The Korea Herald

SK Innovation Q2 net jumps 6.5% on petrochemical biz

SK Innovation Co., South Korea's top oil refiner, on Friday said its second quarter profit rose 6.5 percent from a year earlier, aided by better-than-expected results from its petrochemical business.Net profit reached 626 billion won ($551 million) on a consolidated basis in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 588 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Operating income surged 12 percent on-year to reach 1.12 trillion won over the cited period, while sale

July 22, 2016

SK Innovation Q2 net jumps 6.5% on petrochemical biz

Park to take five-day summer vacation next week

President Park Geun-hye will take a five-day summer vacation next week at her official residence, her office Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, dismissing speculation that her vacation could be pushed back due to a series of ongoing issues, including the disturbing allegations surrounding her senior secretary."Park will take a five-day summer break from Monday," her spokesman Jung Youn-kuk told reporters. "I understand that she will not travel to any provincial area, but will rest at her residence while

PoliticsJuly 22, 2016

Shipbuilders' order backlog hits 12-year low

Order backlog held by South Korean shipyards fell to the lowest level in 12 years in June amid a protracted slump in the global shipbuilding sector, industry data showed Friday.According to the data compiled by global research firm Clarkson Research Services, the shipbuilding order backlog held by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and its other local rivals stood at 25.1 million compensated gross tons as of end-June, the lowest since January 2004, when the comparable figure was 24.2 million CGTs.Thei

IndustryJuly 22, 2016

Shipbuilders' order backlog hits 12-year low

Red Hot Chili Peppers return as ‘roaring beasts’

Nothing short of impressionable, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ first gig in Korea in 2002 still has some people talking.　Back again after 14 years, the American rock band is headlining one of the most-anticipated music events of the year, the 2016 Jisan Valley Rock Music & Arts Festival.　“Each country we go to, we try to get our own perspective of the place we’re in,” said the group’s bassist Michael Balzary -- who goes by the stage name Flea -- at a press conference at the Grand InterContinental Seoul

PerformanceJuly 22, 2016

Red Hot Chili Peppers return as ‘roaring beasts’

Incheon's international district attracts drone development

An international town near the country's western coast is turning into a mecca for drone fans and companies as its governing city begins a project next year to build an aeronautics industry complex, officials said Friday.More than 10 firms that develop components for drones have set up offices at the Songdo International Business District in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, over the past two years, according to the city officials.Internet communities and bloggers are calling the district on

TechnologyJuly 22, 2016

Incheon's international district attracts drone development

Samsung Electronics files patent suit against Huawei in China

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of smartphones, said Friday it has filed a lawsuit against Huawei Technologies Co. in China, accusing the Chinese firm of infringing on Samsung's six patents related to mobile phones and digital images. The move is seen as a countermeasure against Huawei after the Chinese electronics firm sued Samsung in May in the United States and China over patent infringements.In a statement, Samsung criticized Huawei's smartphones and tablets for infringing

IndustryJuly 22, 2016

Samsung Electronics files patent suit against Huawei in China

Volkswagen Korea to halt sales of cars in emissions scandal

German carmaker Volkswagen has decided to voluntarily suspend sales of its vehicle models implicated in an emissions scandal in South Korea, market sources said Friday.In a recent letter to local dealers, Audi Volkswagen Korea, the South Korean unit of the German carmaker, said it will stop delivering 79 models of 34 vehicle types starting next week.The country's environment ministry earlier said it might revoke its certification of the 79 vehicle models, based on the outcome of a prosecution in

MobilityJuly 22, 2016

Volkswagen Korea to halt sales of cars in emissions scandal

Banana is new honey in snack market

Banana-flavored snacks may not be selling as much as before, but they are still a big help in pushing up overall snack sales, retailers' data showed Friday.Banana has been the new honey for the market, replacing the craze over potato chips with sweet taste. Makers of chocolate pie snacks reaped instant success when they marketed the same snack in banana flavor in March. (123rf)According to retail giant E-Mart, snack sales in the first quarter only grew 0.5 percent compared with the same period l

IndustryJuly 22, 2016

S. Korea seeks to highlight N. Korea's nuke threats at regional security meeting

South Korea will make a strong push to highlight the threats that North Korea's nuclear ambitions are posing both to the Asian region and the global community as a whole during the upcoming regional security meeting, observers and government officials said Friday.Top diplomats from 27 Asia-Pacific countries and the European Union are scheduled to meet in Vientiane for a series of talks led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations starting this weekend. South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byu

North KoreaJuly 22, 2016

U.S. institute claims discovery of secret N. Korean uranium facility

A U.S. research institute on Thursday said it has located a suspected secret nuclear facility that North Korea used in the early stages of its uranium enrichment program."Recent information suggests that an early centrifuge research and development facility was located at the Panghyon Aircraft Plant, at or near the Panghyon Air Base, which is located about 45 kilometers west of the Yongbyon nuclear site," the Institute for Science and International Studies said in a report. "This is a preliminar

North KoreaJuly 22, 2016

White House: U.S. to ensure THAAD maximizes protection, minimizes inconvenience

The United States will work closely with South Korea to deploy the THAAD missile defense system in a way that maximizes the protection it provides and minimizes any inconvenience it causes, the White House said Thursday."This is a highly sophisticated anti-ballistic missile defense system in South Korea to protect our allies from the missile threat emanating North Korea," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said at a regular press briefing."So we are certainly going to work closely with the

DefenseJuly 22, 2016

U.S. experts cautions against Obama administration adopting nuclear 'no-first use' doctrine

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama should not adopt a nuclear "no first use" doctrine at a time when North Korea increases its nuclear arsenal and threatens key U.S. allies South Korea and Japan, U.S. experts said Thursday.Jonathan Pollack and Richard Bush, senior experts at the Brookings Institution, made the appeal in a joint article, saying the Obama administration is reportedly trying to enunciate the "no-first use" doctrine to advance Obama's nuclear-free world vision in his

World NewsJuly 22, 2016

Trump says he's ready to tell allies, 'Congratulations, you will be defending yourself'

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he would be "absolutely" prepared to tell U.S. allies, "Congratulations, you will be defending yourself," unless they agree to shoulder more of the cost for American troop presence.Trump made the remark in an interview with the New York Times held a day after he officially clinched the Republican presidential nomination, once again signalling he's ready to abandon U.S. security commitments overseas unless they make economic sense."I would prefer

World NewsJuly 22, 2016