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Korea aims to inch closer to Brazil

SoccerNov 14, 2011

National team to attack Lebanon without captain Park Chu-youngKorea has long been a powerhouse in Asian football, and this year the Taegeuk Warriors are on the path to qualify for their eighth consecutive appearance in the World Cup.Just one more victory will seal a berth in Asia’s final qualifying round for the 2014 World Cup. It can be clinched on Tuesday when Korea, which sits on top in Group B, faces runner-up Lebanon in Beirut.In its previous encounter in September, manager Cho Kwang-rae’s
Shares up as Italy, Greece replace leaders

Nov 14, 2011

The benchmark KOSPI crawled up 2.1 percent to 1,902.81 Monday on hopes that new leadership in Greece and Italy would help resolve the debt crisis in Europe. Gains were led by tech shares after investors rushed to grab Hynix Semiconductor Inc. stock on the news that the world’s No. 2 computer memory chip maker will issue new shares to prospective buyer SK Telecom at 23,000 won ($20.41) each. Hynix advanced 3.48 percent to 22,300 won apiece. The KOSPI opened strongly on hopes that new technocratic
Criticism mounts over ‘soft’ penalties for power bloggers

TechnologyNov 14, 2011

Netizens on Monday expressed anger at the “soft” penalties given to power bloggers who made huge illegitimate profits. The Fair Trade Commission announced on Sunday it levied a fine of 5 million won each on four power bloggers for not revealing that they wrote favorable product reviews in return for a commission. According to the FTC, brokering a collective purchase of a product online is legal, but bloggers are required to reveal they get paid a commission for organizing such mass purchases. Th
Big savings banks to swing to Q3 profit

Nov 14, 2011

The nation’s major savings banks, including Hyundai Swiss, HK and Solomon, will swing to a third-quarter profit due to a healthier loan portfolio restructured recently to favor more small lending to individuals and less project finance, officials said. Solomon Savings Bank, the largest of its kind in Korea in terms of assets, is to post more than 20 billion won ($17.85 million) in profit for July-September, according to provisional data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. Hyundai Swis
Korea’s total debt reaches 2.6 times GDP

Nov 14, 2011

Analysts express concern about pace of debt growth amid Hankook Tire Co., South Ko- economic downturnKorea’s public and private-sector borrowing reached 2.6 times its gross domestic product, data showed Monday, fueling concerns. The latest figure compiled by think tanks and brokerages put the combined debt of the Korean government, state-run and private firms and households at 3,283 trillion won ($2.9 trillion) at the end of June this year, up 5.7 percent from 3,106 trillion won a year earlier.
Firms step up partnership to curb emissions

IndustryNov 14, 2011

LG Electronics, LS Cable, Homeplus, Amore Pacific launch government-led ‘Green Partnership’ Korea’s leading retailers and makers of electronics, medical devices and electric wires will team up with their subcontractors to give a fresh impulsion to the government’s drive to slash greenhouse gas emissions and tackle global warming.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Monday it has clinched deals with six large enterprises and their 53 suppliers and consultants for its Green Partnership program.
SKT to buy Hynix for 3.4 trillion won

IndustryNov 14, 2011

SK Telecom said on Monday that it will acquire a 21.1 percent stake in Hynix Semiconductor for 3.4 trillion won (about $3.02 billion) to take over the world’s No. 2 memory chip maker.To acquire the controlling stake, the telecom giant plans to buy current shares of Hynix and new shares to be issued by the chip maker.Earlier, Hynix announced that it will issue 101.85 million new shares at 23,000 won ($20.47) each to its preferred bidder SK Telecom.In a public filing to the Korea Exchange, Hynix s
SKT warned over abuse of market position

IndustryNov 14, 2011

The Fair Trade Commission said Monday that it has ordered corrective actions against SK Telecom for using its market position to secure unfair contracts with smaller manufacturers. The nation’s largest telecom carrier has maintained contracts with 15 subcontractors, through which the company transferred its patented techniques for gap-fillers and received royalties since 2005. Gap-fillers are land-based transmission facilities that improve the coverage of quality mobile services.The FTC found, h
Celltrion arthritis biosimilar passes clinical trials

IndustryNov 14, 2011

Biotech company Celltrion Inc. said Monday it completed the first successful clinical trial of a biosimilar antibody drug for rheumatoid arthritis. Celltrion said it has tested the new drug on 874 patients in 20 countries since last November. It has spent 200 billion won in the clinical experiments so far and plans to spend another 80 billion won.The market for arthritis drugs is thought to be worth 20 trillion won ($18 billion). “It demonstrated equivalence in our initial review of the clinical
Consumer Reports names Galaxy S2 top smartphone

IndustryNov 14, 2011

Samsung Electronics’ flagship smartphone Galaxy S2 was recently named the top smartphone by the U.S. monthly magazine Consumers Reports.The magazine, which reviews consumer products and services, put the Galaxy S2 at No. 1 for three out of the four major mobile carriers ― AT&T, Sprint and T-mobile ― in the U.S. The top rating for Verizon Wireless was given to Motorola’s Droid Bionic.The Galaxy S2 serviced by AT&T was given 80 points, while the same phone on T-mobile and Sprint received 79 points
Korea, Australia launch sex-trade crackdown

Foreign affairsNov 14, 2011

South Korea and Australia will seek joint measures to crack down on prostitution by South Korean women in the latter country, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Monday.Moon Ha-yong, ambassador for overseas Koreans and consular affairs, will meet with his Australian counterparts in Canberra later in the day to discuss the issue, the ministry said.“About 1,000 South Korean women in Australia are engaged in the sex trade, and most of them are abusing their working-holiday visas,” the ambassador told Yon
Lee calls on APEC leaders to encourage corporate creativity through deregulation

Foreign affairsNov 14, 2011

HONOLULU (Yonhap News) ― South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called Sunday for leaders of Pacific Rim economies to encourage corporate creativity and innovation through deregulation, saying it will make companies more competitive, help spur economic growth and create jobs.Lee made the remarks during a working lunch session with other leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Hawaii. The host U.S. asked Lee to deliver the lead speech at the session on deregulation after fi
Pantos aims to be global logistics leader

IndustryNov 14, 2011

From heavy machinery to automobiles to electronics, a slew of small but thriving enterprises have been behind Korea’s miraculous industrial advancement. Pantos Logistics Co. may be one of these “hidden champions,” a term coined by the late legendary Harvard marketing guru Theodore Levitt to portray firms that shine in the international arena but are little known outside their own field.Pantos is Korea’s largest logistics provider with 2010 sea freight volumes of 1.6 million 20-foot equivalent u
S. Korean historians visit N.K. for safety survey of royal palace

North KoreaNov 14, 2011

A group of South Korean historians and cultural artifact experts traveled to North Korea on Monday to conduct a joint safety survey of the site of an ancient royal palace in the communist state, officials said. The visit was to follow up on a meeting held in North Korea on Oct. 28 between historians of the two Koreas in which they reached a consensus for a quick resumption of a long-stalled inter-Korean project to excavate the site.The two Koreas launched the project to uncover the remains of Ma
Korea, U.S. to ease immigration rules

Foreign affairsNov 14, 2011

Seoul and Washington have agreed to accelerate moves to allow automatic immigration checks in both countries from next year.On the sidelines of the 19th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hawaii, the Korean and the U.S. governments agreed to allow fast-tracked immigration procedures for “trusted travelers” of the two countries, without a face-to-face interview with an immigration officer.The trusted travelers need to submit personal data, including fingerprints and photographs, to the a