The Korea Herald

Political big picture hangs on by-election results

PoliticsApr 27, 2011

The futures of the ruling and opposition parties may hinge on the results of Wednesday’s by-elections, considered a preview of next year’s general and presidential races.The by-elections are relatively minor in size, involving the replacement of three lawmakers, one provincial governor and 34 municipal or district officials. Voters cast ballots Wednesday in 38 constituencies nationwide. (From left
The importance of clean energy and energy access

Foreign affairsApr 27, 2011

The following article was contributed by Han Dong-man, deputy director general of international economic affairs bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He recently attended international meetings on clean energy in Abu Dhabi and Paris. -- Ed. Han Dong-manWith the impending exhaustion of fossil fuels and the threat posed by climate change, mankind is faced with an urgent call for a pa
Ulleung Island in East Sea to be zero-carbon area

Apr 27, 2011

By Choi He-suk Ulleung Island in the East Sea will be established as a zero-carbon island where most energy requirements are met by renewable sources, according to a government plan released Wednesday.As such, the government will draw up comprehensive plans to turn Ulleung Island into a “green island” that surpasses Denmark’s Samso Island in terms of renewable energy uses, the Ministry of Knowledg
Hyundai Heavy’s packaged power stations go online in Japan

IndustryApr 27, 2011

By Choi He-sukThe packaged power stations Hyundai Heavy Industries provided to Tokyo Electric Power Co. began operations Wednesday.Developed by Hyundai Heavy, a packaged power station is a piece of diesel-fueled power generating equipment contained within a 40-feet long container.The world’s largest shipyard sent over four packaged power stations to Japan after TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear po
Controversy to elevate on location-based service bill

Apr 27, 2011

By Cho Ji-hyunThe government has approved a plan to relax the regulations on cellphone location-based services amid rising public calls for better state privacy protection measures.The Cabinet endorsed Tuesday a revised regulation on protection and use of location information, which aims to give more room and flexibility for location-based service operators. According to the bill, service provider
POSCO expands fair trade, shared growth programs

IndustryApr 27, 2011

Industry and goverment officials including POSCO chief executive Chung Joon-yang (fourth from left, front row), Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Dong-soo (fifth from left, front row) and head of the Commission on Shared Growth for Large and Small Companies Chung Un-chan (sixth from left, front row) at POSCO’s office in Seoul after the steelmaker and subsidiaries signed an agreement to promote fa
Buying power weakens despite GDP growth

Apr 27, 2011

By Kim Yon-seKorean consumers’ purchasing power has weakened on average even though the economy sustained its pace of growth during the first quarter, a Bank of Korea report showed Wednesday.The central bank said the country saw its growth rate of gross domestic product post 4.2 percent in the first quarter on a year-on-year basis and 1.4 percent on a quarter-to-quarter basis.But the gross domesti
Korean Air introduces premium services

IndustryApr 27, 2011

Korean Air, the country’s top air carrier, introduced a number of new services on Wednesday, including an upgraded menu on some routes and a new cosmetic skin care set, in a bid to enhance its in-flight services. Heather Cho (fourth from left), senior vice president at Korean Air and DAVI’s chairman Carlo Mondavi (third from left) after featuring a new amenity cosmetic skin care set for business a
Prices of DRAM chips remain below $1: report

IndustryApr 27, 2011

Prices of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices rose marginally in the second half of this month but stayed below the $1 level, an industry report showed Wednesday, casting doubts on the prospect for their quick recovery.The contract price of the benchmark DDR3 1-gigabit 128Mx8 1066-megahertz device rose 1.03 percent from the first half of this month to $0.98 in the second half, according to
Foreign life insurers take up 17% of Korean market

Apr 27, 2011

Foreign life insurance companies operating in South Korea claimed 16.9 percent of the local market in terms of assets last year, industry data showed Wednesday.The combined assets of the nine foreign life insurers reached 68.9 trillion won ($63.8 billion) as of the end of 2010, according to the data. However, the figure is dwarfed by the 408.4 trillion won in total assets held by the three leading
Q1 auto exports to Eastern Europe surge

IndustryApr 27, 2011

South Korea’s automobile exports to Eastern Europe rose sharply in the first three months of this year thanks to an economic recovery in the region, a local automobile association said Wednesday. During the January-March period, South Korean car makers’ auto exports to Eastern Europe, including Russia, reached 72,393 units, compared with 37,670 units a year earlier, according to the Korea Automobi
May manufacturing sentiment at 8-month high

Apr 27, 2011

South Korean manufacturers’ business confidence for May rose to the highest level in eight months due to optimism about the economic recovery, the central bank said Wednesday.The index of manufacturers’ outlook on business conditions reached 100 for May, up from 95 for April, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers’ outlook on business conditions for the coming month
Lone Star haunts FSC chief for 8 years

Apr 27, 2011

Ruling on Lone Star’s eligibility as KEB owner postponedThe Financial Services Commission decided to delay its ruling on the issue of Lone Star Funds’ eligibility as the majority shareholder of KEB.The decision marks a shift from its earlier stance to rule on whether the U.S. fund was a financial investor in 2003 in its scheduled panel meeting Wednesday.Though the issue has come into the spotlight
Tycoon families prefer to live in Gangnam: report

IndustryApr 27, 2011

By Koh Young-aahSeoul’s Gangnam area, on the southern side of the Han River, has emerged as a popular residential area for families of the country’s top 30 tycoons over the years, a research firm said in a report Wednesday.Seongbuk-dong and Hannam-dong, located in Gangbuk, north of the river, have historically been considered wealthy areas where most local conglomerate owners reside.The trend, how
LG Electronics post Q1 profit after two quarterly losses

IndustryApr 27, 2011

By Cho Ji-hyunLG Electronics announced its comeback Wednesday by getting back into the black, posting 13.15 trillion won ($12.19 billion) in sales and 130 billion won in operating profit for the first quarter of this year.In its quarterly earnings report, the company said total sales maintained a similar level to the same period last year, down 0.4 percent. However, its net loss during the term wa