EUCCK members concerned about imposition of W4.5b fine

Some key members of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea expressed concerns on Monday about Korea’s tax authorities’ decision to levy a 4.5 billion won fine ($3.95 million) on the EUCCK for failing to report and pay income generated from its in-house magazine ad sales.A senior member of the 26-year-old organization said the EUCCK may have to close its doors due to the heavy fine.“Most likely, (the EUCCK) will not be able to pay, (as) it is close to bankrupt,” he told The Korea Herald,

July 9, 2012

SK Telecom world’s first in sending 3-D broadcast through LTE network

SK Telecom said Monday that it transmitted 3-D broadcasting content through its Long Term Evolution networks for the first time in the world.In an opening ceremony of the 3-D Media Lab in Sangamdong, Seoul, SK Telecom successfully field-tested the 3-D broadcasting transmission.This marks the first time where media and telecommunications technologies of 3-D broadcasting equipment and LTE networks have been integrated, SK Telecom noted.As 3-D visuals take up a lot more data space than conventional

TechnologyJuly 9, 2012

Smoothie King Korea buys parent company

Smoothie King Korea announced Monday that it has completed an M&A takeover of its U.S.-based parent company, making it the first Korean beverage chain to stage a takeover of its overseas head office. According to the company, the takeover was finalized on July 7.The Korean franchise of the beverage and health food chain was able to complete the process thanks to a 58 billion won ($50.9 million) investment from Standard Charted Private Equity, the National Pension Service, and other investors. Co

July 9, 2012

Celebrity-run shopping malls fined for unfair trading practices

The nation’s antitrust watchdog said Monday that it had imposed a combined 38 million won ($33,260) in fines on six online shopping malls run by TV celebrities for unfair business practices. The companies included Aura-J, run by actress Jin Jae-young, I Am Yuri by singers Yuri and Baek Ji-young, and Amai by singer Hwang Hye-young, all of which posted sales last year ranging from 2 billion won to 20 billion won. The Fair Trade Commission investigated the nation’s top 10 online shopping malls base

IndustryJuly 9, 2012

Korea’s economy forecast to expand in H2: OECD

South Korea’s economy is expected to expand in the second half of this year despite cloudy external market situations caused by prolonged eurozone debt problems, data showed Monday.According to the data released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the composite leading indicator of economic activity for South Korea inched up to 100.1 in April, up from 99.9 in the previous month.This is the first time in 11 months the indicator for Korea has surpassed the 100 mark. South

IndustryJuly 9, 2012

LG CNS to issue ID cards on smartphones

LG CNS, an information technology service firm, said Monday that it will have its employees carry their identity cards inside their smartphones for office access.With plans to test the system in October, the firm signed an agreement to cooperate with telecoms KT and LG Uplus on near-field communication technology which is deemed to strengthen information security on the same day.The firm will equip the employee’s smartphone with a universal subscriber identity module applet which will enable the

IndustryJuly 9, 2012

LG top in LTE patents: report

A report showed on Monday that LG Electronics owns the highest number of patents related to Long Term Evolution, the fourth-generation communications network technology.The report released by U.S.-based technology and intellectual property research firm TechIPm said the country’s electronics firm LG was noted to be the leading possessor of LTE essential patents as of the second quarter this year. LG was followed by Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Nortel, InterDigital and Qualcomm, according to the rep

IndustryJuly 9, 2012

Samsung said to plan Windows RT tablet

Samsung Electronics, the largest phone maker, will release a tablet that features Microsoft Corp.’s Windows RT software when the operating system debuts, people with knowledge of the matter said. Samsung has made a handheld computer built on Windows RT, the first version of Windows that works on ARM Holdings Plc technology, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. Windows RT devices will be released in October, one person said. The decision to s

TechnologyJuly 9, 2012

Seoul bourse little affected by rate cuts in China, Europe: report

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― The South Korean stock market has received neither a boost nor a drag from last week’s rate cuts in China and Europe as it is more affected by their macroeconomic data, Goldman Sachs said Monday.Last Thursday, the People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, and the European Central Bank concurrently announced rate cuts in an apparent attempt to boost their weakening economies.The rate cuts did not affect the South Korean market directly, but China’s macroeconomic data

July 9, 2012

Corporate bond sales up 9.4 percent in H1

Korean companies’ bond sales rose 9.4 percent in the first half from a year earlier, led by state-run firms, as borrowing costs have been on the decline amid economic uncertainty, the securities depository agency said Monday.Bond issuances by financial and non-financial firms amounted to 154.2 trillion won ($135 billion) in the January-June period, compared with 141 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Korea Securities Depository.State-run companies sold bonds worth 45.4 trillion won in

July 9, 2012

87% of inter-conglomerate deals are private contracts

Private contracts accounted for the bulk of all business deals involving transactions among affiliates of South Korea’s top conglomerates in 2011, fueling criticism of unfair business practices, a report showed Monday.The report by Chaebol.com, a local conglomerate research firm, said that in 2011, 87.1 percent or 132.9 trillion won ($116.4 billion) worth of all contracts signed between companies owned by the country’s 10 largest conglomerates, were through closed negotiations. Total inter-congl

July 9, 2012

Producer price growth hits 31-month low in June

South Korea’s producer prices grew at their slowest pace in 31 months in June mainly because oil and raw material prices declined, the central bank said Monday, indicating easing price pressure.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, grew 0.8 percent in June from a year earlier, slowing from a 1.9 percent on-year gain in May, according to the Bank of Korea.It marked the slowest growth since a 0.4 percent on-year contraction in November 2009.Compared with the previous

July 9, 2012

Samsung, Shinhan to offer credit card for self-employed

A credit card designed exclusively for Korea’s 2.5 million self-employed workers will be available next month. The Consumers’ Association to Save Small Businesses announced Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung Card and Shinhan Card last week to develop a credit card that offers benefits to those who are self-employed and run small neighborhood stores. The card will include tax benefits and legal services as well as various offers that can be useful to the self-employe

July 9, 2012

Samsung wins U.K. Apple ruling over Galaxy tablet

Samsung Electronics Co. won an intellectual property ruling against Apple Inc. as a U.K. judge said the Galaxy tablet isn’t “cool” enough to be confused with the design for the iPad. The Galaxy tablet doesn’t infringe Apple’s registered design, Judge Colin Birss said in a ruling today in London. He said that consumers weren’t likely to get the two tablet computers mixed up. The Galaxy tablets “do

TechnologyJuly 9, 2012

Sleeping tips for night-shift workers

It is 2.30 pm and time for Michaela Lins and Christine Langanke to get up and prepare for their night shift in a German hospital. The two nurses work through the night, from 8.30 in the evening to 6.15 the next morning, and they find the hours take it out of them."It grinds you down, particularly when you do a week of nights or early shifts," Lins says. Her last shift was a relatively quiet one, b

TechnologyJuly 9, 2012