The Korea Herald

Banks to buy W1tr in toxic loans in June

May 12, 2011

Eight major commercial banks will next month purchase toxic loans totaling 1 trillion won ($923.6 million) issued to the construction sector as part of a bid from the nation’s financial regulators to minimize the negative impact of such loans on the market.Financial companies have issued loans to builders in the name of “project financing” over the past few years. But in the wake of the 2008 globa
Home-backed lending jumps W2.4tr in April

May 12, 2011

Korean banks’ home-backed loans grew by the largest amount in four months in April as the economic recovery spurred loan demand, the central bank said Thursday.Local banks’ mortgage loans reached an outstanding 292.3 trillion won ($269 billion) as of the end of April, up 2.4 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The April number jumped from a 2.1 trillion won on-mont
FSC delays ruling on Lone Star’s eligibility

May 12, 2011

Decision spurns speculation that Hana Financial-Lone Star deal may break downThe Financial Services Commission announced Thursday that it has decided to indefinitely delay its ruling on whether Lone Star Funds of the U.S. was eligible to buy Korea Exchange Bank in 2003.With the decision, speculation is rising in financial markets that the preliminary contract between Hana Financial Group and Lone
Safdie bids for Incheon Airport terminal No. 2

May 12, 2011

Famed architect Moshe Safdie on Thursday said his team aimed to incorporate elements unique to Korean culture in his design bid for a second terminal at Incheon International Airport. Addressing reporters in Seoul, the star designer of Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Resort detailed his ambitions to take on what would be his third airport project. “In the old days, people coming to Seoul felt their f
Samsung eyes $10b revenue in southern Africa by 2015

May 12, 2011

NAIROBI (Yonhap News) ― Samsung Electronics Co. aims to post $10 billion in revenue by 2015 in Sub-Saharan Africa with its consumer electronics and mobile products built for the market, the chief of the company’s African unit said Wednesday.Samsung has been stepping up efforts to make inroads into the African market, which has a population of 1 billion with a growing number of middle-class people,
LG announces mutual growth scheme

IndustryMay 12, 2011

40 billion won R&D plan to start with focus on boosting productivityLG Electronics said Thursday that it will invest 40 billion won ($36.86 million) in research and development with its subcontractors for the next five years as part of its mutual growth plan.In a meeting with about 200 subcontractors at its R&D Center in southern Seoul, the company’s vice chairman Koo Bon-joon said they were all i
Supply problems, shadow of recall plague Toyota

World BusinessMay 12, 2011

DETROIT (AP) ― Toyota should have owned the road this summer. When gas prices go up, American drivers go for smaller, fuel-efficient cars. The last time prices at the pump spiked in 2008, Toyota captured the title of world’s No. 1 automaker ― and has held it ever since.Now gas costs almost $4 a gallon again, but Toyota is struggling. It’s been hammered by supply disruptions from the Japan earthqua
Bin Laden’s journal seized in U.S. raid

World NewsMay 12, 2011

Diary shows Osama eyed new targets, big body countWASHINGTON (AP) ― Osama bin Laden kept pressing followers to find new ways to hit the U.S. while he was deep in hiding and his terror organization was becoming battered and fragmented, officials say, citing his private journal and other documents recovered in last week’s raid.Strike smaller cities, bin Laden suggested. Target trains as well as plan
Graham, 92, hospitalized with pneumonia

PeopleMay 12, 2011

RALEIGH (AP) ― Evangelist Billy Graham was alert and resting comfortably Wednesday evening after being admitted to a hospital for the treatment of pneumonia, doctors said.The 92-year-old Graham arrived Wednesday morning at Mission Hospital after he suffered a health episode overnight that included sweating, coughing and breathing difficulty, Graham spokesman A. Larry Ross told The Associated Press
3 Korean clubs finish atop groups

SoccerMay 12, 2011

Three of the four South Korean K-League clubs have reached the knockout stage of the ongoing Asian Football Confederation Champions League, each of them securing home games in the next round.FC Seoul, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Samsung Bluewings finished with the best records in Groups F, G and H, respectively.Jeju United, the fourth K-League club in the competition, ended in third place in
N. Korean wrestlers may visit South next year

More sportsMay 12, 2011

North Korean wrestlers could come to South Korea early next year for a continental competition, an official here said Thursday.“South Korea will host the Asian Wrestling Championships from Feb. 16 to 19 next year, and there’s a high possibility that North Korea will enter the event,” an official with the Seoul-based Korea Wrestling Federation said.South Korea was named the host of the regional eve
Barcelona clinch Spanish league title

SoccerMay 12, 2011

Club rolls to third-straight championshipBARCELONA (AP) ― Barcelona players sprayed each other with bubbly and fans celebrated by lighting flares.A title that had appeared inevitable for weeks finally was clinched with two games to spare when Barcelona tied 1-1 at Levante on Wednesday night to win Spain’s La Liga for the third straight season.“We have been very united this year. That has been very
Youngest U.S. congressman on Men’s Health cover

PeopleMay 12, 2011

A young Republican congressman from Illinois will appear on the cover of Men’s Health magazine to promote healthy living. Aaron Schock, 29, named “American’s fittest congressman” by the magazine, showed off his six-pack abs for the cover of the June issue and spoke of his daily workout routine and efforts to promote health. “You have the power to change your life for the better. By making smart, s
Korean pianist to judge at global piano contest

PeopleMay 12, 2011

Paik Hae-sunRenowned Korean pianist Paik Hae-sun was appointed to the jury of the 2011 Cleveland International Piano Competition. Paik was the first Korean to win third place at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1994 in which no first place was awarded. She has also won numerous prizes at major international piano competitions such as first prize at the William Kapell International Pian
S. Korean Army commander to receive U.S. military medal

DefenseMay 12, 2011

Major Gen. Chun In-bumA Souh Korean Army commander will be decorated on Friday with a prestigious military medal from the U.S. government for his contribution to enhancing the bilateral military alliance, officials said Thursday.Major Gen. Chun In-bum, the head of the 27th Division, will receive the Legion of Merit from U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens at her residence in central S