The Korea Herald

Hyundai Group seeks to expand financial business

IndustryMay 29, 2012

Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun has been striving to find new growth engines for the conglomerate amid the stalled inter-Korean business led by its tourism unit Hyundai Asan.Following its takeover of Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul, a six-star luxury resort in Seoul, early this year, Hyundai Group ― in particular ― is seeking to expand its financial business, based upon its brokerage unit.According to financial industry sources, Hyundai Securities, which acquired the debt-saddled Daeyeong S
Korea an inspiration for cosmetic brands: Benefit CEO

IndustryMay 29, 2012

Rougeot says Korea is a global test bed, trendsetter for beauty productsCosmetic sales are rarely affected by economic downswings. Sometimes they even surge during times of slugglish economic activity as consumers are more inclined to buy less costly luxury goods instead of houses, cars or fur coats.“They call it the ‘lipstick effect’ as lipstick sales tend to remain constant through economic slumps,” Jean-Andre Rougeot, chief executive of Benefit Cosmetics, told The Korea Herald during a visit
Samsung’s Galaxy S3 hit shelves in 28 nations

TechnologyMay 29, 2012

South Korea's Samsung Electronics said it would start selling its newest smartphone in 28 countries from Tuesday as it seeks to cement its position as the world's top-selling mobile phone maker. The Galaxy S3, unveiled in London earlier this month, will hit shelves Tuesday in nations including Britain, France and the United Arab Emirates, the firm said in a statement. The phone will be available i
Police: Facebook pic led to robbery

TechnologyMay 29, 2012

Police in Australia are warning people to be cautious online after a picture of cash posted to Facebook led to a home invasion robbery.New South Wales police said a 17-year-old girl was helping her 72-year-old grandmother count her savings at the older woman's Sydney home May 24 and the teenager posted a picture of the large amount of cash to her Facebook page.Police said two men armed with a kni
Entertainment agencies expand into new areas

IndustryMay 28, 2012

Dining, drama production and tourism business new way up for South Korean entertainment agenciesAfter heating up the world, especially Asia, with the Korean Wave, South Korean entertainment agencies are starting to explore other business realms like dining, drama and musical productions and even tourism. SM Entertainment, one of the top three agencies here armed with popular K-pop groups like Girls’ Generation and Super Junior, will open SM Kraze next month in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, in
Samsung takes step toward workforce diversity

IndustryMay 28, 2012

Firm recruits more women, disabled people, high school graduatesSamsung Electronics has upped its efforts to diversify its workforce, from those with physical disabilities to women and high school graduates to create a company open to various environmental spectrums.The country’s IT behemoth, which is famous for recruiting workers from top universities, recently announced that it picked two female commissioned officers as part of the firm’s special recruitment program.“In the case of female offi
Government to host seminar on development

May 28, 2012

South Korea will convene a meeting of officials from China, Japan and other Asian countries on Wednesday to discuss ways to foster sustainable development without increasing budget deficits.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said it will host the conference at the Grand Intercontinental Hotel in southeastern Seoul through Friday jointly with the International Monetary Fund to focus on ways to secure state budgets for sustainable growth amid the worsening debt crisis in the eurozone.The seminar
Korean Air, Mongolian Airlines blasted for monopolizing route

IndustryMay 28, 2012

The nation’s antitrust watchdog said Monday that it would penalize Korean Air and MIAT Mongolian Airlines for peddling influence to monopolize the route connecting Incheon and Ulaanbaatar. According to the Fair Trade Commission, the two flag carriers offered favors to Mongolian aviation authorities to prevent competitors, such as Asiana Airlines, from operating flight services since 2005.Since a civil aviation agreement made in 1991, the flights between the two cities have been offered only by K
EU retailers to seek Korean partners at Seoul trade fair

IndustryMay 28, 2012

The Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency said Monday that it will hold a business fair for European retail companies next month on the first anniversary of the Korea-EU free trade pact. According to the state-run trade promoter, 10 European retailers specialized in fashion and household goods will visit Korea to participate in the Europe Consumer Market Plaza 2012, which is held on June 27 and 28. Among the participating companies are French supermarket chain Monoprix, Swedish fashion retaile
LG Display develops hand-size HD panel for smartphones

TechnologyMay 28, 2012

Consumers will soon be able to enjoy watching high-resolution content on their mobile devices LG Display, the world’s second-largest display maker, has developed a new five-inch display panel for smartphones.The display giant said Monday that it has for the first time in the world developed the small-sized, full high-definition LCD panel using advanced high performance in-plane switching technology.Measuring the new panel’s density at 440 pixels per inch, the company said the image quality shown
Trade deal spurs record flow of North Sea oil to S. Korea

May 28, 2012

An unprecedented 24 million barrels of North Sea crude were exported to South Korea since December after a free trade agreement with the European Union opened the 16,500-mile (26,500-kilometer) arbitrage trade. Twelve very large crude carriers have been booked to transport the oil to South Korea since mid-December, the most on record over a five-month period, according to tanker reports and ship-tracking data from IHS Inc. The FTA, which started in July 2011, gives refiners in the Asian nation a
KEB opens Hong Kong financial center

May 28, 2012

Korea Exchange Bank opened a Global Trade Finance and Remittance Center in Hong Kong last week, a first for a South Korean bank. The center is designed to centralize the processing of trade finance and overseas remittance services to match the country’s standing at a time when Korea’s trade volume exceeds $1 trillion a year. The new Hong Kong trade finance center will provide efficient, timely financial services necessary to grow Korea’s international trade. In addition, the Center will enable K
International airline traffic surges 22.6%

May 28, 2012

South Korea’s international air passenger traffic surged 22.6 percent in April from a year earlier due to a sharp rise in visitors from Japan and other countries, and more Koreans going abroad, the government said Monday.The number of international air passengers came to some 3.75 million last month, the highest number for the month of April, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.The previous record was reached in April 2011, when numbers hit 3.07 million.The ministry
Korea to build world’s largest hydrogen-powered town

May 28, 2012

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Monday that it will launch the “Hydrogen Town Pilot Project” to establish futuristic energy infrastructure that uses waste hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cell technologies to meet the nation’s energy consumption needs.With a budget of 9 billion won ($7.6 million) coming from the government and industries, the project will create the world’s largest hydrogen-powered town in Korea, potentially by late this year when related facilities are completed as scheduled,
EUCCK to meet on nuclear power plant

May 28, 2012

The European Chamber of Commerce in Korea, or EUCCK, will hold an executives’ round table meeting in Seoul on June 7.It will be held at the EUCCK headquarters, located in Euljiro 4-ga, Jung-gu.Seoul Metropolitan City’s Chief of the Climate Environment Department, Lim Ok-ki, will discuss the possibility of turning off a nuclear power plant in the city.For more information, please visit www.eucck.org.