KT starts test service for world’s first VoLTE

KT, Korea’s second-largest mobile carrier, said Monday that it has launched a pilot service of Voice over Long Term Evolution for the first time in the world.Some 300 workers and college students will be given the chance to test KT’s high-definition VoLTE in Korea.The concept of HD VoLTE is similar to Voice over Internet Protocol telephone service, which uses Internet broadband lines to transmit voice data, whereas VoLTE transmit data via LTE networks, an industry source said.Also, VoLTE allows

TechnologyJuly 23, 2012

Big companies brace for financial difficulties

Cash flow problems hit conglomerate-based exporters on global factors such as euro crisisMore and more large-sized companies are facing risks of deterioration in financial soundness, mostly hit by external factors like the eurozone debt crisis.Among them are SK Telecom, SK Hynix, LG Display, LG Uplus, LG Innotek, LG International Corp., Cheil Industries, CJ CheilJedang Corp., Hanwha Chemical, Hyundai Hysco, Hyundai Merchant Marine and Doosan Heavy Industries, according to FnGuide, a financial in

IndustryJuly 23, 2012

Seoul shares fall on renewed eurozone worries

South Korean stocks closed 1.84 percent lower Monday as Spain’s call for a rescue fund spurred a new wave of fears that the eurozone debt crisis is deepening, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index plunged 33.48 points to finish at 1,789.45. Trading volume was moderate at 491.3 million shares worth 3.55 trillion won ($ 310.5 million), with decliners far outstripping gainers 676 to 155.“Investors are unnerved by Spain because

July 23, 2012

Auditor asks FSS to boost rate oversight

Korea’s national auditor asked the country’s financial regulator to strengthen supervision of banks after finding that they did not pass on central bank interest-rate cuts sufficiently to borrowers.Lenders “unreasonably” charged extra yields, undermining the Bank of Korea’s policy rate cuts since 2008 and burdening companies and households, the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea said in a statement on its website. The auditor said it advised the Financial Supervisory Service governor to come

July 23, 2012

BOK faces probe over cyber censorship

Some lawmakers are set to pound on the Bank of Korea for allegedly tracing the IP addresses of employees who badmouthed executives including Governor Kim Choong-soo on the bank’s internal online message board.The BOK had sought to hunt down staff members who wrote critically of the governor’s remarks during an internal meeting and the exceptional working conditions for Deputy Governor Kim Jun-il, and take legal action against them.The central bank took issue with two more postings that contained

July 23, 2012

Food imports from U.S. fall despite FTA

Korea’s imports of agriculture products and food from the United States dropped in the second quarter despite the start of their free trade agreement, a trade organization said Monday.Shipments of agriculture and food products from the United States to the country came to some $1.91 billion in the April-June period, down 16.8 percent from the same period last year, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. Imports in January and February increased 0.9 percent and 5.2 percent on-ye

July 23, 2012

KRA to breed 100,000 horses

The state-run organization in charge of horseracing announced on Monday plans to step up as both a company engaged in social contributions and as a leader in the horse and leisure industry until 2022, the centennial year of South Korea’s horseracing history. To meet the goal, the Korea Racing Authority revealed four targets to reach by 2022: to develop the industry into a 1.3 trillion won ($1.14 billion) market; to make 30 percent of its profits in non-racing businesses; to breed 100,000 horses;

IndustryJuly 23, 2012

Korean firms to engage in Olympic marketing

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Monday that six out of every 10 big firms are expecting extra demand to occur during the London Summer Olympic season.In a recent survey of the country’s 100 largest companies, about 35 percent said they plan to launch marketing activities related to the Summer Olympics, higher participation than the Korea-Japan joint World Cup in 2002 and the Beijing Olympics in 2008 which recorded 19.7 percent and 27.3 percent, respectively.When asked how they ex

July 23, 2012

JPMorgan downplays possibility of rate fixing

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Global investment bank JPMorgan on Monday played down the possibility of South Korean financial firms’ rigging of interest rates on certificates of deposit, saying they may have had limited benefits from it.Korea’s Fair Trade Commission launched last week a probe into Kookmin Bank, the country’s largest lender, and eight other banks as well as 10 major brokerages over alleged CD rate rigging. JPMorgan said in a report that banks and brokers would have a limited benefit

July 23, 2012

KAA, AustCham to host Sundowners’ party

The Korean Australian Alumni and the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea will host a joint “Sundowners” party on July 26.It will take place at the Mixology Bar, located in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. Guests will be able to enjoy cocktails and get a chance to win lucky draw prizes, including those from JW Marriott Hotel Seoul and Pieroth Wines. The dress code is smart casual. Please call (02) 2010-8832 for more information.(renee@heraldm.com)

July 23, 2012

SIWA’s working women’s networking event

The Seoul International Women’s Association, or SIWA, will hold its latest monthly meeting on Wednesday.Members and non-members will convene at Pier 8 in Itaewon, for a night of drinks, networking and dinner. Dinner will feature Japanese appetizers, and vegetarian options will be available. For more information, please visit www.siwapage.com. (renee@heraldm.com)

BusinessJuly 23, 2012

Seoul shares fall on renewed eurozone worries

South Korean stocks closed 1.84 percent lower Monday as Spain's call for a rescue fund spurred a new wave of fears that the eurozone debt crisis is deepening, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 33.48 points to finish at 1,789.45. Trading volume was moderate at 491.3 million shares worth 3.55 trillion won ($

July 23, 2012

Female flirtation is a plus in negotiation

Using flirtation during a negotiation appears to create better economic outcomes for female negotiators, a U.S. researcher found.However, study leader Laura Kray of the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Management, said female negotiators only had an advantage if the flirtatiousness was perceived as above and beyond friendliness.The researchers examined “feminine charm” in negotia

TechnologyJuly 23, 2012