The Korea Herald

IBM’s services signings surge, stock rises

IndustryJul 19, 2011
IndustryJul 19, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co. issued another apology Tuesday over malfunctions of its air conditioners as consumer complaints escalated despite its decision to recall affected products. Earlier this month, Samsung said that it will recall four air conditioner models sold in South Korea between January and June of this year, as the software program caused air conditioners to malfunction. (Samsung Electronics Co.)
Hacker group launches online social network

TechnologyJul 19, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -- Infamous hacker group Anonymous launched Monday its own social network after being rejected by Google's freshly-launched online community."Today we welcome you to begin anew," the hacker alliance said at the website anonplus.com, which it described as a platform to distribute information."Welcome to the Revolution -- a new social network where there is no fear... of censorsh
Employment rate for women in their 50s at highest in decades

Jul 19, 2011

The employment rate among South Korean women in their 50s hit the highest level in decades in the second quarter, as many females joined the workforce to meet growing education and living costs, data showed Tuesday.According to the data by Statistics Korea, the employment rate among the cited age group stood at 59.3 percent in the April-June period, the highest level since the third quarter of 199
S. Korea to restrict banks' handling of kimchi bonds

Jul 19, 2011

South Korea plans to restrict domestic and foreign banks from investing in foreign currency bonds sold within the country for the purpose of won conversion, in a bid to curb short-term foreign debt, the central bank said Tuesday.Since May, the Bank of Korea (BOK) and the financial watchdog have been inspecting banks' handling of so-called "kimchi bonds,"foreign-currency debt sold by local and fore
S. Korea's state auditor to probe KTX breakdowns

IndustryJul 19, 2011

South Korea's state auditor is expected to conduct a special probe as early as later this month to determine the cause behind the frequent malfunctions involving the country's high-speed trains, an official source said Monday.The source said Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) chairman Yang Kun stressed at a meeting of senior officials that there is a need for a full and detailed examination into
Foreign investors likely to get half of dividends at financial holdings

Jul 18, 2011

Foreign investors are expected to scoop more than half of the coming dividends at Korea’s four major financial holdings companies this year, spurring concerns about capital flight in the industry increasingly tapped by foreign investors.A study by Daishin Securities Co. said Monday that 53 percent, or 1.24 trillion won ($1.17 billion), of the total net profit set aside as dividends at the four maj
Samsung Everland fires union leader for leaking corporate information

Jul 18, 2011

Samsung Everland Inc. said Monday that it has fired a worker for leaking sensitive corporate information less than a week after employees set up a trade union. The company, which is an affiliate of Samsung Group, South Korea's largest family-owned conglomerate, said Cho Jang-hee, the vice chairman of the union, has been dismissed for wrongful conduct and that its in-house disciplinary committ
Korea's SME federation seeks to set up 4th mobile carrier

Jul 18, 2011

South Korea's umbrella federation of small and medium-sized enterprises on Monday said it will seek to set up the country's fourth mobile carrier as part of an ongoing effort to boost growth of local venture firms. The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business said after holding a board meeting that it plans to invest less than 100 billion won ($94.2 million) in the proposed consortium made
Commerce minister warns against sudden hike of fuel prices

Jul 18, 2011

The government will soon look into the country's major refineries and gas stations to see if they are making excessive profits by raising already high fuel prices, the commerce minister said Monday, turning up the heat on them to limit price hikes. The warning comes as gasoline and diesel prices are rising almost daily, which was expected as the voluntary reduction of oil prices by the countr
Amore Pacific awarded ISO certification for information security

IndustryJul 18, 2011

Amore Pacific Corp. said Monday that it has become the first Korean cosmetics company to get an International Standards Organization 27001 accredation.In order to secure the ISO27001 status, the nation’s largest cosmetics manufacturer underwent a rigorous set of internal and external audits for two years, the company said. Lee Yoon (right), executive director of Amore Pacific, and Kim Sang-wook,
Inspection begins for Korea’s water summit bid

IndustryJul 18, 2011

A panel of the World Water Council embarked on a three-day visit to Korea on Monday to assess the country’s bid for the 2015 World Water Forum, officials said.The world’s largest summit in the water-related industry fosters global collaboration on issues ranging from water supplies and sanitation to access rights. Korea announced its bid last year and is competing against Scotland’s Glasgow. Prime
Korea top foreign destination for Chinese

IndustryJul 18, 2011

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea was the top foreign destination for the Chinese outbound travelers during the first six months of this year, the Chinese government said Monday, suggesting that the neighboring country is attracting a growing number of Chinese tourists.China’s Ministry of Public Security said in an online statement that South Korea ranked the No. 3 destination after Hong Kong and Ma
Water quality forecast planned for four rivers

IndustryJul 18, 2011

Korea is set to adopt weekly forecasts of water quality near the four major rivers under a multi-billion dollar refurbishment project next month in a bid to better control water pollution there, the Environment Ministry said Monday.The government plans to start the weekly forecast of water conditions in key stream spots of the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan rivers in August. The preliminary Augus
Top British art school to hold workshop here

IndustryJul 18, 2011

The Royal College of Art, a prestigious London-based art school, plans to offer design workshops for Korean students, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Monday.Two week-long courses will take place July 18-22 in Seoul and July 25-29 in Daegu.These are the first events where students can directly learn from RCA professors here. The curriculum borrows from the institution’s innovation design eng