The Korea Herald

Daum TV brings Web to living room

TechnologyApr 22, 2012

IT company should look beyond location, Daum CEO says of Jeju relocationJEJU ISLAND ― Daum Communications, the nation’s second-most visited search engine, on Friday unveiled its new Daum TV platform in Jeju Island, where the company recently relocated its headquarters. The first entry into the smart TV market as a local portal site is an effort for Daum to extend its dominance of computing and mobile services to television.The company may also hope to up the ante in its ongoing tussle with rival
Korean food gets ‘C’ in test of public opinion

IndustryApr 22, 2012

Korean food has been graded “C” among international cuisine, despite the government’s efforts to promote its cuisine worldwide, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Sunday.Citing a survey of 593 people in five countries on 12 national foods, Korean food got only 73.2 points out of 100 in terms of taste, look, price and service. It ranked seventh in the ministry’s global food index, followed by Turkey, Malaysia and Vietnam.Italian and Japanese dishes were the
SMEC develops remote control software

IndustryApr 22, 2012

SMEC Co., a Korean machinery and robot developer, said Sunday it had developed an application for mobile devices to operate its products by remote control.The Moricon allows engineers to reset or turn on and off computer numerical control tools and other machines and check their status in real time using their smartphones or tablet computers outside the factory, the company said. The Daejeon-based firm unveiled the application at the Seoul International Machine Tool Show 2012 on April 17-22, a t
100 large stores closed Sunday under new law

IndustryApr 22, 2012

More than 100 supermarkets closed on Sunday in accordance with a new law aimed at protecting small retailers, according to media reports.E-Mart, Korea’s biggest supermarket chain and part of Shinsegae Group, closed 44 of its 137 retail stores nationwide, while Homeplus, part of British retailer Tesco, shut 44 stores. Lotte Group’s Lotte Mart, meanwhile, closed 30 of its chains.The number of stores closed on Sunday accounts for 32 percent of the total owned by the big three conglomerates.Some sma
U.S. beef exporters bullish on Korean market

IndustryApr 22, 2012

American beef beat Australian beef in import volume in first quarterFour years have passed since the mass protests against U.S. beef imports swept the country over fear of mad cow disease.American beef has now regained its spot as the most popular foreign beef in Korea with an import market share of 44.2 percent, eclipsing Australian beef (42.9 percent) in the first three months of this year. “We are now past the concern of safety,” Philip Seng, chief executive of the U.S. Meat Export Federation
International passenger traffic hits fresh high in Q1

IndustryApr 22, 2012

International passenger traffic in and out of Korea reached an all-time high in the first quarter as air travel demand picked up during national and school holidays, a government report showed Sunday. The number of passengers on overseas routes shot up 12.3 percent in the first three months to nearly 11.4 million, setting a fresh record, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. Domestic air passenger traffic also leapt 11.6 percent year-on-year to more than 4.9 million
SK Biopharm, Hanmi sign deal to sell epilepsy drug

IndustryApr 22, 2012

SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. said Sunday it established a strategic partnership with Hanmi Pharm Co. to sell a nasal spray-type epilepsy drug in Korea and China.Hanmi and its Chinese arm will get the approval for sales and handle marketing in Korea and China, under the partnership. The diazepam nasal spray quickly transfers the diazepam substance to the brain through the mucous membranes inside the nasal cavity, allowing swift treatment, according to SK Biopharm.The pharmaceutical company expects t
LG chief pushes R&D recruitment drive

IndustryApr 22, 2012

LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo added weight to the conglomerate’s search for top-notch research and development staff by attending a conference in San Francisco to which graduate students were invited. Eight affiliates of LG Group jointly hosted the LG Techno Conference on Saturday in which chief executives, chief technology officers and chief human resources officers gave presentations on their companies’ technological innovation and plans to foster R&D talent to about 300 students in master’s a
Hankook Tire mulls holding company

IndustryApr 22, 2012

Hankook Tire is looking to spin off into a holding company and a tire business-focused entity, according to a regulatory filing and media reports.The holding company is likely to be a non-tire entity that will focus on venturing into new business areas, market watchers speculated.The listed Korean tire giant filed a disclosure on the Korea Exchange on Friday, saying that it was considering a spin-off, but that nothing had been decided. Its statement continued that the company will re-file a disc
Corporate hiring to slow this year: poll

IndustryApr 22, 2012

South Korea’s corporate hiring is expected to grow at a slower pace in 2012 compared to the year before, mainly due to concerns of sluggish economic growth, a poll by a local business federation showed Sunday. The nationwide poll carried out on 508 companies by the Korea Employers Federation showed annual hiring is expected to rise 3.3 percent, down from a gain of 3.7 percent tallied for last year.It said large companies with over 1,000 employees plan to increase hiring by 3.7 percent this year,
Seoul stocks to track U.S. economic data, earnings

Apr 22, 2012

South Korean stocks are expected to mirror economic data and corporate earnings reports coming out of the United States this week and developments taking place in eurozone countries, local analysts said Saturday.The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, closed at 1,974.65 on Friday, down 1.71 percent from a week earlier, mainly due to weaker than expected U.S. consumer sentiment and sluggish first quarter growth in China, South Korea’s largest export market.Uncertainties brought on by Spain’s de
Korea’s debt may match GDP by 2030

Apr 22, 2012

South Korea’s government debt could surpass 100 percent of its gross domestic product in 2030, hit by a steady increase in welfare spending and rising debts of public companies, a report by the Bank of Korea warned Sunday. The nation’s public debt rose to a record high of 420.7 trillion won ($368 billion) as of the end of last year, with the ratio of national debt to GDP climbing to 34 percent from 33.4 percent a year ago. “The ratio of national debt to GDP is expected to remain low until 2015,
Korea to contribute $15 billion to IMF

Apr 22, 2012

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― South Korea announced a plan Friday to provide $15 billion to the International Monetary Fund, which seeks to expand its lending capacity.The move comes as spring meetings of the IMF and G-20 are under way here. South Korea’s finance minister, Bahk Jae-wan, and the Bank of Korea chief, Kim Choong-soo, are attending the sessions.In a joint statement with Australia, Singapore and the United Kingdom, South Korea said the contribution is part of efforts to “increase the pr
IMF warns Europe not to ease up in debt battle

Apr 22, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) ― An infusion of hundreds of billions of dollars will give the International Monetary Fund a badly needed boost to tackle Europe’s prolonged debt crisis. But global finance officials sent a strong message Saturday that struggling governments must speed reforms or risk spooking jittery markets and raising the economic danger.The lending agency said in a statement after its weekend meetings that financially-strapped European countries must put in place bold changes to resolve their
Loan shark crackdown gets massive response

Apr 22, 2012

The government received more than 5,600 complaints in the three days after it opened a call center last Wednesday to help victims of loan sharks, the nation’s top financial regulator said Sunday.The government last week announced plans to root out illegal private lenders that exploit low-income households with poor credit ratings. The reported cases involved illegal high-interest loans, mortgage fraud, coercive debt collection and voice phishing.The FSS has extended the reporting hours by three