The Korea Herald

S-Oil embraces children of firefighters fallen in duty

Aug 24, 2012

S-Oil Corp. held its annual ceremony on Friday to deliver scholarships to the children of Korean firefighters killed in the line of duty.With its “Guardians for Brave Firefighter” program, the company has supported injured or deceased firefighters and their families since 2006. This year, the oil refinery and distributor company gave 3 million won ($2,650) each to 102 children to help them study in a stable academic environment. S-Oil said that the scholarships apply to each individual and not h
'Samsung did not copy Apple’s designs’

TechnologyAug 24, 2012

An Apple Inc. iPad 2 and iPhone 4S smartphone, left, and a Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer and Galaxy S III smartphone are arranged for a photograph in Seoul, South Korea, On Tuesday. (Bloomberg)　Seoul court says Apple infringed two Samsung patents, Samsung violated one of Apple’s　A Seoul court on Friday ruled in favor of Samsung Electronics against Apple Inc., ordering a s
Computer maker sees ‘dual-device’ world

TechnologyAug 24, 2012

A U.S. computer company officer says predictions of the demise of the old-style home PC due to rapid development of smartphones and tablets are overblown.David Schmoock, who heads North American operations for Chinese PC maker Lenovo, says he‘s seen little evidence tablet adoption is undercutting laptop sales.“The tablet world is almost completely complementary to the PC world,” Schmoock told Network World. “It really is a dual-device world.”He acknowledges some major readjustments in the home P
Over 100 tanks seized from pro-Gadhafi militia: ministry

TechnologyAug 24, 2012

More than 100 tanks were seized from a militia loyal to Libya's ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi as authorities hunted the perpetrators of a double car bombing, the interior ministry said on Thursday.A ministry official said an investigation into the attacks on Sunday helped to detect the militia which posed as "revolutionaries" and was housed in barracks in Souk al-Ahad near Tarhuna, 60 kilometres (
Seoul shares open lower on growth concerns

Aug 24, 2012

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday following fresh concerns over the global economic slowdown, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 20.91 points, or 1.08 percent, to 1,921.63 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large-cap exporters led the decline, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics slumping 1.17 percent and leading automaker Hyundai Moto
Slump, changing tastes dent whiskey sales

Aug 23, 2012

The volume of whiskey sold in Korea in the first half of this year plunged, apparently due to the ongoing economic slump, data showed on Thuesday.According to a report by the Korea Alcohol and Liquor Industry Association, whiskey sold in the first six months this year amounted to 1.18 million liters, down 38.9 percent from the same period last year.Such a trend can be attributed to consumers not buying high-priced liquors in the economic downturn, market observers said. Also, a change in drinkin
Conglomerates, financial sector tighten belts on economic slump

IndustryAug 23, 2012

A slew of companies are tightening their belts by cutting jobs and wages and making employees go on mandatory leaves of absence as the stagnant economy drags out, with mounting household debts discouraging consumption.Korea’s second-quarter household credit, or credit purchases and loans for households extended by financial institutions, hit a record high of 922 trillion won ($814.5 billion) as of the end of June, up 10.9 trillion won from three months earlier, the Bank of Korea said Thursday.Wi
DHL opens new global logistics hub in Busan

IndustryAug 23, 2012

DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight operator of Deutsche Post DHL, said Thursday that it has opened a global logistics hub in Korea’s southern port city of Busan ― the eighth of its kind globally and first in Northeast Asia. The Bonn, Germany-based company said it has injected 500,000 euros ($627,000) in completing the Busan Multinational Gateway that will reduce transit times by up to seven days through new 13 direct services. “Busan’s location between Japan and China makes it an i
Shares inch up 0.38% on bargain hunting

Aug 23, 2012

South Korean stocks edged up 0.38 percent Thursday as investors scooped up local shares for bargain hunting following a recent fall, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 7.35 points to close at 1,942.54, snapping a four-session bearish run. Trading volume was heavy at 594.7 million shares worth 4.15 trillion won ($3.67 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 460 to 335.“Foreign investors picked up large-cap shares t
In U.S., Hyundai chief stresses product quality

IndustryAug 23, 2012

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo stressed a prompt response to the recent sales recovery of Japanese rivals in his visit to the Korean auto behemoth’s U.S. operations on Wednesday. Chung urged, among other things, to secure product quality as Hyundai has already increased production capacity by recently switching from a two-shift to a three-shift system, where three sets of workers change turns each day, in U.S. factories. “The smooth operation of U.S. plants is essential in order to
Iran’s Bank Mellat loses lawsuit in Korea over financial sanctions

Aug 23, 2012

An Iranian bank has lost a legal battle with Korea’s Finance Ministry to cancel a 2010 decision that suspended the bank’s local branch, a measure following international sanctions over Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons program, court officials said Thursday. The Seoul Administrative Court in a Thursday ruling rejected a request from Bank Mellat to nullify the decision, officials said. Korea put 102 Iranian entities, including the Bank Mellat branch, and 24 individuals under government supervisi
SKT develops image-recognition solution for ads

TechnologyAug 23, 2012

SK Telecom, Korea’s biggest telecom operator, has developed an image recognition solution for outdoor advertising.The solution, which will be adopted at the International Finance Center in Yeouido, can analyze a group of people visiting the IFC Mall for demographic information such as age and gender, after photographing them with full high-definition cameras placed above or below large digital advertising screens.Such real-time customer statistics gathered through SK Telecom’s image solution wil
Business lobby group opposes move to raise corporate taxes

IndustryAug 23, 2012

KCCI tenders wish list to ruling and opposition parties ahead of presidential electionFour months ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election, a major business lobby group submitted their wish list to political parties urging them not to raise corporate taxes.In the recommendation letter handed over to ruling and opposition parties on Thursday, the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry said it hopes, above all, the next administration will not raise corporate taxes.The KCCI claimed that the recent
KEPCO tightens belt to close deficit

Aug 23, 2012

Korea Electric Power Corp. has adopted a series of cost-cutting measures to offset its deficit caused by the nation’s below-cost electricity rates.Officials at the state-run company said they have saved about 1.4 trillion won ($1.2 billion) on average annually from in-house measures over the past four years. The cost-saving measures included a voluntary return of salaries of executives in 2008 and a wage freeze of employees and executives in 2009 and 2010. KEPCO has also downsized its organizat
Dissonance hinders aid to small businesses

Aug 23, 2012

Mismatch remains in views of what small exporters needAhn Yong-joon opened his auto frame manufacturing company TLtek in 2000, using former business connections to form contracts with car companies in Japan. Looking beyond doing business locally, he set his sights abroad from the start. “There is no other choice than to export,” Ahn said, considering the limited size of the local market.A decade later, nearly 60 percent of his $26.4 million in sales in 2011 came from exporting to Japan, Europe a