The “Korea Discount,” the amount by which foreign investors undervalue Korean stocks, stems largely from structural problems with the governance of the country’s major conglomerates, a brokerage said in a recent report. In a paper titled “2012 Korean Corporate Governance,” Tongyang Securities Inc. argued that governance problems had flared up in the last decade, during which the top five conglomerates saw their combined market capitalization jump from 28.4 percent to 44.9 percent. The report, ba

Korea Forest Service maps out plans to establish AFoCO after landmark agreement with ASEANSouth Korea took an important step in nurturing global green growth by agreeing last month with ASEAN member states to form the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization, the Korea Forest Service said on Thursday.The agreement, signed at the ASEAN Summit in Bali, is expected to pave the way for international cooperative networks in the field of forest preservation. ASEAN leaders welcomed the agreement at the 14

Korea Forest Service Minister Lee Don-koo has been working toward a greener global environment since he took office in February.The agreement to set up the Asia Forest Cooperation Organization with ASEAN member states is the latest in his efforts to combat desertification and push for green growth. He also successfully proposed the Changwon Initiative ― which seeks to provide practical measures to tackle desertification ― at the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification conference in Korea in Oc

Trade volume nears $987 billion with exports surpassing $500 billionKorea has arrived at the threshold of $1 trillion in trade volume for the first time ever as government figures show on Thursday that this year’s exports have already topped $500 billion.As of end-November, the country’s trade volume reached $986.7 billion with exports exceeding $508 billion, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. That lifted surplus to nearly $30 billion when taking $479 billion in imports into account

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay has expressed hope for Korean companies and communities’ participation in two design conferences to be hosted by the Canadian city in May.Tremblay recently visited Seoul to invite Korea’s design and related business communities to the UNESCO City of Design forum and the C2 conference of designers and business leaders from around the world.“The C2 conference is an approach to changing the business model of companies so that they realize that creativity can become an

Lee leads drive to avert possible blackouts in winterPresident Lee Myung-bak on Monday stressed the need for public participation in the government’s drive to save electricity as the nation braces for power shortages this winter.He urged Koreans to lower thermostat settings, switch off unneeded lights and install energy-efficient appliances in their homes and offices. “Although the government has drawn up measures to cope with the looming electricity crunch, I’d like to make an urgent request fo

Finance Minister Bahk says greater uncertainty calls for long-term policy measuresKorea’s finance minister said on Monday the government will focus on revitalizing the economy and pushing for sustainable growth next year. Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said in a meeting with the heads of think tanks that the global sovereign debt crisis is generating high volatility and low growth, which will continue for a considerable period of time. Bahk’s remarks come as the Korean economy is confronting a sl