Oh Young-ho, executive vice chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, was named the president of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.Starting Monday, Oh will succeed Hong Suk-woo who took office as the minister of knowledge economy two weeks ago.Having entered public service in 1980, Oh has served as the chief of the organizing committee of the Seoul G20 Business Summit and first vice minister of commerce, industry and energy, before the Ministry of Knowledge Economy receive

Asiana Airlines was named “Airline of the Year” by a U.S. travel magazine, becoming the first air carrier to win the top award from three different institutions for three years in a row.The Global Traveler named Asiana the “2011 Airline of the Year” and the top airliner in six other categories. Asiana had been named “Airline of the Year” by the industry publication Air Transport World in 2009 and consultancy Skytrax last year. The Global Traveler awarded winners in 68 travel-related categories,

LG Chem CEO Kim retained; LG Display’s Kwon moves to Chem’s new battery unitLG Display named Han Sang-beom, head of the company’s television business division, as its new CEO, replacing Kwon Young-soo, in a reshuffle on Friday.Kwon will move to head the new battery project unit at LG Chem, which will focus on work related to secondary batteries, such as small batteries, electric car batteries and those used for energy storage, according to LG officials.Kim Bahn-suk, chief executive and vice chai

TOKYO (AFP) ― Automakers Toyota and BMW on Thursday struck a partnership to share eco-friendly technologies, including in the joint development of lithium-ion batteries for next-generation electric cars, the companies said.Under the deal, the German automaker will also provide diesel engines for Toyota as the Japanese auto giant looks to boost sales in Europe, where more than half of passenger cars are diesel powered.Toyota has struggled to boost its European market share with its gasoline-elect

DETROIT (AP) ― Americans are finally replacing the cars and trucks they held on to during the economic slump, giving a big boost to U.S. auto sales in November.Chrysler, Ford, Nissan and Hyundai were among the companies reporting double-digit gains from last November, which is normally a lackluster month because of colder weather and holiday distractions. This November, buyers were lured by good deals, improving confidence in the economy and the need to trade in older cars.“Consumers are just st

WASHINGTON ― In the early days of the Arab revolutions, it seemed as if a smartphone might be enough to break the power of repressive governments. These little devices could gather crowds, yes, but even more important, their cameras could document the violence that regimes used to suppress their people. The smartphone changed the balance of intimidation. The rulers and their henchmen were suddenly at risk of being prosecuted, like Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, or hunted and killed, like Moammar Gaddaf

In the old days, technical books were read for one’s education, but they are so boring that you would fall asleep. You read novels instead for their drama, romance and excitement. In this fast moving world where daily events are more thrilling than fiction, books like “More Money than God” by Sebastian Mallaby make you want to turn the next page. Written by a former journalist, who today works for the U.S. Council for Foreign Relations, the book has combined blood-and-guts story-telling of the h

Tokyo Oasis (Japan)Opened Dec. 1Drama. Directed by Kana Matsumoto. Touko, (Satomi Kobayashi), an obscure actress, leaves the film set of her latest project on a whim. Without any plans in mind, she begins to wander the streets of Tokyo, and comes across three random people. Right after leaving the set, she is offered a ride by a driver named Nagano. At a small theater venue, she chats with former screen writer Kikuchi. At the zoo, she runs into Yasuko, a young woman who has failed to get into an

Actors will endure a lot for a director they believe in. Michael Fassbender swallowed his pride and wore a superhero helmet for Matthew Vaughn in “X-Men: First Class” and toggled trickily between English and German for Quentin Tarantino in “Inglourious Basterds.” But none of that compares to what he’s been willing to go through for Steve McQueen.Four years ago, when Fassbender began working with the punctilious filmmaker (no relation to that other Steve McQueen) in the prison drama “Hunger,” the