The Korea Herald

Taxi drivers strike, demanding lower fuel prices, higher fares

Jun 20, 2012

About 200,000 taxi drivers staged their first one-day nationwide strike on Wednesday, demanding that the government cut taxi fuel prices and hike fares, officials said.The Transportation Ministry said the government extended public transportation schedules in the day to minimize the impact from the strike.News reports said the strike of taxi drivers ended up causing little confusion to daily commuters in Korea, the world’s third most densely populated country.In Seoul, tens of thousands of drive
Seoul stocks gain 0.65% on U.S. stimulus hopes

Jun 20, 2012

Korean stocks gained 0.65 percent Wednesday on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce new stimulus measures to bolster economic growth, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 12.35 points to close at 1,904.12. Trading volume was light at 354 million shares worth just under 3.63 trillion won ($3.15 billion), with gainers clearly outpacing losers 555 to 276.“The market is waiting to see what measur
Asset managers’ earnings drop 14 percent in 2011

Jun 20, 2012

Earnings of asset management firms in South Korea fell 14 percent on-year in the 2011 fiscal year as weak stock prices and a drop in the net value of holdings cut into profits, the financial regulator said Wednesday.The combined net earnings of 82 asset managers came to 305.2 billion won ($264.7 million) when fiscal 2011 ended in March, down 49.8 billion won from a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.“The total value of assets under management declined mainly because of
New Nonghyup Financial chief faces union opposition

Jun 20, 2012

A former bureaucrat has been appointed the new chairman of Nonghyup Financial Group on Wednesday despite strong opposition from the labor union.Shin Dong-kyu, who built his career at the Finance Ministry, served as the chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks until November last year.He worked as the first commissioner of the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit and head of the Korea Export-Import Bank before taking the helm at the KFB in 2008. A Nonghyup Financial committee in charge of recommen
Kookmin Bank opens first office in India

Jun 20, 2012

KB Kookmin Bank opened an office in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, hoping that it would help expand its banking service in the Asian country.The bank also announced on Tuesday that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ICICI Bank, India’s largest private bank. Following the agreement, KB’s customers in India will be able to do their banking through ICICI bank from opening accounts to exchanging foreign currencies and even getting bank loans based on KB’s financial guarantee. KB officials sai
Google exec: Technology wave leaving many behind

TechnologyJun 20, 2012

JERUSALEM (AP) ― Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt on Tuesday warned that vast numbers of the world’s population are missing out on the advantages brought by the Internet.Schmidt said that about 2 billion people, less than a third of the world’s population, have Internet access, and 1 billion have smartphones. “The World Wide Web has yet to live up to its name,’’ he said. “Technology does not produce miracles, but connectivity, even in modest amounts, changes lives.’’ Schmidt served as Go
NCsoft releases new blockbuster ‘Blade & Soul’

TechnologyJun 20, 2012

New multiplayer online game to go head-to-head with ‘Diablo 3’NCsoft will launch its long-awaited massively multiplayer online role-playing game “Blade and Soul” in Korea on Thursday, setting up a showdown with the most popular “Diablo 3” to dominate the local online game market.The online game developer said Wednesday that the new online game will be launched at 4 p.m. during a free open beta test. It is planned to be commercialized here within two weeks.So far, 210,000 people have signed up fo
SK Telecom to make second LTE leap as it marks one year

TechnologyJun 20, 2012

By Park Hyong-kiSK Telecom, Korea’s biggest mobile carrier, is gearing up to make another leap in long term evolution and open the era of “LTE 2.0” in the country.Celebrating the first anniversary since the company launched its LTE service in July last year, SK Telecom’s LTE 2.0 refers to offering multicarrier and LTE Advanced (LTE-A) services, with faster speed and accessibility, the company told reporters on Wednesday.It will launch the multicarrier service next month and aims to make LTE Adva
Cardif in Korea appoints new CEO

Jun 20, 2012

By Kim Min-ju Cardif in Korea, a subsidiary insurance arm of the BNP Paribas Cardif, announced Wednesday that it has named current deputy CEO Jean Christophe Darbes as its new incoming chief executive officer.Darbes was named to the post following a meeting of the board of directors on June 19. He will succeed current head Herve Giraudon on July 1. The company expressed its confidence in the new appointment, explaining that Darbes’ experience and relationships with both banks and financial gro
Seoul shares open higher on global stimulus hopes

Jun 20, 2012

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank will provide more stimulus to counter sluggish global economic growth, analysts said.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 0.64 percent, or 12.03 points, to 1,903.80 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.48 percent, with to
Asset managers' earnings drop 14 pct in 2011

Jun 20, 2012

Earnings of asset management firms in South Korea fell 14 percent on-year in the 2011 fiscal year as weak stock prices and a drop in the net value of holdings cut into profits, the financial regulator said Wednesday.The combined net earnings of 82 asset managers came to 305.2 billion won (US$264.7 million) when fiscal 2011 ended in March, down 49.8 billion won from a year earlier, according to the
G20 leaders pledge to bolster growth and job creation, extend standstill commitment

Jun 20, 2012

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and other leaders of the world's major economies pledged Tuesday to accelerate growth and job creation to underpin the global economic recovery troubled by the eurozone debt crisis.The leaders of the Group of 20 economies said in a joint statement that they expect eurozone members to take all necessary measures to "safeguard the integrity and stability" of the
South Korea plans public blackout drill

IndustryJun 19, 2012

The government will carry out the nation’s first civil training against potential nationwide blackouts on Thursday at 2 p.m. for 20 minutes, officials said Tuesday. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy and other related government offices asked citizens and businesses for their cooperation in a joint news conference. Working under the possibility that the nation’s electricity reserves could fall below 2 million kilowatts, Thursday’s training will start with sirens and television and radio broadcast
Average age of Koreans to reach 50 in 2045: report

Jun 19, 2012

The average age of Koreans will reach 50 in 2045 thanks to the country’s rapidly aging population, the Royal Bank of Scotland said in a report Tuesday.“Korea has the fastest aging population on the planet and by 2016 its working-age population will contract,” Erik Lueth, an RBS analyst, wrote in the report titled “the economic impact of Korea’s demographic transition.” “Korea has just overtaken the U.S. in average age and will be older than Europe by 2020. By 2045, Koreans will be 50 years of ag
Samsonite ‘Tokyo Chic’ bags removed from H.K. stores

Jun 19, 2012

Local consumer group finds high levels of possible carcinogens on bags’ handlesGlobal luggage maker Samsonite International pulled its “Tokyo Chic” bags from Hong Kong stores this week, following a report from a local consumer watchdog group that detected high levels of possible cancer-causing agents on the bags’ handles.The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the company removed the bags from stores after the Hong Kong Consumer Council found higher-than-safe levels of polycyclic aromatic h