The Korea Herald

Income gap between farmers, urban workers hits record high

The income gap between the country‘s farm workers and non-farm workers widened to a record high last year, with earnings of farmers shrinking due to a rise in costs, the government said Thursday.The average income of farmers stood at 59.1 percent of that of urban households in 2011, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. It is the first time that the ratio fell below the 60 percent mark.Up until the mid-1980s, the average income of farm workers exceeded that of c

Sept. 13, 2012

Income gap between farmers, urban workers hits record high

Apple unveils thinner and lighter iPhone 5

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks in front of an image of the iPhone 5 during an Apple event in San Francisco, Wednesday. (AP-Yonhap)For the first time, the iPhone is growing even as it slims down. After sticking for five years to the same screen size, Apple on Wednesday revealed a new phone that's taller, with a bigger display.The iPhone 5 will go on sale in the U.S. and eight other countries next Friday

TechnologySept. 13, 2012

Apple unveils thinner and lighter iPhone 5

No compromise with Apple, Samsung CEO says

Sales of Galaxy Note 2 projected to reach 20m units, Galaxy S3 to exceed 30m this yearSamsung Electronics has no intention to form a compromise with Apple in the near future over the ongoing patent lawsuit between the two sides involving smartphone technology and designs, a top Samsung executive said on Wednesday.“Though the two sides have held a series of negotiations on instruction from the court, it was in vain,” Samsung CEO Shin Jong-kyun of the mobile devices division told reporters.“It wil

TechnologySept. 12, 2012

No compromise with Apple, Samsung CEO says

Fewer firms seek listing on KOSDAQ

The number of KOSDAQ-listed companies is decreasing as the world economic slowdown drags on. A total of 1,011 companies are listed on the KOSDAQ as of Tuesday, according to the Korea Exchange on Wednesday, which is a decrease of 20 compared to the same period the previous year. The number of categories also decreased by 20, to 1,016. KOSDAQ did not throw out more companies but less companies sought to be listed, said market insiders. Korea Exchange said that 13 companies were newly listed or rel

Sept. 12, 2012

Korea’s job creation slows in August

South Korea’s jobless rate edged down in August from a month earlier but job creation slowed markedly amid worries the overall economic conditions are toughening at home and abroad, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 3 percent last month, down from 3.1 percent tallied in the previous month. This is the lowest level for this year. The number of jobs added to payrolls, however, slumped. About 364,000 more jobs were created la

Sept. 12, 2012

KT goes digital with social contributions

Following is the sixth in a series of articles about companies’ social contribution activities at home and abroad. ― Ed.With its expertise in telecommunications, KT is moving to minimize the digital divide within the country, going forward with several social contribution projects.The nation’s top fixed-line service provider’s projects include its organization called IT Supporters, Olleh Smart Academy, and giving out smart devices serviced by the firm to underprivileged families.The company also

IndustrySept. 12, 2012

BOK likely to cut key rate to 2.75% in September: poll

South Korea’s central bank is tipped to make another rate cut in September following its July rate reduction in a bid to prop up the local economy hit by the eurozone debt crisis, a poll showed Wednesday.Eighteen out of 21 analysts forecast that the Bank of Korea will lower the benchmark seven-day repo rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.75 percent on Thursday, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.The BOK froze the rate at 3 percent last mon

Sept. 12, 2012

NTS recoups W863.3b from rich tax evaders

Korea’s tax agency said Wednesday that it has secured 863.3 billion won ($765.7 million) in unpaid taxes from high-income tax evaders during the first seven months of this year. The National Tax Service said it cracked down on tax evaders among wealthy citizens in the January-July period, finding that 1,420 high-income earners have engaged in dodging taxes through diverse tactics.As a result, the NTS said that it has ordered them to pay 510.3 billion won in cash for unpaid taxes and seized 224.4

Sept. 12, 2012

Shinhan Bank sells $95m of yuan-denominated bonds

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Shinhan Bank, South Korea’s third-largest commercial bank, said Wednesday it has raised 600 million yuan ($95 million) in so-called dimsum bonds to diversify funding sources amid the prolonged global downturn. The yuan-denominated bonds were priced to yield 3.5 percent and will mature in two years, the lender said. Dimsum bonds refer to bonds that are denominated in the yuan and issued in Hong Kong. The latest debt sale comes amid its efforts to diversify funding source

IndustrySept. 12, 2012

Banks’ household loan growth picks up in Aug.

South Korean banks’ household loans grew at a faster pace in August than the previous month due to marginal gains in home-backed lending and a seasonal factor, the central bank said Wednesday.Local banks’ household loans, including home-backed and credit loans, amounted to 459.3 trillion won ($407.8 billion) as of the end of August, up 1.5 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The August growth accelerated from a 700 billion won gain tallied in July, when the month

IndustrySept. 12, 2012

Samsung to build TV plant in Egypt

CAIRO (Yonhap News) ― Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea’s leading tech firm, on Tuesday signed an investment agreement with the Egyptian government to build its first TV plant in the country as part of efforts to bank on booming demand in Africa and the Middle East.Under the memorandum of understanding, Samsung will build a TV and monitor plant at Beni Suef Governorate, 90 kilometers south of Cairo. The Egyptian government agreed to provide the site free of charge, according to the company.Sa

IndustrySept. 12, 2012

Shares close 1.56 percent up on U.S. optimism

Korean stocks jumped 1.56 percent Wednesday as investors scooped up local shares on hopes for U.S. stimulus measures and eased eurozone woes, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 30.03 points to 1,950.03, snapping a two-session losing streak.Trading volume was heavy at 693.3 million shares worth 5.17 trillion won ($4.59 billion), with gainers far outstripping losers 541 to 278.“Led by optimism about a possible U.

Sept. 12, 2012

More rich kids own stocks

Stocks owned by minors reached nearly 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) as of last year, Korea Exchange and the National Tax Service reported on Wednesday. The total amount increased by fourfold over the previous year’s 1.12 trillion won. Among shareholders in South Korea, about 1.8 percent, or over 92,000, were minors under 19 years of age, according to the institutions. The under-19 shareholders owned on average 42.95 million won each. The number of minor shareholders has been on a steady rise sin

Sept. 12, 2012

Kia to shorten working hours

Kia Motors said Wednesday that it has reached a tentative agreement with its labor union to shorten working hours and scrap the 40-year-old overnight shift system at local factories from March 2013. The deal came after Kia’s sister company Hyundai Motor and its union leaders agreed late last month on pay and working conditions, including the abolishment of the overnight shift system. If the deal is approved by union members in a planned vote on Friday, the overnight shift system will be abolishe

IndustrySept. 12, 2012

iPhone 5 unlikely to affect Samsung-Apple patent war

Korean firm rumored to eye LTE patent lawsuit against AppleApple’s soon-to-be-announced iPhone 5 will not likely affect or change the course of the ongoing court battle with Samsung Electronics, the Korean manufacturer of Galaxy flagship smartphones.Industry sources and analysts said it is highly unlikely Apple will come out and show the world its new smartphone that would expose and make itself vulnerable to its rival Samsung or other handset makers.Based on its past performances and activities

IndustrySept. 12, 2012

KT accessory turns phone into laptop

Say a salesman is on the road to meet a client who is hours away. Then he suddenly receives a call from his boss, who asks him to immediately take care of another client’s request that was made via email.But to do that, he may need to use a PC, meaning that he will have to lug around a laptop while he is out on call. KT’s new “spider” concept might make his job easier. KT’s Spider laptop is a dummy laptop with an 11.6-inch display screen that uses Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S3 LTE to play the b

TechnologySept. 12, 2012

Zuckerberg eyes mobile after Facebook IPO flop

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday he was steering the social network giant to focus more on mobile, saying it would help ease concerns after a “disappointing” stock market debut.“The performance of the stock has obviously been disappointing,” Zuckerberg said during an on-stage interview at a TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco.Facebook has made a priority of following its more than 900 million members onto smartphones and tablet computers, tailoring s

TechnologySept. 12, 2012

Zuckerberg eyes mobile after Facebook IPO flop

LTE handsets to flood local market ahead of iPhone 5 launch

Korea surpasses 10 million in LTE handset subscribesWith Apple slated to unveil the iPhone 5, three local handset makers are moving to rush the launch of their flagship smartphones in Korea ahead of the U.S.-based tech giant.Apple is featuring its new iPhone 5 on Sept. 12. However, it is not yet undecided when the Long Term Evolution model will be released in Korea.As the country has already surpassed the 10 million mark in terms of LTE subscribers, many are most likely to wait until the launch

TechnologySept. 12, 2012

LTE handsets to flood local market ahead of iPhone 5 launch

Vitamin C, beta-carotene may stem dementia

ULM, Germany (UPI) -- Vitamin C and beta-carotene may protect against dementia, researchers in Germany suggest. Epidemiologist Gabriele Nagel and the neurologist Christine von Arnim of the University of Ulm discovered the serum-concentration of the antioxidants vitamin C and beta-carotene were significantly lower in patients with mild dementia than in the control group.The study involved 74 patients with Alzheimer‘s disease and 158 healthy controls. The researchers investigated the serum-levels

TechnologySept. 12, 2012

Mammoth fragments from Siberia raise cloning hopes

MOSCOW (AP) -- Scientists have discovered well-preserved frozen woolly mammoth fragments deep in Siberia that may contain living cells, edging a tad closer to the “Jurassic Park” possibility of cloning a prehistoric animal, the mission‘s organizer said Tuesday.Russia’s North-Eastern Federal University said an international team of researchers had discovered mammoth hair, soft tissues and bone marrow some 328 feet (100 meters) underground during a summer expedition in the northeastern province of

TechnologySept. 12, 2012

Mammoth fragments from Siberia raise cloning hopes