The Korea Herald

Households’ financial soundness worsens: data

The financial health of South Korean households has deteriorated for a third consecutive year, with the default rate in the low-rated group rising fast amid an economic slowdown, data showed Monday. An index measuring households’ credit soundness came to 99.73 in the January-June period, compared with 101.12 and 100.49 tallied in 2010 and 2011, respectively, according to the Korea Credit Bureau, a local credit appraiser. The assessment of household’s financial health by the KCB is based on relat

Nov. 19, 2012

Korean Air to expand aerospace business

Korean Air is speeding up efforts to nurture the aerospace business as its future growth engine, unveiling on Monday a plan to create a 1-million-square-meter industrial cluster in Busan by 2020. Adding to its existing 710,000-square-meter tech center, established in 1976, the nation’s largest flag carrier plans to set up a new 230,000-square-meter center and related facilities at another 150,000-square-meter site in the coming years.Korean Air is the only air carrier in the world that both prod

IndustryNov. 19, 2012

Hyundai Motor matches BMW for profitability

Hyundai Motor saw its profitability match the level of BMW, far outperforming several major automakers such as Volkswagen and General Motors.Hyundai Motor’s ratio of operating profit to revenue in the vehicle sector came to 10.91 percent during the third quarter, which is nearly equivalent to the 10.94 percent of BMW.Few carmakers are enjoying a double-digit figure, and Volkswagen and GM recorded below 7 percent.Market insiders say it is noteworthy that Hyundai Motor, whose main products are aim

IndustryNov. 19, 2012

‘Less is more’ is Puma Korea’s key strategy

Wearing a pair of sneakers or a t-shirt with the Puma logo was a sure-fire way to be “in” among teenagers here about a decade ago. Cheesy knock-offs reading “Pama” or “Fuma” were easily spotted on the streets, reflecting the popularity of the German brand. During the past few years, however, the fever has waned. Olivier Lorans, general manager of Puma Korea, said that he is well aware of this, and has plans to win back the teens. “During those couple of years, it was not clear what the brand sto

IndustryNov. 19, 2012

‘Less is more’ is Puma Korea’s key strategy

Unfamiliar scents open up purses

The nation’s imported perfume market is not only untouched by the extended economic slowdown ― it’s enjoying its heyday. Sales of imported perfumes are soaring at local department stores, up about tenfold compared to those of cosmetic products which dropped hard this year. The spotlight is not on the licensed perfumes produced by luxury brands like Gucci, Chanel or Dior, but rather on the recently launched “premium” perfumes such as Joe Malone or diptyque, which are less familiar and more expens

IndustryNov. 19, 2012

Samsung founder’s commemoration event tainted by family discord

YONGIN, Gyeonggi Province ― The late Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull’s 25th commemoration ceremony was marred on Monday by family discord caused by an inheritance lawsuit.Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee and his family members including heir apparent Lee Jay-yong, and about 100 Samsung senior executives paid their respects to the founder at around 11 a.m. at the family burial ground in Yongin.Hong Ra-hee, chairman Lee’s wife and chief of Ho-Am Art Museum, and Lee’s two daughters Boo-jin

IndustryNov. 19, 2012

Samsung founder’s commemoration event tainted by family discord

Pollution hurts brain function in elderly

Living in areas of high air pollution is an environmental risk to seniors' brain health and function, U.S. researchers found."The study shows the unexpectedly adverse effects of air pollutants on brain function in the elderly," Caleb Finch, the ARCO/William F. Kieschnick Professor in the Neurobiology of Aging at the University of Southern California at Davis, said in a statement.Jennifer Ailshire -- a sociologist, demographer and postdoctoral student at the USC Davis School of Gerontology -- sai

TechnologyNov. 19, 2012

The brains behind freestyle rap

Freestyle rap, an improvised style of the music genre associated with back-to-front baseball caps, baggy jeans and gold chains, has burst onto the science stage, shedding light on the workings of the brain.Researchers at the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders in the United States have examined freestyle rappers' brains to see which areas light up during the creative phase.The stream-of-consciousness singing style involves artists making up lyrics on the spot, guided

TechnologyNov. 19, 2012

Seoul shares start higher on U.S. gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday as investor sentiment was boosted by last week's gains on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 13.77 points, or 0.74 percent, to trade at 1874.60 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics increasing 0.84 percent and leading carmaker Hyundai Motor adding 0.46 percent. Top builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction climbed 1.15

Nov. 19, 2012

Overseas construction orders top $50 bln for 3rd year

Overseas orders won by South Korean builders surpassed $50 billion for the third straight year in 2012, due to increased demand from the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, data showed Monday.Local builders signed deals worth $51.6 billion during the January-November period, up 13 percent from the same period last year, according to the data released by the International Contractors Association of Korea.Still, industry officials said it remained unclear whether the companies could achieve the

IndustryNov. 19, 2012

Economy, election force companies to slim down

Korea’s corporate landscape is expected to witness some major pruning as companies, most noticeably the conglomerates, are avidly slimming down amid a deepening economic slump worldwide.Politics, however, also may be playing a part in their downsizing, as major presidential candidates are proposing pledges devised to ensure fair competition ― essentially meaning that conglomerates will face more restrictions to give their smaller counterparts a bigger advantage. The country’s top 10 industrial g

IndustryNov. 18, 2012

Black box-installed cars to get insurance discount

South Korea’s insurance companies are to offer a maximum 5 percent discount on insurance for cars equipped with black boxes, according to industry sources on Saturday. Local insurers including Dongbu Insurance, Meritz Insurance, Hanwha General Insurance, LIG Insurance, AXA Direct and Hyundai Hicar Direct decided to give a discount of 5 percent; Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance 4 percent; and Green Non-life Insurance and Ergo Daum Direct 3 percent. The discount for black-box equipped cars was only

IndustryNov. 18, 2012

Black box-installed cars to get insurance discount

Candidates converge on science policy

The three major presidential candidates may differ on key policies but all believe that Korea’s future depends on science and technology for growth.Their policies in the field converge in many aspects, including plans to revive the ministry for science and technology, as well as increasing support for research and innovation.The Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye has the most extensive agenda. An engineering graduate, she prioritizes developing the software industry, supporting start-ups and establis

TechnologyNov. 18, 2012

Korean e-procurement system booming worldwide

KONEPS, or Korea Online E-procurement System, is drawing more attention from abroad than ever, the Public Procurement Service said. The Korean e-procurement system provides a convenient one-stop service, enabling users to process all necessary operations for procurement ― registration, bidding, contract, and payment ― together, PPS said. Korea has signed multiple memorandums of understanding with 19 countries worldwide on e-procurement. PPS Administrator Kang Ho-in said, “Exporting KONEPS is an

Nov. 18, 2012

Korean e-procurement system booming worldwide

Procurement agency leads transparency and digitalization

The Public Procurement Service is paving the way for advanced public procurement policies with innovative ideas based on expertise from more than half a century in service. The centerpiece of its achievements is without argument the digitalization of the public procurement process, according to Kang Ho-in, the agency administrator.But the agency also played a major role in introducing local companies to foreign procurement agencies, in addition to unwavering support for small and medium-sized fi

IndustryNov. 18, 2012

Procurement agency leads transparency and digitalization

Samsung: Apple must reveal HTC settlement over patents

Samsung Electronics Co. asked a court to force Apple Inc. to turn over a copy of its settlement with HTC Corp., saying it’s “highly relevant” to Apple’s request for an order blocking sales of Samsung smartphones.It’s “almost certain” that Apple’s settlement with HTC covers some of the patents at issue in its dispute with Samsung, according to a filing Firday by the Suwon, South Korea-based company in federal court in San Jose, California. The agreement may undermine Apple’s claim that Samsung’s

Nov. 18, 2012

Higher won dents small exporters’ biz sentiment

Almost nine out of 10 of the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises believe the rising local currency against the U.S. dollar will result in a weaker bottom line, data showed Saturday.According to a survey of 112 local SMEs by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, 88.2 percent replied the higher won will have an adverse impact on their earnings.The local currency closed at 1,092.20 won against the greenback on Friday, remaining below the 1,100 won mark since Oct. 25, when the

Nov. 18, 2012

LGE spends 6% of sales in research

South Korean handset maker LG Electronics Inc. said Saturday it spent more than 6 percent of its earnings on research and development through September of this year in a bid to develop high-end products.The company said it had allocated 2.26 trillion won ($2.08 billion), or 6.06 percent of its sales of 37.4 trillion won earned during in the January-September period, up 1.1 percentage points from a year earlier.Market watchers said South Korea’s No. 2 tech giant increased its research fund to dev

Nov. 18, 2012

Shares likely to stay flat this week

The South Korean stock market is likely to be stagnant this week as uncertainties over the U.S. fiscal cliff continue to dent investor sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1,860.83 this week, down 2.29 percent from the previous week, as shares lost ground across the board.Foreign investors went on a selling spree, unloading a net 520 billion won ($476 million) on the main bourse, with retail investors scooping up a net 80 billion won. Institutions pu

Nov. 18, 2012

Korea’s exports to Middle East rise 14.1% by October

South Korea’s exports to the Middle East rose 14.1 percent in the first 10 months of the year from a year earlier thanks to strengthened consumption power in the oil-rich region, customs data showed Sunday.According to the data by the Korea Customs Service, shipments of South Korean products to Middle East countries rose 14.1 percent to $30.3 billion in the January-October period, compared with last year’s annual volume of $32.8 billion.However, shipments to the European Union and Japan shrank 1

Nov. 18, 2012