The Korea Herald

Small vehicles shine amid oil hikes

TransportMar 20, 2011

City car sales jump 45% in Feb. on low costs, convenience, numerous incentivesYoon So-ra had been dreaming of a sleek, smooth-driving sedan for her first car. After three years on her first job, the 27-year-old office worker is now more budget-conscious and leaning toward cheaper, energy-saving small cars.“I first thought of buying a mid-size used car,” Yoon said while looking around a Kia Motor C
Jumbo size burger introduced at GS Supermarkets

Mar 20, 2011

A jumbo burger four times bigger than the McDonald’s bulgogi burger has hit the market.Named “The Greatest Burger,” it is has been available for sale since Friday at GS Supermarkets nationwide. The super-sized burger, which is 25 centimeters in diameter and weighs about 600 grams, is served in a cardboard box, not wrapped in a paper, as it is about the size of a regular-sized pizza. Although the p
More Korean businesses join campaign to support Japan

IndustryMar 20, 2011

Korean businesses including Hyundai Motor Group, SK Group and S-Oil have forged financial support for Japan in the aftermath of the massive earthquake and an ensuing tsunami it suffered last week, they said Thursday. Hyundai Motors Group will donate $1.3 million to Korean Red Cross which will be delivered to the Japanese Red Cross and be spent on buying blankets and food, it said. “We express our
Toyota recalls Lexus vehicles in S. Korea on faulty floor mats

TransportMar 20, 2011

Toyota is voluntarily recalling its Lexus vehicles in South Korea to address problems with removable floor mats that could cause accelerators to get stuck, the country's transportation ministry said Sunday. RX350 (Yonhap News) Toyota Korea, the local distributor of the Japanese automaker, will recall 2,571 Lexus vehicles sold between February 2003 and July 2006. They include 2,292 Lexus RX330 c
Warren Buffett due in S. Korea

IndustryMar 20, 2011

U.S. investor Warren Buffett will arrive in South Korea Sunday on a trip that includes a meeting with President Lee Myung-bak. The chairman and CEO of U.S. conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway will arrive in Daegu, a city located some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to attend the groundbreaking ceremony on Monday of a company owned and directed by Berkshire Hathaway. Daegu-Tech, a metal-cutte
DuPont faces antitrust claims filed by Kolon

IndustryMar 20, 2011

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's Kolon Industries Inc. has won a U.S. appeals court decision obliging a lower court to examine DuPont's alleged monopolization of the U.S. market for para-aramid fibers used for high temperature-resisting goods. "Whether Kolon's proffered relevant geographic market definition will hold up upon a fact-intensive inquiry remains to be seen," the U.S. Court of Appeals f
Hyundai Motor recalls 190,000 cars in U.S. on faulty airbag

TransportMar 19, 2011

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, recalled 190,000 vehicles sold in the U.S. market on airbag-related defects, a U.S. government agency said on Saturday. According to the Web site for the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Hyundai issued an recall of about 190,000 Elantra sedans sold between 2006 and 2008 in the U.S. to repair a defect in airbag sensors
SDI agrees to pay US$32 mln in fines for price fixing conspiracy: Justice Dept.

IndustryMar 19, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Samsung SDI Co. has agreed to pay US$32 million in fines for trying to fix the prices of color display tubes used for computer monitors, the Justice Department said Friday. "Samsung SDI Company Ltd. has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $32 million criminal fine for its role in a global conspiracy to fix prices, reduce output and allocate market shares o
Samsung eyes record 2011 profit

IndustryMar 18, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co. is aiming to set new records in annual operating profit and revenue this year though business conditions are expected to be unfavorable, its chief executive said Friday. Samsung, the world’s top memory chipmaker, posted an all-time high operating profit of 17 trillion won ($15 billion) in 2010. Its revenue also stood at a record high of 155 trillion won.“Market conditions i
SC First Bank to close 27 branches

IndustryMar 18, 2011

Standard Chartered First Bank Korea, the local unit of Britain-based Standard Chartered Group, said Friday it plans to close 27 branches in the nation by June to improve efficiency.Employees at the closed branches will be relocated to other operations, said the lender which operates 418 branches in the nation.“SC First Bank plans to cut 27 small branches in a bid to boost efficiency and diversify
Hanwha opens U.S. solar research center

IndustryMar 18, 2011

Hanwha Group said Friday that it has established a research center in Silicon Valley in the United States to develop next-generation solar energy technologies including solar cells.The establishment of Hanwha Solar America marks the group’s latest efforts to enhance its solar energy business. Its affiliate Hanwha Chemical Co. acquired 49.9 percent of Shanghai-based solar-products maker Solarfun Po
Carmakers cutting output due to supply shortage

IndustryMar 18, 2011

Some automakers in Korea are considering reducing their output due to a shortage of parts from their Japanese suppliers hit by last week’s powerful earthquake, company officials said Friday.Renault Samsung Motors Co., Renault SA’s Korean unit, will cut production at its Korean factory to prepare for a potential parts supply disruption the company said. The carmaker will cut overtime work at its fa
Korea to tighten quake rules on small buildings

IndustryMar 18, 2011

Korea is seeking to tighten its construction code for smaller buildings in order to better protect them from massive earthquakes, the land and transportation ministry said Friday.The move comes as concerns are growing that Korea might not be immune from massive earthquakes like the one that hit Japan last week. Experts are also calling for the government to step up its efforts to better brace for
NASA spacecraft now circling Mercury _ a first

IndustryMar 18, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) _ For the first time, Earth has a regular orbiting eye-in-the-sky spying on the solar system's smallest and strangest planet, Mercury.NASA's spacecraft called Messenger successfully veered into a pinpoint orbit Thursday night after a 6 1/2-year trip and 4.9 billion miles (7.9 billion kilometers) and tricky maneuvering to fend off the gravitational pull of the sun. It is the fifth p
Samsung eyes record operating profit in 2011

IndustryMar 18, 2011

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday that it aims to post a record operating profit for the whole of 2011 by cementing its leadership in existing businesses. "Competition among companies will intensify this year but we will try to extend revenue growth from last year and post a record-high operating profit," Choi Gee-sung, Samsung's chief executive officer, said in a stat