The Korea Herald

Healthy bathing in winter

With the start of the winter season, increasing numbers of people are complaining of itchy and dry skin. The itchiness and dryness of skin in winter is associated with the cold weather. In countries such as Korea, where there are continental climates and continued dry weather, such skin conditions are quite common. It is more common in those aged 40 years and over, with the symptoms most prominent in the outer surfaces of the arms and the legs. The dry and itchy symptoms can progress to dry ecze

TechnologyDec. 13, 2012

Pension operators to boost investments in stocks

South Korea’s public pension operators plan to reduce their holdings of bonds and expand investment in riskier destinations such as stocks in a bid to bolster asset management earnings, sources said Thursday.The move came as returns from bond investment, which accounts for more than half of local public pension operators’ assets, are expected to fall down the road as interest rates remain low here.The central bank froze the key interest rate for the second straight month on Thursday, opting to p

Dec. 13, 2012

Korean Air brings in Airbus A380 superjumbo

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s top air carrier, said Thursday it has introduced an Airbus A380 passenger jet, raising its superjumbo fleet to six.The world’s biggest passenger plane arrived at Incheon International Airport, South Korea’s main gateway, located west of Seoul, on Tuesday. It is set to enter service on Saturday, Korean Air said, without elaborating on its first destination.Currently, the air carrier deploys A380s on long-haul routes to New York, Los Angeles and Paris as well as

IndustryDec. 13, 2012

SK Telecom forecasts LTE users to double next year

SK Telecom Co. on Thursday projected the number of its long-term evolution subscribers to grow two-fold next year on the back of solid demand for fourth-generation connectivity.LTE subscriptions are likely to reach 14 million in 2013, nearly doubling from the current 7 million level, the country’s top mobile carrier said in a press release.The projection comes amid a surge in LTE subscriptions. SK Telecom recently saw LTE subscriptions hit the 7-million mark, 17 months after it commercialized th

IndustryDec. 13, 2012

KT chairman Lee joins GSMA board

KT announced Thursday that its chairman Lee Suk-chae would join the 2013-2014 GSMA Board, an association of international mobile operator firms. Scheduled to serve on the 25-member board for two years, Lee plans to strengthen communications among the CEOs of global mobile telecommunications companies and play an active role in the board’s decision making, KT said. South Korean members of the current 2011-2012 GSMA Board include KT president Pyo Hyun-myung and SK Telecom president Ha Sung-min. Ha

TechnologyDec. 13, 2012

More 50-60s use smart device than ever

The number of smart device users in their 50s and 60s rapidly increased in 2012 from last year, data showed Thursday.According to research by the Korea Communications Commission and the Korea Internet Security Agency conducted between July 1 and Sept. 15 on some 73,000 participants, the number of owners of smart devices in their 50s increased nearly fivefold in just one year, from 9.5 percent in 2011 to 46.8 percent in 2012. Smart-device users in their 60s steeply increased over the same period

TechnologyDec. 13, 2012

Mercedes-Benz Korea to build logistics center in Anseong

Mercedes-Benz Korea said Thursday that it will build a parts distribution center in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, with operation expected to start in June 2014. The Korean unit of the German premium carmaker said it plans to invest a total of 52 billion won ($48 million) into the new facility that will be located on a 18,300-square-meter site in the city, about 77 kilometers south of Seoul. As the parts center is expected to handle some 35,000 car parts, the company said the time required for car

IndustryDec. 13, 2012

Samsung-LG fight escalates on patent infringement

The local patent fight between Samsung Display and LG Display is escalating after Samsung’s filing of a lawsuit against its rival was discovered earlier this week.LG Display said on Thursday that it will protest against Samsung’s move to file a suit against the firm on Dec. 7 for infringing on its liquid-crystal display patents.“LG Display has led the development of the In-Plane Switching technology display technology ever since the beginning, which is why we find it difficult to understand the

IndustryDec. 13, 2012

Key rate unchanged at 2.75%

The Bank of Korea on Thursday froze the key rate at 2.75 percent for two months in a row, choosing to take more time to watch the policy effect of the rate cuts in July and October.With the presidential election only five days ahead, the central bank also feels the need to wait for the new administration’s economic policy directions. The benchmark seven-day repo rate was raised by a quarter percentage point to 3.25 percent in June last year and was kept there for another 12 months until last Jul

Dec. 13, 2012

Korean Air brings in Airbus A380 superjumbo

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s top air carrier, said Thursday it has introduced an Airbus A380 passenger jet, raising its superjumbo fleet to six.The world’s biggest passenger plane arrived at Incheon International Airport, South Korea’s main gateway, located west of Seoul, on Tuesday. It is set to enter service on Saturday, Korean Air said, without elaborating on its first destination.Currently, the air carrier deploys A380s on long-haul routes to New York, Los Angeles and Paris as well as

IndustryDec. 13, 2012

Brokerage houses struggle to tide over economic slowdown

South Korean securities companies are struggling to draw up emergency plans to boost profitability amid a protracted economic slump, industry sources said Thursday.Aside from reducing workers or streamlining businesses, major brokerages are pushing for such measures as providing specialized wealth management services for big-pocketed clients and promoting differentiated strategies to tap new profit sources. No. 1 player Samsung Securities Co. has set up a task force to provide exclusive manageme

Dec. 13, 2012

CJ O Shopping to grow on overseas sales: Nomura

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korean home shopping channel CJ O Shopping Co. will perform stronger next year on increasing overseas sales in China and other nations, investment bank Nomura Group said Thursday.Selecting the TV shopping channel operator as a top pick in the South Korean retail sector, Nomura said CJ O Shopping has secured a solid base to grow overseas, despite some domestic hurdles including fees to be paid to cable television system operators.“We expect a significant decline in

Dec. 13, 2012

Liquidity crises push groups to sell core units

Unlike Samsung and Hyundai Motor, other major Korean business groups, pressed by the prolonged global economic downturn and falling domestic demand, are facing a stark winter. Some of them are even preparing to sell their core assets to improve liquidity. STX Group, the nation’s 17th-largest conglomerate by revenue, on Wednesday officially announced it will auction off STX PanOcean, the nation’s third-largest shipping and logistics company, and focus on its shipbuilding and plant business. STX P

IndustryDec. 13, 2012

Liquidity crises push groups to sell core units

Shipbuilders tilt toward offshore plants

The nation’s top three shipbuilders ― Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and Samsung Heavy Industries ― are stepping up efforts to boost competitiveness in their offshore plant and engineering business, considering it a future growth engine. The three ship manufacturers have suffered from a lack of orders in their core shipbuilding business for the past few years, affected by the prolonged global economic downturn, especially in Europe. But global demand for offs

IndustryDec. 13, 2012

Shipbuilders tilt toward offshore plants

Eurozone finally releases rescue funds for Greece

BRUSSELS, (AFP) --Much-needed rescue funds for Athens "will be flowing to Greece as early as next week," the head of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday.Juncker spoke at a news conference after finance ministers of the 17-nation eurozone agreed to release a first 34.3 billion euros of aid to Greece, part of a rescue package held up for months due to worries over economic reform delays.

Dec. 13, 2012

S-Oil awards eight heroic firefighters for 2012

S-Oil, one of the nation’s top three oil refineries, awarded the achievements of eight firefighters through its support program on Thursday. Kim Young-gi, a firefighter from the National 119 Service, won this year’s best hero award. Kim has been at the forefront of the fire service in saving lives and protecting possessions over the past 15 years, S-Oil said.In particular, he led other colleagues when a toxic chemical leak occurred in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, in October. The company’s fi

Dec. 13, 2012

S-Oil awards eight heroic firefighters for 2012

Female Atlantic mollies find flirty males more attractive: study

Flirting helps in the fish world, even if it is with another fish of the same sex, a new study by German scientists indicated.Researchers from the University of Frankfurt found some male Poecilia Mexicana -- a tropical fish otherwise known as Atlantic Molly -- are able to attract female partners by demonstrating homosexual tendencies.According to the findings they published in the journal Royal Society Biology Letters, the female tropical fishes evaluate a potential partner’s virility by his ten

TechnologyDec. 13, 2012

Female Atlantic mollies find flirty males more attractive: study

Russian mobile phone to offer two screens

A Russian company says it is launching a smartphone with two screens, an LCD color display and a monochrome e-ink display, both 4.3 inches in size.The company, Yota Devices, says the YotaPhone offers two screens that can be used for different functions and purposes, Slash Gear reported Wednesday.Phone users can use the LCS screen for normal phone functions and apps as well as watching videos or playing games, then flip the phone over to the e-ink screen to turn the phone into an e-reader for boo

TechnologyDec. 13, 2012

Russian mobile phone to offer two screens

BOK freezes key rate for 2nd month in Dec.

South Korea‘s central bank froze the key interest rate for the second straight month on Thursday, opting to preserve policy room in the face of global economic uncertainty and the presidential election slated for next week.Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his six fellow policymakers left the benchmark 7-day repo rate unchanged at 2.75 percent for December. The central bank cut the rate in July and October.The decision was widely anticipated as 15 out of 16 analysts forecast the rate f

Dec. 13, 2012

Advertising overdrive taints television

David Ogilvy, often cited as the 20th century’s most inspiring advertising guru, once said, “Advertising is only evil when it advertises evil things.”Ogilvy apparently was not thinking of other vices, such as constant, in-your-face advertisements that can be just as damaging as unethical ads. A week ago, on an episode of top-rated KBS weekend soap opera “My Daughter Seo-young,” Samsung’s Galaxy phones were exposed up to 10 times during the 50-minute program.Sang-woo, one of the main protagonists

IndustryDec. 12, 2012