The Korea Herald

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Police to intensify readiness against N. Korea's possible provocations

North KoreaFeb 12, 2016

Police said Friday they have strengthened security measures as tensions rise on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea's recent nuclear and long-range rocket tests.Kang Sin-myeong, the National Police Agency (NPA) Commissioner-General, has ordered local police agencies and stations to establish and intensively execute field training exercise (FTX) plans, according to the NPA.The instructions were made a few days after North Korea launched a long-range rocket carrying a satellite in what the
Stocks plunge nearly 3% as fear grips markets

Feb 11, 2016

The South Korean stock market nosedived on the first trading session after the Lunar New Year holiday Thursday, battered by concerns over the gloomy global economy and geopolitical risks stemmed from North Korea’s long-range rocket launch. An electronic board behind the statues of a bear and bull, the symbols of the fall and rise of stocks, installed inside Korea Exchange in Seoul, shows a plunge in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indexes Thursday, as they were affected by a sharp fall in global stock mark
Korea has OECD’s top R&D spending as proportion of GDP

Feb 11, 2016

South Korea ranked top among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries in terms of research and development spending as a proportion of gross domestic product, a report showed Thursday.According to the OECD report on the global state of science, technology and industry, Korea has superseded Israel as the world’s most R&D intensive country, spending 4.29 percent of GDP for this purpose in 2014. OECD countries spent an average of 2.37 percent of their GDP, the same level
Stimulus plan weak: brokerages

Feb 4, 2016

The government’s 21 trillion won ($17.4 billion) fiscal stimulus for the first quarter of the year will be insufficient to offset the growing downside pressure on the economy, analysts said Thursday. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho speaks at a meeting with economy-related ministers in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)Following a spate of disappointing economic data, the government unveiled Wednesday a new stimulus package which includes an extra 6 trillion won in public spending on top of the original 13
Consumer sentiment at 6-month low

Jan 27, 2016

Consumer confidence has slipped in January to a six-month low as households fretted about the economic outlook on the back of China’s slowdown and stock market tumble.The composite consumer sentiment index for January came to 100, compared with 102 the previous month, according to the data released by the Bank of Korea on Wednesday.(Yonhap)“Consumers view on their financial situation got worsened as recent oil price drop and China’s sluggish economy weighed on their outlook for the country’s eco
Earnings season kicks off amid gloomy outlook

Jan 26, 2016

The fourth-quarter reporting season kicked off Tuesday amid low expectations as Korea’s listed firms continue to suffer from sluggish exports and a global slowdown.This week, some 32 companies listed on the main KOSPI bourse are planning to report their results for the October-December period in 2015.Analysts have been constantly revising down their outlook amid a series of weak quarterly performance reports by major Korean companies despite their efforts to restructure operations throughout las
Cosmetics a bright spot in Korea’s stock market

Jan 18, 2016

The Korea Herald publishes a series of articles looking at the performance of various sectors on Korea’s main bourse KOSPI. The following is the first installment. -- Ed.The Korean cosmetics industry will continue to be a bright spot for investors as companies continue to expand overseas beyond the Asian market with strong sales of skin care products at duty-free shops abroad expected to underpin strong growth, analysts said. Customers cram a duty-free store located at Lotte World Tower in Jams
Court rejects Korean A-bomb victims' suit against gov't

Social affairsJan 14, 2016

An appeals court on Thursday ruled in favor of the government and dismissed a compensation suit filed by South Korean atomic bomb victims, who were conscripted into the Japanese military or drafted to work in Japan during its 1910-45 colonial rule.Upholding a lower court's ruling, the Seoul High Court turned down the suit filed by 79 members of an association of Korean victims of the 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings.The plaintiffs filed the suit in August 2013, representing some 2,600
Ex-Goldman banker fined for unauthorized note sale

Jan 14, 2016

A former employee of at the Seoul branch of U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs was slapped with a fine Thursday for selling structured notes without the government's approval. In South Korea, only registered brokerage houses can create structured notes by packaging debt with derivatives to offer customized bets, but the New York-based lender was not authorized to make such deals. The former chief of Goldman Sachs' Seoul branch was indicted in October on charges of selling six structured notes li
India’s largest bank kicks off Seoul branch

Jan 13, 2016

India’s largest lender started operations of its first branch in Korea on Wednesday, as trade between the two Asian economies flourishes.B. Sriram, managing director of State Bank of India, speaks during a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday.“SBI Seoul branch will supplement existing channels of financial intermediation between India and Korea, partnering growth in bilateral trade between the two countries and also the flow of investments from one to the other,” B. Sriram, managing director o
Manufacturers’ operating rate hits 6-year low

코리아 헤럴드Dec 30, 2015

Sluggish exports dragged down the average operating rate of Korea’s manufacturing industry to 72.7 percent last month, marking the lowest level since April 2009, government data showed Wednesday.According to a report by Statistics Korea, the nation’s overall industrial output also fell for the second straight month in November. Overall industrial production dropped 0.5 percent last month from a month earlier, after a 1.3 percent on-month decline in October, the agency noted. In the aftermath of
Private debt’s ratio to GDP exceeds 180%

Dec 28, 2015

South Korea’s private sector debt reached a record high in proportion to its gross domestic product at nearly double the national economic output in the third quarter this year, data from the Bank of Korea showed Monday. Loans extended to households and private companies stood at a record 182.6 percent of the country’s GDP at the end of September, hitting the highest level in the country’s history, the data noted. The country’s private debt-to-GDP ratio remained under 180 percent through the fir
S. Korea floats yuan-denominated FX stabilization bonds in China

Dec 15, 2015

South Korea finance ministry said Tuesday that it has successfully issued yuan-denominated foreign exchange stabilization bonds in the world's No. 2 market.The move comes after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) approved the issuing of upwards to 3 billion yuan (US$463 million) worth of bonds on Dec. 8.The sale marks the first time ever that a foreign government has floated yuan-based bonds in China."The sale took place at 5:30 p.m. Korea time with the bonds that mature in three years having an i
Former lawmaker arrested over accepting bribe

Social affairsDec 15, 2015

Prosecutors said Tuesday they have formally arrested a former lawmaker on charges of accepting a bribe in return for a business favor.The district court in the southeastern city of Daegu issued a warrant to arrest Sim Hag-bong, citing considerable reason to believe he committed the crime and concerns that he may try to flee or destroy evidence.Sim is accused of accepting 40 million won (US$34,000) from a company by arranging a public official so that the company could be selected in a government
Park renews call for correct history education

EducationDec 15, 2015

President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that history should be taught "correctly" for young South Koreans in what could be the latest move to advocate for state history textbooks."I think history achieved by our elders should be taught correctly in order for our country to leap forward," Park said during a luncheon she hosted for the elderly at Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office.The invited guests included those who turned 100 this year, aged residents of foreign countries, and retire