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Two electric car models get tax breaks

IndustryDec 21, 2011

Renault Samsung Motors’ SM3 ZE and Kia Motors’ Ray were chosen as the first two electric cars to receive tax breaks starting next month in a bid to promote sales of the eco-friendly vehicles.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Wednesday that tax breaks of up to 4.2 million won will be provided for the SM3 ZE and the Ray, which are priced at around 60 million won and 45 million won, respectively, as the two met all the requirements for energy efficiency and technological details. The SM3 ZE c
Korea to pump $11.8 b into resources search in 2012

Dec 21, 2011

Korea will inject a record $11.8 billion in overseas resources development next year in a bid to slake its ever-growing thirst for energy and rare earth minerals, the government said Wednesday.Of the total, $7.8 billion, or 66 percent, will come from state coffers and the remainder from the private sector, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said. The sum also reflects a 34 percent jump from last year’s estimated $8.8 billion.Under the plan, the government aims to nearly double its self-sufficienc
Hyundai chairwoman coordinating N.K. visit with former first lady

Dec 21, 2011

The chairwoman of Hyundai Group, a family-run shipping and tourism conglomerate, is working with former first lady Lee Hee-ho to jointly pay their respects to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, sources said Wednesday.The company, which has extensive business interests in the socialist country, said it has begun talks so the two women can form a civilian condolence group to go to the communist country.“There is a need to work out details on how many people will be included in the group and when the
Firms spooked more by Europe than N.K.

IndustryDec 21, 2011

Businesses more concerned about effects from eurozone debt crisisMajor listed companies in South Korea saw North Korea as less of a risk than the European debt crisis for their business next year, despite concerns of instability in Pyongyang following Kim Jong-il’s death.South Korea’s top 20 listed businesses in terms of aggregate market value said they were much more perturbed by the fiscal predicaments in Europe than they were by North Korea. They were, however, worried about currency exchange
Homeplus to start convenient store business

IndustryDec 21, 2011

Homeplus, the nation’s No. 2 supermarket chain owned by the U.K.’s Tesco, said Wednesday that it is ready to expand its business to convenient store franchises early next year. The retail giant said it has already received clearance from local antitrust authorities to go ahead with its plan to enter the industry here. “A growing number of babyboomers are expected to retire in the coming years. They could profit from the franchise business with less investment, leading to more jobs here,” a Homep
SK Telecom, Chery Automobile set up joint lab in China

IndustryDec 21, 2011

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Chery Automobile Co., China’s seventh-largest automaker, said Wednesday it has jointly built a laboratory with South Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom Co., in a bid to boost their competitiveness in the vehicle networking technology. A trend has been growing recently in the automobile industry toward developing in-vehicle data transmission and communications between vehicles and the outside world.After three years of coordination, the two companies recently laun
Samsung becomes world’s 7th largest laptop maker

TechnologyDec 21, 2011

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top memory chipmaker, is also becoming a major supplier of laptop computers, more than quadrupling its global market share in just four years, market observers said.The company’s global market share rose from 1.4 percent in 2007 to 6.5 percent in the third quarter of this year, they said.The third-quarter figure is the world’s seventh largest, placing Samsung ahead of other major suppliers including Japan’s Sony Corp. and United States’ Apple Inc.Samsung’s do
Hyundai Motor’s Eon, Verna named best cars in India

TransportDec 21, 2011

Hyundai Motor Co.’s Eon and Verna small-size cars have been respectively named the “best cars of the year” in their segments in India, industry sources said Wednesday.The Eon, Hyundai’s hatchback city car, has been named the micro-mini car of the year by the Overdrive automotive review program aired on CNBC-TV18, according to the sources.The model made by South Korea’s largest carmaker features an 800cc engine, and was launched in the local market in October, with sales hitting 7,418 units last
Gold prices jump on North Korean woes

Dec 21, 2011

Gold prices in South Korea have climbed following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as worries over heightened geopolitical uncertainties and a strengthening greenback prompted investors to stack up the safe-haven asset, data showed Wednesday.The retail price of 1 don of pure gold in South Korea stood at 238,000 won ($205.99) as of Tuesday, rising the most in five days since 241,000 won on Dec. 14, according to the Korea Gold Exchange.The don (3.75 grams) is a Korean unit used to meas
Korea Life to set up joint venture in China

Dec 21, 2011

Korea Life Insurance Co., South Korea’s second-largest life insurer, said Wednesday it will launch a joint venture in China in a bid to tap into the world’s second-largest economy.Korea Life Insurance signed an agreement Tuesday with China’s state-run fund provider Zhejiang International Business Group Co. to set up a joint life insurer in Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang, the Korean insurer said in a statement.The 50-50 joint venture will be capitalized at 500 million yuan ($78 mill
Raising cash at Christmas bash

Dec 21, 2011

A Christmas bash in Bucheon is to raise cash for Korean orphans on Friday night. The event at the Park bar in Jung-dong, Bucheon, will see gifts and cash collected for various orphanages in Gyeonggi Province. Various Itaewon restaurants have donated prizes to a raffle and several musical acts will provide entertainment throughout the night. Attendees are invited to bring wrapped gifts bearing labels saying what age and gender of child they are suitable for, or to give cash donations.Highway 9 wi
N.K. leadership transition seen moving forward

PoliticsDec 21, 2011

Jong-un mourns father; China reaffirms continued support Two days after North Korea revealed the death of its “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il, the communist state appeared calm and stable in mourning the long-time strongman Wednesday, with the leadership transition to his third son moving forward. Pyongyang’s state media broadcast Kim Jong-un, dubbed the “Great Successor,” shedding tears before his father’s body which is laid in a glass coffin near that of his grandfather and North Korean founder Kim
S. Korea to add Japan‘s wartime sex slavery to high school textbooks

Foreign affairsDec 21, 2011

The education ministry is set to approve a set of revised guidelines for high school history textbooks that will mention Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japan’s World War II soldiers, an official said Wednesday.The move comes as South Korea has pressed Japan to resolve long-running grievances over Tokyo‘s wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, euphemistically called “comfort women.” Japan has adamantly rejected South Korea’s calls to hold talks to discuss the issue of c
GNP rejects mourning delegation

PoliticsDec 21, 2011

Seoul government allows civilians to send condolence messages to PyongyangRuling Grand National Party’s interim leader Rep. Park Geun-hye on Wednesday rejected the liberal opposition’s proposal to send a parliamentary delegation to the funeral of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.Her objection came a day after the Seoul government said it would not send its delegation to the North, but would allow the bereaved families of former President Kim Dae-jung and former Hyundai Asan chairman Chung Mong-hu
Doubts remain about details of Kim's death

North KoreaDec 21, 2011

Spy agency says N.K. leader’s train was not moving at time of deathDoubts about the location and time of Kim Jong-il’s death continued Wednesday with intelligence gathered by South Korea supporting theories that the North Korean leader died under circumstances different from those described by Pyongyang.On Tuesday, it was revealed that the National Intelligence Service had evidence that Kim’s train was stationary at the announced time of this death, casting doubt on Pyongyang’s claim that Kim di