The Korea Herald

CJ O Shopping starts services in Turkey

CJ O Shopping Co., a South Korean cable home shopping channel, said Thursday that it has launched a 24-hour TV home shopping channel in Turkey. In order to tap the Turkish home-shopping market, CJ O Shopping formed MCJ, a joint venture with MediaSa, a Turkish media group, the local company said. CJ O Shopping will be able to broadcast programs on consumer products to 13 million households in the country or 80 percent of its overall population, via the channel named “MCJ,” the company said. The S

Dec. 6, 2012

LG, Samsung to appeal massive fine in EU

LG Electronics and Samsung SDI announced Thursday that they will appeal the European Commission’s 450 million euro (630 billion won) fine that was imposed for an alleged cartel in computer and television parts. The two Korean firms are determined to appeal the case with the European court after thoroughly reviewing all necessary legal aspects. The European antitrust watchdog decided Wednesday to charge LG 300 million euro (420 billion won) and Samsung 150 million euro (210 billion won), along wi

TechnologyDec. 6, 2012

Antitrust fines hit record in 2012

The Fair Trade Commission has levied fines on enterprises totaling 913.8 billion won ($846.1 million) so far this year, an all-time high on a yearly basis.The collective figure for this year far surpasses the antitrust regulator’s fines of 347.3 billion won on rule-violators in 2011 and 507.4 billion won in 2010.During the first and second year of the Lee Myung-bak administration, the figure was 131.1 billion won and 110.8 billion won, respectively, under the president’s business-friendly polici

IndustryDec. 6, 2012

Electricity use soars as mercury plummets

Concerns about blackouts are mounting as cold spells hitting the nation are expected to raise electricity consumption. Adding to the woe is the likelihood of shutdowns at more nuclear reactors which were found using substandard parts. Electricity use surged Thursday when freezing weather swept the nation following Wednesday’s heavy snowfall. The day’s morning low for Seoul was minus 10.3 degrees Celsius. The Korea Power Exchange said electricity consumption soared to 72.97 million kilowatts at 1

Dec. 6, 2012

Electricity use soars as mercury plummets

Labor relations in Korea becoming more peaceful

With South Korea maturing as a society, communication and engagement, rather than confrontation, are becoming the preferred methods of conflict resolution in many sectors. The same trend is found in industrial relations, once swept by confrontation and feuds. “The nation’s industrial relations have gradually become peaceful. The number of labor disputes registered hit the record low of 65 in 2011. It is time to consider ways to narrow the gap between perception and reality in this area,” Korea L

Dec. 6, 2012

Labor relations in Korea becoming more peaceful

Conglomerates promote PR officers

“Public relations” seems to be the keyword for this year’s personnel reshuffles at major companies, with employees in the field being given promotions all around as the country faces a slow economy and an imminent presidential election. “When the times are bad, PR is one of the most cost-effective activities that a company can undertake, as it has the biggest advertisement effect,” said Lee Baek-soo, chairman of the Korea Public Relations Consultancy Association. Companies also are busy preparin

IndustryDec. 6, 2012

Korean retailers set sights on SE Asia

Shifting their focus away from China, leading South Korean retailers are speeding up their expansion into Southeast Asian nations as part of efforts to find new growth engines, industry sources said Thursday. South Korea’s second-largest retailer Shinsegae Group, which opened its discount store in Shanghai in 1997 for the first time as a local retailer, has reduced the number of stores in China to 16 from 27 over the last two years due to their cumulative losses, according to the sources. E-Mart

IndustryDec. 6, 2012

Korean Air show interest in Czech national carrier

Korean Air Lines and Qatar Airways showed interest in Ceske Aerolinie AS, the Czech national carrier, Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said.The two airlines responded “positively” to letters sent out to the world’s largest carriers as part of CSA’s search for a strategic partner, Kalousek said Wednesday in Prague. The government expects to receive binding bids for the CSA stake, including the price, by the end of February and the government should choose a buyer in early April, Kalousek

IndustryDec. 6, 2012

K-water aims for global top three in water management

Global economy magazine Fortune predicted the 21st century would be the era of water industry, calling water “Blue Gold.”Countries are engaged in fierce competition in so-called “Waternomics” to secure stable water supplies and facilitate the growth of their domestic industries. The Korean government is also paying renewed attention to the water industry as its new growth engine for the national economy. And the Korea Water Resources Corp., or K-water, has played the leading role. K-water early

IndustryDec. 6, 2012

K-water aims for global top three in water management

Korea boasts water-control leadership

The Korea Water Resources Corp., more affectionately known as “K-water,” started projects in overseas markets in 1994. Kim Kuen-ho, president of the state-run water management agency, believes now is the time to reap the rewards. “We have made sincere efforts to accumulate enhanced water management know-how and build partnerships with other countries for almost 20 years,” he told The Korea Herald in a recent interview.“Winning a deal is not the final goal of our overseas activities. We hope our

IndustryDec. 6, 2012

Foreign experts hail Korea’s hydro tech

World experts have given a positive note on Korea’s water management system, expecting that the country’s hydro-related tech will be benchmarked worldwide. Their views were vented when the nation hosted the 2012 World River Forum in Daegu in September, where top officials from 12 countries and six international organizations attended to learn Korea’s advanced hydro technology. The global river forum was co-hosted by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs and the Office of National

Dec. 6, 2012

Four-river project offers water management model

The four-year Four River Restoration Project to build the nation’s water management infrastructure by restoring four major rivers nationwide, is a stepping stone for Korea to take the lead in the global water management industry. The 20 trillion won ($18 billion) project, launched in 2009, completed about 99 percent of the construction as of Nov. 5 in 2012. It is somewhat early to evaluate the project, but there were improvements throughout the year in water-related problems in Korea, including

IndustryDec. 6, 2012

Four-river project offers water management model

Korean Air wins Airbus A380 operation award

Korean Air was awarded the A380 Award for Top Operational Excellence, presented by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus S.A.S. in the A380 Technology Symposium held in Dubai on Wednesday. The Korean flag carrier said that it was conferred the prize in recognition of its 99.5 percent on-time arrival rate and outstanding operation skills of A380 aircraft.Upon receiving the award, Korean Air has become the world’s only airline to receive three operational awards from Airbus. To present, the airlin

IndustryDec. 6, 2012

Hunger based more on perception than amount of food eaten: study

Hunger is more closely related to how people perceive their meal rather than the actual calories ingested, a new study suggested. Researchers from the University of Bristol in England claimed to have found that the people who think they have eaten a lot -- even when they have had an average-sized or smaller meal -- are less likely to be hungry hours later compared to people who think they had a smaller meal.In the study, 100 volunteers were first shown containers of either 300 ml or 500 ml of so

TechnologyDec. 6, 2012

Hunger based more on perception than amount of food eaten: study

Presidential candidates Park and Moon differ on expanding game shutdown system

Presidential candidates Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in presented on Wednesday their different views on whether the “game shutdown system” should also be applied to mobile games.The system, introduced by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, prohibits gamers aged 16 or under from connecting to online games between midnight and 6 a.m. The regulation came into effect on Nov. 20 last year.According to the website of Citizen’s Coalition for Economic Justice, Saenuri Party presidential candidate

TechnologyDec. 6, 2012

McAfee arrested in Guatemala for illegal entry

U.S. Internet security guru John McAfee, on the run from authorities in Belize over a murder probe, was arrested by Guatemalan police Wednesday for illegally entering the country, officials said.“National police agents have taken Mr. John David McAfee before immigration authorities... He has entered our country illegally,” police spokesman Pablo Castillo told AFP.The former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, now a weathered 67-year-old, had been in hiding for more than three weeks until he crossed the

TechnologyDec. 6, 2012

McAfee arrested in Guatemala for illegal entry

British boy's smartphone catches fire

British officials say their investigation of why a smartphone caught fire and left an 11-year-old boy's legs burned and permanently scarred is a priority.The family is now demanding the popular BlackBerry Curve 9320 mobile is recalled from shops in time for Christmas.Pete and Sarah McCreath say they are seeking the BlackBerry Curve 9320 smartphone recalled from British stores before Christmas after a BlackBerry device malfunctioned and spontaneously combusted, the Daily Telegraph reported. Sarah

TechnologyDec. 6, 2012

Multiple media use linked to depression

People who use multiple media -- such as playing a computer game while watching TV -- have a higher risk of of anxiety and depression, U.S. researchers say.Lead investigator Mark Becker of Michigan State University said he was surprised to find such a clear association between media multitasking and mental health problems, but he is not clear why it occurred. “We don‘t know whether the media multitasking is causing symptoms of depression and social anxiety, or if it’s that people who are depress

TechnologyDec. 6, 2012

Astronomers see solar system being born

U.S. astronomers say they've observed a young star with a rotating dust disk considered the youngest still-forming planetary system ever found.The infant star surrounded by a swirling disk of dust and gas is more than 450 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory reported Wednesday.While just one-fifth the mass of the sun, it will probably pull in material from its surroundings and eventually match the sun's mass, scientists said.The disk of mat

TechnologyDec. 6, 2012

Seoul shares open higher on tech, auto gains

South Korean stocks opened a whisker higher on Thursday on gains in tech and auto heavyweights, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose0.07 percent, or 1.38 points, to 1,948.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics climbed 0.27 percent and top automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 0.88 percent.However, LG Electronics slumped 3.2 percent and Samsung SDI fell 2.92 percent following a cartel fine by the European Union.The local curren

Dec. 6, 2012