The Korea Herald

Galaxy S4 picked as top smartphone by U.S. magazine

TechnologyMay 19, 2013

Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy S4 has been chosen as the best smartphone by a U.S. magazine in its latest handset survey, according the magazine’s Web site Sunday.Consumer Reports recommended the latest version of Samsung’s Galaxy lineup as the best smartphone pick for subscribers of three major mobile carriers in the United States. The Galaxy S4 received the top scores in the categories of voice calls, usability, messaging and four others.The Galaxy S4 rolled out by AT&T Inc. received the hig
Yen’s fall against Korean won in May biggest since 2000

May 19, 2013

The Japanese yen has declined by the most against the Korean currency this month in three years, adding to fear it will hurt the export-oriented local economy down the road, data showed Sunday. In the month to May 13, the local currency exchanged hands at 1,103.20 won per 100 yen, appreciating 24 percent from an average of 1,451.49 won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea and local brokerage houses. That marks the biggest fall in the Japanese currency to the won si
Korea’s corporate debt to hit $2tr by 2017: S&P

May 19, 2013

Korea’s corporate debt is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2017 as non-financial firms increasingly issue debt and take out loans to service their obligations, a report by Standard & Poor’s said Sunday. This would lead debt to account for 122 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, or to the level seen in 2009, raising concern over Korea’s business fundamentals.S&P noted that it is generally dangerous for the corporate debt-GDP ratio to surpass 90 percent.Non-financial firms’ debt amoun
RAV4: A worthy rival for the Santa Fe?

TransportMay 19, 2013

The beloved RAV4 was strategically reborn as a compact crossover this year, and Toyota is betting on capturing the hearts of SUV-loving Koreans by competing with Honda’s CRV, Volkswagen’s Tiguan and, more importantly, Hyundai’s Santa Fe. This year’s model is the car’s third facelift, and the Japanese carmaker expects to do some serious damage to its rivals, a pledge conscious of the fact that the RAV4, despite having sold more than 4 million cars elsewhere, has failed to become popular in Korea.
Europe vehicle sales post first gain in 19 months on Germany

TransportMay 19, 2013

European Union car sales rose in April for the first time since September 2011, adding to signs that the 27-nation bloc’s recession may be short-lived. Registrations of new passenger cars in the EU increased 1.7 percent from the year-earlier period to 1.04 million vehicles, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA, said Friday. Four-month sales fell 7.1 percent to 4.03 million vehicles. Consumer confidence in the EU increased in April to the highest level since
The art of tire design

TransportMay 19, 2013

Designers at Kumho Tire strive to make tires more visually appealing
Hyosung chief receives honorary doctorate in U.S.

IndustryMay 19, 2013

S.R. Cho, chairman of the nation’s 25th-largest conglomerate Hyosung Group, received an honorary doctorate at the Illinois Institute of Technology in the United States on Saturday, officials said.He was recognized for his role as a civil diplomat in global business, according to school officials.This was the first time that the IIT decided to confer an honorary degree on a Korean national. It was also unique in that the usual practice is to offer an honorary business administration degree when i
Korea to cut 55tr won in regional project spending

May 19, 2013

The government is expected to make a sweeping overhaul of regional spending and subsidies as it seeks to balance the budget through expenditure cuts.It is looking to cut annual spending worth about 55 trillion won ($49 billion) for nearly 1,000 regional projects, including infrastructure development.Economic-related ministries, including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, reportedly proposed cuts in infrastructure spending of about 10-12
S. Korea's corporate debt to near $2 tln in 2017: S&P

IndustryMay 19, 2013

South Korea's corporate debt is expected to approach US$2 trillion in 2017, a level similar to 2009 when the country just pulled out of a foreign exchange crisis, global ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said Sunday.According to an S&P report, the amount of debt owed by the country's nonfinancial companies is estimated to reach $1.98 trillion in 2017, up from $1.36 trillion at the end of September.The ratio of South Korea's corporate debt to its nominal gross domestic product (GDP) will lik
S. Korea’s growth feared to fall behind Japan's this year

May 19, 2013

Japan’s economic growth rate is expected to surpass that of Korea for the first time in 15 years as the world’s third-largest economy gains momentum on the yen’s rapid depreciation.South Korea is estimated to grow at an annual rate of 2.6 percent this year from a year earlier, while Japan is forecast to advance 2.9 percent, according to the data by the Bank of Korea and the Bank of Japan. If the estimates come true, South Korea's economic growth rate would fall behind that of Tokyo for the first
Hyundai Motor joins U.S. development of fuel-cell vehicle

IndustryMay 18, 2013

Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. has been named a partner in a U.S. project to develop next-generation fuel-cell electric vehicles, the company said Saturday. Hyundai Motor is one of only four foreign automakers that has been named a partner for the so-called H₂USA project, it said. The others are Germany's Mercedes-Benz and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. The U.S. project seeks to develop new, efficient fuel-cell batteries, along with the necessary infrastructure to h
Park voices strong objections against unfair practices

May 16, 2013

President Park Geun-hye voiced strong objections Thursday against the widely-denounced practice of big businesses coercing small franchise distributors to accept products in excess of their capacities, saying such a practice should never happen under her government.Park made the remark during a dinner meeting with small business owners as the already-high public outrage over the practice rose further following Tuesday's suicide of a distribution shop owner for a local liquor maker after he suffe
NHN liquidates assets in Cayman Islands

May 16, 2013

NHN, Korea’s largest search engine operator, has completed its liquidation of its overseas assets based in the tax haven of Cayman Islands, according to a public disclosure filing.The portal giant’s NHN Global, established in 2004 on the islands, is said to have shut down after converting its assets worth some 19 billion won into cash up until early this year. As of last Wednesday, NHN Global is now off the books.The operator of Naver set up its Cayman Islands-based entity after investing in a j
[Photo News] Offroad experience

TransportMay 16, 2013
Hanwha General sanctioned for hiding info leak

May 16, 2013

The Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday that it issued a caution against Hanwha General Insurance for allegedly seeking to conceal the leakage of customers’ information in the aftermath of hacker attacks.Though the nonlife insurance unit of Hanwha Group saw personal information totaling about 157,000 cases leaked due to an hacking incident between March and May 2011, it hid the fact at least for one year until September 2012, said FSS officials.Further, it has been found that Hanwha Gene