The Korea Herald

Korea, ASEAN to launch forestry body

Aug 28, 2012

Asian ministers gather in Seoul to discuss cooperation before the AFoCO inaugurationA two-day special meeting of forestry ministers from Korea and member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, will kick off in Seoul on Wednesday.The conference is aimed at discussing concrete measures among ministers to promote cooperation on forestation and enhance green growth in Asia, Seoul officials said.The Special ASEAN-Korea Ministerial Meeting will take place to commemorate the
3 Hyundai Heavy workers win Master Artisan’s Award

Aug 28, 2012

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., announced Tuesday that three of its employees were honored with the nation’s most prestigious award presented to artisans and technicians. The company said that it has had 26 award recipients since the Korea Master Artisan’s Award was created in 1986. Kim Choon-jin, technical assistant manager in utilities administration; Kim Geum-man, technical manager in engine assembly and test engineering; and Heu Tae-young, technical assistant in material research, were present
Seoul shares open higher on Fed expectations

Aug 28, 2012

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, as investors await with hope for the U.S. Federal Reserve to bring about another solution for an economic boost, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 7.83 points, or 0.41 percent, to trade at 1,925.70 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Upward moves in telecom and financial shares drove the index, with top mobile ca
Apple seeks sales ban on Samsung's eight products

TechnologyAug 28, 2012

Emboldened by a triumph in the first round of a U.S. patent suit against Samsung, Apple made a formal request Monday to a U.S. federal judge to ban the sales of eight products of the South Korean firm.Those are Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S2 AT&T, Galaxy S2, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge and Galaxy Prevail, according to a list submitted to the Northern District Cou
Samsung to fight jury verdict in San Jose

IndustryAug 27, 2012

Company says it will make utmost efforts until U.S. judge’s final rulingSamsung Electronics said Monday that it will give its utmost effort to alter the jury verdict announced by a San Jose court over its patent battle with Apple last week.“There is no case in which a firm achieved continuous growth by only winning a court suit and not competing on fair grounds,” its officials posted on its internal blog.“The U.S. judge still needs to release a final ruling on the case and we still have many st
Top 10 conglomerates’ sales equal 76% of GDP

IndustryAug 27, 2012

The combined sales of 10 major business groups in 2011 were equivalent to 76 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, an online financial data provider showed Monday.According to the chaebul.com, total sales of the 10 largest conglomerates including Samsung and Hyundai Motor reached 946.1 trillion won ($837.2 billion) last year.The figure corresponds to 76.5 percent of Korea’s 2011 GDP of 1.23 quadrillion won.The portion of the 10 conglomerates’ sales as part of GDP stood at 53.4 percent
80% of Koreans skeptical over strike: KCCI

IndustryAug 27, 2012

Four out of every five Koreans responded that they were skeptical about a large-scale strike mulled by one of the nation’s progressive labor unions, a major business lobby group said.Citing its survey of 510 adults, the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry said it has found that about 80 percent of them responded that the upcoming strike was not an appropriate way to resolve disputes with employers.Those respondents said a general strike will have a negative effect on the economy.The Korean Conf
Seoul, ASEAN to launch joint group on forest cooperation

Aug 27, 2012

South Korea, together with the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, will launch an international organization on forest cooperation that will help fight deforestation and climate change, the country’s forest authority said Monday.The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization will officially be launched early next month, following a two-day forest ministers’ meeting in Seoul from next Wednesday.“The AFoCO with 11 member countries will be further expanded into an internat
First auto reliability survey fails to attract consumers, carmakers

IndustryAug 27, 2012

The nation’s first state-run consumer survey on vehicles is gaining lackluster participation by car owners, and automotive companies are raising questions about its reliability. In July, the Fair Trade Commission launched a pilot program questioning local drivers on the product quality of their own sports utility vehicles via its website for consumer information. The survey, which collects reviews on 133 SUV models of Korean and foreign carmakers until Aug. 31, has attracted only some 50 partici
Samsung-Apple patent case leads to motion filing

TechnologyAug 27, 2012

Questions arise over fairness of verdict in less than three daysThe latest verdict in favor of Apple by a nine-member jury at a U.S. federal court in San Jose, California, will lead Samsung Electronics to file a motion that it hopes will alter the course of the ongoing dispute between the two tech giants.The Korean company will take the next step of motion filing to re-address its arguments and ask the court to reconsider its points, which it believes have not been fully reflected in this trial,
Korea-China FTA talks pick up pace

Aug 27, 2012

Seoul, Beijing agree to remove tariffs on sensitive items 10 years after FTA takes effectKorea’s bargaining for a free trade agreement with China is picking up pace, while FTA talks between Seoul and Tokyo are unlikely to resume any time soon amid a diplomatic row over a territorial dispute.Korea and China agreed during their third round of FTA negotiations last week to remove tariffs on sensitive items 10 years after an FTA takes effect.The two sides agreed to eliminate tariffs on general items
Tongyang Securities’ ‘My W ETF Research Solution’ draws attention

Aug 27, 2012

Tongyang Securities’ ETF Wrap is drawing attention in the market for making stable profits. The security firm’s My W ETF Research Solution No. 2 reached an 8 percent earnings rate on Aug. 8, only 56 days since it launched in May 21. My W ETF Research Solution No. 3, which kicked off on June 28, also reached its earnings rate goal on Aug. 9. Both are now stably run, transferred 100 percent to bond-type ETF. The ETF Wrap product is first run as a mixture of equity-type and bond-type ETFs best ass
IFC Seoul Office Tower promoted as landmark in financial district of Yeouido

Aug 27, 2012

The IFC Seoul Office Tower buildings in Yeouido will open this week amid attention from the real estate industry over whether it will serve as a landmark in the financial district in Seoul.The IFC compex is composed of four buildings. They are the 32-story One IFC Seoul Office Tower, the 29-story Two IFC Seoul Office Tower, the 55-story Three IFC Seoul Office Tower and the 38-story hotel Conrad Seoul with 434 guest rooms. There will be an underground 3-story IFC Mall in the complex. GS Engineeri
IBs lower Korea’s private consumption outlook below 2%

Aug 27, 2012

Foreign investment banks lowered their 2012 outlooks on South Korea’s consumption growth in the private sector to the 1 percent range, the Korea Center for International Finance said on Wednesday. HSBC scaled down Korea’s forecast for private consumption growth from 2.1 percent to 1.8 percent year-on-year, lower than the Bank of Korea’s revised outlook of 2.2 percent in July. The global investment bank said that negative outlooks on the nation’s sluggish real estate market prevail, and the secto
Greater opportunities attract female talent to foreign firms

Aug 27, 2012

Higher salaries, less male-dominant corporate culture lure career womenMore women jobseekers prefer to look for employment at foreign-invested companies, hoping to avoid some of the barriers at Korean firms and seek a larger pool of opportunities.More women candidates are emerging in the high-end human resources market, according to one executive recruitment firm.“Now Korean conglomerates are looking at ideal business leaders from different angles,” said Kim Kuk-gil, chairman of Stanton Chase Ko