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Air France-KLM official honored by French Embassy

IndustryDec 1, 2011

The Korean unit of Air France-KLM SA said its airport chief Lee Young-kil recently received an award from the French Embassy in Seoul for his contribution to the two countries’ economic and business ties.Lee serves the European airline as station and service manager at Incheon International Airport.The National Order of Merit award was created in 1963 by former French President Charles de Gaulle to honor military forces and civilians for their devotion to the country.“Lee has always provided a v
Woongjin takes LG to FTC in spat over water purifiers

IndustryDec 1, 2011

Woongjin Coway said Thursday it filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission against LG Electronics’ sales outlet chain, accusing it of spreading false information about its water purifier products.Woongjin Coway, the nation’s top maker of water purifiers, has continued to criticize the electronics giant for entering its business two years ago. Water purifiers were excluded from the latest list of business areas that should be left for only small and medium-sized companies announced by a gov
Regulators consider stand-alone rating

Dec 1, 2011

Conglomerate units, public firms relying on external support likely to see their ratings dropKorea’s financial regulators are considering the introduction of stand-alone ratings to weed out nonviable affiliates which have inflated their corporate ratings through their links with parent firms with better ratings. According to officials at local ratings firms and financial authorities, the new system is being reviewed so that investors could check the viability of listed companies. The Financial S
KCCI urges Assembly to reduce taxes

Dec 1, 2011

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Thursday it delivered a proposal to the National Assembly calling for lower corporate and income taxes.The government had planned to lower the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from the current 22 percent for firms with over 200 million won in earnings beginning next year.But the plan is being held up in the National Assembly as some lawmakers argue that the corporate tax rate should either be maintained or increased to 30 percent.“The consistency o
SKT starts fair price system for phones

IndustryDec 1, 2011

SK Telecom, the nation’s largest telecom operator, started selling mobile phones at fixed prices in its all on- and offline outlets nationwide Monday. The government plans to implement the fair price initiative in the telecom industry from January, aiming to revolutionize its retail structure. Thus far, vendors have lured customers with “free phones” explaining the normal benefits for long-term subscribers as special discount deals. However, under the new system, they are required to offer their
REVISION PLEASE USE French chamber to hold year-end gala with korean celebrities

IndustryDec 1, 2011

French Chamber to hold year-end gala with Korean celebs　By Yoav Cerralbo The French Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry will hold a year-end gala on Saturday, which officials said will toast the new business opportunities brought by the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement.The officials said the event at the Grand Hyatt hotel will be attended by L’Oreal model and “Lost” actress Kim Yun-jin and Miss Korea 2010 Jung So-Ra.“The chamber’s gala is a unique way to highlight the French-Korean relations wit
More than half of banks’ foreign debts come from Europe

Dec 1, 2011

More than half of the debts South Korean lenders borrowed overseas were from European banks, data showed Thursday, raising concerns about a possible foreign liquidity drain amid the spiraling eurozone debt crisis.As of end-June, South Korean lenders’ borrowing from European banks stood at $187.3 billion, or 53.6 percent of its total $349.4 billion foreign claims, according to the data by the Bank of International Settlements.By country, Britain was the largest creditor with $100.4 billion, follo
Korea’s trade set to exceed $1 trillion

Dec 1, 2011

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
Telecom regulator to censor SNS, mobile apps

IndustryDec 1, 2011

Telecom authorities plan to censor social networking services and mobile apps starting as early as next Wednesday, the Korea Communications Committee said Thursday.A review committee at the state-run telecom regulator on Thursday discussed a revised bill to set up a new team responsible for examining offensive and immoral content in new media. The revision also contains separate teams to monitor terrestrial radio stations and general programming channels that were newly launched on Thursday.Howe
Shares soar 3.72 percent on acts by central banks

Dec 1, 2011

South Korean shares closed up 3.72 percent on Thursday, encouraged by developments in the eurozone crisis, including the cut in borrowing costs by major central banks, and overnight rallies on Wall Street. Seoul’s main index, the KOSPI, closed up 68.67 points to 1,916.18. The tech-packed KOSDAQ ended up 3.52 points, or 0.71 percent, to 496.33. The rally of the local bourse, as with other Asian markets, reflected the optimism induced by the lowering of borrowing costs Wednesday by the central ban
Samsung chief rules out promotion of heir apparent

IndustryDec 1, 2011

Chairman Lee pledges to make active investments next yearSamsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee said Thursday his heir apparent and the company’s chief operating officer Jae-yong, and daughter and Cheil Industries’ No. 2 Seo-hyun will not be promoted in the group’s new management lineup set to be announced soon.“The position and role of Lee Jae-yong will remain unchanged and the same goes for Lee Seo-hyun,” he said in a meeting with reporters ahead of the group’s annual award ceremony held at
Busan partnership for effective development cooperation

Social affairsDec 1, 2011

The following article is an excerpt from the outcome document of the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan from Nov. 29-Dec. 1. ― Ed.1. We, heads of state, ministers and representatives of developing and developed countries, heads of multilateral and bilateral institutions, representatives of different types of public, civil society, private, parliamentary, local and regional organizations meeting here in Busan, Republic of Korea, recognize that we are united by a new partnership
U.S. lawmakers urge POW return from North Korea

North KoreaDec 1, 2011

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A U.S. House of Representatives panel on Wednesday unanimously approved a symbolic resolution calling on North Korea to return U.S. and South Korean prisoners of war and any civilian detainees.The bill, adopted by House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, urges North Korea to release any such prisoners and admit to abducting more than 100,000 South Korean civilians, reveal their status, and free them.It also presses the U.S. government to resume search and r
Somali pirates free hijacked ship, detain Korean crew

Social affairsDec 1, 2011

Somali pirates have released a chemical tanker they hijacked seven months ago, but are still detaining four South Korean crew members in an apparent attempt to win the release of five pirates awaiting trial in South Korea, an official said Thursday.“The MT Gemini itself was released at 3 a.m. yesterday (local time), following negotiations with the Singaporean ship owner,” an official at Seoul’s foreign ministry told reporters on condition of anonymity.“It appears that the pirates took the four S
Amount of snowfall in Korea forecast to halve by 2080s: report

Social affairsDec 1, 2011

As global warming continues to take a toll, the amount of snowfall on the Korean Peninsula is forecast to more than halve in 70 years from the current levels, a group of researchers forecast Thursday.The average volume of snowfall near the Han River, which runs through Seoul, reached 48.4 centimeters annually in the 2000s, but the figure will likely drop to around 30 cm in the 2040s before further diving to the 13.9-18.6 cm level in the 2080s, a research group from Konkuk University said in its