The Korea Herald

Government, BOK seek new relationship

Jul 25, 2011

Finance Ministry, central bank hold first consultation meetingSouth Korea’s Finance Ministry and the central bank held their first meeting to share views on macroeconomic policy on Monday in Seoul, pledging to help coordinate government initiatives to tame inflation, though skepticism lingers about the motive behind the meeting. “Inflation is a common issue confronting the whole world and it start
Clinton calls Korea-U.S. FTA ‘model agreement’

Jul 25, 2011

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that the country’s free trade deal with South Korea is a “model agreement” for the world’s largest economy.The Korea-U.S. FTA, known as KORUS FTA, was signed in 2007 and supplemented last December. It has been awaiting approval from the legislatures of both countries. “We consider KORUS a model agreement,” Clinton said i
LGE runs ‘Optimus 3-D train’

IndustryJul 25, 2011

LG Electronics on Monday launched an “on-board” advertisement campaign for its LG Optimus 3-D smartphones by rigging a subway train with related ads and products.The Seoul-based company said the 3-D phones, along with LG Electronics’ 3-D monitors and televisions, would be on display on a train on Subway Line No. 2 until Aug. 21. Models show LG Optimus 3-D smartphones in an “on-board” advertising c
Mirae Asset denies takeover bid for Italian luxury brand

Jul 25, 2011

Mirae Asset Financial Group, Korea’s major mutual fund manager, on Monday formally denied a local report that it is seeking to take over an Italian luxury brand maker. “There is no truth in the news report,” a spokesman at the company’s fund management division told The Korea Herald. “Although our policy is not to comment on such deals, what I can say is that we are not considering such a takeover
Samsung to raise W100b for R&D support

IndustryJul 25, 2011

Electronics giant signs with SMEs to finance innovative technologiesSamsung Electronics has pledged 100 billion won ($95 million) to support smaller companies’ research and development efforts.On Monday, the electronics giant signed an agreement with the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and members of a group of small and medium-sized enterprises launching a program for providing financial support fo
Samsung smartphone sales may pass Apple

IndustryJul 25, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., maker of the Galaxy mobile phone, may have surpassed Nokia Oyj and Apple Inc. in smartphone sales for the first time on demand for devices that run on Android software, a research company said. Samsung is estimated to have sold between 18 million and 21 million smartphones globally in the April-June quarter, compared with 16.7 million for Nokia and 20.3 million iPhones, Ne
Japan ends analog TV broadcasts after 58 years

IndustryJul 25, 2011

Japan ended a 58-year era of analog television broadcast Sunday, becoming the first Asian nation to complete the transition to digital transmission. Cathode-ray tube TVs, usually with a curved screen and a protruding box at the back, could no longer display programs without adding a special tuner after the switchover Sunday afternoon. Public broadcaster NHK news and Pocket Monsters cartoon series
Greeks struggle to shed old ways of thinking

IndustryJul 25, 2011

A few entrepreneurs think positively in forbidding landscape of anger and entitlementATHENS (AP) ― A few Greek entrepreneurs perch in front of laptops in bare offices above a ground-floor supermarket, five minutes’ walk from the Athens square convulsed by riots last month over the country’s economic crisis.“Innovate,” a wall slogan exhorts. “Originate.” A bowl of fist-sized plastic balls sits on a
Quiet digital revolution under way in North Korea

TechnologyJul 25, 2011

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- As his right hand grips the mouse, the physics major's eyes are fixed on a flat-screen monitor labeled with a red sticker reminding him the computer was a gift from Kim Jong Il.People work on library computers at the Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea is undergoing a digital revolution of sorts, even as it holds some of the strictest c
Major employers hire more high school graduates

Jul 24, 2011

Banks, major firms expand hiring of high school graduatesAll eyes are now trained on the corporate sector amid high expectations that South Korean companies at large would hire more high school graduates following an unprecedented move in the banking sector. Last week, Korea’s 18 banks said they would double their hiring quota for high school graduates, largely prompted by the government’s policy
TV stations to talk with cable networks

Jul 24, 2011

The conflict between terrestrial and cable television operators over broadcast rights is expected to take a new turn as chiefs of terrestrial TV stations agreed to form a negotiation panel last Friday.In a meeting organized by Choi See-joong last week, chairman of the state media regulator, representative of five major broadcast stations ― SBS, KBS, MBC, EBS and OBS ― said a panel must be formed t
Supermarkets see slower growth on rising competition

IndustryJul 24, 2011

Supermarkets saw the smallest sales increase among retailers during the first quarter of the year affected by rising consumer prices and the increase in the number of other forms of retailers.According to Statistics Korea, the combined first quarter sales of supermarkets in the country rose 3.4 percent to about 5.9 trillion won ($5.6 billion), while other types of retailers saw double-digit growth
TV makers wrestle with flimsy sales

IndustryJul 24, 2011

Korea’s electronics giants Samsung and LG are grappling with faltering television businesses as slack demand in wealthy countries and nose-diving display prices combined to dent their second-quarter earnings.Samsung Electronics, the world’s top TV producer, estimated its operating profit at 3.7 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in the three months to June, down nearly 27 percent year-on-year. LG Display
Kakao Talk moving to launch Internet call services

IndustryJul 24, 2011

Competition is heating up between mobile messenger operators in Korea as Kakao Talk, the formidable smartphone application, appears to be developing its internet phone call services. Industry watchers said Sunday the venture firm has been recruiting engineers who have experience in mobile voiceover Internet protocol, technology that enables voice and multimedia communications between users via bro
Hyundai’s Chung pushes hybrid car marketing

TransportJul 24, 2011

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo has instructed his staff to actively publicize at home and abroad that Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have become global players with competitive technologies. Chung Mong-kooDespite marked growth in overseas sales, Hyundai and Kia had failed to garner international acknowledgement in the core technology sector.But this year, Chung’s pride and promotion str