The Korea Herald

Kim CS named among worst central bankers

Sept 2, 2012

Bank of Korea governor Kim Choong-soo was named one of the world’s 13 worst central bankers in an evaluation of 50 key countries, business news channel CNBC said last Friday, adding global disgrace to his already compromised reputation at home.Denounced for his lack of communication with the market and flawed economic forecasts, Kim retained the grade “C” he received in 2011 in the annual “Central Banker Report Card” published by Global Finance magazine.Korea, Japan and India were the only count
Shares likely to stay on sidelines this week

Sept 2, 2012

Korean stocks will likely move sideways this week, with investors eyeing the result of the European Central Bank’s monetary policy meeting scheduled for later in the week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1,905.12 this week, down 0.8 percent from the previous week. It sank into negative territory earlier in the week after top-cap Samsung Electronics nosedived 7 percent on its patent lawsuit defeat to Apple Inc. The KOSPI rebounded after expectations of ec
CJ to operate amino acid plant in China

IndustrySept 2, 2012

CJ Cheil Jedang Corp. said Sunday that its newly built Chinese plant in Shenyang that processes amino acid, an essential ingredient for animal feed, will start work this month.Costing about $400 million, the Korean company’s Chinese plant is capable of processing about 100,000 tons of lysine, 50,000 tons of threonine and 3,000 tons of nucleic acid per year, the company said.CJ Cheil Jedang claims that once the Shenyang plant is on track, it will obtain a production capacity of 600,000 tons of ly
KEPCO to reconsider sue on Korea Power Exchange

IndustrySept 2, 2012

The Korea Electric Power Corp, a state-run power distributor, said Sunday that the company is currently reconsidering its decision to file a suit against the Korea Power Exchange and the assessment committee of market price for electric power. While keeping the lawsuit as a possible but not probable option, the company is looking for different alternatives, a KEPCO official said.The power firm had announced on Aug. 29 that it would sue the two state organizations over an unreasonable power charg
Busan gets ready for ITU conference

Sept 2, 2012

BUSAN ― The Korea Communications Commission is getting ready to hold the plenipotentiary conference of the International Telecommunication Union in Busan in 2014, selecting BEXCO as its location.The event is planned to take place for three weeks from Oct. 20, bringing together about 3,000 people, including representatives from government, international organizations and businesses in 193 nations.“We’re planning to show Korea has changed its position from a country with strong information and com
Trade surplus in August narrows on falling exports

Sept 2, 2012

Korea’s trade surplus shrank in August from a month earlier as exports fell largely due to jittery external conditions and bad weather, the government said Saturday. The country’s trade balance came to $2.04 billion in the black last month, compared with a surplus of $2.75 billion in July, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The August figures mark the seventh consecutive month the country has posted a trade surplus since January, when the country’s trade balance went into the red fo
LG bets on ultra definition, OLED TVs to become global leader

TechnologySept 2, 2012

BERLIN ― LG Electronics may be behind Samsung Electronics in the global television market at the moment.But this will all change over the next two to three years as LG bets that its premium 84-inch ultra-definition and 55-inch organic light-emitting diode TVs will be its new growth drivers and give the company a competitive edge over its rival.Kwon Hee-won, CEO of LG’s home entertainment business, said he is positive that the market is ready for big ultra-definition TVs, and that there will soon
Most U.S. consumers disagree with verdict in Samsung-Apple case

IndustrySept 2, 2012

WP columnist says Apple should lose possible appeal from SamsungA survey in the U.S. showed that more than half of young American consumers have a skeptical view over a California federal jury’s recent verdict that Samsung violated Apple’s mobile patents.The Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal cited a poll conducted by CouponCodes4U on 2,125 consumers aged between 18 and 30 who said they owned neither an Apple nor Samsung smartphone product.“About 55 percent of the respondents said they d
Seoul to raise investment, deregulate

Sept 2, 2012

Think tanks project 2%-range growth for this year on falling exports, consumptionThe government is weighing a number of plans including more investment and deregulation to jumpstart the economy as Korea’s growth is expected to slow to below 3 percent this year.Instead of a supplementary budget which it has been negative about, Seoul is set to announce deregulation measures on Monday and an additional state investment of several trillions of won around mid-September.The government is pulling toge
Vehicle sales seen buoyed in U.S. as incentives grow

TransportSept 2, 2012

Car shoppers have long known that they can often buy at lower prices at the end of the month as dealers slash prices to meet sales quotas. Their chances for such deals have been especially strong as 2012 wears on. Honda Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are all using so-called stair-step programs to give rewards to dealers whose sales reach thresholds set by the companies. Programs such as Honda’s, which started in March to boost Accord deliveries, sweeten incentives for deale
Hyundai inks R&D tie-up with U.S. colleges

TransportSept 2, 2012

Hyundai Motor Group said Sunday that it has agreed with two U.S. elite schools to build a research center in a bid to enhance global research and development capability and nurture talented engineers in the automotive sector. The Korean auto giant, which owns Hyundai and Kia brands, signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Davis for the establishment of the “Hyundai Center of Excellence.”UC Berkeley and UC Davis are known
Global automaker chiefs visit Korea to boost local operations

TransportSept 2, 2012

Dynamic import car market, Hyundai’s powerful dominance attract iconic leaders in car industryBig names in the global auto industry have been flocking to Korea recently. Starting with the surprise visit by Toyota Motor CEO Akio Toyoda in January, Renault-Nissan Alliance chairman Carlos Ghosn announced a new investment plan in Korea in July and Ford Motor’s CEO Alan Mulally last week renewed commitment to the Korean market. On Tuesday, Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Rolls Royce Motor Cars, is also
'Super Wi-Fi' poised for growth in U.S., elsewhere

TechnologySept 2, 2012

(MCT)Move over Wi-Fi, there's a new wireless technology coming.So-called "Super Wi-Fi," which offers a bigger range than existing hotspots, is being deployed in the United States and generating interest in a number of countries, including Britain and Brazil.Super Wi-Fi is not really Wi-Fi because it uses a different frequency and requires specially designed equipment, but it offers some of Wi-Fi's
S. Korea to revise down its 2013 growth outlook

Sept 2, 2012

South Korea plans to revise down its 2013 economic growth forecast as exports will likely lose steam amid the protracted eurozone debt crisis and China's slowing economy, officials said Sunday.The government said Asia's fourth-largest economy is likely to grow less than its projection of 4.3 percent next year after expanding some 3 percent this year."The government has no plans to revise its 2012
Seoul shares likely to stay on sidelines next week

Sept 1, 2012

South Korean stocks will likely move sideways next week, with investors eyeing the result of the European Central Bank (ECB)'s monetary policy meeting scheduled for later in the week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished at 1,905.12 this week, down 0.8 percent from the previous week. It sank into negative territory earlier in the week after top-cap Samsung