The Korea Herald

DMC Ville, the choice for long stay

IndustryDec 27, 2011

Situated in the Digital Media Complex near the Sangam World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong, northwestern Seoul, DMC Ville is a set of fully furnished serviced apartments especially suitable for foreign businessmen and visitors. If one is planning to stay in Seoul for more than a month and need a place where one can feel at home in the bustling city, DMC Ville would be the best choice. The serviced apartment features high-quality suites and luxurious facilities with 175 spaciously designed apartments
Prudential develops new insurance products

IndustryDec 27, 2011

The vision of Prudential of Korea is to become the most trusted company. Instead of becoming the biggest or most profitable company, it aims to be an honest and ethical company trusted by customers.The life insurance firm believes that the way it can achieve the vision is by keeping the promise it makes to its customers, which is delivery of insurance benefits.POK is committed to fulfilling the mission of life insurance, which is delivering financial security and peace of mind.Since its inceptio
Korea to prop up housing market, open bids for KTX

IndustryDec 27, 2011

The government on Monday set out a plan to build 450,000 new homes and implement early social overhead capital to energize the local construction market and shore up cash-strapped builders next year. It also plans to adopt an open bidding process for the operation of new high-speed rail lines, shifting from its initial policy to keep a state-run firm in place to serve public interests. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs presented the comprehensive package as the centerpiece o
Shares fall on telecom, brokerages

Dec 27, 2011

South Korean stocks finished 0.79 percent lower Tuesday due to steep falls among telecom companies and brokerages and short-lived rumors on North Korea that triggered a brief plunge, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 14.68 points to 1,842.02. Trading volume was heavy at 520 million shares worth 4.18 trillion won ($3.61 billion) with losers leading gainers 573 to 257. The KOSPI tumbled 2.33 percent at 10:40 a.m.
Just 0.1% of companies account for one third of output

IndustryDec 27, 2011

Just 0.1 percent of businesses in Korea account for almost one-third of private sector output, the latest state report said Tuesday, showing seriously skewed income distribution in Asia’s fourth largest economy.Statistics Korea said 0.1 percent from a total of 3.35 million businesses in operation produced 1.32 quadrillion won ($1.15 trillion), or 30.7 percent of total revenue in 2010.Self-employed businesses with less than five workers each made up 83.6 percent of the total number of licensed bu
Spending by foreign tourists jumps 37% in Q3

Dec 27, 2011

Spending by foreign travelers here went up at a brisk pace in the third quarter, helping power Korea’s gross domestic product growth, data showed Tuesday.According to the Bank of Korea, foreign nationals spent 3.4 trillion won ($2.9 billion) in the third quarter of this year, up 37.4 percent from the second quarter. Thanks to the increase in expenditure by foreign travelers, their GDP contribution ratio rose to 0.3 percent in the July-September period, up from almost zero in the previous quarter
Banks to cut lending rates for SMEs

Dec 27, 2011

Loan delinquency rate of small, medium-sized firms reaches dangerous levelCommercial banks plan to lower interest rates on loans to small- and mid-sized enterprises as the delinquency rate in the industry has continued to rise.The ratio of overdue loans in the SME sector has grown to a critical level, even surpassing the figure from the 2008 global financial crisis.State-funded banks ― Woori Bank, Export-Import Bank of Korea and Industrial Bank of Korea ― have taken the initiative and other majo
Samsung 5th in market cap

IndustryDec 27, 2011

Growth of smartphone business bolsters earnings, share priceSamsung Electronics Co., Asia’s biggest technology company, has ranked fifth in the global IT list of market capitalization, overtaking U.S. software firm Oracle Corp., data showed Tuesday. Samsung, a frontrunner in the world’s semiconductor, mobile phone and flat-screen TVs, saw its market cap reach $136.9 billion as of Dec. 23. Oracle’s figure was $131 billion and it was the first time Samsung outpaced the U.S. software leader. Only f
Koreans concerned about inflation

Dec 27, 2011

One out of every two Koreans is most concerned about the rising prices of goods and services next year, a recent survey showed on Tuesday.In a survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 54.6 percent picked inflation as the most burdening factor for the household budget in 2012, followed by remaining loans and a reduction in income with 26.2 percent and 13.4 percent, respectively.The decrease in asset value also took up more than 5.4 percent. The survey was answered by 500 pe
GS to invest W3.1tr next year

IndustryDec 27, 2011

GS Group said Tuesday it will make its biggest-ever annual investment of 3.1 trillion won ($2.7 billion) next year in energy, retail and construction businesses, targeting record sales of 7.5 trillion won, up 10 percent from this year.The 48 percent increase in investment compared to this year’s 2.1 trillion won will reinforce the conglomerate’s major businesses and solidify a base for sustainable growth, GS said.In the energy business, GS Caltex Corp., the group’s key affiliate, GS EPS Co. and
SKT develops world’s first ‘femtocell’ for LTE

IndustryDec 27, 2011

SK Telecom, the nation’s No. 1 mobile carrier, said Tuesday that it has developed the world’s first femtocell designed to support the fourth-generation Long Term Evolution network service. A femtocell, or a small cellular base station, allows service providers to extend service coverage indoors, especially where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable. With the company’s latest innovation, SK Telecom said that its LTE users will be offered high-speed data service even while indoors and
Semikron to build inverter plant in IFEZ

IndustryDec 27, 2011

Semikron, a German electronics maker, plans to set up a factory and research laboratory in Incheon to produce industrial inverters as part of its drive to expand into East Asia, officials here said Tuesday.The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority said it struck a deal with the German company on Dec. 23 for the $10 million project. But it did not provide details on the plant’s production capacity or time frame.The facilities in Songdo, the port city’s international business district, were envisag
Veloster, Pride win Good Design Awards

IndustryDec 27, 2011

Hyundai Motor Co.’s three-door sports car Veloster won a design award in the transportation category of the 2011 Good Design Awards, one of the most prestigious industrial design awards in the world, the company said Tuesday.The 2011 Veloster features asymmetric three-door where a single rear passenger door is on the right side with a rear hatch look. “Hyundai Motor Group’s design continues to be recognized in the global design awards. Hyundai’s Veloster, Kia’s Pride and concept car KV7 were win
GE Energy provides clean energy products

IndustryDec 27, 2011

Korea’s first integrated gasification combined cycle power plant, a type of renewable energy production unit, broke ground last month in Taean, South Chungcheong Province. The 300-megawatt “cleaner coal” facility will turn coal into synthesis gas, then remove impurities from the coal gas before it is combusted and turn any pollutants into reusable byproducts, resulting in lower carbon emissions. Korea Western Power Co. picked General Electric as the supplier of a 7F Syngas Turbine, a D11 steam t
Consumer sentiment at 3-month low

Dec 27, 2011

South Korean consumers’ confidence fell to a three-month low in December as nagging concerns about the eurozone debt crisis increased economic uncertainty, the central bank said Tuesday.The consumer sentiment index ― a gauge of consumers’ overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending ― came in at 99 for December, down from 103 tallied in the previous month, according to a survey by the Bank of Korea.The December data marked the lowest level since the index reached an identical