The Korea Herald

Shinhan Financial mulls M&A ...in securities, insurance sector

Jun 30, 2011

Shinhan Financial Group is considering taking over at least one financial company in the stock brokerage and insurance market in the coming months or years.Chairman Han Dong-woo, who took office 100 days ago, unveiled the group’s future strategies, including the mergers and acquisitions project during a news conference in Seoul on Thursday.“It is necessary for us to seek opportunities to expand th
FTA: EU and Korea trade and investment moves into top gear

Jun 30, 2011

EU Ambassador Tomasz Kozlowski speaks during a news conference on Thursday. (Yonhap News)On July 1 a historic Free Trade Agreement will come into effect between two important actors on the world trade scene: the EU and Korea. The EU-Korea FTA is a landmark agreement. It is the most ambitious ever FTA negotiated by the EU with a partner outside Europe and the first FTA with a country in Asia. The E
Greece passes cuts as riots seize capital

World BusinessJun 30, 2011

Parliament backs austerity measures, but protests against bill turn violentATHENS (AP) ― Greece fended off a bankruptcy that threatened to roil global financial markets, approving severe spending cuts and tax increases Wednesday in the face of violent protests by Greeks who say they have suffered enough.The package of austerity measures would keep bailout money flowing to Greece from other Europea
Byun named new chair of U.N. oceanographic commission

PeopleJun 30, 2011

A South Korean scientist has been named the new chief of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Seoul’s Maritime ministry said Thursday.Byun Sang-kyung, 61, was elected to head the Paris-based organization on Thursday (Paris time), becoming the first South Korean to take the top post of the U.N. commission that coordinates exchange of information and data between the
Actor Kim Jeong-tae’s sense of humor propels him to stardom

PeopleJun 30, 2011

Actor Kim Jeong-tae, 40, enjoys great popularity these days after his recent appearance on the popular KBS entertainment show “1 Night and 2 Days.”He took part in the special episode featuring supporting movie actors. After “1 Night and 2 Days” aired, Kim was praised by viewers as “the best presence ever” due to his unique, witty lines.His work began to receive attention, giving him an opportunity
Woman challenges male-dominated police

PeopleJun 30, 2011

Being a policeman calls for endless efforts, especially for women in Korea. The male-dominated organization selects only few policewomen every year, making competition intense.However, officer Shin Sang-hee, 27, passed the exam for the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency two years ago. With only one position allocated for women, she outperformed 538 competitors.“I was only lucky,” Shin said, blushi
Priest honored posthumously

PeopleJun 30, 2011

The late Father Lee to receive top order for work in SudanLee, a Catholic priest who worked as a doctor, teacher, conductor and architect in the small village of Tonj, Sudan, is to be posthumously awarded Korea’s highest order of civil merit. In recognition of his service as a missionary to the African country, the government has decided to award him with the Order of Mugunghwa. President Lee Myun
[Editorial] Violence-free Assembly

EditorialJun 30, 2011

The Korean National Assembly has long been notorious for violence. In one of the worst cases that took place in December 2008, opposition lawmakers even brought hammers and electric saws to smash their way into an Assembly room where ruling party lawmakers gathered to table a bill on the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. They were stopped by security officials who blasted water cannons and fire ext
[Editorial] Tackling household debt

EditorialJun 30, 2011

The financial regulator has come up with a packages aimed at defusing the ticking household debt bomb. The measures, unveiled Wednesday, appeared more focused on slowing the rapid growth of household credit and gradually changing the debt profile than on offering incentives for indebted households to pay down their loans.Korea’s household credit, including loans and credit purchasing, stood at 801
[Jeffrey Goldberg] Tim Pawlenty girds for Romney, embraces Reagan

ViewpointsJun 30, 2011

Here is something I’ve learned you shouldn’t say to candidates for next year’s Republican presidential nomination: “So, I guess you represent the John McCain-Lindsey Graham foreign-policy wing in this race.” I made this observation the other day to Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, and he winced. It wasn’t a run of the mill wince; it was, as they say, an audible wince. McCain and Gra
[Lee Jae-min] Here comes the Korea-EU FTA

ViewpointsJun 30, 2011

Will you really love me? Just one week before the marriage the concerned bride asks the groom (or the groom asks the bride). Not in private, but in public. The bride (or groom) appears before friends and relatives, and pronounces her (or his) expectation of the upcoming marriage with a list of dos and don’ts and past sins. Friends would then wonder what they have said to each other during the cour
[Nazir al-Abdo] All in for freedom in Syria

ViewpointsJun 30, 2011

My older brother, Bashir, 26, is one of the thousands of people who have been detained by Bashar Assad’s regime in recent weeks.At first, we didn’t know what had happened to him. He and two friends had been missing since they went to the northern city of Jisr al-Shoughur on June 10 to film secretly the protests and the army crackdown there. Then, last week, I was watching Syrian state television w
[Ron Klain] Obama needs to get ‘caught trying’ on job creation

ViewpointsJun 30, 2011

For two years, polls have shown that the American people have two strongly held beliefs. First, they think the president should do more to create jobs. Second, they believe federal spending should be cut, and the government should shrink. To the progressive economists who form the cadre of President Barack Obama’s advisers ― and indeed, to most mainstream economists ― these two views are mutually
[Howard Davies] Chinese finance comes of age, resolving NPL problem

ViewpointsJun 30, 2011

LONDON ― The Chinese financial system’s evolution in recent years has been extraordinary. I have observed its transformation as a member of the International Advisory Council of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).Back in 2002, all of China’s major banks were awash in nonperforming loans (NPLs), which in some cases amounted to more than 10 percent of the total balance sheet. None of the
5.4 earthquake jolts central Japan; 7 hurt

World NewsJun 30, 2011

TOKYO (AP) ― A magnitude-5.4 earthquake has rattled central Japan and at least seven people are hurt.The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake hit Thursday in Nagano, some 170 kilometers northwest of Tokyo. The quake was just four kilometers deep. No tsunami warning was issued, the agency said.Nagano fire department official Sadahiko Furusawa said seven people were injured in the quake, but n