The Korea Herald

Audi Korea chief Trevor Hill set to leave Korea

TransportJul 23, 2012

Trevor Hill, managing director of Audi Korea, has been a key figure in Korea’s import car industry for his contributions to growth in the Korean market. After five years in Korea, he plans to leave the country upon completing his tenure this year. News reports said that Hill will continue his career with Audi AG, moving to Dubai to serve as the local unit chief there. According to industry sources, Hill has played an instrumental role in the breakthrough sales success of the luxury automaker’s K
Lego aims to expand toy market

IndustryJul 23, 2012

Local unit chief says more competition will help parents realize the ‘play value’ of toysDanish toy firm executive Steen Lauge Kokkenborg understands that all work and no play makes for a very dull person. So Kokkenborg, who has been serving as the general manager of Lego Korea for the past two years, has made it his personal mission to spread the importance of “play” in sparking a child’s imagination and helping him or her develop into a well-rounded, well-adjusted adult. “Korean parents....(so
Seoul shares fall on renewed eurozone worries

Jul 23, 2012

South Korean stocks closed 1.84 percent lower Monday as Spain's call for a rescue fund spurred a new wave of fears that the eurozone debt crisis is deepening, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 33.48 points to finish at 1,789.45. Trading volume was moderate at 491.3 million shares worth 3.55 trillion won ($
Chinese police seize $18.5M in fake money

Jul 23, 2012

Chinese police have arrested 463 suspects on charges of counterfeiting money and confiscated $18.5 million in fake bills, officials said.The arrests came out of a special operation created in March to crackdown on economic crimes, China‘s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.“Fake note cases and the amount of fake notes discovered by financial institutes have been decreasing under sustained crack
Seoul shares open sharply lower on Spain fears

Jul 23, 2012

South Korean stocks started sharply lower on Monday as renewed concern over debt-ridden Spain raised the specter that the eurozone fiscal crisis is worsening, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 27.80 points, or 1.53 percent to 1,795.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares moved downward across the board, with top-cap Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Moto
Parties promote ‘economic democratization’ bills

Jul 22, 2012

Rival parties disagree on reintroducing cap on chaebol’s equity investmentThe following is the last in a two-part story about political parties’ call for economic democratization ahead of the December presidential election. ― Ed.Both the ruling and opposition parties are voicing “economic democratization” as a key policy for the presidential elections in December.The constitutional term refers to efforts to promote balanced growth, economic stability and equitable income distribution and to prev
Insurer loan default rate rises in May

Jul 22, 2012

The default rate on loans extended by South Korean insurers moved up in May from a month earlier mainly due to a rise in overdue household and corporate loans, the financial regulator said Sunday.The average ratio of overdue loans came to 0.83 percent of total lending by local life and non-life insurers, up 0.03 percentage points from the end of April, the Financial Supervisory Service said in a report.The May figure, however, marks a 0.22 percentage point dip from a year earlier when the defaul
Com2uS to bask in growing smartphone game sector: UBS

IndustryJul 22, 2012

South Korea’s leading mobile game maker Com2uS Corp. will benefit from the growing smartphone game industry, investment bank UBS said Sunday, offering a “buy” recommendation on the company.“We believe Com2uS will be a key beneficiary of the expansion of the global smartphone gaming market,” UBS said in its initial coverage report on the company.Com2uS is one of South Korea’s most successful makers of video games for mobile phones. The company is known for such mobile games as finger-wrenching Ho
LG launches upgraded robotic vacuum cleaner

IndustryJul 22, 2012

LG Electronics said it rolled out an upgraded and square-shaped automated robotic vacuum cleaner called Roboking Dual Eye 2.0 on Sunday.The firm also said it aims to reach more than 50 billion won ($43.75 million) in robotic cleaner sales this year, a 40 percent rise from the 40 billion won the unit recorded in sales last year.Claimed to be the first square-shaped robotic vacuum cleaner in the industry, its latest model has increased its efficiency ― to 94 percent from 84 percent in 2011 ― in cl
Sluggish biz conditions cause layoff increases

IndustryJul 22, 2012

Sluggish business conditions have caused a sharp rise in layoffs and involuntary retirements in South Korea’s labor market, a government report showed Sunday.According to data by Statistics Korea, 27.0 percent of people who had to leave work this year cited downturns in the business environment and outright closures of workplaces because of poor sales and earnings.This is a rise of 7.8 percentage points from 19.2 percent who had to leave work for the same reasons in 2006.The latest findings also
Asiana introduces premium first class

IndustryJul 22, 2012

Asiana Airlines said Sunday that it has launched a new type of first-class service, OZ First Suite, which is based on the concept of “hotel suites transplanted in an air carrier.” Limited to three routes ― Incheon-Chicago, Incheon-Narita and Incheon-Ho Chi Minh ― the new premium service is offered only on the B777-200ER aircraft at present. The Incheon-Chicago flight runs four times a week, the Incheon-Narita flight four times a day, and the Incheon-Ho Chi Minh flight two times a day. The most e
Banks in public trust crisis

Jul 22, 2012

FSC chief defends financial firms under rate fixing probeLocal banks and brokerages are facing mounting consumer distrust over allegations that they rigged the interest rates of certificates of deposit, which, if true, would have caused households’ borrowing costs to rise.With nearly half of household loans tied to the benchmark CD rate, it is widely perceived that households had to pay higher interests because the CD rate was kept above market rates.The average interest rate for household loans
Seoul bourse likely to move in tight range

Jul 22, 2012

South Korean stocks are likely to be locked in range-bound trading this week as investors step to the sidelines over a lack of momentum, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.55 percent from a week earlier to finish at 1,822.93 last week, with the market fluctuating most of the week.The main index slumped 27.05 points to 1,794.91 on Wednesday as investor sentiment soured over U.S. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s bleak economic outlook. But it bounced back to the psycho
Credit card installment purchases hit 15-year high

Jul 22, 2012

Credit card installment purchases rose to a 15-year high in the first quarter of this year as households tried to reduce their repayment burden in the face of mounting debt, a report showed Sunday.The Credit Finance Association of Korea report showed 17.4 percent of all card purchases made in the January-March period were installments, the highest reached since 19.2 percent tallied for the whole of 1997, when the country was rocked by the Asian financial crisis.Reflecting this, credit card firms
Hana Financial buys U.S. bank holding company

Jul 22, 2012

Hana Financial Group said Sunday it signed an agreement to acquire a 71 percent stake of BNB Financial Services Corporation, a holding company of New York-based Broadway National Bank.The acquisition of the only Korean-American bank that has a national license provides a foothold for Hana to expand sales in North America, the financial group said in a press release.National banks have high consumer trust as they are chartered and supervised by the Office of Comptroller of Currency, an agency und