The Korea Herald

K-pop wave lifts entertainment sector

IndustryAug 7, 2012

Overseas sales of entertainment contents post W150b in H1Korea’s overseas sales of music and video content surpassed 150 billion won ($132 million) in the first half of this year, buoyed by the K-pop craze overseas, a report said. K-pop fever is also lifting the stock value of the nation’s major entertainment agencies.According to the Bank of Korea on Tuesday, audiovisual service revenues, which include sales of overseas music, film and other showbiz areas, reached about $137 million in the firs
Lee instructs more aggressive action to cope with economic crisis

Aug 7, 2012

President Lee Myung-bak instructed the Cabinet Tuesday to be more aggressive with a sense of emergency in taking steps to cope with the global economic crisis, saying he sees little action despite many discussions on how to handle the situation.“As we have feared from the beginning of the year, this crisis could last for a long time,” Lee said during a Cabinet meeting, according to spokesman Park Jeong-ha. “Though we have held emergency meetings ... government measures are not seen in action."We
Korean, Japanese biz groups call for greater economic ties

Aug 7, 2012

BUSAN (Yonhap News) ― The chambers of commerce from Korea and Japan on Tuesday called for closer economic cooperation and investment in the face of growing global uncertainties.At the sixth bilateral chamber of commerce meeting in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Sohn Kyung-shik, the head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said despite unfavorable economic conditions, two-way trade surpassed the $100 billion mark for the first time in 2011.He said the growth was made possibl
Samsung, Verizon form new smart TV content partnership

Aug 7, 2012

Samsung Electronics has formed an alliance with Verizon, the biggest telecom company in the U.S., to boost content for smart TVs.The two companies will offer Internet Protocol television content, including video on demand, through the Verizon FiOS App on Samsung’s smart TV.Some 120 million consumers subscribing to Verizon telecom services will be able to view such content without using set-top boxes, which are normally required to watch IPTV shows and movies.Lee Kyung-shik, vice president of vis
Korean Air eyes buyout of state-run aircraft maker

IndustryAug 7, 2012

Korea’s leading flag carrier Korean Air plans to join a bidding race to acquire the nation’s sole aircraft maker Korea Aerospace Industries, industry sources said Tuesday. The company has already secured 1 trillion won ($900 million) for the potential acquisition, said Cho Yang-ho, chairman of Hanjin Group, which owns Korean Air, in a recent interview with a local vernacular news daily. A shareholders’ committee of KAI, consisting of state-run financial firm Korea Finance Corporation, Samsung Te
Tech giants step up global marketing

IndustryAug 7, 2012

Samsung and LG release flagship gadgets in Europe and Mid EastLocal electronics giants are stepping up global marketing, launching flagship gadgets such as the Galaxy Note 10.1 and Optimus L-Series in European and Middle Eastern nations.Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday that it will roll out its new tablet PC Galaxy Note 10.1 in Germany, the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East.It is also scheduled to launch in Korea sometime this month. Equipped with a 10.1-inch display, the new tablet co
Korea’s corporate debt jumps in Q1

Aug 7, 2012

Korea’s corporate debt rose sharply in the first quarter of this year, data showed Tuesday, spawning concerns that the high indebtedness is feared to weigh on the already weakening economic growth.Local companies’ debt reached 107 percent of the country’s gross domestic product as of end-March, well hovering above a tipping point of 90 percent, according to the Korea Insurance Research Institute. In 2010, the ratio came in at 104 percent.The corporate debt ratio fell to 78 percent in 2004 after
Air conditioner sales spike on heat wave

IndustryAug 7, 2012

Sales of air conditioners in South Korea are on a roll as heat-battered consumers are rushing to escape the scorching weather, market watchers said Tuesday.Sales at major retailers jumped more than 20 percent in July from a year earlier, while they skyrocketed between 240-260 percent in the last few days of the month when the mercury hovered above 33 degrees Celsius in most parts of the country, according to the watchers.Due to a spike in demand, consumers have to wait a week on average for thei
Shares edge up on eased eurozone woes

Aug 7, 2012

Korean stocks closed marginally higher on Tuesday as investors took a pause after recent rallies amid eased concern over the eurozone debt crisis, analysts said.The local currency inched up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 0.92 points, or 0.05 percent, to finish at 1,886.80. Trading volume was moderate at 320.6 million shares worth 3.47 trillion won ($3.07 billion), with gainers outstripping losers 502 to 317. “Investors took a breather as signals fr
Monthly stock trading dips below W100tr

Aug 7, 2012

Korea’s monthly stock trading volume has remained below the 100 trillion won ($88.6 billion) mark for four straight months this year as global uncertainties arising from the debt-ridden eurozone are sapping investor appetites, data showed Tuesday. The monthly trading turnover of stocks listed on the main bourse stood at 90.5 trillion won as of the end of July, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Financial Investment Association. Trading turnover figures had stood above the
EU reviews French call for watch of Korean cars

Aug 7, 2012

Chances are unlikely that the bloc will impose higher tariffs: expertsThe European Commission, the European Union’s executive body, has begun reviewing France’s request to require Korea to give advanced warning of planned car exports to the EU.“The European Commission confirms it has received a note from the French authorities requesting ... prior surveillance measures for South Korean car imports,” EU’s trade spokesman John Clancy said in a statement. “The Commission is reviewing carefully the
Foreign car firms look beyond Seoul

IndustryAug 7, 2012

Regional cities see import car sales increase rapidlyForeign automakers in Korea are expanding their businesses in the nation’s major provincial cities as import vehicle sales continue to hit all-time highs.The trend follows the growing percentage of sales in big regional cities. The proportion of import car sales in Seoul among the total in the nation stood at 19.2 percent in July, down from 21.7 percent a year before.Gyeonggi Province and South Gyeongsang Province held the second and third pos
German Merck Group offers family business template

Aug 7, 2012

‘Choose management wisely,’ advises senior exec of world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical companyFor the German Merck Group, South Korea remains a worthwhile investment. “We have invested a lot of money in Korea … (and it’s) an important market and always has been,” said Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Monday.Stangenberg-Haverkamp serves as chairman of the Board of Partners as well as vice chairman of the Executive Board and Family Board for E. M
S. Korea issues power shortage alert

Aug 7, 2012

South Korea's state-run electricity distributor issued a power shortage alert Tuesday due to a surge in electricity consumption caused by high temperatures, the second such move in as many days.The Korea Power Exchange issued an initial warning at 11:20 a.m. after the country's electricity reserve dropped to below 4 million kilowatts.The company later upgraded the warning to its third-highest leve
Apple pulling its YouTube app from iOS 6

TechnologyAug 7, 2012

Apple Inc. has removed its YouTube app from its latest beta version of iOS 6, with the Cupertino, Calif., company saying its license from Google has expired.The app will not be included in the next version of its mobile operating system for the iPhone and iPad, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.Since the iPhone went on sale in 2007, Apple‘s YouTube app has come pre-installed on the company’s mobile devices.It‘s the latest sign of a growing gulf in the relations between Apple and Google, wh