The Korea Herald

Hyundai chief stresses creativity

TransportMar 7, 2012

Chairman Chung wins award for ‘2011 Top Manager in the World’Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-koo reiterated that the company should make a breakthrough in Europe with unique strategies.Chung, who is visiting the 82nd Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland, called for Hyundai’s European corporations to cope with the European crisis with a creative mindset.Chung was quoted by Hyundai executives as saying, “Though the European market is the origin of the global economic slowdown, Hyundai
BAT cuts prices of Vogue amid sales drop

IndustryMar 7, 2012

British American Tobacco Korea plans to lower the prices of its Vogue cigarettes less than a year after a controversial markup that triggered a plunge in sales and a customer migration to rivals.The local unit of the multinational tobacco giant said Wednesday it would bring the prices of Vogue back to 2,500 won ($2.20) per pack, down from 2,700 won, starting Monday.The pullback is aimed at better competing with other ultraslim cigarettes, the company said, chiefly KT&G Corp.’s Esse, which has lo
Professor Yoon named to head KIF

Mar 7, 2012

Prof. Yoon Chang-hyun of University of Seoul has been named chief of the Korea Institute of Finance.The Korea Federation of Banks, the majority shareholder of the state-run KIF, is poised to appoint Yoon to the post in the coming weeks as the incumbent chief Kim Tae-joon will see his term expire this month.The 52-year-old nominee is a professor of Business Administration at University of Seoul and has worked as the secretary of Citizens United for Better Society.He is also known as a conservativ
‘Lone Star may challenge tax on KEB sale’

Mar 7, 2012

U.S. private equity firm Lone Star Fund is reviewing measures to challenge a 391.5 billion won ($348 million) withholding tax on its sale of Korea Exchange Bank to Hana Financial Group Inc., a source said Wednesday. The amount equal to 10 percent of Lone Star’s KEB sale proceeds was paid to the National Tax Service on Monday as a withholding tax, a Hana Financial Group official said. “Hana Financial and Lone Star agreed to the fact that the tax must be paid so we paid the withholding tax as sche
Samsung Everland, Kyobo Life unlikely to go for IPO this year

Mar 7, 2012

Two Korean heavyweights are now unlikely to get listed on the stock market this year, forcing investors to readjust their bets on the much-anticipated initial public offerings. Samsung Group said on Wednesday that it has no plans to list shares of Samsung Everland, the group’s de facto holding firm, on the local stock market. Separately, industry sources said Kyobo Life Insurance is now expected to halt its plan to pursue an IPO this year in the face of volatile market conditions.“We have no pla
FSS to punish Samsung Card for massive customer data leak

Mar 7, 2012

The Financial Supervisory Service is set to take disciplinary action against Samsung Card for leaking customer information.The credit card firm’s CEO Choi Chi-hun also faces a regulatory sanction for allegedly negligent internal control.According to the FSS and police, the personal information of about 1.92 million customers of Samsung Card was leaked by a former employee between January 2010 and August 2011.FSS officials say punitive measures against the company and its CEO are inevitable.The r
Samsung refuses to confirm Apple’s proposal on patent litigation

IndustryMar 7, 2012

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday said it was unable to confirm news reports that Apple put forward proposals to the firm that would settle some pending patent litigation cases.“We can’t confirm the reports at this point, but it is not true that we held an emergency meeting of executives involving the issue and our position on the ongoing patent battle with Apple remains the same,” said a Samsung official.On Wednesday, Dow Jones cited an anonymous source as saying that Apple made proposals to Sam
Vice Minister Shin warns of foreign capital inflow into bonds

Mar 7, 2012

Vice Finance Minister Shin Je-yoon on Wednesday said the inflow of foreign capital into the local bond market is a concern, projecting worries about yet another round of speculative capital inflow. “Foreign investors have been upping their share of Korean bonds and it is a concern,” Shin said at a business forum.Foreign investors in February raised their holdings of Korean bonds by the most since July last year. Their net holding of local bonds rose by 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) to 86 trill
Mobile money faces developed-world challenge

TechnologyMar 7, 2012

BARCELONA ― Instances of the so-called tail wagging the dog abound. Add to that club mobile-money services, the idea that you can make financial transactions of all kinds using only a cellphone.The technological brawn, sophisticated banking and widespread financial literacy seemingly required to deploy mobile-money programs are, of course, heavily concentrated in the developed world.Yet it’s in places lacking that infrastructure, such as sub-Saharan Africa, where the idea has actually taken hold
Low-priced tablets hope to take on the big boys

TechnologyMar 7, 2012

Samsung diversifies lineup to counter threat, while LG remains skeptical of their challengeThe local tablet PC market is being challenged by online shopping malls selling low-priced tablet PCs to consumers here by joining hands with smaller manufacturers.Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest IT firm, has unveiled plans to release low-tier tablets in the first half of the year, while its rival LG Electronics has no plans to roll out another tablet PC in the first quarter.“We’re aiming to div
'Shrinkable car' makes parking a breeze at high-tech fair

TechnologyMar 7, 2012

Scientists at the world's biggest IT fair unveiled on Tuesday what they hope is the car of the future that can shrink to fit tight parking spaces and pick you up at the touch of a button. (AFP)At just 2.10 metres (seven feet) long, the futuristic cobalt-blue two-seater "pod" is not exactly roomy but
High oil prices forecast to last a while

Mar 7, 2012

Global oil prices are expected to remain high for the foreseeable future, fueled by geopolitical risks caused by Iran‘s suspected nuclear program, local think tanks said Wednesday.Leading private think tanks such as Samsung Economic Research Institute and Hyundai Research Institute said the steady rise in crude prices in recent months stems from mounting uncertainties that can be triggered by a showdown in the Middle East.“The current situation comes from plentiful liquidity in the market and th
Samsung, LG TVs thinner than iPad, undermine Sony, Panasonic

TechnologyMar 7, 2012

Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., the world’s two biggest TV makers, want to widen their lead over Japanese rivals by using new display technology in 55-inch sets thinner than Apple Inc.’s iPad. The South Korean companies are developing organic light- emitting diode, or OLED, televisions that are as thin as 4 millimeters (0.16 inches) and produce images 200 times sharper than current liquid-crystal-display models. Both plan to start selling OLED sets as early as this year, while S
Korea to take preemptive action against danger factors: minister

Mar 7, 2012

South Korea will maintain its current economic policy stance but will be ready to take preemptive action against any danger factors facing the country‘s economy, the finance minister said Wednesday.“Though our economy sees continued improvement in employment and other major indicators, it is still difficult to let our guard down in the face of external risk factors such as high oil prices and the eurozone fiscal crisis,” Bahk Jae-wan told a meeting with other policymakers.“An economic slump come
Bank household loans rebound in February

Mar 7, 2012

South Korean banks’ household loans rose moderately in February from the previous month on increased demand from households moving to new homes, the central bank said Wednesday. Local banks’ household loans, including home-backed loans and credit loans, reached 452.7 trillion won ($402 billion) as of the end of February, up 0.5 trillion won from a month earlier, according to preliminary data of the Bank of Korea. Lenders’ household loans rebounded in February after dipping by 2.8 trillion won in