The Korea Herald

Doosan chairman capitalizes on global networking

IndustryJul 23, 2013

Doosan Group chairman Park Yong-maan, 58, is actively engaging in socializing activities, not only at home but also overseas in a bid to strengthen brand image of Doosan as a global infrastructure giant. Doosan boasts the longest corporate history in Korea, but it is a new player in infrastructure, as it transformed from a food and beverage giant into a heavy industry player through a number of merger-and-acquisition deals in the 2000s. The Doosan Business Forum is one of such networking events
Seoul shares hike 1.27 pct on earnings hopes

Jul 23, 2013

South Korean stocks closed 1.27 percent higher Tuesday as investor sentiment was boosted by upbeat expectations on second-quarter corporate earnings, analysts said.The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 23.80 points to finish at 1,904.15. Trading volume was moderate at 347.8 million shares worth 4.24 trillion won ($3.79 billion) with advancers outpacing decliners 495 to 301. "Investors are getting their hopes high as compan
Seoul shares up 1.04 pct in late-morning trade

Jul 23, 2013

South Korean stocks traded 1.04 percent higher late Tuesday morning, fueled by gains in large-cap tech and financial firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 19.57 points to 1,899.92 as of 11:20 a.m.Top-cap Samsung Electronics jumped 2.2 percent, with No. 4 lender Shinhan Financial Group surging 3.7 percent. LG Electronics shot up 4.3 percent. But auto shares lost ground. Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors fell more than 1 percent and 0
LINE messenger breaks 200 mln user milestone

IndustryJul 23, 2013

South Korea's top portal operator NHN Corp. said Tuesday that its free messenger application LINE broke the 200-million download mark as worldwide smartphone users rushed to connect with one another through the mobile messenger service.The milestone came four months after the service drew 150 million users in April and seven months after attracting 100 million this past January. The free messenger service was launched in June 2011.Since the initial launch, the company has expanded the service to
LG rolls out world's first curved OLED TV in U.S.

IndustryJul 23, 2013

Home appliance giant LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday that it has released organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs with curved displays in the U.S.In April this year, the South Korean tech giant rolled out the revolutionary model with a 55-inch curved screen for the first time in the world on its home turf.Usually, images on a flat screen are stretched to match the screen size, making it possible for them to be distorted. However, a curved display, according to LG, helps eliminate such a problem
Seoul shares open higher on earnings hopes

Jul 23, 2013

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday on hopes of second-quarter corporate earnings, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 14.44 points, or 0.77 percent, to 1,894.79 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top-listed firms moved upward, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics gaining 0.7 percent and No. 1 steelmaker POSCO jumping more than 2 percent. South Korean companies have started posting their results for the second quarter from Monda
Plastic card spending growth slows in June

Jul 23, 2013

South Korea's plastic card spending maintained a stagnant growth in June as card holders continued to hold back their purchasing amid the economic slowdown, a trade association said Tuesday.Purchases made with plastic cards totaled 44.5 trillion won (US$39.7 billion) last month, up 4.1 percent from 42.7 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the data by the Credit Finance Association (CREFIA).The country's card spending growth sank to an all-time low in February, growing 3.4 percent o
Gold Exchange to debut next year

Jul 22, 2013

Financial regulators said Monday they had mapped out a plan under which gold would be publicly traded on a dedicated exchange from the first half of 2014.As part of economic policymakers’ efforts to bring gold prices into the open, a state-controlled spot gold exchange will be set up next year as a sub-entity of the Korea Exchange, the nation’s main securities trading bourse.According to the Financial Services Commission, the policy has been finalized after a series of talks between the ruling S
Exporters face growing uncertainties

Jul 22, 2013

Japanese ruling coalition’s election win expected to give more weight to ‘Abenomics’
U.S. combined sales of Hyundai, Kia down 1.1%

Jul 22, 2013

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s top carmaker, and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. saw their combined sales edge down 1.1 percent in the first six months of the year from a year earlier in the United States, a U.S. auto magazine said Monday.Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors sold a combined 638,361 units between January and June, compared with 645,376 units from a year earlier, according to Automotive News.The combined U.S. market share of Hyundai and Kia accounted for 8.2 percent during the cited
Summer vacation-related prices shoot up in June

Jul 22, 2013

South Korea’s prices related to spending on summer vacation shot up in June from a year earlier, bucking the trend of slowing growth of its consumer inflation, data showed Monday.The average hotel bill in the country rose 5.7 percent in June from the previous year, compared with a 1 percent on-year gain in consumer inflation last month, according to the data by Statistics Korea.Car rental costs jumped 21.4 percent on-year in June, and prices of sunscreens shot up 27.7 percent compared with the s
Inaugural event for KB Kookmin Bank chief protested

Jul 22, 2013

The inaugural ceremony for new KB Kookmin Bank president Lee Keon-ho was aborted due to a blockade by its labor union on Monday.Union members blocked him from attending the ceremony in protest over what they claimed was the government’s influence on his appointment. They called for Lee’s immediate withdrawal from the post. But Lee said he would seek to settle the dispute through dialogue with the labor union.Lee, a former professor, joined the bank in 2011 and had served as senior executive vice
Ministry to finalize stance on home acquisition tax by August

Jul 22, 2013

The government said Monday it will finalize its stance on when and how to lower the acquisition tax rates for home purchases by the end of August as part of efforts to stimulate the prolonged slump in the local property market.“Consultation is under way among ministries and agencies on the premise that the government will lower the acquisition tax rates in order to normalize the housing market,” the Finance Ministry said in a press release jointly unveiled by the land and Transportation Ministry
LG Chem posts improved Q2 earnings

IndustryJul 22, 2013

LG Chem’s second quarter earnings reflected an improvement from the first quarter, with operating profit growing 22.6 percent to 501.5 billion won, while net profit rose 17.8 percent to 401 billion won, the company said in a regulatory filing on Monday. Sales rose by 3.4 percent to reach 5.9 trillion won. LG Chem attributed the growth to product innovation, an upturn in demand based on anticipated economic growth, combined with the falling Japanese currency that helped stabilize raw material pri
LS Cable & System localizes electric railway system

IndustryJul 22, 2013

LS Cable & System became the first Korean company to localize a system that supplies power to electric railways in narrow underground sections and tunnels, officials said Monday.The rigid bar catenary system, a bar-type structure made of aluminum alloy, can be attached to tunnel walls and ceilings without any special accessory and can also be installed in narrow spaces.It was first applied to the Gwacheon Line and the Bundang Line in the 1990s but Korea, lacking the necessary technology, has bee