The Korea Herald

Hansae donates 3,000 clothes to Indonesia

Jul 25, 2012

Hansae, a top global exporter of clothing, celebrated Indonesia Children’s Day by giving away some 3,000 articles of clothing to the local needy children in South Jakarta on July 14. The donation event was sponsored by the international humanitarian and development NGO Good Neighbors. The celebration saw over 600 participants, ranging from the local children to Indonesia’s Child Protection Commission, company officials said. Entertainment was provided by the young recipients, who delighted in pr
Companies join blood donation rush

Jul 25, 2012

Some business conglomerates are putting much effort into donating blood, aiming to help society as well as heighten their brand reputation.Kumho Asiana Group, a composite business specializing in chemicals, construction and shipping, has been promoting blood donation since 2004 in cooperation with the Korea Red Cross. It holds a blood donation drive once a year and stresses the importance of the campaign during its recruiting session to encourage more people to donate.The corporate will hold a b
KT, Yonsei tie up on smart health care

TechnologyJul 25, 2012

KT, Korea’s second-largest mobile carrier, and Yonsei University Health System have launched a joint venture in healthcare IT business named H∞H Healthcare.H∞H, or “Hooh,” refers to the infinite value of human and health, KT said.The two sides invested 1 billion won ($869,000) in the joint venture with a 49 percent stake owned by KT, while Yonsei holds a majority 51 percent in the new entity.The board members will consist of two executives from KT and three from Yonsei University Health System.T
Electricity consumption hits record highs: KPX

Jul 25, 2012

The state-run supervisor of electricity supply and consumption warned on Wednesday that power consumption nationwide has been hitting new records in the past couple of days, mostly due to the scorching summer heat. The Korea Power Exchange reported on Wednesday that the maximum consumption rate hit 73.3 million kilowatts between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., slightly higher than the day before. Between these hours, the average temperature nationwide reached 33 degrees Celsius, or 91.4 Fahrenheit. According
International air passenger traffic jumps 14.6% in H1

Jul 25, 2012

Korea’s international air passenger traffic jumped 14.6 percent on-year in the first half due to a sharp rise in foreign visitors and more Koreans traveling abroad, the government said Wednesday.The number of international air passengers came to 22.87 million, the highest number ever for the six-month period, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.The previous first-half record was reached in January-June of last year, when numbers hit 19.95 million.The ministry said c
Samsung becomes sole DDR3 provider for supercomputer center

IndustryJul 25, 2012

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday that it has become the sole supplier of low-power memory interface technology for the Leibniz Supercomputing Center, which hosts the powerful supercomputer in Europe.The company said that it has won the order to produce 30 nano-class, 4-gigabyte green double data rate type-three synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR3 SDRAM) modules, applying the green memory in advanced computing systems.The DDR3, also known as synchronous DRAM, is the new generation of
Korea aims to export method for four-river project to Thailand

IndustryJul 25, 2012

Government-led consortium will join race to participate in Thailand’s water management projectA government-led consortium plans to jump into an international bidding war to participate in a large-scale water management project in Thailand, which Seoul officials say could become the first case of exporting Korea’s own four-river restoration project. The Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs said Wednesday the consortium, named “Dream Team,” will join the first-round bidding to par
Consumer group prepares class action suit over rate fixing

Jul 25, 2012

A Korean consumer advocacy group said Wednesday that it is preparing for a class action suit against banks’ alleged collusion to rig key money-market rates, as suspected rate fixing is presumed to add to households’ debt burden.The Fair Trade Commission, the country’s anti-trust watchdog, last week launched an investigation into major local banks and brokerage houses over their suspected involvement in rigging rates on the 91-day certificate of deposit, or the benchmark for bank lending rates.Th
Tax agency, hotels team up to promote traditional liquor

IndustryJul 25, 2012

The National Tax Service said on Wednesday it has teamed up with five-star hotels across the country to boost sales of traditional liquor such as makgeolli.Sixty-eight hotels agreed to sell traditional liquor in their Japanese and Chinese restaurants as well as Korean restaurants, in addition to providing storytelling booklets on the history of traditional liquors, regions where they are produced and how they are made. Forty-two hotels in Seoul, Busan and Jeju started traditional liquor sales on
Consumer sentiment hits 5-month low in July

Jul 25, 2012

Korean consumers’ confidence fell to a five-month low in July as the economic outlook became bleaker due to the eurozone debt crisis, the central bank said Wednesday.The consumer sentiment index ― a gauge of consumers’ overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending ― came in at 100 for July, down from 101 tallied in the previous month, according to a survey by the Bank of Korea.The July data marked the lowest level since the index reached an identical 100 in February, the bank s
KB Financial decides not to bid for Woori

Jul 25, 2012

Woori sale hangs in air as strong potential bidder backs outThe sale of Woori Finance Holdings hangs in the air once again as KB Financial Group decided not to make a bid, two days ahead of the deadline for preliminary bidding. Board directors of the nation’s largest financial group concluded in a meeting on Wednesday that they will not take part in the preliminary bidding for Woori Finance.Ten board directors including KB Financial chairman Euh Yoon-dae, KB Kookmin Bank chief executive Min Byon
Samsung to provide ‘smart hotel’ service via Galaxy S3 for Olympics

TechnologyJul 25, 2012

Samsung Electronics announced on Wednesday that vacationers will be able to use the company’s Galaxy S3 mobile phone to access “smart hotel” services during the 2012 London Olympics. The company said that it has teamed up with multinational hotel chain Holiday Inn to provide services for vacationers at the chain’s London-Stratford location. Those with a Galaxy S3 will be able to use the device to access the hotel’s services, such as operating the TV, lighting and air-conditioning units in their
Samsung to sell smartphone for direct consumer purchase

TechnologyJul 25, 2012

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it plans to introduce the country’s first smartphone model that consumers can directly buy, opening the way for getting mobile devices outside of wireless operators.The Galaxy M Style model, which runs on the third-generation network, will hit local shelves on Thursday, according to the world’s largest smartphone maker.Consumers can directly purchase the smartphone and open accounts with two of the country’s three mobile carriers, SK Telecom Co. and KT Corp
‘Mobile ads are the future’

TechnologyJul 25, 2012

Semantic Rep’s CEO says firm in talks with U.S. company for M&A, allianceFrom newspapers, television to the Internet, the birth of new media has introduced novel ways for advertisers to market brands and products over the years.The Internet, for instance, has offered new ad solutions such as Web banners and search advertising.The emergence of smart devices and Long Term Evolution is about to launch a new era of mobile video advertising that will offer a lot more interactivity with consumers than
LG’s mobile unit posts 56.7b won loss in Q2

IndustryJul 25, 2012

LG Electronics said Wednesday it posted 349 billion won ($302.95 million) in operating profit for the second quarter, down about 22 percent from the previous quarter.In a quarterly regulatory filing, the country’s electronics giant also said it recorded 12.85 trillion won in sales, which is an increase of 5.16 percent compared to the first quarter.The operating profit figure, however, was up more than 120 percent from the 158.23 billion won reached in the same period last year with its sales dow