The Korea Herald

Extreme weather tough on U.S. transport system

Wild weather is taking a toll on roads, airports, railways and transit systems across the country.That’s leaving states and cities searching for ways to brace for more catastrophes like Superstorm Sandy that are straining the nation’s transportation lifelines beyond what their builders imagined.Despite their concerns about intense rain, historic floods and record heat waves, some transportation planners find it too politically sensitive to say aloud a source of their weather worries: climate cha

TechnologyNov. 25, 2012

Extreme weather tough on U.S. transport system

Korean team develops new way of generating stem cells

Korean scientists have discovered a new molecular compound that could increase the efficiency of human adult cell reprogramming to induced pluripotent stem cells.The low-molecule Reprogramming Stimulating Compound 133, or RSC133, adds to the list of non-viral vectors that are crucial to advancing the biotechnology and production of iPS cells.Dr. Cho Yee-sook and Dr. Lee Jung-woon of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology led a team of researchers for this latest discovery tha

TechnologyNov. 25, 2012

Korean team develops new way of generating stem cells

Global sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 top 5m

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Sunday worldwide sales of its Galaxy Note 2 have exceeded 5 million units since its rollout here two months ago. Shipments of the 5.5-inch phablet, a hybrid of a smartphone and a tablet PC, achieved the landmark in two months after it was first released in South Korea in late September, the company said in a statement.The Galaxy Note 2 recorded a much faster sales increase than the previous Galaxy Note model, which saw global sales top 5 milli

Nov. 25, 2012

Daewoo International bags $1.06b deal from Algeria

Daewoo International Corp., a leading South Korean trading company, said Sunday a consortium led by the company has clinched a $1.06 billion contract to build a cogeneration power plant in Algeria.The turnkey contract calls for Daewoo International, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and Hyundai Engineering Co. to build the 1,200-megawatt power plant in an area some 230 kilometers southeast of Algiers, the capital of the African country. It will take 39 months to complete the cogeneration po

Nov. 25, 2012

Apple adds more Samsung devices to patent suit

Apple Inc. filed another lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co. for patent infringement on the South Korean tech titan’s six latest mobile products, amid a series of ongoing legal tug-of-war between the two global IT companies, a German patent blog said Sunday. The Cupertino, California-based U.S. firm sued the Korea company on Friday at the U.S. Northern District Court of California for violating its patents with four smartphone models ― Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3 Mini, Galaxy S3 and Rugby Pro ―

MobilityNov. 25, 2012

Shares to stay stagnant on delayed fiscal cliff talks

The South Korean stock market is likely to remain stagnant this week as investors are expected to take a wait-and-see stance on the U.S. fiscal cliff issue, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1,911.33 this week, up 2.1 percent from the previous week.Earlier last week, the KOSPI moved up as U.S. lawmakers and President Barack Obama successfully began talks on the U.S. fiscal issue, while rising hopes for financial aid to Greece also gave a boost to

Nov. 25, 2012

Korea’s auto industry feared to retreat next year: report

South Korea’s automobile industry is feared to fare worse next year because of the global economic slump, while its IT, machinery and shipping sectors will likely perk up, a report said Sunday. Automakers are expected to enter a contractionary phase as worldwide demand will likely falter on the protracted economic downturn and global competition get fiercer, according to the report by the Hyundai Economic Research Institute. The report said although the U.S. Big Three ― Ford, Chrysler and Genera

Nov. 25, 2012

Finance chiefs of Korea, Japan share need to resume FTA talks

Finance ministers of South Korea and Japan agreed Saturday to continue efforts to resume suspended free trade talks between the two countries, both sides said.South Korean Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan and his Japanese counterpart, Koriki Jojima, met in Seoul to discuss matters of mutual concern, including the suspended FTA talks.“We have reconfirmed the importance of continued efforts to resume South Korea-Japan Free Trade Agree talks,” the two sides said in a joint press release. “Each promise

Nov. 25, 2012

Finance chiefs of Korea, Japan share need to resume FTA talks

Land Ministry starts relocation to Sejong City

The Ministry of Land, Transport, Marine Affairs started to move to Sejong City, South Chungcheong Province, on Friday, becoming the first government organization from Gwacheon Government Complex to pack up for the new administrative city. The ministry’s move is part of the government’s plan to relocate economic-related ministries and their affiliates to Sejong City for balanced regional development.The ministry said it would complete the relocation of its headquarters in Gwacheon and three affil

Nov. 25, 2012

GM to produce turbocharged engines for small SUVs in Korea

GM Korea said that the company would make a new investment worth about 100 billion won ($92 million) in its Bupyeong engine plant in Incheon to produce the next-generation four-cylinder turbocharged engines. The new engines will be introduced in the first half of next year for GM Korea’s new small sport utility vehicle Chevrolet Trax and then other Chevy brand smaller cars, said the Korean unit of U.S.-based General Motors. The more fuel-efficient turbocharged gasoline engines have thus far been

MobilityNov. 25, 2012

GM to produce turbocharged engines for small SUVs in Korea

Bibigo brand expands into 9 countries in a year

CJ Cheiljedang, a leading food business and bio company in Korea, has stepped up globalization of its global food and restaurant brand Bibigo.According to the company, Bibigo has penetrated into 1,000 retail stores in nine countries for the past year since its establishment in 2011. The nine countries are the U.S., Japan, China, U.K., Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia. Under the Bibigo brand, CJ has introduced six processed foods to the global food market, ranging from Korean sa

Nov. 25, 2012

Red tape is no way to fuel economic growth

Economic democratization, in other words, fair competition among all concerned parties, is the campaign buzzword for the upcoming presidential election. The term can mean a wide range of things ― from limiting the investment opportunities of the conglomerates and devising stronger regulations to protect smaller companies, to promoting fair trade laws. But the gist of it is to weave a powerful regulatory web for keeping the business sector in check. Before talking more about the concept of the te

IndustryNov. 25, 2012

Red tape is no way to fuel economic growth

Ssangyong seeks to diversify export markets

Ssangyong Motor said Sunday that it had mapped out strategies to diversify export targets within five years, while more than half of its export-oriented vehicles are shipped to Russia and Latin America.Currently, Russia accounts for 32 percent of the automaker’s export destinations, followed by South & Central American countries with 26 percent.In coordination with its majority shareholder Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., the company said it planned to push ahead with tapping new markets.“By 2016, when

MobilityNov. 25, 2012

Ssangyong seeks to diversify export markets

Carmakers turn to TV drama for killer promotions

Kia Motors’ K7 sedan was once called “Lee Byung-hun’s car” after the Korean Wave heartthrob drove the car in the several chase scenes of the 2009 hit spy thriller “IRIS.”Company officials would not offer the specific sales data on the drama sponsorship. But during the eight months after the drama ended, the K7 topped the nation’s large sedan segment sales, outperforming Hyundai Motor’s steady-seller Grandeur. Unveiling the facelift version of the K7 recently, the carmaker, an affiliate of Hyunda

MobilityNov. 25, 2012

Carmakers turn to TV drama for killer promotions

India wages hi-tech war on ancient scourge: tuberculosis

NEW DELHI (AP) ― Shammo Khan walks into a dusty courtyard that reeks of garbage, searching for the fingerprint of a man exhausted by HIV, drug withdrawal and the tuberculosis lesions hijacking his lungs. She opens her laptop on his rope bed, prods the emaciated man to log in on a fingerprint reader and watches him slowly and painfully swallow a handful of TB drugs in an experimental program harnessing new technology to combat an ancient killer still ravaging India. Private companies, aid groups

TechnologyNov. 25, 2012

India wages hi-tech war on ancient scourge: tuberculosis

Korea’s credit rating rises most in OECD

The country’s sovereign rating surged the most among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the past five years, said a report on Sunday.According to data by the Korea Center for International Finance, Korea’s credit rating went up by two notches to “Aa3” between the end of 2007 and October of this year. “Aa3” is the fourth-highest level designated by Moody’s Investors Service.The report also said that Fitch Ratings lifted South Korea’s rating to “AA-” from “

Nov. 25, 2012

Woman dies after 42 years in coma

A Miami woman who fell into a diabetic coma in 1970 died at age 59 after 42 years of unconsciousness, her family said.Edwarda O‘Bara died Wednesday after being cared for by her mother and sister through decades of illness, the Miami New Times reported Friday.O’Bara was a high school student when she fell ill and regurgitated her diabetes medicine. She was rushed to the hospital, where she asked her mother never to leave her side just before she slipped into the coma, The Miami Herald said.Her mo

TechnologyNov. 25, 2012

KT to spin off satellite unit into separate firm

KT Corp. said Friday that it will spin off its satellite business division into a separate firm.Company officials said the plan was endorsed at a shareholders’ meeting in Seoul on Friday. The new satellite firm, tentatively named “kt sat,” will start out on Dec. 1 with 50 billion won in capital, the company said. KT will wholly own kt sat, and the present KT Corp. Center chief Kim Il-yung will head the new firm. Focusing on satellite service business, kt sat reflects KT’s strategy to expand its

TechnologyNov. 23, 2012

KDI school opens English website on development

KDI School of Public Policy and Management opened on Friday an English-language website which provides information on South Korea’s economic development process. The total information system K-developedia (www.kdevelopedia.org) contains data published by local and international research institutes and international organizations such as the World Bank and United Nations. All the information including research data, photographs and video materials are offered for free at the website. Data origina

IndustryNov. 23, 2012

LG Electronics’ Optimus G ranked top in U.S

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics Inc.’s latest Optimus G has been picked as the best smartphone by a U.S. magazine in its latest handset survey, industry sources said Friday.Consumer Reports said the Optimus G is the best smartphone choice for subscribers of two major mobile carriers in the United States.It is the first time that an LG smartphone has been the top recommendation of Consumer Report, according to the sources.The LG phone released by AT&T Inc. received the highest 79 points in

Nov. 23, 2012