The Korea Herald

FSS presses KB Financial to hold off exec bonuses

Nov 26, 2013

The financial regulator has demanded KB Financial Group Inc. put off any bonuses for former and incumbent executives, citing the ongoing probe into suspected corruption at its flagship unit Kookmin Bank, regulatory officials said Tuesday. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has apparently decided that KB Financial's bonus payouts to its executives would be inappropriate given the current circumstances in which Kookmin Bank has been scrutinized by the financial authorities on corruption alleg
Ocean institute decodes minke whale DNA

Nov 25, 2013

The state-run Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, in cooperation with research agencies abroad, successfully decoded the complete genetic base sequence of minke whales for the first time ever, government officials said on Monday.The joint research team’s thesis, titled “Minke Whale Genome and Aquatic Adaptation in Cetaceans,” was published in the online edition of Nature Genetics, a scientific journal for genetics research.“This research is the first worldwide to reveal the physiolo
Hyundai Motor heir apparent tops list of young stock rich

Nov 25, 2013

The eldest son of Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-koo is South Korea’s richest man among several dozen wealthy people in their 30s and 40s, data showed Monday.Chung Eui-sun, vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, holds stock assets worth 3.5 trillion won ($3.3 billion), according to the data compiled by CEOSCORE, a website that tracks conglomerates as well as financial firms and state-run companies.Hyundai Motor Co. and smaller sister company Kia Motors Corp. are the two major flagship units of
Korea, Canada reopen FTA talks in 5 years

Nov 25, 2013

South Korea and Canada resumed their talks to conclude a free trade agreement in Seoul on Monday, ending their five-year deadlock in negotiations. Choi Kyung-lim, deputy minister for trade, represented the Korean side while Ian Burney, assistant deputy minister for trade policy and negotiations, led the Canadian delegation. It is the 14th round of FTA talks between the two countries since they launched negotiations in July 2005. The two sides have held 13 rounds of talks, but failed to make prog
Prolonged economic slump puts more firms on selling blocks

Nov 25, 2013

A prolonged economic slump is forcing a slew of business groups here to sell their affiliates to tide over cash shortages and shore up their financial status, industry sources said Monday.High-profile deals currently under way include the sales of Dongbu HiTek Co. and Dongbu Metal Co. Dongbu Group said it plans to sell its stakes in the two firms by 2015, and also have its other affiliates sell assets to secure a combined 3 trillion won (US$2.82 billion).LIG Group, a mid-sized business group, is
Per capita income to hit record of $24,000

Nov 25, 2013

South Korea’s gross national income per capita is projected to set an all-time high of $24,044 (26.4 million won) this year on the back of the U.S. dollar’s cheaper position against the won.After sliding to $17,041 in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis, the GNI per capita has continued to climb over the past few years ― $20,562 in 2010, $22,489 in 2011 and 22,700 in 2012.Officials at the Bank of Korea said the estimate of record-high per capita income is mainly attributable to fore
Hyun vows to prioritize recovery, jobs

Nov 25, 2013

The economic policies for 2014 will focus on elevating GDP growth and creating more jobs, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok told heads of private think tanks on Monday. “We seek to have every economic bracket explicitly benefit from vitalizing the economy,” Hyun said during a breakfast meeting with the research institute officials. The keywords for the economic framework in 2014 are economic recovery, job creation, stable livelihood and economic fundamentals, he added. The
[Graphic News] Manufacturing competitiveness

Nov 24, 2013

According to the competitive industrial performance index released by the U.N. Industrial Development Organization last week, Japan has the strongest competitiveness in the manufacturing sector, followed by Germany, the U.S., Korea and Taiwan. Korea has maintained fourth position since 2005.
Inter-Korean trade recovers following reopening of Gaesong complex

Nov 24, 2013

Inter-Korean trade has gradually been returning to normal levels following the reopening of a joint industrial park in North Korea's border city of Gaesong in September, government data showed Sunday. According to data from the Ministry of Unification and the Korea Customs Service, two-way trade between South and North Korea amounted to $152.15 million last month. The amount is equivalent to 80.9 percent of total bilateral trade in the same month last year. "Exports have grown with the ent
China FTA progress fuels TPP push

Nov 22, 2013

Korea has emerged as a potential linchpin in the intricate regional chessboard where multilateral trade partnerships are on the rise. And now, with slow but steady progress being made in the bilateral Korea-China Free Trade Agreement talks, momentum is building for Korea to join the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, despite the government’s contrary claims. “Our trade policy remains unchanged and that means that the Korea-China FTA is at all times the top priority,” said Woo Tae-hee, chief tra
Monthly household income grew 2.9% in Q3

Nov 22, 2013

Monthly household income in South Korea grew 2.9 percent on-year during the third quarter amid signs the economy is recovering from a prolonged slump, government data showed Friday.The income of households consisting of two members or more averaged 4.26 million won ($4,012) per month during the July-September period, up from 4.14 million won tallied a year earlier, according to the data provided by Statistics Korea. If adjusted for inflation, income also grew 1.6 percent.The income growth rate i
KT provides relief for victims of typhoon Haiyan

Nov 22, 2013

KT Corp., the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier, and KTSAT, its affiliate specializing in satellites, together donated $200,000 in relief funds for the victims of typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the company said in a press release Friday.The donation will be used mainly to provide the victims with relief goods and aid the restoration of damaged areas.KTSAT also provided a free emergency satellite communications network.“I hope that the Filipino victims who are suffering from the horrendo
Latest round of S. Korea-China FTA ends after 'good start'

Nov 22, 2013

The latest round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and China ended Friday after the countries exchanged their initial offers for the level of liberalization for goods, marking what South Korean officials called a good start.The latest round of South Korea-China FTA negotiations, the eighth of its kind, had been held since Monday in South Korea's western port city of Incheon."In the latest round of negotiations, the two sides began discussions for a ro
[Graphic News] OECD’s economic growth outlook

Nov 20, 2013

OECD revised down its global economy outlook for this year from 3.1 percent to 2.7 percent and next year from 4.0 percent to 3.6 percent, expecting lower economic growth in emerging markets. The Paris-based club of advanced countries also revised downward Korea’s 2014 economic growth outlook from 4 percent to 3.8 percent.
Global inspection finds no major problems at Korean power plants

Nov 20, 2013

An international inspection of South Korea’s nuclear power plants and its state-run operator has identified nearly 200 minor problems, though they do not warrant any immediate safety concerns, the country’s nuclear commission said Wednesday.According to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, the special inspection by Germany’s TUV SUD concluded that South Korea’s nuclear power generation system is largely immune to any immediate threat, while identifying 35 findings, along with 145 recommen