The Korea Herald

Citigroup’s 200th anniv. hailed in Korea celebrations

Jun 17, 2012

Citi Korea, a local subsidiary of the global financial services giant Citigroup Inc., marked the bicentennial anniversary of its parent company with an array of service projects on Saturday. Under the slogan “Green Citi, Clean City,” over 4,300 volunteers affiliated with Citi Korea participated in service projects such as mural painting, weeding and a financial services education program for youth. Other volunteer activities included a free meal service program called “Baffor” and a cleanup camp
Airliners need focus on biofuels for growth

Jun 17, 2012

Renewable fuels show long-term promise in curbing carbon emissions, says Air France execThe world’s commercial airline industry needs to research and promote renewable sources of energy like biofuels, or it faces a risk of limited growth in the future due to the expanding carbon footprint of air travel, said Air France’s Vice President of Environment Pierre Albano. “Unless we reduce air pollution, (airlines) will not be allowed to grow anymore,” he said in an interview with The Korea Herald in S
Renault Samsung seeks image upgrade with electric SM3

TransportJun 17, 2012

Times have been tough for Renault Samsung Motors, the maker of SM series sedans ― SM3, SM5, SM7 and QM5.The automaker sold 246,959 cars last year, 9 percent less than the previous year. It delivered 109,221 units in Korea and 137,738 overseas.In the first quarter of this year, the company suffered the biggest drop in year-on-year sales among the five major players, including Hyundai, Kia, GM Korea and Ssangyong. In order to give fresh momentum to its sluggish domestic sales, RSM is now pinning i
Fiat cuts spending as Peugeot sells assets as sales slump

TransportJun 17, 2012

Fiat SpA will cut investments in Europe by 500 million euros ($632 million) and PSA Peugeot Citroen plans to sell a larger stake in its trucking unit as the region’s automakers grapple with an extended market slump.“The capital expenditure reduction is about half a billion euros from what we planned last year for 2012 in Europe,” chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne said late Thursday in an interview in Madrid, where he’s heading the annual gathering of the European Automobile Manufacturers
Blizzard faces growing outcry against Diablo 3 over poor service: reports

TechnologyJun 17, 2012

Blizzard Entertainment is facing growing criticism and outcry from fans and industry experts against its latest hit game Diablo 3 for failing to live up to its proposed expectations, according to various media reports.Failure of smooth data connections and repeated error messages while logging in or playing the game compelled Korean users, game cafe operators and regulators to take the matter int
Microsoft said to agree to buy Yammer for $1.2 billion

TechnologyJun 17, 2012

Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker, has agreed to purchase Yammer Inc., operator of a social network for businesses, for $1.2 billion, said a person familiar with the matter.The deal is expected to be announced by the end of June, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private. Dee Anna McPherson, a spokeswoman for Yammer, declined to comment
Shares fall on eurozone uncertainties

IndustryJun 15, 2012

Seoul shares fell 0.71 percent on Friday in the face of rising European uncertainties ahead of Greece’s critical elections and mixed U.S. economic data, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved down 13.32 points to 1,858.16 after a choppy session. Trading volume was light at 4.26 million shares worth 4.46 trillion won ($3.83 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 486 to 344.“Investor sentiment was dented by mounting eur
FTC scrutinizes celebrities’ online malls

IndustryJun 15, 2012

The nation’s antitrust watchdog is considering slapping fines on Internet shopping malls run by celebrities for unfair trade practices.The Fair Trade Commission, which did not release the companies’ names, began looking into the shopping sites’ refund policies upon consumer complaints that they refused to provide refunds for clothing, according to sources at the commission.“We had to launch a probe as there were so many complaints from consumers who were disgruntled about the shopping sites’ ref
BOK head warns against bank loan defaults

Jun 15, 2012

Korean lenders need to better manage their loans and guard against a rise in loan defaults, the top central banker said Friday.In a meeting with presidents of commercial banks, Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-soo said loan delinquency rates have accelerated this year.“Such trends are raising concerns,” he stressed, pointing out that inability to pay back loans can pose serious challenges for local lenders and the economy as a whole. The remarks came as household loan delinquency rates reached
Hyundai Oilbank cancels IPO plan on uncertainties

IndustryJun 15, 2012

Hyundai Oilbank has pulled out of its plans to carry out an initial public offering on the Korea Exchange, citing economic uncertainties at home and abroad.“We’ve decided to withdraw from the plan in the wake of the eurozone fiscal crisis and worsening investor sentiment on the local stock market,” a company spokesman said.The company plans to push for the listing again when it finds optimum timing later.Hyundai Oilbank had planned to complete the IPO process during the first half of the year.An
State-run oil firm chief steps down

Jun 15, 2012

Korea National Oil Corp. CEO Kang Young-won stepped down from his post on Friday prior to the expected completion of his tenure that ends on Aug. 18.It was not known why he resigned earlier than scheduled, but the move came after the Finance Ministry recently released its evaluation of public corporations’ performances last year. The outgoing CEO received a B, the third-highest rating on a scale of five while the company received a D rating. Kang had expressed his willingness to quit after news
Seoul takes steps to lower prices of imported cosmetics

IndustryJun 15, 2012

The government said on Friday it will improve the distribution system of imported cosmetics and tighten monitoring of unfair trade practices and deceptive advertising to lower their prices.Prices of imported beauty products remained high despite Korea’s free trade agreements with the European Union and the U.S. which went into effect in July last year and March this year, respectively.“We will reduce the excessive retail margins incurred by exclusive imports and sales and provide consumers with
Telecoms-Kakao conflict escalates over free call

IndustryJun 15, 2012

S&P lowers KT’s rating to negative, citing threat from mVoIP service and other revenue sourcesLocal telecom giants and Kakao, well-known for its free mobile messenger service, have expanded their battle front amid the venture firm’s new allegation that the mobile carriers purposely downgraded the quality of its voice call service.Earlier on Thursday, Kakao’s chief executive Lee Sir-goo said that the country’s three telecom companies -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- are lowering the voice qualit
U.K. gives new details of mass surveillance plan

TechnologyJun 15, 2012

U.K. authorities are revealing new details of an ambitious bill which would track electronic conversations of every single U.K. resident. The proposed mass surveillance law would collect detailed information about the private communications of millions of Britons, a step the government insists is necessary to fight terrorism and crime.Home Secretary Theresa May says the program will not snoop on t
U.S. urges markets to pull shellfish from Korea

IndustryJun 15, 2012

The Food and Drug Administration is urging food distributors, retailers and food service vendors to remove from the market all shellfish imported from South Korea because of possible contamination with human waste and norovirus.The decision follows an FDA evaluation that determined that the Korean Shellfish Sanitation program no longer meets adequate sanitation controls. The federal agency is in o