FSC chief Shin vows to overhaul financial groups

Financial Services Commission chairman Shin Je-yoon pledged to revamp the governance structure of major financial groups during his inaugural speech on Friday.Though the system which puts financial firms under management of their parent financial holding companies was introduced 12 years ago, it has yielded a variety of problems, said the new chief financial regulator.Shin stressed that financial authorities are set to overhaul details in the financial groups, such as Woori, KB, Shinhan and Hana

March 22, 2013

Korean Air to create holding company

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s top air carrier, said Friday it has decided to create a holding company in coming months, a move that it says will enhance transparency of its corporate governance.The decision, reached at the company’s board of directors meeting earlier Friday, calls for splitting the company into Hanjin KAL Holdings and Korean Air.The airline said the process of creating a parent company is set to be completed in Aug. 1, and the holding company plans to raise its stake in Ko

IndustryMarch 22, 2013

Hospital to display 'mystery skeleton'

A skeleton stored away for decades in a closet at an Iowa hospital set to be demolished will be sent to the University of Iowa Medical Museum, officials said.Suzie Wood, executive director of development at Ottumwa (Iowa) Regional Health Center, said crews discovered the skeleton in a basement closet while cleaning out the 88-year-old facility last year in preparation for its upcoming demolition. The skeleton -- dubbed "Mr. Bones" -- is believed to have been stored there for 70 to 80 years, the

TechnologyMarch 22, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.11 pct on eurozone woes

South Korean stocks closed 0.11 percent lower Friday due to rising concerns over the eurozone fiscal crisis, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.11 points to 1948.71. Trading volume was low at 244 million shares worth 3.28 trillion won (US$2.94 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 426 to 370."While investors are taking a wait-and-see stance on the recovery of the U.S. economy, the crisis in the eur

March 22, 2013

Lightest material on Earth created: scientists

Scientists at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, claimed they have developed the lightest solid material on Earth that can balance on top of a flower.　The material, called "graphene aerogel," is a combination of freeze-dried carbon and graphene oxide, weighing only 0.16 mg per 1 cubic centimeter.　The graphene, hailed as a "wonder material," was first developed by Russian-born physicists working at the University of Manchester, who managed a 1-atom-thick graphene flake by continuously peelin

TechnologyMarch 22, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on Cyprus woes

　South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as investors took a wait-and-see stance due to the rising concerns over the eurozone economy following an aborted rescue plan for Cyprus, analysts said.　The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 3.99 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1946.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading. 　Carmakers traded lower, with No. 1 industry player Hyundai Motor losing 0.47 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors moving down 0.18 percent. Top auto parts make

March 22, 2013

Banks still sidelined by cyber attacks

Banks in Korea that had been exposed to malware allegedly planted by North Korea to cause a nationwide network crash were back in business tending to their daily customers, financial authorities said Thursday.However, it may take a while to fully normalize their operations as the country’s financial regulators said that banks such as Nonghyup are still trying to retool some of their networks linked to automated teller machines.Shinhan Bank said that it has restored its system and is operating at

March 21, 2013

KEPCO-led consortium bags $2.3b Vietnam power deal

An international consortium led by state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. clinched a $2.3 billion deal to build a thermal power plant in Vietnam, KEPCO said Thursday.Under a build, operation and transfer deal, the consortium will build the coal power plant with a generation capacity of 1.2 million kilowatts by 2018 and operate the plant for the next 25 years before it is transferred to Vietnamese government.KEPCO and Japan’s Murabeni Corp. will have a 50 percent stake each in the power plant.The d

TechnologyMarch 21, 2013

Meritz Fire to raise W55.5b through rights offering

Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance Co., a South Korean nonlife insurer, said Thursday it plans to raise 55.5 billion won ($49.6 million) via a rights offering in a bid to improve its financial soundness. A total of 4.63 million new shares will be issued at 11,990 won each, of which 4.57 percent will be allotted to the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., a Singapore sovereign wealth fund, the company said in a regulatory filing. Meritz Fire had been pushing for issuing new shares in a bid to im

TechnologyMarch 21, 2013

LGE asks Samsung to pay for patents

LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday accused Samsung Display Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. of illegally using its technology and demanded the two companies pay for the patents, the latest development in the Samsung-LG display feud.Samsung Display and LG Display Co., the world’s two biggest display makers, have been embroiled in a patent tussle over organic light-emitting diode and liquid crystal display technologies that later expanded to their TV-making affiliates Samsung Electronics and LG Electr

TechnologyMarch 21, 2013

Shares down 0.44 percent on Q1 earnings woes

South Korean stocks closed 0.44 percent lower Thursday due the gloomy outlook over first-quarter corporate earnings, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 8.59 points to 1950.82. Trading volume was low at 258 million shares worth 3.52 trillion won ($3.16 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 493 to 295.“Local shares trade lower despite the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain stimulus measures due to t

March 21, 2013

9 insurers fined for colluding to fix commission rates

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Thursday that it has fined nine life insurers a combined 20.14 billion won ($18.06 million) for colluding to fix commission rates.The nine are Samsung Life Insurance, Kyobo Life Insurance, Hanwha Life Insurance, Shinhan Life, MetLife, Prudential Life Insurance, ING Life Insurance, AIA and Allianz Life Insurance, according to the Fair Trade Commission.The watchdog found that they colluded to fix commission rates by setting the minimum a

March 21, 2013

Korea’s FDI inflow lags behind global peers

Foreign direct investment in South Korea hovered below that of global peers last year, data showed Thursday, apparently due to the lack of positive leads in the local economy.South Korea’s FDI inflow came to $9 billion in 2012, down 11.9 percent from $10.2 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.The number lags behind $119.7 billion for China, which edged down 3.4 percent over the cited period. India and Malaysia sa

March 21, 2013