The Korea Herald

Hanwha to operate leisure resort in China

IndustryOct 30, 2011

Hanwha China is to go into the hot-spring resort business in China in collaboration with a local company, Hanwha Group announced Sunday.Hanwha China is the Korean conglomerate’s subsidiary in charge of its operations in China.According to the conglomerate, Hanwha China signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Yida Group to establish a joint venture for building and operating a leisure resort compound within the Longmen complex in Dalian, Liaoning Province. The Longmen complex is a 265-s
Hyundai Motor in Czech Republic helps economy

TransportOct 30, 2011

Jobs popular among female workers from border countriesOSTRAVA, Czech Republic -- It has been more than two years since Hyundai Motor established a large-scale manufacturing plant in the Czech Republic.Apart from the factory’s role as a logistics base for Hyundai’s automobile sales in Europe, an issue has emerged as to whether the Korean company has been gaining favorable image from Czech citizens and its government.Though the automaker’s factory is located in a small city of Nosovice, whose pop
Hyundai, Kia to see sales top 7m next year

Oct 30, 2011

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are likely to see their combined sales exceed 7 million units next year on the back of improved brand images, production quality and increased capacity, analysts said Sunday.For this year, South Korea’s top duo of carmakers expect to sell a combined 6.5 million units with Hyundai Motor posting sales of 4 million units. But they warned last week that they may face increased competition with foreign rivals and unfavorable business conditions dow
Seoul to lay out long-term fiscal plan

Oct 30, 2011

Finance Ministry torn between restoring fiscal balance and welfare for aging KoreaWill the government continue deleveraging or spend more for better welfare? Cornered into juggling the two contradictory urges, the Finance Ministry spoke of its plans and challenges ahead in setting a long-term fiscal policy. Koo Bon-jin, chief of the ministry’s public finances, said his team will soon lay out a fresh fiscal plan looking to 2020 and beyond, seeking ways to sustain budget balance on the back of eve
Lone Star loses KEB’s shareholder status

Oct 30, 2011

FSC fails to gain public consent on its rulingLone Star Funds lost the status of biggest shareholder of Korea Exchange Bank on Saturday as the U.S.-based equity fund failed to meet the eligibility requirements set by financial regulators.The fund’s position of losing, or being banned from exercising voting rights for its stake exceeding 10 percent, comes after a recent court ruling in Seoul that Lone Star engaged in manipulation of stocks of KEB’s credit card affiliate in 2003.On Monday, the Fi
Watchdog fines LCD makers for price fixing

IndustryOct 30, 2011

The Fair Trade Commission on Sunday levied a fine of 194 billion won ($175.9 million) on 10 flat panel makers including Samsung Electronics, for price-fixing their flat TV and notebook computers.The fine is the largest ever slapped on an international cartel, of which Korea’s LG Display and Taiwan’s liquid crystal display makers AU Optronics, Chimei Innolux Corp., Chunghwa Picture Tubes and HannStar Display Corp. are members, the watchdog said. The watchdog said the collusion included adjusting
Korea mulls hiking highway, train fares

Oct 30, 2011

South Korea will likely raise highway and train service fares by the end of this year following years of unchanged rates aimed at curbing inflation, a source said Friday.The finance ministry and the transportation ministry are currently in the last phase of talks to determine when and by how much th
Samsung's presence in U.S. 3D TV market weakens in Sept.

IndustryOct 30, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest flat-screen TV maker, lost ground in the 3D TV market in the United States due mainly to increased competition, industry data showed Sunday.Samsung Electronics' market share stood at 49 percent in terms of 3D TVs sold in the U.S. last month, falling below
Regulator set to order Lone Star to sell KEB stake

Oct 30, 2011

(Yonhap News) FSC fails to gain public consent on its rulingLone Star Funds lost the status of biggest shareholder of Korea Exchange Bank on Saturday as the U.S.-based equity fund failed to meet the eligibility requirements set by financial regulators.The fund’s position of losing, or being ba
Samsung ordered to compensate local designer for copyrights infringement

IndustryOct 29, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., Korea's electronics giant, has been ordered to compensate a local designer for illegally using the designer's flower pattern creation on its refrigerator models, court records showed Saturday. The Seoul Western District Court recently delivered the order for the
Samsung ordered to compensate local designer for copyright infringement

BusinessOct 29, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., Korea's electronics giant, has been ordered to compensate a local designer for illegally using the designer's flower pattern creation on its refrigerator models, court records showed Saturday.The Seoul Western District Court recently delivered the order for the electronics m
Samsung posts forecast-beating quarterly earnings

IndustryOct 28, 2011

But quarterly net income reaches 3.44 trillion won, 23 percent down on-yearSamsung Electronics on Friday posted 41.27 trillion won ($37.35 billion) in sales and 4.25 trillion won in operating profit for the third quarter of this year, a better-than-expected performance on the strength of record-breaking sales of mobile handsets.The world’s top memory chip supplier and second-biggest handset maker also recorded 3.44 trillion won in quarterly net income, representing a 23 percent decrease year-on-
Korea to cool lottery fever

Oct 28, 2011

The government said on Friday it is considering setting a limit on the total number of lottery tickets issued in a bid to cool red-hot lottery fever. The Korea Lottery Commission, an agency under the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, raised the lottery ticket issuance limit for this year to 2.8 trillion won ($2.5 billion) on Thursday, up from 2.5 trillion won, to meet the surging demand.The Finance Ministry is now trying to stem the lottery boom from heating up further after the launch of a pens
Samsung to introduce flexible displays for mobile handsets in 2012

IndustryOct 28, 2011

Samsung Electronics said Friday that it expects to introduce flexible displays for mobile handsets during the first half of 2012.“We’re looking to roll out flexible displays sometime in 2012, hopefully the earlier part rather than the latter,” Robert Yi, vice president of investor relations at Samsung Electronics, said during its quarterly earnings conference call.“We will start with handsets and migrate to tablet PCs and other devices.”Kang Bong-ku, vice president of the firm’s television busin
iPhone 4S gets radio approval

IndustryOct 28, 2011

Apple’s latest smartphone iPhone 4S has gotten radio approval in Korea, the National Radio Research Agency said Friday. The radio approval, however, does not necessarily indicate imminent sales of iPhone 4S in Korea. The Apple handset will have to receive approval from the Korea Broadcasting Commission, with the launch date to be decided among local telecom providers. Considering that it took more than a month for the previous model iPhone 4 to be marketed here after radio approval, industry sou