The Korea Herald

CJ Group hit by acquisition costs

IndustryJun 29, 2011

Korea Express union opposes takeover, worries about job losses from potential merger with GLSHefty acquisition costs and bad blood with Samsung have left CJ Group pondering how to overcome the multiple hurdles it faces as the preferred bidder for logistics giant Korea Express, industry watchers said.At the top of the agenda is addressing industry concerns that CJ would have a tough time coming up
Hyundai-Kia overtakes 6 competitors in a decade

TransportJun 29, 2011

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors emerged as one the world’s top five automakers in global sales last year, selling more than 5 million vehicles.About a decade ago, the two companies under the wing of Hyundai Motor Group ranked 11th worldwide in total sales volume.Climbing six notches in less than 10 years was not a simple accomplishment, as it required stepping over global players includ
Corporate Korea braces for multiple unions

IndustryJun 29, 2011

Companies quietly pulling out all stops to keep unions to minimumFollowing is the second in a two part series featuring multiple labor unions that will be introduced in Korea on Friday. ― Ed.The top brass at Korean companies are on high alert over challenges they could face when multiple unions become legal as of July 1. Conglomerates, some of which have enjoyed years without the nagging presence
Seoul worried by financial sector’s short-term debt

Jun 29, 2011

Korea held an emergency meeting with major banks Wednesday to express its concern over growing short-term debt held by financial institutions here, the Finance Ministry said.The meeting was held earlier in the day at the government’s complex building in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, with officials of nine banks, including three foreign institutions, in attendance, according to the Ministry of Strategy
Rare earths deposits found in central Korea

Jun 29, 2011

Korea has found rare earths reserves in the North Chungcheong and Gangwon provinces, with a sufficient supply for the next 50 years, a state-run think tank said Wednesday.The deposit in Chungju, 147 kilometers southeast of Seoul, contains 71,500 metric tons of rare earths. The one in Hongcheon in the country’s east has about 76,000 metric tons, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resourc
Well begun is ‘half’ done: The Korea-EU FTA

Jun 29, 2011

Kim Jong-hoonTomorrow, the free trade agreement between the Republic of Korea and the European Union will finally enter into force. With the publication of the agreement in the official gazettes of the two sides the day before yesterday, all the required procedures have been completed and we are now about to embark upon the smooth implementation of the agreement.As is often said, well begun is hal
FSC targets OECD average in controlling household debt

Jun 29, 2011

The financial authorities on Wednesday pledged to bring snowballing household debt down to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average.With household debt at a record high of more than 800 trillion won ($740 billion), the Financial Services Commission reiterated its commitment to tackling the issue.“We plan to stabilize the market gradually with the goal of lowering the debt
Google unveils latest social networking feat

World BusinessJun 29, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― Online search leader Google Inc. is taking yet another stab at social networking, as it tries to go up against Facebook in this wildly popular and lucrative segment of the Internet. This time the project is called Google+ and it aims to make online sharing more like real life.“We think people communicate in very rich ways,” said Vic Gundotra, senior vice president of engineering at
[Editorial] Eavesdropping, TV fees

EditorialJun 29, 2011

The opposition Democratic Party occupied the parliamentary culture committee hall on Tuesday ― an attempt to forcibly block the process of raising the license fee the state broadcaster KBS charges each household. By doing so, it turned itself into a target of public criticism.The opposition party’s reversal of an earlier accord on raising the TV license fee from 2,500 won to 3,500 won drew denunci
[Editorial] Corruption evolves

EditorialJun 29, 2011

Reciprocity, with which homo sapiens survived as a hunter-gather, is an unmistakable human trait, if not a manifestation of human nature. The urge for reciprocity compels people to return favors and repay kindness with kindness. Of course, retaliation is another form of reciprocity ― an eye for an eye.What drives people to reciprocate has long been a subject of scholarly research among anthropolog
[Albert R. Hunt] Gates defies all odds with successful second act

ViewpointsJun 29, 2011

There rarely are second acts, to borrow a phrase from F. Scott Fitzgerald, in American politics. Larry Summers, lauded as President Bill Clinton’s Treasury secretary, made a comeback to government two and half years ago as President Barack Obama’s chief economic adviser with expectations he would become the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. Instead, he returned to Harvard University, his reput
[Hillary Clinton] Fight against human trafficking

ViewpointsJun 29, 2011

Last year I met a group of young girls in Cambodia living in a shelter for survivors of human trafficking. They wanted the same things we all desire for our children: the opportunity to live and learn in safety, to grow up free to fulfill their God-given potential. But for these girls, those basics seemed nearly insurmountable. They had already endured traumas that defy description and shock the c
[Harold Meyerson] Protecting undocumented workers in U.S.

ViewpointsJun 29, 2011

Nearly every day for three years, Josue Melquisedec Diaz reported to work by going to a New Orleans street corner where contractors, subcontractors and people fixing up their places went to hire day laborers. It was there, one day in 2008, that a contractor picked him up and took him to Beaumont, Texas, just across the Louisiana line, to work on the cleanup, demolition and reconstruction projects
[Noah Feldman] Obama plan makes Afghan victory a reality

ViewpointsJun 29, 2011

The surge in Afghanistan was supposed to change the incentives of the Taliban so that they would choose to join the government rather than fight it. That was how the Iraq surge of 2007 worked to end the civil war there, and that was the main objective in Afghanistan. But it didn’t succeed. The great bulk of the Taliban are still in fighting mode, and negotiations with the insurgents are nascent at
[Yuriko Koike] Asia after the Afghan War: Test to regional powers

ViewpointsJun 29, 2011

TOKYO ― July will mark two milestones in America’s sometimes-tortured relations with Asia. One is the beginning of the end of the nearly decade-long struggle in Afghanistan ― the longest war in United States history ― with President Barack Obama announcing the withdrawal of 30,000 U.S. troops from the country by next summer. The other is the 40th anniversary of Henry Kissinger’s secret mission to