The Korea Herald

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 to roll out in Korea this month

Samsung Electronics’ new flagship smartphone Galaxy S4 will be rolling out in Korea on April 25 following its launch in a number of European countries including the U.K., industry sources said Thursday.With the world’s biggest smartphone maker scheduling its media event on the same day as its roll-out, the new 5-inch Galaxy S4 equipped with octa-core mobile processors will be hitting local shelves in the next three weeks, they said.The company’s new smartphone was unveiled for the first time in

IndustryApril 4, 2013

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 to roll out in Korea this month

Aspire to entice with premium services

Aspire Lifestyles has launched in Korea as a premium concierge, hospitality and brand marketing servicer, the U.K. and Singapore-based company said on Thursday.Aspire Lifestyles offers incomparable lifestyles, services and luxury reward programs. This creates memorable services and lifestyle experiences for customers' needs ranging from travel assistance to lifestyle experiences, the company said.Aspire also specializes in brand marketing, consisting of creating and revamping brands for corporat

IndustryApril 4, 2013

Nuclear power makes steady global comeback

PARIS ― Having lost much of its appeal after 2011’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, nuclear energy is coming back into favor, slowly but steadily. Emerging economies are resuming plant construction, particularly in Asia, where power demand is exploding in line with rapid economic growth. China led the trend this year, opening the first nuclear power plant since the Fukushima crisis in Dalian, Liaoning province. Industry watchers said the Chinese government will step up construction of nuclear plants

April 4, 2013

Nuclear power makes steady global comeback

FSC picks new chief for KDB Financial Group

South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday it tapped an economics professor who was an aide to President Park Geun-hye to head state-run KDB Financial Group Co., following the former president's resignation amid a big government shake-up of banking chiefs.The Financial Services Commission said Hong Ki-taek, who teaches economics at Chungang University, will preside over KDB Financial Group and its banking unit Korea Development Bank.The KDB Financial chief was appointed by the president on

April 4, 2013

Korea's new housing policy unlikely to spur market: IBs

Foreign investment banks (IBs) don't expect South Korea's property market to get a boost from the government's new housing policy in the short term largely because anticipations of an increase in home prices remain weak, a report showed Thursday.On Monday, the government announced a set of measures aimed at boosting the country's sluggish real estate market. It included tax breaks for first-time homeowners and a cut in the supply of new homes to keep prices from falling further. According to the

April 4, 2013

Scientists find possible hint of dark matter

It is one of the cosmos' most mysterious unsolved cases: dark matter. It is supposedly what holds the universe together. We can't see it, but scientists are pretty sure it's out there.Led by a dogged, Nobel Prize-winning gumshoe who has spent 18 years on the case, scientists put a $2 billion detector aboard the International Space Station to try to track down the stuff. And after two years, the first evidence came in Wednesday: tantalizing cosmic footprints that seem to have been left by dark ma

TechnologyApril 4, 2013

Scientists find possible hint of dark matter

Hyundai, Kia recall 19m cars in U.S.

The world’s fifth-largest automaker Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors will be recalling 1.9 million vehicles in the United States for malfunctioning brake light switches and airbags, the companies said on Thursday.There were no accidents or injuries due to the defects, but Hyundai said it is conducting the recall to ensure customer safety.“We hope to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” said Chung Jin-haeng, the Hyundai CEO. “We’ll do our best to prevent the situation from escal

IndustryApril 4, 2013

Hyundai-Kia recalling nearly 1.9 million vehicles

DETROIT -- Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are recalling almost 1.9 million vehicles to fix problems with air bags and brake light switches. The brake light recall covers the Hyundai Accent, Elantra, Genesis Coupe, Santa Fe, Sonata, Tucson and Veracruz. Also affected are Kia's Optima, Rondo, Sedona, Sorento, Soul and Sportage. The vehicles are from the 2007 through 2011 model years. U.S. safety regulators say a faulty switch can stop the brake lights from illuminating when drivers press t

IndustryApril 3, 2013

Park urges swift execution on budget, stimulus plans

President Park Geun-hye urged economic policymakers to swiftly draw up plans to raise additional budget and seek National Assembly approval to spur employment, investment and the livelihoods of the middle class.“Foremost, a supplementary budget should be devised as soon as possible to revitalize the economy and that could help normalize (the government’s) tax revenue,” President Park said in an economic briefing by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance on Wednesday.“The budget should be drawn up

April 3, 2013

KORAIL pressed to quit Yongsan

The state-run rail operator KORAIL is under pressure from the government to withdraw from the nation’s single largest but money-losing project to redevelop Yongsan, at the heart of Seoul, into an international business district.Government officials said the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport had instructed KORAIL to open an exclusive account for the Yongsan development project, separate from its accounting business on rail operation.The instruction is tantamount to a call for giving

April 3, 2013

‘Starcraft 2’ championships kick off

Online game developer Blizzard Entertainment launched the World Championship Series on Wednesday, featuring a showdown of top players of its “Starcraft 2.”The WCS will narrow down the best players in regional contests in Korea, the U.S. and Europe, who will then meet at the final round to be held in California in November this year, according to Blizzard.Among the three regions, Korea’s league will start first on Thursday, and GomTV and Ongamenet will alternate to operate WCS Korea seasons and w

IndustryApril 3, 2013

Sales of Hyundai cars in U.S. up 30.6% in March

LOS ANGELES (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday that sales of its cars and those of its sister company Kia Motors Corp. showed signs of recovery in the United States last month.Hyundai Motor sold 68,306 vehicles in the United States in March, up 30.6 percent from a month ago. Kia Motors sold 49,125 units in the U.S. last month, up 18.4 percent from a month ago.Still, the two carmakers, the flagship companies of Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth-largest

April 3, 2013

LG Electronics to sponsor LA Dodgers

South Korean electronics giant LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it will sponsor the Los Angeles Dodgers, a U.S. Major League Baseball team, as part of its marketing strategy.The Los Angeles-based club signed South Korean left-handed pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin in December. It is also familiar to South Koreans for being the team that pitcher Park Chan-ho, who retired in November, played for the longest during his MLB career.As part of the sponsorship, LG Electronics plans to set up product showrooms a

April 3, 2013

Hyundai E&C bags $1.89b deal from UAE

Hyundai Engineering & Construction, South Korea’s top builder, said Wednesday that it has clinched a $1.89 billion contract to build facilities in an oil field in the United Arab Emirates.Under the contract with state-owned Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company on Monday, Hyundai E&C will build facilities on two artificial islands to gather and distribute crude oil produced in Sarb oilfield, 120 kilometers northwest of Abu Dhabi.The South Korean builder also said it will build facilities on nearby

April 3, 2013

STX Group may face another liquidity crisis

STX Offshore & Shipbuilding’s request for help to creditors indicates that STX Group may be facing another liquidity crisis, analysts said on Wednesday. They said the future of STX Group, the nation’s 13th-largest conglomerate in terms of revenue, is seemingly murky as it faces a series of credit downgrades, following the self-restructuring plan proposed by the shipbuilding unit, its core affiliate, to its creditors on Tuesday. STX Offshore, the world’s fourth-largest shipbuilder, asked creditor

IndustryApril 3, 2013

Lotte-Shinsegae war takes new turn

Retail archrivals Lotte and Shinsegae are clashing head-on all across the country ― in Busan, Incheon and regions northwest and southeast of Seoul. Shinsegae’s premium outlet in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, is scheduled to open its expanded section to host some 52 new brands next Friday, adding to its existing 167 labels.The suburban outlet was enlarged by about 30 percent to 40,182 square meters.“We cannot confirm the names of the new brands until our press conference next Thursday,” said Shinsegae

IndustryApril 3, 2013

Will Peter Schreyer magic work again?

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province ― Kia Motors’ new Carens, significantly the last Kia car to benefit directly from the toughness of Peter Schreyer’s design philosophy, has made its Korean debut. The All New Carens, the newest generation of Kia’s flagship seven-seat minivan, comes seven years since its previous model launched in 2006. The Hyundai affiliate poured 220 billion won ($196.7 million) and 51 months into its development. Minivans are gaining popularity here with the rise in popularit

IndustryApril 3, 2013

Hyundai Oilbank completes 2nd BTX plant

Hyundai Oilbank, the nation’s fourth-largest oil refiner, started operations of its second BTX plant, in Daesan, a coastal city 137 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Wednesday, the company said. BTX is a composite mix of benzene, toluene and xylene.The company completed the plant construction with its Japanese partner Cosmo Oil. Back in 2008, the two companies created a strategic alliance to cooperate in various areas, including the BTX business. The two companies completed the first BTX product

IndustryApril 3, 2013

Testing and research agency steps up globalization drive

The state-funded Korea Testing & Research Institute, or KTR, is stepping up globalization efforts based on its 40 years of experience in Korea by entering overseas markets and seeking outbound merger and acquisition deals. KTR offers testing, product certification and technology consulting services to the entire industrial field.KTR has recently announced that it will set up a joint testing laboratory with Chemical Inspection and Regulation Services, a chemical registration consultancy in China,

April 3, 2013

Testing and research agency steps up globalization drive

‘Last cyber attack bigger threat than thought’

Advanced persistent threat, or APT, may sound unfamiliar to many people. The term is used to describe the cyber attacks that were recently conducted on major broadcast stations and financial institutions including KBS and NongHyup.What many of us don’t know is that this cyber threat, which could occur in many different forms including sending document files with malicious codes attached, can target any one of us.“The APT cyber attack is one that can turn the targeted person’s personal computer i

TechnologyApril 3, 2013

‘Last cyber attack bigger threat than thought’