The Korea Herald

Officials say Park’s FTA report misguided

Nov 8, 2011

Critics say that local government chief excessively intervened in foreign affairsThe government on Tuesday rebuffed Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon’s concerns about the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, giving little credence to Park’s claims.“Many exaggerated concerns with little basis in facts were found (in the Seoul mayor’s statement). Among Seoul City’s claims there were many distortions and misunderstandings about ISD,” Deputy Trade Minister for FTA negotiations Choi Seok-young said at a briefing
Google to keep Android free

IndustryNov 8, 2011

Google chairman Eric Schmidt said Tuesday that the Internet giant’s purchase of Motorola Mobility would not affect partnerships with other handset makers, including Samsung Electronics.“We will run (Motorola) sufficiently and independently in a way that will not violate Android’s openness. We are not going to change in any material way the way we operate,” Schmidt said at a press conference on a visit to Seoul.The comment came when he was asked about the closed conversations with Samsung executi
Seoul shares end 0.83% lower on eurozone concerns

Nov 8, 2011

South Korean stocks edged 0.83 percent down on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious over debt-ridden Italy’s situation, which could spill over into the entire region, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 15.96 points to 1,903.14. Trading volume was moderate at 398.6 million shares worth 5.16 trillion won ($4.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 508 to 313.“There’s no big issue to prompt investors to bet on
FSC challenged on Lone Star’s KEB sale

Nov 8, 2011

KEB union files injunction with Constitutional Court to ban regulator’s actionUnionized workers of Korea Exchange Bank, owned by Lone Star, filed an injunction with the Constitutional Court on Tuesday to ban the Financial Services Commission from ordering the U.S.-based fund to dispose of its KEB shares without probing the fund’s shareholder eligibility.If the Constitutional Court accepts the request from the KEB union, the FSC cannot instruct Lone Star to do so for the time being. The financial
KT, Cisco jump into global market for ‘smart spaces’

TechnologyNov 8, 2011

KT Corp. said Tuesday it would enter the global smart space market by establishing a new joint venture called the KC Smart Service together with Cisco Systems in next January.The new firm, which will take off with $30 million in initial funding, will merge KT’s telecommunications infrastructure and software solutions with Cisco’s information technology equipment and solutions, according to KT officials.Smart space services redesign a particular space or building with ubiquitous sensor network an
Regulator to lift short-selling ban on non-financial stocks

Nov 8, 2011

South Korea’s financial regulator on Tuesday said it will lift a three-month ban on short selling of non-financial stocks starting this week.“The ban on short selling of non-financial shares will be lifted starting Nov. 10, but the measure on financial shares will be retained for the time being,” the Financial Services Commission said in an e-mailed statement.The FSC had imposed a ban on short selling of all local stocks listed on the main KOSPI and the secondary tech-heavy KOSDAQ markets for th
Department stores agree to lower commission fees

IndustryNov 8, 2011

The Fair Trade Commission said Tuesday it reached an agreement with the nation’s top three department stores to lower their commission fees by 3-7 percent immediately for almost half of their small- and medium-sized vendors. The antitrust regulator expected that 1,054 companies would benefit from the cuts. Lotte Department Store, the nation’s No. 1 retail chain, will benefit the largest number of companies, 403, or 50.4 percent of its smaller contractors, while Shinsegae and Hyundai will cut com
Barnes & Noble takes on Amazon, Apple with tablet

TechnologyNov 8, 2011

US bookseller Barnes & Noble unveiled a tablet computer on Monday in a bid to take on Apple's iPad and an upcoming device from digital book-selling rival Amazon.The Nook Tablet will cost $249 -- $50 more than than the Kindle Fire from Amazon which goes on sale on November 15 but $250 less than the c
Prosecutors raid SK affiliates over embezzlement allegations

IndustryNov 8, 2011

SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors raided the offices of two affiliates of the South Korean conglomerate SK Group early Tuesday as part of an investigation into allegations that the founding family misappropriated company funds. Scores of prosecutors searched the offices of SK Holdings Co.,
LG Chem secures grip on Europe’s smartgrid market

IndustryNov 7, 2011

LG Chem signed a long-term contract with the Switzerland-based electric engineering firm ABB Group to supply parts for an energy storage system on Monday.Energy storage system or ESS is used in smart grid networks to store electricity before transmitting power to specific locations when required.Under the contract, LG Chem will supply lithium ion batteries and a battery management system to ABB. The Korean firm said that for the first collaborative project it will produce batteries for use in a
Hyundai Group to join consortium to offer new telecom services

IndustryNov 7, 2011

Hyundai Group said Monday the company would bid to become the country’s fourth telecom along with a consortium led by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business.Hyundai Group’s affiliates such as Hyundai Securities and Hyundai U&I notified the consortium, called Internet Space Time, of their participation in the process, saying it would invest about 180 billion won, according to Hyundai officials. The total investment sum, however, may change, officials added.“It’s true that we’ve decide
Malibu trails rivals in price, performance

TransportNov 7, 2011

GM Korea launched the Malibu, a midsize sedan of the Chevrolet series, in the local market a week ago.Though the company is pinning its hopes on the Malibu to grab more than 10 percent of the Korean market, data showed that the sedan fell behind the similar sedans from major competitors in terms of fuel efficiency, engine performance and price competitiveness.According to each company’s data for sales at dealerships, the gasoline-fueled Malibu with an engine capacity of 2.0 liters posted the low
Google to support Korean software globalization

IndustryNov 7, 2011

Schmidt meets President Lee, chiefs of SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus to discuss possible cooperationGoogle chairman Eric Schmidt pledged to support the globalization process of local software and content beginning next year in a meeting with President Lee Myung-bak on Monday.As part of a project called “Korea Go Global,” Google will offer a local software developer support program for it to gain global competitiveness, according to Google officials.As an exemplary case, the U.S.-based software gia
KEB union to protest regulator, Lone Star

Nov 7, 2011

About 5,000 unionized workers of Korea Exchange Bank are scheduled to hold a day-long rally in Yeouido, Seoul on Tuesday, demanding the financial regulator take punitive action against Lone Star Funds.Their planned gathering has been regarded as a strike amid the situation under which Lone Star, convicted of manipulating stocks of KEB’s credit affiliate, may leave the country with huge gains.The KEB union is also criticizing the Financial Services Commission for having been negligent in probing
Top 10 conglomerates’ market cap dips 6.88%

Nov 7, 2011

The combined market capitalization of South Korea’s 10 largest conglomerates and their affiliates has shrunk 6.88 percent this year from the end of last year, data showed Monday.The market cap of the 10 conglomerates, including Samsung and Hyundai Motor, totaled 636.23 trillion won ($571.12 billion) as of Nov. 3, down from 683.22 trillion won as of end-2010, according to the data by the Korea Exchange.Nine of the 10 conglomerates saw their market cap fall amid economic uncertainties in the euroz