The Korea Herald

Merck introduces 2013 Korean art calendar

IndustryNov 5, 2012

Merck Korea unveiled its 2013 calendar featuring South Korean art on Monday. The Korean affiliate of the German-based chemical and pharmaceutical company has been making calendars featuring artworks by a local artist every year since 2009. Next year’s calendar features paintings by artist Kim Ji-hye, who gained prominence through her reconstructive work combining today’s sensibility and aesthetic sense with the traditional way of painting that was commonly seen in the Joseon Dynasty. “Both inno
Korea’s innovative role in electronics, chemicals is getting bigger: Dow Corning Korea CEO

IndustryNov 5, 2012

World’s leading silicon producer invests in Korean arm to better support innovation
Price war in the skies

IndustryNov 5, 2012

Low-cost foreign airlines penetrate Korea with super-cheap tickets
S. Korean firms’ hiring to plunge in 2013

IndustryNov 5, 2012

South Korea’s job market is expected to report sluggish growth next year due to the prolonged economic slowdown, market watchers said Monday.According to the LG Economic Research Institute (LGERI), a total of 280,000 jobs are expected to be added to the local employment market next year, decreasing 34 percent from this year’s estimated 430,000 jobs.The weaker outlook comes as the central bank slashed its 2013 economic growth estimate by 0.6 percentage points to 3.2 percent following the protract
Hyundai, Kia apologize for mileage overstatement

IndustryNov 5, 2012

Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister carmaker Kia offered a formal apology Sunday following reports that they have overstated gas mileage on roughly 900,000 vehicles sold over the past two years in the United States.The leading South Korean automakers, however, stressed that the overstatement was unintentional."We sincerely apologize for these errors, and our top priority is to make things right for you," Hyundai and Kia said in a full-page statement carried by the Washington Post.The troubled firms
Brokerages fined for bond rate fixing

IndustryNov 4, 2012

FTC levies W19.2b fine, refers six to prosecution
Korea ranks 2nd in ICT business R&D investment

IndustryNov 4, 2012

South Korea ranked second among Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development economies in terms of research and development investment in the information, communication and technology businesses, a recent report showed. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Internet Economy Outlook 2012 released on Sunday showed that Korean companies in the ICT sectors invested 1.48 percent of the nation’s GDP in R&D. Asia’s fourth-largest economy came in third after Finland, which
Corporate mergers jump amid economic slump

Nov 4, 2012

Mergers among South Korea’s listed companies have surged this year as a growing number of firms tighten their belts to weather a protracted economic slump, the bourse operator said Sunday.A total of 83 mergers were announced on the country’s main and secondary stock markets in the first 10 months of the year, up 51 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the Korea Exchange.The figure has already topped the 71 merger filings recorded in all of last year.Reasons for mergers inclu
Exporters face growing origin verification requests

Nov 4, 2012

South Korean exporters are being confronted with growing requests to verify the country of origin on their products as major economies toughen import rules amid a prolonged economic slowdown, the customs office said Sunday.According to the Korea Customs Service, 153 such requests from foreign importers were filed this year, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total 258 requests submitted between 2008 and 2012.In particular, requests from the European Union more than tripled to 135 cases in t
SMEC launches new LTE security solution

IndustryNov 4, 2012

SMEC, a South Korean communications solution provider, announced the launch of a new Long-Term Evolution security solution. The SP Series LTE Security Solution provides security for wireless data networks such as LTE, picocell, femtocell, and WiFi. It is a carrier-grade solution based on SMEC’s optimized design technology, built using AdvancedTCA platforms. It is designed to enable operators to protect their core networks from data loss and malicious attacks as they upgrade their 3G mobile netwo
Asan Nanum launches internship program for U.N. affiliates

Nov 4, 2012

The Asan Nanum Foundation said on Sunday it has launched an internship program for U.N. affiliates by forming a partnership with the United Nations Volunteers, or UNV, headquartered in Bonn, Germany. The ANF signed a memorandum of understanding with the UNV on Saturday to offer Korean youths an internship program for international organizations under the United Nations. UNV is a U.N. organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Under the agreements with
Shares likely to rebound this week

Nov 4, 2012

South Korean shares may gather ground next week as stimulus hopes build up ahead of impending leadership changes in the U.S. and China, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1918.72 last week, up 1.4 percent from a week earlier, boosted by improved consumer sentiment in the U.S.Foreign investors purchased a combined net 170 billion won ($155.7 million) worth of shares, while institutional investors purchased a net 130 billion won. Individual investors
Hyundai tries to contain mileage fallout

IndustryNov 4, 2012

Hyundai Motor Group is making all-out efforts to address a possible backlash for overstating the fuel economy of some 900,000 vehicles it sold in the United States over the past two years. On Friday, Hyundai apologized to customers that “procedural errors” in testing had caused inaccurate mileage estimates that were one to six miles per gallon higher than what Hyundai and Kia brand cars were actually capable of. “Given the importance of fuel efficiency to all of us, we’re extremely sorry about t
Korea’s debt holdings near $3tr mark

Nov 4, 2012

South Korea’s total debt in the private and public sectors neared the 3,000 trillion won ($2.75 trillion) mark in the second quarter of this year, spawning concerns that high indebtedness will undercut economic growth, data showed Sunday.Combined debt held by the government, companies and households amounted to 296,2 trillion won as of end-June, accounting for 233.8 percent of the nominal gross domestic product, according to data.The ratio of such debt to the GDP stood at 231.1 percent as of the
Final parting for LG and GS

IndustryNov 4, 2012

LG’s sale of GS Retail shares terminates decades-long partnership