The Korea Herald

Hyundai Motor grapples to satisfy BRIC tastes

Hyundai Motor is considering diversifying its localized model lineup in a bid to secure its position in the fast growing BRIC market, company officials said.Over the past several years, the company has prioritized expanding the production capacity of its assembly lines in China, Russia and India.Along with the completion of its Brazilian factory this year, Hyundai Motor plans to more profoundly reflect locals’ design tastes and customer needs in the four countries.The company is reportedly consi

MobilityDec. 2, 2012

Hyundai Motor grapples to satisfy BRIC tastes

Toyota leads Japanese auto firms in cutting China output

Toyota Motor Corp. production in China fell the most in at least a decade, leading a slump for Japanese automakers, after a sovereignty dispute over uninhabited islets triggered demonstrations and deterred buyers. Japan’s biggest carmaker said today China output in October tumbled 61 percent to 30,591 units in October. Nissan Motor Co. reported production fell 44 percent last month, the biggest decline based on company data stretching back to 2009, and Honda Motor Co. said output tumbled 54 perc

MobilityDec. 2, 2012

Default-prone household debts reach 25.6 tln won: data

The amount of mortgages in South Korea at risk of turning sour reached 25.6 trillion won ($236.3million) in September, with the majority being owed to non-banking firms that charge higher interest rates, the financial regulator said Sunday.The figure represents 230,000 out of a total of 5.35 million mortgage borrowers here, accounting for 4.8 percent of the total home-backed loans extended by local financial institutions, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). "The percentage itse

Dec. 2, 2012

S. Korea's trade surplus widens to $4.48 bln in Nov.

South Korea's trade surplus widened in November from the previous month as exports posted positive growth on the back of steady global demand, the government said Saturday.The country's trade surplus came to $4.48 billion in November, compared with the surplus of $3.7 billion the previous month, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The country's exports grew 3.9 percent from the same month last year to $47.79 billion with imports gaining 0.7 percent on-year to $43.32 billion.The expor

Dec. 1, 2012

Grand Canyon as old as the dinosaurs: study

People can be startled at the depth of the Grand Canyon. Now, scientists say dinosaurs may have been, too -- the mighty gouge in the earth is that old.Scientists have long argued over the age of the multicolored canyon, which is over a mile deep (nearly two kilometers) as many as 18 miles wide (29 kilometers) and 280 miles long (450 kilometers.)Most believe it was carved out about five or six million years ago, based on the age of gravel washed downstream by the ancestral Colorado River. But new

TechnologyDec. 1, 2012

Samsung, Apple gain in U.S. mobile market

Samsung extended its lead as the top mobile phone maker in the U.S. market and Apple moved into second place, an industry tracker said Friday.A survey by comScore showed that in the three-month period ending in October, South Korea's Samsung was the top manufacturer with 26.3 percent market share, up from 25.6 percent in the prior period.Apple, which sells only smartphones, moved into second place in the U.S. market for the first time, with a 17.8 percent market share, up 1.5 percentage points.

IndustryDec. 1, 2012

Korea eases visa issuance for foreign buyers

The South Korean government has eased visa regulations on foreign buyers in order to help local small and mid-size firms do business and boost foreign trade, a trade association said Friday.According to the Korea International Trade Association, the Justice Ministry will review a list of local firms made by KITA and grant visas within three days to foreign businesspeople who get invitations from the firms after proper identification checks.The fast-track visa issuance system started last month a

Nov. 30, 2012

Kia’s pro cee’d receives iF design award

Kia Motors said on Friday that it received the prestigious iF design award for its three-door coupe pro cee’d.The company said the compact car won in the “Transportation Design” category.Company officials said the award proved that the car, to be sold in the second half of next year, was recognized globally for its outstanding design. The accolade is the fifth iF design award for Kia. “We are very proud to receive this iF product design award for the pro cee’d, which we owe in particular to our

MobilityNov. 30, 2012

Kia’s pro cee’d receives iF design award

Shares inch down on U.S. budget talks

South Korean stocks slipped 0.1 percent Friday as investors took a wait-and-see stance to watch U.S. budget talks, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dipped 1.95 points to 1,932.9. Trading volume was moderate at 330.3 million shares worth 4.43 trillion won ($4.09 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 410 to 367.“The fiscal cliff woes have widely dominated the stock market and investors want clearer signs of U.S.

Nov. 30, 2012

Shares inch down on U.S. budget talks

South Korean stocks slipped 0.1 percent Friday as investors took a wait-and-see stance to watch U.S. budget talks, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dipped 1.95 points to 1,932.9. Trading volume was moderate at 330.3 million shares worth 4.43 trillion won ($4.09 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 410 to 367.“The fiscal cliff woes have widely dominated the stock market and investors want clearer signs of U.S.

Nov. 30, 2012

Lee urges rise to new challenge

Samsung chairman calls for fresh challengeGroup celebrates Lee’s 25-year leadership Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee pledged Friday to push for another round of innovation at Samsung Group.“I vowed to create a new history for Samsung. As there are still long ways to go, we have to launch fresh challenges,” he said in a video message delivered to his staff during the group’s ceremony to celebrate Lee’s 25th anniversary as chairman.“By conducting another innovative mode in the group, let’s

IndustryNov. 30, 2012

Businesses pledge more jobs, investment

The nation’s five leading business organizations vowed Friday to take the lead in revitalizing the sluggish economy by boosting exports and investment, while making efforts to create more jobs. “Despite difficulties due to the prolonged global economic downturn and slump in local consumption, the business community will make efforts to lift the economy, ” they said in a joint resolution. “Businesses, big or small, will drive to boost exports by tapping new markets and focus on facility investmen

Nov. 30, 2012

Kolon names its 1st female CEO

Kolon Group, the nation’s 30th-largest conglomerate, appointed its first female chief executive officer when it carried out a major reshuffle of executives of its affiliates on Friday.Group officials said Lee Soo-young, 44, senior vice president of Kolon Water & Energy, was named to head the company. It is the first time that Kolon will have a female CEO in its 55-year group history.Lee, who entered the Kolon Group in 2003 as a senior manager for the Wellness TF, has been on the fast track in cl

IndustryNov. 30, 2012

Apple’s iPhone 5 to hit Korea next week

Korea’s two biggest mobile carriers ― SK Telecom Co. and KT Corp. ― said Friday they plan to release the long-awaited iPhone 5 in the local market next week. SK Telecom and KT tweeted they plan to start receiving pre-orders for the Apple device starting at 10 p.m. and officially launch the phone on Dec. 7.The move comes nearly three months after the U.S. smartphone maker, which is facing off against Samsung Electronics Co. in a global patent war, unveiled its first smartphone that runs on the fo

Nov. 30, 2012

Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO dies in Germany

Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Thomas Urbach died on Thursday in Germany, company spokespeople said Friday.The company did not reveal the cause of death of the 50-year-old German businessman, but Yonhap News, quoting unnamed industry sources, reported that the luxury car chief, who had suffered from depression for years, killed himself.Urbach was in Germany to visit the automaker’s headquarters in Stuttgart.The CEO had been scheduled to hold a press conference on Dec. 11 in Seoul to make public the Kor

IndustryNov. 30, 2012

Korea’s gender pay gap biggest in OECD

The income gap between men and women was the biggest in South Korea among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2010, research showed. Women received an average 39 percent lower payment compared to men in Korea, an OECD report showed on Friday. The gap in Korea was about 2.6 times larger than the average gap among 28 OECD countries, which was 15 percent.Japan came in second on the list with 29 percent, followed by Germany and Israel, which both marked 2

IndustryNov. 30, 2012

Apple's iPhone 5 to hit S. Korea next week

South Korea's two biggest mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co. and KT Corp. -- said Friday they plan to release the long-awaited iPhone 5 in the local market next week. SK Telecom and KT tweeted they plan to start receiving pre-orders for the Apple device starting at 10 p.m. and officially launch the phone on Dec. 7.The move comes nearly three months after the U.S. smartphone maker, which is facing off against Samsung Electronics Co. in a global patent war, unveiled its first smartphone that runs o

TechnologyNov. 30, 2012

iPhone 5 to be launched on Dec. 7 in S. Korea

Apple’s iPhone 5 is to be released in the Korean market on Dec. 7, three months after its launch in U.S.Korea’s two largest telecommunications companies, SK Telecom and KT, said on their official Twitter pages that “the official release of iPhone 5 is due on Dec. 7 and pre-sales will begin on Friday 10 p.m.”Detailed information on how to apply for pre-sale, storage capacity and color choices of the phone has not yet been announced.Apple released iPhone 5 on Sept. 12 in some countries including t

TechnologyNov. 30, 2012

iPhone 5 to be launched on Dec. 7 in S. Korea

Most human mutations are relatively recent

Most of the harmful mutations in people are of recent origin, evolutionarily speaking, arising in the past 5,000 to 10,000 years, a U.S. geneticist says.A study by University of Washington researcher Joshua Akey dating the age of more than 1 million single-letter variations in the human DNA code reveals most of these mutations are of recent origin, with more than 86 percent of the harmful protein-coding mutations of this type appearing in humans just during the past 5,000 to 10,000 years.Humans

TechnologyNov. 30, 2012

Most human mutations are relatively recent

S. Korea’s income gap by gender widest among OECD nations

South Korea remained the nation with the largest income gap between men and women among advanced countries with the gender pay gap hardly narrowing over the past decade, a report showed Friday.According to the report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), South Korea found its gender income gap to be 39 percent, the highest among 28 surveyed member nations, as of 2010.It means that South Korean women are paid 39 percent less than their male counterparts, lower than

IndustryNov. 30, 2012