The Korea Herald

Ssangyong Motor seeks new leap forward

Ssangyong Motor CEO Lee Yoo-il pledged to shake up the competition in the local luxury sedan market long dominated by Hyundai and foreign rivals at the unveiling of its newest Chairman at the Seoul Motor Show on Thursday.“In the large sedan segment where competition with imported carmakers is fierce, I believe the Chairman W Summit will become a game-changer,” he said, introducing the model. He set this year’s sales target for the new Chairman at about 500 vehicles. The Chairman W Summit, which

MobilityMarch 31, 2013

Audi accelerates with R8 sports car

For Audi, the hottest-selling luxury car brand in Korea, the year 2012 was stunning, with its car sales almost doubling from a year ago. This year the carmaker aims higher, rolling out sportier, high-performance models. At the heart of the ambitious plan is the R8 sports car. At Seoul Motor Show that kicked off Thursday, Audi unveiled a total of 22 vehicles ― the most among foreign brands ― including two Korean debuts, the R8 V10 Coupe and Spyder.“Introducing more vehicles than other imported br

MobilityMarch 31, 2013

Two debuts for Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz Korea made several debuts at Seoul Motor Show that kicked off Thursday. One was the long-anticipated A-Class, the smallest, cheapest Mercedes that will finally hit the Korean market in the latter half of this year. Even though the car debuted globally in 1997, the German luxury carmaker has delayed the launch of the 1,800 cc hatchback in Korea where its larger sedans are enjoying an unrivaled premium image. The other debut on the day was Britta Seeger, the Korean unit’s new and fir

MobilityMarch 31, 2013

Jaguar Land Rover bets big on Korea

One of the highlights at this year’s Seoul Motor Show may be the presentation by Jaguar’s design director Ian Callum for the long-anticipated F-Type roadster. In his first visit to Korea, the legendary car designer, 59, personally unveiled the two-seat F-Type, the first sports car made by the British luxury brand since the 1970s. “It’s a true breakthrough product for Jaguar. It marks our return to the sports car market,” he said of the F-Type, which will go on sale globally this summer. In order

MobilityMarch 31, 2013

Renault Samsung out to recapture Koreans’ hearts

Renault Samsung is out to recapture the hearts of Koreans, this time with a compact SUV crossover and the SM5 XE TCE that it rolled out at Seoul Motor Show this week. The cars were distinctively cool, and reflected the promise the carmaker, which has performed weakly over the past few years, is making anew to consumers all over the world and in Asia. The number of reporters who packed the Renault Samsung showroom was, if anything, testament that the company was ready for a comeback.“Featuring a

MobilityMarch 31, 2013

Renault Samsung out to recapture Koreans’ hearts

KRX to step up cyber monitoring of stock rigging

SEOUL -- South Korea's bourse operator will keep closer tabs on stock price manipulation and other unfair trades conducted via the Internet and social networking services, officials said Sunday. To that end, the Korea Exchange (KRX) will establish a cyber supervision center to conduct a real-time check on rumors concerning stock price rigging and other unfair trading activities, the KRX officials said. "The KRX is preparing a system designed to filter rumors circulated online," a KRX offi

March 31, 2013

US Patent Office denies ‘iPad Mini’ trademark

The US Patent and Trademark Office has denied Apple's application for a trademark to safeguard its widely popular iPad mini tablet, saying the case to own the phrase was too weak.Apple, however, has until July 24 to better explain how the iPad mini is different and unique from the larger-sized iPad to counter the rejection seen as largely a formality.The iPad mini mark "merely describes a feature or characteristic of applicant's good," said the rejection letter dated January 24 but that has only

TechnologyMarch 31, 2013

US Patent Office denies ‘iPad Mini’ trademark

Local market for smartphones faces stagnation: report

SEOUL -- The growth of the South Korean market for smartphones will begin slowing down this year and possibly post a negative growth in 2016 due to market saturation, a U.S. market research group said in a report released Sunday. According to the report from Strategy Analytics, the local market for smartphones is expected to grow 8 percent from a year earlier to around 33.1 million units this year. The growth rate will mark a significant slowdown from an explosive 717 percent on-year surge

IndustryMarch 31, 2013

Samsung's Galaxy keeps No.1 spot as most valuable brand

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics Co.'s smartphone brand "Galaxy" was again rated as South Korea's most valuable brand in the first quarter of the year, a survey said Sunday.Samsung's Galaxy earned 938 points in the survey by local research firm, Brandstock, retaining the top spot for the second consecutive year. Discount store chain Emart followed with 924 points, according to the survey, which didn't provide other details, including how much those brands were worth. Last year, Samsung sold more

TechnologyMarch 31, 2013

Park nominates new chief of Fair Trade Commission

President Park Geun-hye nominated a former state arms procurement agency chief to be the new head of South Korea's antitrust watchdog, the presidential office said Saturday.The nomination of Noh Dae-lae as Fair Trade Commission chief came days after Park's earlier choice for the job resigned amid allegations that he has been holding secret overseas bank accounts to evade taxes.Noh, 57, is an economic technocrat who had worked in various posts at the finance ministry since 1979 before serving as

IndustryMarch 30, 2013

Ex-STX vice chairman named City Airport CEO

Lee Jong-cheol, 60, the former vice chairman of STX Group, the nation’s fourth-largest shipbuilder, was named as CEO of City Airport, Logis & Travel, the Korea International Trade Association said Friday.Lee joined Pumyang Ocean Shipping, the former body of STX PanOcean, in 1979 and rose to the vice chairman post of the group in 2004. He also served as chairman of the Korean Rowing Association and the Korea Shipowners’ Association.“CALT has been seeking to cut down on the logistics costs for sma

March 29, 2013

Ex-STX vice chairman named City Airport CEO

Shares gain on stimulus plan

South Korean stocks rose 0.57 percent Friday as investors were buoyed by the government’s economic stimulus plan, including a possible extra budget, analysts said. The local currency inched up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 11.37 points to close at 2,004.89. Trading volume was moderate at 333.5 million shares worth 3.43 trillion won ($3.08 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 528 to 280. “The fact that the government has also decided to p

March 29, 2013

Renault Samsung inks MOU for electric cars

Renault Samsung Motors Co., the South Korean unit of French automaker Renault S.A., said Friday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the country’s Environment Ministry and six other companies to promote the use of electric cars.Under the deal, Renault Samsung will develop an electric car and sell it below 45 million won. The Environment Ministry, in return, will provide subsidies to companies and public offices that buy electric cars.Renault Samsung and the government will work

CompaniesMarch 29, 2013

Sale of STX’s shipping unit ruptures

The sale of STX Pan Ocean Co. fell through on Friday as no potential bidders expressed their interest in South Korea’s leading bulk carrier, raising the possibility that the shipping line may be taken over by a state-run policy lender.According to industry sources, no potential bidders have submitted letters of intent for STX Pan Ocean as of Friday.South Korean shipbuilding and shipping conglomerate STX has been seeking to sell its key affiliate STX Pan Ocean as part of efforts to improve its fi

IndustryMarch 29, 2013

Shinhan backs compassionate finance

When Han Dong-woo took office as chairman of Shinhan Financial Group two years ago, his main concern was how to turn the company into one with sustainable growth in the global financial industry characterized by firms’ fast rises and falls.He found the answer by setting humanitarian finance as its core business philosophy and “planting the DNA of compassionate finance” into Shinhan employees.He created the slogan “compassionate finance,” meaning warm, customer-based professionalism in finance, t

BusinessMarch 29, 2013

Korea launches debt relief fund

The Park Geun-hye government launched Friday a state fund aimed at rescheduling heavy borrowers’ debt programs to help them out of debt.Prime Minister Chung Hong-won and financial leaders including Financial Services Commission chairman Shin Je-yoon and Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Choi Soo-hyun attended the launch held at the state-run debt monitoring agency Korea Asset Management Co. in Seoul.The establishment of the “National Happiness Fund” was one of Park’s core election pledges made

March 29, 2013

ITC’s initial ruling in favor of Apple

The International Trade Commission in Washington recently ruled in its initial determination that Samsung Electronics infringed four of its rival Apple Inc.’s patents, sources said Friday.Although the document filed earlier this week was labeled confidential, it is widely believed that Thomas Pender, administrative law judge at the ITC, was most likely to have ruled that Samsung had violated four Apple patents, including one for the design of the iPhone.The same administrative judge had said on

IndustryMarch 29, 2013

Customs office to search out hidden tax revenues

The Korea Customs Service pledged to tighten its grip on smuggling, tax evasion and illegal foreign exchange trading in step with the Park Geun-hye administration’s policy direction.“The KCS will back the government’s economic and welfare policies by securing the necessary tax revenues,” said new KCS Commissioner Baek Un-chan on Friday. This was one of the first official remarks on the agency’s policy made by the new customs chief since he took office on March 18.The office also kicked off a spe

March 29, 2013

Customs office to search out hidden tax revenues

Seoul warns against ‘fiscal cliff’ risk

The Seoul government said its revenue this year will fall about 12 trillion won ($10.8 billion) short of an earlier estimate due to slowing economic growth, and warned that this could lead to a possible “fiscal cliff” situation similar to that of the U.S. in the second half of this year. “Drastic government spending cuts amid a prolonged period of low growth and a weak base for economic recovery could cause the economy to crash in the latter half of this year,” top presidential aide for economic

March 29, 2013

’UFO memo’ is most viewed FBI record

A 1950s memo about UFOs is the most viewed public record in the history of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the agency’s website.The FBI on Monday uploaded a post about the so-called Hottel memo, a single-page report documented on March 22, 1950, by Guy Hottel, then head of FBI’s field office in Washington. It has been viewed nearly 1 million times since April 2011, when the bureau uploaded its public records.The Hottel memo relayed a story told to FBI agents about “flying

TechnologyMarch 29, 2013