The Korea Herald

Electronic ‘tattoo’ may offer new flexible way to monitor brain, heart

ScienceAug 12, 2011

Weightless, skin-like bandages with microelectronic components may one day replace the bulky monitors and electrode patches now used in hospitals to monitor patients’ vital signs, researchers said.Weightless, skin-like bandages with microelectronic components may one day replace the bulky monitors a
S. Korea returns four N. Koreans found drifting

NationalAug 12, 2011

South Korea on Friday returned home all four North Korean fishermen rescued near the Yellow Sea border a day earlier, the Seoul government said.The four were found drifting aboard two small sinking boats Thursday in waters about 6 kilometers south of the western maritime border near the South Korean
Taxi black boxes protect drivers but invade privacy

Aug 12, 2011

Local authorities and taxi operators have eagerly adopted event data recorders, commonly known as black boxes, to protect drivers involved in accidents.However, increasingly common use of such devices in taxis has also given rise to privacy issues. While automobiles are becoming increasingly tech-he
Korea considers options to stem stock volatility

Aug 12, 2011

South Korea’s financial authorities said Friday they were weighing options to stem stock market volatility in response to growing concerns over foreign “hot money” that allegedly exaggerates the market’s moves. The local regulators’ latest gesture to stabilize the local stock market came after they
Seoul mayor drops presidential bid

Social affairsAug 12, 2011

Oh plans to focus on free-lunch referendum, says won’t link outcome to his mayoral positionSeoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Friday that he would not run in next year’s presidential election regardless of the outcome of the upcoming referendum on free school lunches. His move dismissed opponents’ claims t
Convicted draft dodgers to be forced to join military

DefenseAug 12, 2011

Those who have served jail time for using deception to avoid military service will still have to join the armed services under a tougher conscription rule to take effect next year, the military recruitment agency said Friday.Also starting from next year, the military will no longer randomly select r
Top prosecutor vows to stamp out pro-North organizations

PoliticsAug 12, 2011

New Prosecutor-General Han Sang-dae on Friday vowed to stamp out corruption and pro-North Korea left-wingers as he took office at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul.He also stressed the need to fight against complacency and irresponsibility within the prosecution to shore up public trust that
Navy rescues 7 N. Koreans from three stray boats

PoliticsAug 12, 2011

The South Korean military on Thursday night rescued seven North Koreans from three boats that had apparently strayed into southern waters across the western inter-Korean sea border, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday.Two of the vessels sank near Baengnyeongdo, one of the five northwestern border
Seoul pushes for 17% drug price cut

PoliticsAug 12, 2011

Ministry to reduce caps on prices of out-of-patent pharmaceuticalsThe government on Friday unveiled a set of plans to cut generic drug prices by up to 33 percent starting next year, prompting fierce protests from pharmaceutical companies.The new measures will bring down the prices of some 8,776 of t
Parliamentary probe of savings banks fizzles out

PoliticsAug 12, 2011

An ad-hoc parliamentary committee ended its 45-day probe on Friday into an influence-peddling scandal involving savings banks amid criticism that it failed to get to the bottom of the scandal.The rival parties launched the committee in late June amid a public outcry over corruption at a series of tr
U.N. chief vows to tackle climate change, economic crisis

PoliticsAug 12, 2011

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday renewed his pledge to “lead by example” with great determination to help the world body tackle a set of new global challenges from climate change and economic upheaval to pandemics.Ban is in Seoul for a six-day official visit to his native South Korea, the first trip
‘Turkey hopes to sign FTA with Korea by yearend’

IndustryAug 12, 2011

Turkey’s Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said Friday his country hopes to sign the free trade agreement with Korea on product trading by the end of this year.“We have had our differences regarding product trading in the past, but it seems the issues have been taken care of in various aspects and the
Seoul slams ‘biased’ foreign reports on Korea

Aug 12, 2011

South Korea’s top financial regulator on Friday slammed “biased” analyst reports on the country by foreign brokerages and asked them to “properly” inform the market of the economy’s resilience.“A few foreign securities companies have released reports that made arbitrary judgments about the Korean ec
Samsung, Hynix confront plunging chip prices

TechnologyAug 12, 2011

Lee Kun-hee speculated to focus on faltering memory spot businessSamsung Electronics Co., the world’s biggest memory chip maker, and eighth-ranked Hynix Semiconductor Inc. are bracing for a steeper price plunge in memory chip prices. Nomura Securities issued a report Friday that the majority of chip
Seoul shares drop 1.33% on foreign selling

Aug 12, 2011

South Korean stocks closed 1.33 percent lower Friday on continued foreign selling as rosy U.S. jobs data failed to boost weak investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slumped 24.13 points to 1,