The Korea Herald

BOK freezes key rate for 2nd month in Dec.

Dec 13, 2012

South Korea‘s central bank froze the key interest rate for the second straight month on Thursday, opting to preserve policy room in the face of global economic uncertainty and the presidential election slated for next week.Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his six fellow policymakers left the benchmark 7-day repo rate unchanged at 2.75 percent for December. The central bank cut the rate in July and October.The decision was widely anticipated as 15 out of 16 analysts forecast the rate f
Advertising overdrive taints television

IndustryDec 12, 2012

David Ogilvy, often cited as the 20th century’s most inspiring advertising guru, once said, “Advertising is only evil when it advertises evil things.”Ogilvy apparently was not thinking of other vices, such as constant, in-your-face advertisements that can be just as damaging as unethical ads. A week ago, on an episode of top-rated KBS weekend soap opera “My Daughter Seo-young,” Samsung’s Galaxy phones were exposed up to 10 times during the 50-minute program.Sang-woo, one of the main protagonists
Prudential Life Insurance honors CSR legacy

IndustryDec 12, 2012

Heart-warming stories about Prudential Life Insurance Co.’s community service tradition trace back to 19th century America. Prudential’s history began with John Fairfield Dryden who created “The Prudential Friendly Society” in 1875 in order to help poorer people. The first U.S. company to make life insurance affordable to the working class, Prudential has supported people shunned by the old social security system ever since.For more active and systematic CSR activities, Prudential Life Insurance
Korean exporters see worse conditions in 2013: poll

IndustryDec 12, 2012

Six out of 10 South Korean exporters expect their export conditions to worsen in 2013 due to a prolonged economic slump in advanced countries and the local currency’s ascent against the U.S. dollar, a poll showed Wednesday.The survey of 204 major exporters, taken by the Federation of Korean Industries last month, found that 57.2 percent of the respondents said the export situation will aggravate in 2013. Only 12.3 percent said the export situation would get better next year.The 204 companies exp
STX mulls sale of stake in shipping unit

Dec 12, 2012

South Korean shipbuilding and shipping conglomerate STX said Wednesday that it is considering selling a stake in its key affiliate STX Pan Ocean Co. as part of efforts to improve its financial health.“We are working to improve the group’s overall financial standing through sales of stakes in affiliates,” said an official at the group. Selling a stake in STX Pan Ocean “is one of our options now under consideration.”STX Group has been seeking to sell units or list them on the local stock market as
Nonlife insurers’ overseas operations swing to loss

Dec 12, 2012

South Korea’s nonlife insurers saw their overseas operations swing to a net loss in the first half of the fiscal 2012 from a year earlier on increased insurance payouts, the financial regulator said Wednesday.The combined net loss of 23 overseas units managed by six local nonlife insurers reached $6.36 million in the April-September period, compared with a net profit of $7.73 million the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The loss came as their insurance payouts increa
KT may bid to take over Moroccan mobile carrier

TechnologyDec 12, 2012

Korean mobile carrier KT is considering taking part in bidding for Moroccan mobile carrier Maroc Telecom, according to news reports on Tuesday. Reuters reported that KT may jump into bidding for the 53-percent stake in Maroc Telecom currently held by French conglomerate Vivendi. Citing two people familiar with the situation, the agency reported that the seller, Vivendi, hopes to make about $7.15 billion. But KT officials neither confirmed nor denied the news. “They (decision makers) said ‘no com
OB sees exports top $100m

IndustryDec 12, 2012

The Korea International Trade Association awarded Oriental Brewery Co. for the company’s record-breaking export performance this year.OB’s yearly exports surpassed $100 million for the first time in history among beer producers in Korea.OB said it posted exports totaling $106.6 million per annum between July 2011 and June 2012. It sold about 15.7 million boxes, with 20 0.5-liter bottles, in the overseas market during the period.While the liquor industry calculates a fiscal year from July to June
China expected to tighten monetary policy: SC Bank

Dec 12, 2012

China will have to tighten its monetary policy toward the end of next year to curb inflation and clean up mounting local government debts, Standard Chartered Bank’s head of research for Korea said Wednesday.Inflation in China, which is currently in the 2-percent range, is expected to rise to an average of 4 percent, or even to 5 percent on a monthly basis, next year, SC Bank economist Oh Suk-tae told reporters.“Beijing will have to do something about the local governments’ sour loans, and will s
Audi Korea aims to sell 16,000 cars in 2013

IndustryDec 12, 2012

Audi Korea, which saw car sales almost double this year, aims to sell 16,000 vehicles next year, its recently-appointed managing director Johannes Thammer said at a press meeting on Tuesday. The new Korean chief of Audi said the carmaker launched 14 new models this year into the market, with its car sales increasing 43.6 percent to 14,046 units in the first 11 months from a year ago. He predicted a further 6 to 8 percent growth in sales next year, citing the market outlook that was recently anno
Financial markets immune to N.K. rocket launches

Dec 12, 2012

South Korean financial markets barely reacted to the North Korean rocket launch on Wednesday, indicating investors’ indifference to any expected moves by Pyongyang.The KOSPI, which opened at 1,972.33 points, up 0.39 percent from Tuesday’s market close, continued to rally despite news of the missile launch shortly before 10 a.m. It closed at 1,975.44 points Wednesday, up 0.55 percent from the previous day. The Korean won pared gains, ending at 1,075 won per dollar.“The missile launch had been exp
Samsung reorganized into three units

IndustryDec 12, 2012

Tech giant to run three business divisions ? consumer electronics, IT and mobile, device solutions
Koreans lead mobile TV trend: report

TechnologyDec 12, 2012

Koreans watch TV through multiple digital devices, ConsumerLab research shows
LG Electronics to launch new LTE phone in Japan

Dec 12, 2012

South Korean handset maker LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it plans to roll out a new long-term evolution smartphone in Japan as it moves to strengthen its foothold in the neighboring country.LG Electronics plans to start receiving pre-orders for the “Optimus Life” phone via Japan’s top mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. on Friday and release the LTE device on Dec. 21, the company said in a press release.The 4.5-inch smartphone, available in three colors, is designed for Japanese consumers with l
Korean mobile carriers launch LTE data sharing service

TechnologyDec 12, 2012

South Korean mobile carriers KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. said Wednesday they plan to introduce a service that enables long-term evolution data sharing among multiple mobile devices, as a growing number of people own more than one mobile gadget. “The number of mobile gadgets owned by an individual is increasing as people are using them for different functions. The LTE data sharing plan will increase customer satisfaction since they can share LTE data among various devices,” a KT official said in