The Korea Herald

[Weekender] Saddling up for business

Jan 3, 2014

As we ring in 2014, the Year of the Horse, businesses are introducing the mammal in their products and marketing tactics.It’s happening even in the food business: The horsemeat market in Korea, albeit fledgling, is on a growth path as the meat is increasingly perceived as a healthy food.One restaurant located in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, draws in those wanting to try unique gourmet foods.“Raw minced horsemeat is the most popular at the small restaurant,” Chae Sang-ho, owner of the r
[Weekender] Horseback riding spices up weekend

Jan 3, 2014

Riding becomes more available as per capita income rises, says equestrian businessman
Seoul frontloads budget in revival bid

Jan 3, 2014

Government allots 65% of budget in first half, less than last year
[Graphic News] 2014 budget by sector

Jan 2, 2014

After much delay, the National Assembly on Wednesday approved the government budget and a host of tightly contested bills including the revised Foreign Investment Promotion Act and the National Intelligence Service Act.
Consumers to feel weight of public fee hike

Jan 2, 2014

Several key public fees including those for gas, electricity, railway services and postal deliveries are to face a sharp increase this year, reflecting the government’s decision to put economic growth ahead of price stabilization.Concerns prevail, however, that the financial burden will be shouldered by low-income consumers.The average retail price of city gas soared by 5.8 percent, starting from Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Gas Corporation.The
Korea's won 4th-best performer among major 20 currencies

Jan 1, 2014

The South Korean won gained 1.4 percent last year to the U.S. dollar, becoming the fourth-best performer among major 20 currencies, data showed on Wednesday.The local currency closed at 1,055.4 won to the greenback on Tuesday, up 15.2 won from the quotation posted at the end of 2012.According to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea, the euro advanced by the most of 4.6 percent to the U.S. dollar last year, followed by the Chinese yuan which gained 2.8 percent, and the British pound with a 1.6
S. Korea's trade surplus surges to record high in 2013

Jan 1, 2014

South Korea's trade surplus widened to a new high of $44.19 billion in 2013 as its exports grew at a steady rate while imports dwindled, the government said Wednesday.In 2013, the country's outbound shipments came to US$559.72 billion, up 2.2 percent from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports slipped 0.8 percent on-year to $515.53 billion over the cited period.Exports in 2013 also marked the highest in the country's history. The previous record of $5
Price of natural gas rise by 5.8%

Dec 31, 2013

The price of natural gas will be raised an average 5.8 percent from Jan. 1 to reflect a recent hike in import prices, the government said Tuesday. The price of liquefied natural gas supplied by the Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) will be raised by 6.1 percent for the industrial sector, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The rate hike comes as the country urgently needs to secure enough supply to meet growing demands for gas from the suspension of (three) nuclear reactors,
Samsung to top TV market for 8th year

Dec 30, 2013

Samsung Electronics is expected to maintain the global top TV manufacturer that sold the most number of flat-screen TVs for the eight consecutive year, according to a source.The Korean tech giant topped the list of global TV manufacturers with the largest market share of 25.5 percent as of the third quarter of last year, according to international market research firm DisplaySearch. “Samsung retained its leadership in last year’s TV market with the largest market share with ease,” an official cl
Hyundai Heavy to launch ship design unit

Dec 30, 2013

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, announced Monday that it will launch Hyundai Engineering & Technology, the group’s new affiliate for design and inspection, in early January.Established through a joint investment by Hyundai Heavy, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, Hyundai E&T will initially focus on shipbuilding and gradually phase into plants, electronics, construction equipment and other non-shipbuilding industries, according to the company.The
Overseas construction orders reach $65b in 2013

Dec 30, 2013

Overseas construction orders clenched by South Korean builders last year were the second highest in the country’s history, with the number of overseas orders and countries placing the orders also increasing, the government said Monday.The total amount of overseas orders reached $65.2 billion, up 0.5 percent from $65.9 billion tallied in 2012, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The figure is the second highest in the country’s history after $71.6 billion posted in 201
Samsung, SK Hynix move to dominate DRAM market

Dec 30, 2013

Global chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are tightening their leadership in the memory market as the two have unveiled an advanced memory technology.The two memory manufacturers announced Monday that they successfully developed the 20-nanometer class 8-gigabit low power double data rate 4 (LPDDR4) mobile DRAM.With a data transfer speed of 3200 Mbps, the LPDDR4 products unveiled on the day are twice as fast as the chipmakers’ existing LPDDR3, and consume approximately 40 percent less en
IT sector to drive economic growth

Dec 30, 2013

Little growth seen outside automotive, IT sectors
S. Korea's industrial output remains unchanged on-month in Nov.

Dec 30, 2013

South Korea's industrial output remained unchanged on-month in November, as declines in mining and manufacturing offset growth in other areas, a government report showed Monday.According to Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries stayed flat last month compared with a month earlier. This followed a revised 2.1 percent gain tallied for October, which was a turnaround from the previous month's 2.3 percent fall.Production in the service sector inche
[Graphic News] Fines imposed on telecom operators

Dec 29, 2013

The fine imposed on the nation’s major telecom operators for their illegal subsidies to customers soared this year, an indication that they were waging heated competition to increase new subscribers. The three ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― were fined a record-setting 106.4 billion won together last week.