The Korea Herald

SKT named best telecom in Asia

IndustryApr 19, 2012

SK Telecom was named Asia’s best mobile carrier at the Telecom Asia Awards in Bangkok on Wednesday. Its quick adoption of the fourth-generation Long Term Evolution network service was among the attributes that garnered positive reviews, the nation’s top telecom company said. SKT, which started the high-speed mobile service first in Korea in July, saw its LTE user number surpass the 1 million mark in Jan. 31, faster than in other countries, the company said. The company’s other unique technologie
Korea, U.S. close to deal on Iranian oil imports: minister

Apr 19, 2012

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― South Korean Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said Wednesday that his country is nearing a deal with the United States on crude oil imports from Iran.“In general, consultations are proceeding smoothly. So, I don’t think there will be a big problem,” Bahk told reporters here. He arrived in Washington earlier in the day to attend a gathering of G-20 finance ministers and the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.Seoul is seeking a waiver from
DSME’s new CEO stresses communication

IndustryApr 19, 2012

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co.’s new chief executive Ko Jae-ho has been emphasizing substance in business and better communication with employees since taking office early this month. Ko recently paid a visit to the company’s shipyard in Okpo on the southern island of Geoje to observe the ongoing construction of the CLOV floating production storage and offloading unit.Daewoo Shipbuilding won the CLOV FPSO order worth 2.15 trillion won ($1.88 billion) from French oil and gas compa
Citroen reenters Korean market

TransportApr 19, 2012

French automaker Citroen resumed sales in the local market on Thursday after a decade-long hiatus.The company under the wing of PSA Peugeot-Citroen unveiled the DS3, a premium hatchback, in Seoul on Thursday. Hanbul Motors Corp. will take on imports of the French cars.Citroen aims to sell up to 2,500 cars per annum in Korea, Eric Dumondelle, chief of the company’s Asia Pacific division told The Korea Herald.“We at Citroen have a new logo, new technology and it was the right time (to come back) i
New Santa Fe aims to be best-seller

TransportApr 19, 2012

Hyundai Motor Co., Korea’s No. 1 carmaker, has launched the third-generation Santa Fe in the local market.During an unveiling event in Incheon on Thursday, the company said it aims to sell 42,000 units of the New Santa Fe at home and 110,000 units in the overseas market this year. The automaker has also set the sales target of 385,000 units for next year ― 50,000 for domestic and 335,000 for overseas consumers.“The Santa Fe holds significant meaning for the local sport utility vehicle market and
Fresh warning issued for troubled savings banks

Apr 19, 2012

Report by the central bank shows troubling signs in the local financial sectorThe fiscal soundness of savings banks in South Korea has worsened despite the vigorous restructuring efforts by the financial authorities, a report showed on Thursday. In the report titled “Financial Stability Report,” the Bank of Korea sent a clear warning about domestic savings banks whose problems, if not handled properly, could lead to a fresh round of shocks.The BOK said that 99 savings banks here had total asse
Korea, Qatar to tap global construction markets

Apr 19, 2012

South Korea and Qatar are moving to join forces in making inroads into construction markets in third countries by utilizing sovereign wealth funds of the Middle East, Seoul officials said Thursday.The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said it will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Qatar Investment Authority in May in a bid to expand joint investment in overseas construction projects.The envisioned MOU is a follow-up on a bilateral agreement that calls for the Qatari sove
Sea level near Jeju Island rises sharply

Apr 19, 2012

The sea level near Jeju Island has risen at a pace faster than the global average, data showed on Thursday. The Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration said the mean sea level surrounding the southern resort island has gone up by 5.97 millimeters on average per year, far higher than the world average of 1.8 millimeters. The agency began to collect the sea level data involving the island in 1978. The broader sea level for South Korea increased by 2.48 millimeters per year, also higher
Seoul shares dip on weak eurozone woes, N. Korea

Apr 19, 2012

South Korean stocks closed 0.23 percent lower Thursday due to lackluster U.S. corporate earnings, eurozone concerns and North Korea’s threat, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI fell 4.67 points to close at 1,999.86. Trading volume was moderate at 405 million shares worth 4.02 trillion won ($3.52 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 534 to 299.“U.S. economic data is improving, but the slow pace of recovery, as seen by weak tech companies earnings
Korean shipyards win half of world’s ship orders in 1st quarter

Apr 19, 2012

South Korea continued to lead the world’s shipbuilding market in the first quarter of 2012 by winning half of all global orders in terms of weight, the government said Thursday.In the first quarter, the country’s shipbuilders secured orders for 60 ships worth $7.9 billion and totaling 1.93 million compensated gross tons in the January-March period, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The figure represents 50.7 percent of 3.80 million CGTs worth of global orders placed during the cite
Corporate failures drop in March: BOK

Apr 19, 2012

The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies fell to a record low in March as more manufacturers and service-related companies stayed afloat than the month before, the central bank said Thursday. The number of companies that went insolvent after defaulting on promissory notes declined to 90 last month from 94 in February, the Bank of Korea said. “The change is so small, there is no distinct reason for the dip last month, although the country’s economy being able to pull off steady gains ami
FSS to probe banks’ insurance sales

Apr 19, 2012

Regulators to punish lenders for irregular loan issuance in MayCommercial banks will soon face a strict regulatory crackdown for possibly irregular practices in sales of “bancassurance” products, officials said.The Financial Supervisory Service plans to dispatch a group of inspectors to the headquarters of major banks such as Kookmin, Woori and Hana, starting in the coming weeks.In the same vein, several insurance companies, including Samsung Life and Korea Life, could be the target of close mon
Korea is laboratory for big data analytics: professor

IndustryApr 19, 2012

Companies that better analyze today’s soaring amount of data, not those with the ownership, will be the big winners in this era of big data, a global analyst said in Seoul on Thursday. Korea, in particular, has great potential to lead other countries in data analytics, according to Thomas Davenport, professor at Babson College, who is visiting here to attend the Entrue World 2012 conference.“It’s a real opportunity to analyze all the mobile phone data that is being accumulated in Korea. The nati
Project back on track to make Yeosu oil hub of Northeast Asia

IndustryApr 19, 2012

KNOC pushing to build another oil storage facility in UlsanThe Korea National Oil Corporation’s ambitious scheme to develop Yeosu, South Jeolla Province into an oil hub of Northeast Asia comparable to Europe’s ARA (Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp) and Singapore’s Jurong Island has finally begun to proceed smoothly.An oil tank terminal with a capacity to store 8.2 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products is under construction in Yeosu. Oil Hub Korea Yeosu, a subsidiary of the KNOC,
Advanced analytics will create new paradigm: LG CNS chief

IndustryApr 19, 2012

LG CNS chief executive Kim Dae-hoon said Thursday advanced analytics is rising as a new paradigm that offers insight and understanding, with “intelligence” becoming the keyword in this smart era.“There were other analytics in the past but advanced analytics is differentiated from others because it finds what’s meaningful in various piles of data, which helps people understand the situation more quickly and make forecasts, while getting the insights,” he said during his keynote speech at its conf