The Korea Herald

‘14th century African king was the richest person of all time’

The wealthiest person ever to have lived is a 14th century king who ruled Malian Empire in Africa, a website claimed.Celebrity Net Worth, a website which keeps track of celebrities’ incomes, estimated the net worth of wealthiest people in history and sorted out the 25 richest people of all time, and found that Mansa Musa I of Mali ranks No.1.The website adjusted the respective wealth of rich people to incorporate the inflation: For example, $100 million in 1913 is equal to $2.3 billion in 2012.

Oct. 16, 2012

‘14th century African king was the richest person of all time’

Avoiding sugary drinks helps with weight

BOSTON (UPI) -- Overweight and obese U.S. teens gain less weight when they consume fewer sugary drinks, researchers say.Cara Ebbeling and Dr. David Ludwig of Boston Children‘s Hospital and colleagues said their study involved 224 overweight or obese ninth- and 10th-graders who regularly drank 1.7 sugary beverages a day.The year-long study intervention was designed to reduce consumption of these be

TechnologyOct. 16, 2012

New Apple Mac Mini may be imminent

Apple may announce a new Mac Mini when it unveils the iPad Mini, and a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro may also join them, websites are reporting.The new Mac Mini will come in three models, with two differentiated by processor and storage capacity and the third running as an OS X server, 9to5Mac reported.With the Mac Mini not having an upgrade since 2010, it‘s likely the new models with feature the latest-generation Intel Core processors, larger hard drives and faster graphics, Slash Gear said.The Ma

TechnologyOct. 16, 2012

U.S. retailer sues Seoul gov't over Sunday closure

Costco Wholesale Korea, an affiliate of U.S. retail giant Costco Wholesale Corp., has filed a lawsuit against three of Seoul's autonomous districts, claiming that their ordinance for mandatory Sunday closure and restrictions on operating hours are invalid, judicial officials said Monday.In the lawsuit filed with the Seoul Administrative Court against heads of Seocho-gu, Jungnang-gu and Yeongdeungp

IndustryOct. 16, 2012

Seoul shares open higher on foreign buying

South Korean stocks started higher on Tuesday as foreign investors scooped up local shares, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 0.73 percent, or 14.13 points, to 1939.72 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics rising 1.31 percent and flat panel giant LG Display gaining 2.59 pe

Oct. 16, 2012

US duo win Nobel Economics Prize

STOCKHOLM (AP)-- Americans Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley were awarded the Nobel economics prize on Monday for research that helps explain the market processes at work when doctors are assigned to hospitals, students to schools and human organs for transplant to recipients.The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited the two economists for ``the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market

Oct. 15, 2012

AMCHAM launches new innovation council

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea announced on Monday the launch of a new council, which will focus on promoting innovation in both U.S and Korean companies, ahead of its 60th anniversary next year. The AMCHAM Council on Innovation for the Future was established to strengthen the already-strong economic ties by encouraging sharing of innovation expertise and expanding strategic partnerships between U.S. and Korean companies, said AMCHAM officials. “Both U.S. and Korea are leaders in inno

IndustryOct. 15, 2012

Crisis theory looming over Korean economy

Coming election may hamper countermeasures against eurozone crisisThe overall economy could face severe difficulties in the coming months due to a combination of uncertainties at home and abroad, according to projections by some local economists.They forecast that the government would fall short of being able to effectively cope with the worsening debt crisis in Southern European countries, mainly because Korea has to cope with election season and a new president. “For Korea, it would not be eas

Oct. 15, 2012

Lotte, Orion in Russian choco pie showdown

A time-old rivalry between snack giants Orion and Lotte over a popular chocolate-and-vanilla snack is being rekindled in the overseas markets, most recently in Russia where a copycat version is threatening the original. In 1974, Orion was the first in Korea to launch the choco pie, which is a small round chocolate-flavored snack with a marshmallow center. Five years later, the Lotte choco pie made its debut. The latter was obviously a copycat product, although Lotte begs to differ. Orion was not

IndustryOct. 15, 2012

Offshore money laundering soars

Korea Customs Service said Monday that it unearthed 52 cases of illegal money laundering by Koreans in foreign countries from January to August whose combined amount reached 187.7 billion won.According to a report by KCS sent to the National Assembly, the agency detected 33 cases worth 33.5 billion won in 2009 and 44 cases worth 92.4 billion won in 2010.This year, most money laundering by Koreans was done in the United States, which accounted for 157.5 billion won of the total.(From news reports

Oct. 15, 2012

Korean researchers find gene linked to Alzheimer’s

Korea researchers said they have identified a gene that produces neurotoxic components in Alzheimer’s disease, in a step forward to finding a cure for the degenerative brain disease. The state-run Korea National Institute of Health said on Monday that a team led by Dr. Koh Young-ho at its biomedical science division found small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) 1 protein.The team found in lab testing with mice that SUMO1 integrates with BACE1, a key enzyme which accelerates the production and de

TechnologyOct. 15, 2012

World Bank to open Seoul office next year

The World Bank said Monday that it will open its office in South Korea next year in order to deepen joint efforts between the two sides in finding development solutions for emerging countries.The Seoul government also agreed to launch a $90 million fund with the global lender to step up cooperation in supporting emerging countries for their development, according to heads of the two sides.The “Korea-World Bank Partnership Facility” will support a broad range of economic development opportunities

Oct. 15, 2012

World Bank to open Seoul office next year

Shares drop 0.4% on global recession woes

South Korean stocks closed 0.4 percent lower Monday as investors’ sentiment was dampened by concerns over a global recession and persistent eurozone debt woes, analysts said. The local currency declined against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 7.67 points to 1,925.59. Trading volume was moderate at 554.9 million shares worth 4.49 trillion won ($4.04 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 548 to 297.“There’s no big positive momentum to lead the index upward

Oct. 15, 2012

Eximbank helps extend hallyu to South Sudan

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said it agreed to work together for cultural exchanges with South Sudan on Monday, as a biennial ministerial meeting for economic cooperation between Korea and African nations kicked off in Seoul.In a memorandum of understanding inked Monday, Eximbank and KBS agreed with the South Sudanese government delegation to provide the African country with Korean pop culture content such as television dramas, hoping to spread the “Korean Wave” across the continent.The MOU s

Oct. 15, 2012

Eximbank helps extend hallyu to South Sudan

LG claims edge over Samsung on phone battery life

LG Electronics challenged its rival Samsung Electronics on Monday, claiming that the battery performance of its new flagship smartphone Optimus G surpasses the Galaxy S3.In a media briefing event introducing the new features of its latest Optimus Vu 2, LG emphasized the superiority of Optimus G’s high-capacity battery.According to an experiment conducted by LG, the Optimus G battery outperformed Samsung’s Galaxy S3 when talking on the phone and watching or filming videos. Both batteries have a r

IndustryOct. 15, 2012

Korea orders firms to cut emissions by 17m tons

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Monday that it had told firms to reduce carbon emissions by a total of 17.2 million tons by the end of next year. The amount ― expressed in terms of tons of CO2 equivalent, or tCO2e ― is more than double the 8 million tCO2e target in 2012, when the ministry first set such targets. The steel, cement and petro-chemical industries are the three industries facing the largest greenhouse gas emission cut targets next year, making up 68 percent of the total. POSCO

Oct. 15, 2012

KT looks to ‘design’ to give products identity

KT, the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier, said Monday that it would design its products with a signature style to maximize its brand power. The move comes after KT’s outer packaging for home mobile devices won the prestigious Red Dot Design Best of the Best Award 2012 in the productivity sector.The mobile carrier used the word “product identity” to explain how a product becomes a unique entity under the brand name KT. Citing Apple and different generations of iPod, KT chairman Lee Suk-chae

TechnologyOct. 15, 2012

KT looks to ‘design’ to give products identity

‘MOFIA’ keeps financial sector under thumb

Retired financial bureaucrats given lifelong privilege to lead public agencies, banks by noseIt is well known that former financial bureaucrats dominate top positions at Korea’s public financial institutions and banks controlled by public agencies.Recent history shows that only a fraction ― about 3 percent ― of former and incumbent chief executive officers at 11 public financial institutions and three “special” banks were chosen from the institutions’ ranks.Bureaucrats who built their careers an

Oct. 15, 2012

Many likely not to survive tough outdoor fashion market

Competition heats up between foreign brands in outdoor sportswear marketMany outdoor brands lacking a clear brand identity will soon die out in South Korea, said Columbia Sportswear Korea CEO Cho Hyeong-rae at a press conference last week. “It will happen before 2015, regardless of the volume of their revenues, but depending on the public recognition of the brands. Now it will be all about developing new technologies and establishing a significant image,” said Cho. The outdoor market here has gr

IndustryOct. 15, 2012

BNP Paribas Cardif Life Insurance to diversify output

BNP Paribas Cardif Life Insurance, the Korean subsidiary of BNP Paribas Cardif, the insurance arm of BNP Paribas, plans to diversify its sales channels and products here. It now plans to search for a mutually beneficial model that can benefit customers, partners and the company in terms of diversification rather than focusing merely on channel expansion, said officials at the press conference held last week in commemoration of the firm’s 10th anniversary in Korea. “Over the past decade, BNP Pari

IndustryOct. 15, 2012

BNP Paribas Cardif Life Insurance to diversify output