The Korea Herald

Hollywood awaits Korean CG: ILM artist

TechnologyApr 17, 2013

Hollywood is the next destination for Korean computer graphics, as the American market is ready to embrace a new partner in action, says Lee Seung-hun, one of the few, talented Koreans at Industrial Light & Magic, a Lucasfilm company. “But to enter the vast U.S. market, tax and other forms of incentives are imperative. American film producers are looking to cut down the costs while maintaining the quality, which is possible by working with Korean counterparts,” Lee said in an interview with The
KT drops bid for Moroccan telecom firm

TechnologyApr 17, 2013

KT Corp., South Korea’s top fixed line and No. 2 mobile operator, said Monday that it will not participate in a final bid for a stake in a Moroccan telecom operator due to differences over price.In a regulatory filing, KT said it has decided not to bid for the 53-percent stake in Maroc Telecom, which is controlled by French multimedia giant Vivendi SA.“But we will seek various cooperation with Morac Telecom depending on the situation,” it said.KT has been seeking to expand its global business in
Watchdogs to announce measures to tackle stock price rigging

Apr 17, 2013

South Korean financial authorities plan to announce a set of measures to expand their surveillance of price rigging on the country's stock markets, sources said Wednesday.The Financial Services Commission is to hold a meeting with governmental authorities, including the Ministry of Justice, the National Tax Service, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), and the Korea Exchange, on Thursday to prepare countermeasures against price manipulations.Sources said the envisioned plan includes giving i
Seoul shares end tad higher on institutional buying

Apr 17, 2013

South Korean stocks closed slightly higher Wednesday in a volatile session as institutions' net buying of local equities offset losses from a foreign selloff, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.In a choppy trading session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished up 1.63 points, or 0.08 percent to 1,923.84. Trading volume was moderate at 408.1 million shares worth 5.29 trillion won (US$4.75 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 414 to 394."Institution
Seoul shares down 0.25 pct in late-morning trade

Apr 17, 2013

South Korean stocks turned lower late Wednesday morning after opening higher, as foreigners opted to dump local shares on a net selling mode, analysts said. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.88 points to 1,917.33 as of 11:20 a.m. Heavy industries and construction companies plunged, with Doosan Heavy Industries nosediving more than 10 percent and No. 1 Hyundai Engineering & Construction tumbling around 6 percent. In contrast, utilities and telecom shares trended in positiv
Samsung's Q2 operating profit seen to top record 10 tln won

IndustryApr 17, 2013

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of smartphones, memory chips and flat-panel TVs, is projected to reap a record 10 trillion won ($8.98 billion) in operating profit in the second quarter thanks to its latest Galaxy smartphone, market analysts said Wednesday.Samsung Electronics' operating profit in the April-June period is expected to jump 62.2 percent on-year to 10.3 trillion won, according to the data compiled by financial information provider FnGuide. The second-quarter sales are
Gov't debt from bond sales reaches 765.6 tln won in April

Apr 17, 2013

South Korea's debt from bond issuance reached 765.6 trillion won (US$687.8 billion) this month, raising concerns over increasing tax burdens down the road, data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by Korea Financial Investment Association, the combined amount of state bonds needing to be repaid by the South Korean government reached 436.1 trillion won on Monday, up 5.5 percent from the end of 2012.The amount of special bonds, which refer to debt sales floated by state-owned enterpris
Wireless data traffic in S. Korea almost doubles

TechnologyApr 17, 2013

South Korea's wireless data traffic almost doubled in January from a year earlier in line with explosive growth in the country's smartphone-using population, data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, wireless data traffic totaled 58,262 terabytes in January, compared with 29,748 terabytes a year earlier. One terabyte equals 1,024 gigabytes.The figure includes traffic on the third-generation network and WiFi offered by telecom operat
Seoul shares open higher on extra budget

Apr 17, 2013

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Wednesday, cheered by the government's supplementary budget unveiled a day before to boost the slowing economy, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 8.19 points, or 0.43 percent to 1,930.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech and auto blue-chips drove up the main index, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics climbing 0.8 percent and Kia Motors, a smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor, jumping 1.8 percent.
IMF revises down Korea’s growth at 2.8%

Apr 16, 2013

The International Monetary Fund revised down Korea’s gross domestic product growth forecast Tuesday to 2.8 percent this year, from the 3.2 percent it estimated earlier this year.But the IMF said it expected Korea’s economy to progress toward the trend of 4 percent next year, when it would grow 3.9 percent on the back of improvements in exports and increased private investment.The IMF’s revised economic outlook came after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok told lawmakers that
[Photo News] Buy Korean

IndustryApr 16, 2013
Cabinet passes 20 trillion won stimulus package

Apr 16, 2013

Opposition party to demand full-scale revision of extra budget plan
Big businesses confused over policy directions

IndustryApr 16, 2013

Korea’s private conglomerates, domestically known as chaebol, are caught in the middle of policy confusion as they face tougher yet inconsistent regulations, while being urged to increase investments by the government.The incumbent administration is asking the corporate sector to lead in increasing investments and employment this year amid economic uncertainties.On the other hand, the big businesses are being targeted as part of economic democratization efforts for regulatory measures by agencie
[Graphic News] Weak yen deals blow to Korean exports

IndustryApr 16, 2013

Concerns over the impact of the weakening yen on the nation’s exports are proving well founded. About 40 percent of Korean-made products that compete against Japanese goods in the global market posted reduced export figures for the first two months in 2013 compared with the same period a year ago, the Korea International Trade Association said in a press release. In a KITA survey of the nation’s 49 export items in competition with Japanese goods, including cars, ships and petroleum products, exp
Regulators vow crackdown on unlisted firms’ accounts fraud

Apr 16, 2013

Financial regulators pledged to enhance accounting oversight of non-listed big enterprises during its report to the National Policy Committee of the National Assembly on Tuesday.The policy is a development from an earlier movement by the Finance Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service to take stern punitive measures against stock manipulators.“Financial authorities will secure legal and systematic grounds to weed out fraudulent accounting practices,” said FSC chairman Shin Je-y