Seok-dong has rep
IFA 2011 to feature new wireless gadgets, 3-D TVs

TechnologyAug 30, 2011

Samsung plans to unveil new Bada phones; LG readies smart 3-D TVs with new contentLocal firms are preparing to showcase a wide range of wireless gadgets as well as 3-D TVs for the global trade show IFA which is scheduled to be held from Sept. 2-7 in Berlin.LG Electronics, which is expected to concen
U.K. biz confidence plunges to lowest

World NewsAug 30, 2011

U.K. business confidence in the economic outlook plunged this month to its lowest level since the depths of the recession in 2009, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets said. An index of British companies’ optimism about the economy compared with three months earlier dropped to minus 3 from 19 in July, when
Japan’s jobless rate climbs to 4.7% in July

World BusinessAug 30, 2011

TOKYO (AP) ― Japan’s jobless rate rose for the second straight month in July while household spending fell, the government said Tuesday.The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbed to 4.7 percent in July, edging up from 4.6 percent in June. People search job listings on computers at Ikebukuro H
Is Park Jin-young planning to make big screen debut?

FilmAug 30, 2011

Park Jin-young, South Korean music mogul, may take a leading role in a movie. JYP Entertainment, Park’s agency, said on Monday that he is in talks to star in the film “Five Million Dollar Man.” Park is a singer-song writer and producer, as well as founder and head of JYPE, one of the top three Korea
New POSTECH president receives Morlock Award

PeopleAug 30, 2011

By Bae Ji-sookKim Yong-min (By Bae Ji-sook)Kim Yong-min, president-to-be of POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology), has been honored with the 2011 William J. Morlock Award given by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society
SKC chief Choi vows to create ‘sharing culture’

PeopleAug 30, 2011

SKC chairman Choi Shin-won pledged to breathe new life into “sharing culture” in Gyeonggi Province as he takes office as new chairman of the Community Chest of Korea’s regional unit.In an inaugural address last week, Choi said he plans to lay out creative fundraising projects and make best efforts t
German city introduces 'parking meter' for street prostitutes

Aug 30, 2011

Bonn, Germany (dpa) -- The German city of Bonn introduced a parking meter for prostitutes Monday, requiring street sex workers to pay 6euros (8.60 dollars) in tax per night to carry on their trade.Bonn is the first German city to introduce the meter system. It already taxes women working in brothels
SNU professor awarded for anti-cancer study

TelevisionAug 30, 2011

Baek Sung-hee, professor of biological science at Seoul National University, was on Tuesday awarded the Korea L’Oreal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Life Science in recognition of her study of cancer. Baek Sung-heeThe award, jointly given by the France-based beauty company’s Korean branch, UN
[Hans-Werner Sinn] The trouble with eurobonds

ViewpointsAug 30, 2011

MUNICH ― German Chancellor Angela Merkel has withstood the pressure from southern Europe: there will be no eurobonds. For the markets, this is a disappointment, but there is no other way for these countries to rebuild themselves than to insist patiently on a phase of debt discipline and an end to la
[William Pesek] Steve Jobs trumps CEO of $5 trillion economy

ViewpointsAug 30, 2011

Things are bad when a world leader quitting registers less than a corporate executive. That’s what Naoto Kan gets for bowing out the same week as Steve Jobs. Markets reacted immediately to news of Jobs’s departure from Apple Inc.; there was barely a ripple after Kan cashed out and paved the way for
[Editorial] Jeju naval base

EditorialAug 30, 2011

The Jeju district court issued an injunction Monday to stop obstructions by radical activists and residents against the construction work for a naval base at Gangjeong on the southern coast of Jeju Island. However, the court ruling did not totally prohibit opposition activities around the constructi