The Korea Herald

Exercise will change your life, and here’s why

SEATTLE ― One afternoon not long ago, a friend and I were talking at her dining-room table, and I’ll admit it, we were feeling a bit self-righteous.We’d gone bowling with her parents, and we both noticed her mom could barely roll the lightest ball down the alley. She struggled with a lot of other tasks, too. We didn’t think of her as an elderly person. But there she was, looking feeble.“Well,” my friend said, shaking her head, “she doesn’t really exercise.” I nodded knowingly.The way my friend a

TechnologyJune 21, 2012

Exercise will change your life, and here’s why

Shrinking stomach may boost booze abuse risk

CHICAGO (AP) ― The most common type of obesity surgery may increase patients’ chances for alcohol abuse, according to the largest study to demonstrate a potential link.Patients who had gastric bypass surgery faced double the risk for excessive drinking, compared with those who had a less drastic weight-loss operation.Gastric bypass surgery shrinks the stomach’s size and attaches it to a lower portion of the intestine. That limits food intake and the body’s ability to absorb calories. Researchers

TechnologyJune 21, 2012

Facial palsy

Many people worry they have had a stroke when they suddenly experience facial palsy. Unlike a stroke, which is caused by blocked or ruptured blood vessels in the brain, facial palsy (also known as Bell’s palsy) occurs when the nerves of the face muscles become paralyzed. Most cases have benign progress and resolve spontaneously without any treatment.Facial palsy usually takes approximately three to four days to develop and can take up to several weeks or months to recover, but most people recove

TechnologyJune 21, 2012

U.S. health official warns diesel fumes cause cancer

The health hazard of diesel engines has long been speculated, but has not yet been an official agenda on scientists’ tables. However, a recent World Health Organization’s decision to name diesel fume a grade-1 cancer-causing substance has shed light on the fuel. According to the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer, diesel fumes could potentially be as big a public health threat as secondhand smoke, increasing the chances of lung cancer and bladder cancer. “We have studied bus and tax

TechnologyJune 21, 2012

U.S. health official warns diesel fumes cause cancer

New York restaurant unveils $1,000 pizza

A U.S. restaurant introduced a $1,000 pizza topped with six different kinds of caviar and other pricy ingredients on Wednesday. According to Nino’s Restaurant, the caviar costs about $820 and they also use fresh lobster, making the luxury pizza’s price reasonable.“I know this won’t be for everyone but there are people in New York who can afford it and once tried, they’ll be back for more. It is d

IndustryJune 21, 2012

New York restaurant unveils $1,000 pizza

Tea drinking linked to prostate cancer

Men who drink several cups of tea a day for decades have a higher risk of prostate cancer, researchers in Scotland say. Dr. Kashif Shafique of the Institute of Health & Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow and colleagues found those who drank more than seven cups of tea per day for years had a 50 percent higher risk of developing prostate cancer compared with non-tea drinkers or those drinking less than four cups per day.“Most previous research has shown either no relationship with prostate ca

TechnologyJune 21, 2012

Seoul shares open lower on U.S. Fed disappointment

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve failed to unveil any new economic stimulus programs but instead predicted slower growth for the world's largest economy this year, analysts said.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.30 percent, or 5.68 points, to 1,898.44 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 1.20 percen

June 21, 2012

Samsung chairman most influential figure in S. Korean

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who doubles as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is regarded as the most influential figure in South Korean sports, a survey showed Wednesday.South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na came second, followed by Rep. Chung Mong-joon, former vice president of football's international governing body FIFA, Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sun

June 21, 2012

Korean researchers develop multi-chamber nano particles

Scientists succeeded in producing molecular-scale materials capable of carrying two or more substances that could function as carriers of biological species and diagnostic agents. A team led by professor Lee Eun-seong of the Catholic University of Korea produced particles comprised of two or more micelles by forming them on a silicate surface. A micelle is an aggregate of molecules whose poles have opposing affinity to water. The team then removed the micelles from the surface and succeeded in c

TechnologyJune 20, 2012

SK E&C to complete financing for Turkey tunnel project in July

SK Engineering & Construction said Wednesday that next month it will finalize the project-financing deals for building an undersea tunnel in Turkey, which the company said will become the nation’s largest overseas engineering project.Following the latest $280 million from the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea early this month, the construction unit of SK Group has secured financial funding worth $960 million from 11 financial institutions in Korea and abroad. According to the company, the tu

IndustryJune 20, 2012

Korea household debt growing alarmingly: Moody’s

Korea’s household loans have grown “at an alarming rate” to $553 billion in April and are vulnerable to financial shocks arising from a global economic downturn, a report said Tuesday.More people are borrowing just to meet living expenses and there is an increase in borrowers from the older age group and lower income group, said the report from Moody’s Investors Service.The credit ratings agency said outstanding household loans at the country’s banks and non-banks totalled 639.6 trillion won ($5

June 20, 2012

Hyundai, Kia increase Europe market share

Hyundai Motor Co. and sister brand Kia, already boosting sales in Europe’s contracting auto market, are extending their challenge to Fiat SpA and PSA Peugeot Citroen by enlisting soccer stars to steal customers.The Korean carmaker is attracting Europeans by stepping up sponsorship of their favorite pastime, hiring soccer heroes like Germany’s Lukas Podolski and France’s Karim Benzema to promote Hyundai as part of a marketing blitz focused around the European championship, the region’s biggest to

MobilityJune 20, 2012

SMEs vow to join nationwide effort to conserve electricity

South Korea’s small and medium enterprises pledged Wednesday to play an active role in cutting back on electricity use during the peak summer months.Members of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, the Korea Federation of Retail Organizations and the Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association met in Seoul to give support to government-led efforts to cut back on electricity use.The SME organizations said they will voluntarily reduce power use to ensure there is no shortage of power.Small

June 20, 2012

Chung Foundation offers college loans

The Chung Mong-koo Foundation of Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday that it will accept applications from college students for a tuition fee loan program, which offers low interest rates.“For the second semester, students will be allowed to enjoy college loans with interest rates that range between 0 and 3 percent per annum,” the automotive group said in a statement.The program is designed to support students struggling with high-interest loans from the secondary banking sector or private moneyl

IndustryJune 20, 2012

OB seeks to cement No. 1 status with new CEO

Oriental Brewery Co. said Wednesday it has appointed Jang In-soo, the company’s deputy chief executive, as CEO.Jang, who took office as the top decision-maker on the same day, has taken the initiative to overtake Hite-Jinro in the local beer market since he was named the deputy CEO in charge of sales in January 2010, OB said in a statement. “We’ve captured 54.5 percent of the market while Hite-Jinro’s share stood at 45.5 percent,” a company spokeswoman said.“We surpassed Hite-Jinro for the eight

IndustryJune 20, 2012

OB seeks to cement No. 1 status with new CEO

SK Hynix pushes for takeover of overseas firms

Chipmaker acquires U.S. controller firm to boost NAND Flash competence in latest M&A driveSK Hynix said Wednesday it signed a contract to acquire U.S. controller firm Link_A_Media Devices to strengthen its NAND Flash competitiveness as it has been actively pushing for mergers and acquisitions since obtaining a new owner in February.The company said it decided to take over the California-based storage solution firm, also known as LAMD, in a bid to upgrade the speed and reliability of its flash m

IndustryJune 20, 2012

Taxi drivers strike, demanding lower fuel prices, higher fares

About 200,000 taxi drivers staged their first one-day nationwide strike on Wednesday, demanding that the government cut taxi fuel prices and hike fares, officials said.The Transportation Ministry said the government extended public transportation schedules in the day to minimize the impact from the strike.News reports said the strike of taxi drivers ended up causing little confusion to daily commuters in Korea, the world’s third most densely populated country.In Seoul, tens of thousands of drive

June 20, 2012

Taxi drivers strike, demanding lower fuel prices, higher fares

Seoul stocks gain 0.65% on U.S. stimulus hopes

Korean stocks gained 0.65 percent Wednesday on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce new stimulus measures to bolster economic growth, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 12.35 points to close at 1,904.12. Trading volume was light at 354 million shares worth just under 3.63 trillion won ($3.15 billion), with gainers clearly outpacing losers 555 to 276.“The market is waiting to see what measur

June 20, 2012

Asset managers’ earnings drop 14 percent in 2011

Earnings of asset management firms in South Korea fell 14 percent on-year in the 2011 fiscal year as weak stock prices and a drop in the net value of holdings cut into profits, the financial regulator said Wednesday.The combined net earnings of 82 asset managers came to 305.2 billion won ($264.7 million) when fiscal 2011 ended in March, down 49.8 billion won from a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.“The total value of assets under management declined mainly because of

June 20, 2012

New Nonghyup Financial chief faces union opposition

A former bureaucrat has been appointed the new chairman of Nonghyup Financial Group on Wednesday despite strong opposition from the labor union.Shin Dong-kyu, who built his career at the Finance Ministry, served as the chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks until November last year.He worked as the first commissioner of the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit and head of the Korea Export-Import Bank before taking the helm at the KFB in 2008. A Nonghyup Financial committee in charge of recommen

June 20, 2012

New Nonghyup Financial chief faces union opposition