The Korea Herald

KOTRA opens global M&A center

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency opened a global center to support the merger and acquisitions of small and medium-sized companies.KOTRA held the opening ceremony of its Global M&A Support Center at the Invest Korea Plaza on Monday, according to officials.“We shall support M&A deals of Korean firms to help them gain a foothold in the overseas market,” said Oh Young-ho, president of the state-run company.“Our prime focus will be the small and medium-sized firms which face difficulties

Feb. 4, 2013

Carmakers see EU exports worsen amid eurozone woes

Korea’s five carmakers ― Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and Ssangyong Motor ― saw their exports to the European Union worsen last year, with falling car sales across Europe showing no sign of recovery.According to industry data on Monday, the nation’s car exports to EU countries decreased 6.5 percent to 388,223 vehicles last year from 426,057 units in 2011In 2011, the first year when the free trade pact between Korea and the EU went into effect, Korea’s car exports t

IndustryFeb. 4, 2013

Mobile games exempt from ‘Cinderella Law’

People will be able to enjoy games on their handsets at any time of the day as the government decided not to include mobile games on the list of those prohibited from play from midnight to 6 a.m.The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced Monday that they would exempt mobile games from applying the online game curfew.According to the notification, online games for personal computers, Web-based games and PC package games are currently subje

IndustryFeb. 4, 2013

Foreign-held Korean stocks edge up: KRX

Stock ownership by foreign investors on South Korea’s main bourse inched up in January from December2011 on growing optimism for an economic recovery, the stock market operator said Monday.Overseas investors held 34.58 percent of the total shares on the main bourse as of end-January, up 1.72 percentage points from 13 months earlier, the Korea Exchange said.Market watchers said the rise came as the country’s sovereign credit ratings rose last year, while major countries, including the U.S., injec

Feb. 4, 2013

Seoul designates two new free economic zones

South Korea on Monday designated two new free economic zones as part of efforts to further attract foreign investment to the country, a government committee said.The two new areas ― one in the eastern province of Gangwon and the other in the central region of North Chungcheong Province ― were named candidate sites in September last year, according to the FEZ Planning Office governed by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.“Since their designation as candidate sites, the office has been working clos

Feb. 4, 2013

Hyundai Card faces sanction

Financial regulatory officials have been in internal discussions about taking punitive measures against Hyundai Card for alleged business irregularities.Though few of Hyundai Card’s irregular practices have yet been made public, there is a high possibility that a “caution” or “warning” will be issued to the credit card issuer, according to market observers.The Financial Supervisory Service conducted an investigation into Hyundai Card by dispatching inspectors to its headquarters in the fourth qu

Feb. 4, 2013

BOK board member sees no need to alter interest rate for now

Bank of Korea board member Moon Woo-sik sees no immediate need to alter benchmark interest rates and says it’s “too early” for any central-bank response to the yen’s slide against the won. “There are good reasons why people tend to be more optimistic this year than last year,” Moon, 52, said in an interview in Seoul last week. There’s no “important reason to take monetary-policy actions quickly” unless the South Korean economy declines further, he said. Central bank policy makers meet Feb. 14 to

Feb. 4, 2013

Check card market expanding, but firms face challenges

The nation relies more heavily on credit cards then any other payment method. According to government statistics, about 65 percent of the nation’s payments are via credit cards, in comparison to Australia at 47 percent, the United States at 37 percent and Japan at 16 percent. The same research reveals that one economically active Korean on average possesses 4.7 credit cards. Believing that the nation’s excessive reliance on credit cards has led to today’s daunting household debt, the Financial S

Feb. 4, 2013

Check card market expanding, but firms face challenges

[Newsmaker] Cracks found in Lotte’s 123-story building

Lotte Engineering and Construction has yet to promptly address cracks in the 123-story edifice that the company is constructing in its new theme park in Seoul.Up to 11 cracks were discovered in the main pillar of the building -- known as the “mega column,” the main supporting piece of high-rises -- according to its construction supervisor, Hanmi Global.Despite Hanmi Global notifying Lotte about it in October, it has yet to address the problem. Hanmi says while the cracks are not critical as of y

IndustryFeb. 4, 2013

[Newsmaker] Cracks found in Lotte’s 123-story building

Seoul shares fall 0.23 pct on currency woes

South Korean stocks ended 0.23 percent lower on Monday as investors stepped to the sidelines due to prolonged currency volatility in the foreign exchange market, analysts said Monday. The local currency surged against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 4.58 points to 1,953.21. Trading volume was moderate at 339.7 million shares worth 3.49 trillion won (US$3.22 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 475 to 337."Despite positive economic indicators f

Feb. 4, 2013

Preschool obesity, food insecurity link

U.S. children whose early years were spent in food insecurity and who have obese mothers are more likely to be obese in preschool, researchers say. Study leader Elizabeth Metallinos-Katsaras of the Department of Nutrition at the Simmons College School of Nursing and Health Sciences in Boston said the research is based on analysis of more than 28,300 low-income children participating in a publicly funded health and nutrition program in Massachusetts, from 2001 to 2006. Household food insecurity w

TechnologyFeb. 4, 2013

Asiana Airlines asked to allow female crew to put on pants

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea on Monday recommended Asiana Airlines allow female flight attendants to choose between skirts and trousers.In addition, a local public transport union submitted a petition against the airline in June 2012, saying that it was gender discrimination to ban female flight attendants from wearing pants. Regarding the petition, the NHRC concluded that banning female attendants from wearing pants is an act of discrimination since it restricts the choice of u

IndustryFeb. 4, 2013

Asiana Airlines asked to allow female crew to put on pants

Midwifes linked to fewer C-sections

Women who give birth at midwife-led birthing centers are less likely to have Caesarean births compared with women in hospitals, U.S. researchers say.The National Birth Center Study II said the rate of Caesarean sections for expecting U.S. mothers escalated over the past two decades."Birth centers are homelike facilities existing within the healthcare system with a program of care designed in the wellness model of pregnancy and birth," Lesley Rathbun, president-elect of the American Association o

TechnologyFeb. 4, 2013

Seoul shares up 0.27 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.27 percent higher late Monday morning as foreign investors scooped up local shares, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 5.25 points to 1,963.04 as of 11:20 a.m.Mobile carriers led the market gain, with leading SK Telecom increasing 2.94 percent and No. 2 player KT moving up 4.17 percent.No. 3 player LG Uplus climbed 3.91 percent.Shipbuilders also traded higher, with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering rising 0.17 percen

Feb. 4, 2013

Mobile games to be excluded from shutdown system

The Korean government on Monday decided not to extend what is called “the game shutdown system” to mobile games, which run on smartphones and tablet computers.The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that mobile games will be excluded from the mandatory game shutdown system, which prohibits gamers aged 16 or under from connecting to online games between midnight and 6 a.m., a controversial policy aimed at protecting younger people from

TechnologyFeb. 4, 2013

Mobile games to be excluded from shutdown system

Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains

South Korean stocks began higher Monday as investor sentiment got a boost from last week's gains on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.45 percent, or 8.84 points, to 1966.63 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with tech behemoth Samsung Electronics increasing 0.14 percent and top steelmaker POSCO adding 1.81 percent. Leading builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction moved up 1.46 percent.U.S. stocks e

Feb. 4, 2013

Koreans in 20s eat least

South Korean 20-somethings were found to eat the least among all age groups in 2012, Statistics Korea said on Sunday.A survey of meal consumption by age group in 2012 found that those aged between 25 and 29 skipped 3.8 meals per month on average, followed by those aged 20 to 24 skipping 3.7 meals. Considering gender, females in their late 20s skipped the most meals, at 4.5 meals per month on average, the governmental agency said.“Meal consumption correlates with income level,” Kim Mi-sook from T

Feb. 3, 2013

Korea decoupling from global equity markets

Equities in the nation’s bourse are posting low profitability while major stock markets overseas have taken on a bullish trend.Korea’s “decoupling” from major countries in stocks has continued over the past four weeks, with its price-earnings ratio, measuring share profitability, recording a rather low 8.69.Hong Kong posted a P/E ratio of 16.07, followed by Taiwan with 14.52, the U.S. with 13.68, Australia with 13.15, Japan with 12.95, France with 11.39, the U.K. with 11.29, Germany with 11.24 a

Feb. 3, 2013

Rice consumption halves

The nation’s annual consumption of rice in 2012 was half of what it was three decades ago, the state-run Statistics Korea said. Compared to 2011, the 2012 consumption also fell about 2.0 percent, from 71.2 kilograms to 69.8 kilograms per capita. The data reveals that in 2012, Koreans consumed about 191 grams of rice, or less than one and a half bowls, per day on average. “The rice consumption in households has been dropping largely due to increasing demand for alternatives to rice and instant fo

Feb. 3, 2013

Overseas travelers spike on strong local currency

The number of South Koreans traveling overseas in January spiked, mostly driven by the local currency’s steep ascent, which is giving them more price incentives to go abroad, industry data showed Sunday.Hanatour Service Inc., the largest local travel company, said that overseas travelers using its service jumped 30.7 percent on-year in January to about 185,000. This is the monthly record high for the company, surpassing the 159,000 registered in August last year. Of the total, 48.5 percent chose

Feb. 3, 2013