The Korea Herald

S. Korea's reserves top $300 billion for first time

May 3, 2011

South Korea's central bank says the country's foreign reserves have topped $300 billion for the first time as the nation's key buffer against potential financial turmoil surged to its fourth straight record high.The Bank of Korea said in a statement Tuesday that the nation's official foreign reserves totaled $307.20 billion at the end of April. That was $8.58 billion higher than the previous recor
Police investigating bomb threat

IndustryMay 3, 2011

(Yonhap News)Police rushed to Samsung Electronics’ headquarters in southern Seoul Tuesday in response to an e-mailed bomb threat following the killing of Osama bin Laden. The Canadian unit of the electronics firm received an e-mail at 4 a.m. from an unidentified person who threatened to bomb Samsung’s main office and some Middle Eastern countries’ embassies in Seoul. The countries were Turkey, Pa
Dollar falls below 1,070 won

May 2, 2011

Intervention effect may be minimal amid global trendThe won has been in a gaining spree in its value against the greenback, due to the U.S.’s cheap dollar-oriented policy as well as Korea’s increased trade surplus.The dollar closed at 1,065 won on Monday, down 6.5 won from a trading session earlier, posting the cheapest level since it slid to 1,062.5 won on Aug. 25, 2008.After being traded between
Renault Samsung restores production back to normal levels

IndustryMay 2, 2011

Renault Samsung Motors Co.’s plant in Busan will resume after-hours production and weekend operations, the company announced Monday.Extra production during weekdays resumed Monday, and weekend production will be resumed for eight hours each Saturday from May 14, the company said. Renault Samsung had stopped extra production after working hours since March 18 due to parts shortages caused by the Ma
KT&G launches ‘2nd generation’ This Plus

IndustryMay 2, 2011

KT&G Corp., the nation’s largest tobacco producer, said Monday that it has extended the product line of its steady-selling brand This Plus.The firm is to start selling This Real and This Wild, which has higher tar content with 6.5 milligrams and 8 milligrams, respectively, on Tuesday. The original This Plus contains 5.5 milligram of tar. This WildKT&G, meanwhile, has changed the packaging of This
Security concerns rise over Wi-Fi networks

IndustryMay 2, 2011

Security concerns involving the country’s wireless Internet networks are rising again following findings that global firms Google and Apple both used the Wi-Fi networks to collect user information.Two companies reportedly collected the location logs of their smartphone users from the wireless networks provided by local telecoms in Korea. The problem stems from many smartphone owners’ habit of conn
LG starts 3-D StarCraft II league

IndustryMay 2, 2011

LG Electronics on Sunday launched a special league tournament of “StarCraft II” in 3-D.The tournament to advertise the company’s 3-D panels started in Gwangju, and will move onto Incheon, Busan, Daegu and Daejeon, the electronics maker said.After the preliminary games, the final will be held in Seoul on May 18. LG Electronics said it will be installing its Cinema 3-D TVs in key points in all the c
Korean car firms’ April sales rise on strong exports

IndustryMay 2, 2011

Most local carmakers saw April sales rise by varying degrees from a year ago aided by increasing overseas sales.The only exception was Renault Samsung Motors Co., due to production cuts brought on by the parts shortage after the March 11 earthquake in Japan.However, the company resumed weekday production at normal levels on Monday, and plans to restart Saturday production from March 14.Last month,
[News Focus] LH Corp. relocation move spurs controversy

IndustryMay 2, 2011

Reports on the alleged selection of Jinju as site for head office anger Jeolla politicians, residentsAllegations that state-run land developer Korea Land & Housing Corp. headquarters in Gyeonggi Province would be relocated to Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province are prompting uproar from its rival region of North Jeolla Province.The news came on Sunday from a high-ranking ruling Grand National Party o
Inflation slows on price control, fresh food supply

May 2, 2011

Consumer prices rise 4.2 percent on-year in AprilInflation in April slowed to 4.2 percent on-year, down from a 29-month high of 4.7 percent a month earlier on Seoul’s price controls and lower fresh food prices, a government report said Monday. The figure still exceeded the Bank of Korea’s inflation target of 2 to 4 percent for the fourth consecutive month but was slower than the 4.3 to 4.6 percent
Aekyung chief donates W3b to KAIST

IndustryMay 2, 2011

Aekyung Group Chairwoman Chang Young-shin donated 3 billion won ($2.8 million) to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the company said on Monday. “Based on the belief that natural science and engineering is the way to reviving national competitiveness, we give this donation with hope that KAIST will increase its efforts to help foster intelligent young minds who will guide the
All That Cruise readies Korea’s largest liner

IndustryMay 2, 2011

Cruise ship operator All That Cruise announced Monday that it will begin operating cruise tours from January.The vessel, tentatively named the Hallyu Star, will be used on routes covering China, Japan and Southeast Asian destinations. Hallyu is a Korean word meaning “Korean wave” that refers to the popularity of Korean pop culture in other countries. While other Korea-based cruise operators have t
‘Greentech’ to drive KEPCO’s growth

IndustryMay 2, 2011

Energy company to invest 3 trillion won, aiming to reach global top fiveState-run Korea Electric Power Corp. said it is to spend 3.1 trillion won ($2.8 billion) to foster environmental technologies including carbon capture storage and smart grids as its fresh growth drivers. “Should KEPCO win in the global ‘green race’ with its challenges and aspirations for green growth, it would be able to lead
Sony chiefs ‘sorry’ for security breach

IndustryMay 2, 2011

Executives bow in apology for security breach in PlayStation Network online serviceTOKYO (AP) ― Sony executives bowed in apology Sunday for a security breach in the company’s PlayStation Network that compromised the personal data of some 77 million accounts on the online service.“We deeply apologize for the inconvenience we have caused,” said Kazuo Hirai, chief of Sony Corp.’s PlayStation video ga
Seoul shares hit new high on earnings, bin Laden's death

May 2, 2011

Korean stocks finished at a fresh high on Monday as investor sentiment was boosted by strong U.S. earnings reports and news of Osama bin Laden's death, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose1.67 percent to 2,228.96. Trading volume was thin at 298 million shares worth 8.32 trillion won ($7.8 billion) with gaine