The Korea Herald

Central government to directly manage rivers

Feb 8, 2011

The central government plans to tighten its grip on the management of water resources nationwide in a move apparently aimed at expediting its controversial river renovation projects. The work to clean up and develop Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan rivers has been delayed by the recalcitrant provincial governments in charge of them. The Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs said Tue
KT to buy 20% of BC Card to expand mobile services

Feb 8, 2011

KT Corp., Korea’s largest phone and Internet company, agreed to buy a 20 percent stake in BC Card Co. from Woori Bank to expand into mobile-payment services.Woori will have the option of buying back a portion of the stake if KT begins its own credit-card business, Lee In Won, a spokesman for the Seongnam, Korea-based phone carrier, said Tuesday. The deal is subject to further internal approval, he
G20 sherpa Rhee to move to ADB

Feb 8, 2011

Rhee Chang-yong, vice-chief of the G20 Preparation Committee is nominated as an economist at the Asian Development Bank, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.The post makes Rhee, the second Korean economist at the regional lender after Lee Jong-hwa, presidential economic aide. Rhee Chang-yongRhee has a bachelors degree in economics from Seoul National University. He served in numerous private posts
Investor exodus continues in bond market

Feb 8, 2011

The Korean bond market continues to see an outflow of funds for a third month as investors flee to capture rising yields elsewhere and tab on bullish equities. The investor exodus is led by foreigners who were fast to exit the market to avoid a revived tax of as much as 14 percent on interest income which Seoul imposed in January to limit capital inflows. Analysts attributed the continued price de
4G LTE-A network expected to make life easier

TechnologyFeb 8, 2011

Imagine yourself using your smartphone to download a movie during a single bus journey.In addition to the longer time required to complete the download, one could consider himself or herself lucky if it is completed in a single go with the current third generation networks.The government announced late last month that the state-run Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute in Daejeon d
Ballmer is cleaning up house

IndustryFeb 8, 2011

MS CEO reportedly planning management reshuffle for tech expertiseMicrosoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer plans to extend a management reshuffling aimed at adding senior product executives with an engineering background, two people with knowledge of the decision said.Changes may be announced this month, said one of the people, who declined to be named because the plans are private. L
Sales of imported vehicles surge 35.8 pct in Jan.

TransportFeb 8, 2011

Foreign vehicle brands in South Korea saw a large boost to their sales last month, flashing a green light to their goal of selling over 100,000 cars in the local market for the first time, a local trade association said Tuesday. A total of 8,659 imported vehicles were sold here in January, up 35.8 percent from the same period last year, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distribu
140,000 calorie burger goes viral on YouTube

Feb 8, 2011

A video clip, entitled “The Sloppy Roethlisberger -- Epic Meal Time,” has become an Internet hit on YouTube, drawing nearly 1.5 million viewers after it was posted on Feb. 1 ahead of this year’s Super Bowl, the British Metro reported. The video features the Epic Meal Time crew introducing the 24.5 kilogram jumbo burger that includes 9 kilograms of bacon, 6 kilograms of ground beef and 5 kilograms
Public service rates up despite anti-inflation efforts

Feb 7, 2011

Prices of public services in Korea grew at the fastest pace in more than four years in January, adding to burdens in the daily lives of low- and mid-income people, data showed Monday.According to the data offered by the finance ministry and the statistics agency, the average prices of the nation’s 32 major public services, including heating gas and tap water, rose 0.9 percent last month from Decem
Stock market cap returns to $1tr level

Feb 7, 2011

Korea’s stock market capitalization returned to the $1 trillion level for the first time in three years in 2010 as an economic recovery and corporate profit gains led to strong rallies, the bourse operator said Monday.The country’s total market cap of its main board and the tech-heavy junior market reached $1.92 trillion at the end of 2010, up 30.8 percent from a year earlier, the Korea Exchange s
Korea’s foreign reserves hit new high in January

Feb 7, 2011

Korea’s foreign exchange reserves rose to a fresh high in January as a soft U.S. dollar bolstered the conversion value of assets in other currencies, the central bank said Monday.The country’s foreign reserves reached $295.96 billion as of the end of January, up $4.39 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The reserves rose for the second straight month in January, surpass
Regular workers hit record high in 2010

Feb 7, 2011

The number of regular workers in Korea reached an all-time high last year as businesses increased their number of longer-term workers amid rebounding economic conditions, data showed Monday.The number of workers who remained employed for a year or longer totaled 10.09 million last year, the highest since related statistics started to be compiled in 1989, according to the data provided by the finan
Seoul shares up on economic optimism

Feb 7, 2011

Korean stocks finished 0.47 percent higher on Monday, led by financial companies, as upbeat U.S. data boosted investor sentiment amid subdued trading after a national holiday, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar. After rising more than 1.7 percent at one point, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,081.74, up 9.71 points from the previous
Businesses oppose early adoption of carbon trading

IndustryFeb 7, 2011

Korea’s major economic organizations called on the government Monday to significantly postpone its plan to introduce a carbon emissions trading system in 2012, saying it could hurt the country’s industrial competitiveness.The five economic organizations, including the Federation of Korean Industries, the largest industry lobby in the country, urged the government to delay the move at least until 2
Korean venture to buy U.S. hallyu site operator

IndustryFeb 7, 2011

Korea’s video search technology provider, Enswers Inc., said Monday that it has agreed to acquire a Silicon Valley-based online company, Soompi Media LLC, to create a U.S.-based Web portal for Korean pop culture and news.Under the agreement, Enswers will introduce this month a revamped service of Soompi.com powered by its own video search technology in a bid to bring Korean dramas, music, movies a