The Korea Herald

LG Electronics to roll out new Google TV on May 17

LG Electronics will roll out its new Google TV in the U.S. on May 17, strengthening its alliance with the U.S.-based software giant.An LG executive said Monday that it will release the 3-D-capable TV sets running on Google’s Android platform next week, which is the first lineup of the second generation of Google TV device. However, consumers will be able to meet the new product in the week of May 21.Together with the new TV set, the company will also feature a gesture-based remote controller whi

IndustryMay 7, 2012

LG Electronics to roll out new Google TV on May 17

Heavy metal singer sues over tainted sushi

A heavy metal band front man is suing over the alleged tainted tuna he ate at a Louisiana sushi restaurant.Chris Fronzak, 22, of Portland, Ore., and members of his band Attila were in Metairie April 10, to play a show and decided to eat lunch at a sushi restaurant, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported."Everything tasted great," Fronzak said Friday. "The amount of sushi I got was insane. Littl

TechnologyMay 7, 2012

Super bright moon dazzles night skies

A super-full and extra-bright moon dazzled the night skies this weekend as the lunar body swept along the low point of its elliptical orbit around the Earth. The Super Moon is shown after rising over Canton, Ohio, Saturday. (AP-Yonhap News)The so-called lunar perigree brings the moon about 50,000 kilometers closer to the Earth than when it's at the farthest point of its oval orbit.When a full moon

TechnologyMay 7, 2012

Regulators suspend four savings banks

Solomon, Korea face delisting from bourseThe Financial Services Commission said Sunday that it has decided to suspend operations of four mutual savings banks in Korea over the next six months.The four secondary financial firms are Solomon Savings Bank, Korea Savings Bank, Mirae Savings Bank and Hanju Savings Bank, the FSC said in a press release.Of six banks the regulatory body has investigated since September last year, the FSC shortlisted the four as distressed banks with weak financials.Only

May 6, 2012

Hyundai Motor offers protocol vehicles for Expo

Hyundai Motor Group provided dozens of green-energy transportation vehicles for the Yeosu Expo 2012 on Sunday.The 51 eco-friendly vehicles include hydrogen fuel-cell operated Tucson ix and Mohave cars; electric-powered Ray EV and BlueOn vehicles; hydrogen fuel-cell buses, and compressed natural gas hybrid buses. The green-energy transportation will mostly be used to carry Expo staff, performance groups and organizing committee members. Among these vehicles, 20 hydrogen fuel-cell operated and ele

IndustryMay 6, 2012

Hyundai Motor offers protocol vehicles for Expo

Homeplus to hold Korean food fair in London

Homeplus said Sunday that it will hold a Korean food fair in London during the Summer Olympics in partnership with its parent company, U.K. retail giant Tesco. Titled “Taste of Korea,” the upcoming event will be held at the Tesco Extra New Malden store in London from June 25-Aug. 31, the nation’s second-largest supermarket chain said. Some 150 Korean food items are to be displayed during the period, with the size doubled from the same event last year, the company said. Participating companies wi

IndustryMay 6, 2012

Homeplus to hold Korean food fair in London

GS Global acquires stakes in U.S. oil field

GS Global Corp., a chemical unit of GS Group, said Sunday that it has acquired stakes in a U.S. oil field with the aim to step up efforts to enter the overseas resource development market. GS Global said it has inked a deal with Longfellow Nemaha LLC, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Longfellow Energy, to acquire a 20 percent stake in the Nemaha oil field located in OklahomaWith fellow local companies GS Energy and Fine Partners Corp. also each winning a 10 percent stake during the bid in Dallas, Kore

IndustryMay 6, 2012

Coffee chains crank up prices

Franchises raise prices, draw complaints from their customersCoffee franchises are raising prices, making consumers anxious that it might cause a domino effect ahead of the summer, the high season for beverage sales. Starbucks Coffee Korea, the nation’s leading coffee franchise, announced on Thursday that it will charge 300 won more on 32 of its drinks starting Monday. Caffe Bene, which has the greatest number of stores here, also raised prices last month of the drinks sold at its main Gangnam s

May 6, 2012

Korean inspectors fail to visit site of latest U.S. BSE case

South Korean inspectors sent to the United States to check the safety of beef failed to visit a cattle farm in central California that reported the latest case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, an official source said Friday.Joo E-suk, head of the inspection team, said indirect contact was made with the owner of the farm through a local veterinarian.He did not elaborate on details but said the team did not visit the farm.Others said inspectors asked the veterinarian to pose questions to the o

May 6, 2012

Herald Media enters plastic recycling business

Herald Media has made inroads into the environmentally friendly plastic recycling market as part of the media group’s ongoing efforts to expand its presence beyond its media business. The group on Thursday held a ceremony celebrating the completion of a new factory of its new subsidiary Herald Ecochem in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, with some 30 executive officials in attendance. Participants in the event included lawmaker Jungwook Hong, who is also the largest shareholder of Herald Media, CEO and

IndustryMay 6, 2012

Herald Media enters plastic recycling business

Apple wins ruling, sanctions in patent infringement suit

Samsung Electronics, sanctioned by a U.S. judge for its failure to produce source code in a patent-infringement case in San Jose, California, won’t be able to use some evidence to defend itself against Apple Inc., a judge ruled. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal wrote in his May 4 ruling that Samsung “plainly violated” a court order requiring it to turn over code to Apple, and ruled that Samsung won’t be able to offer evidence in the case about its efforts to “design around” three patents at

TechnologyMay 6, 2012

Hyundai Oilbank sponsors Dream Concert 2012

The joint K-pop concert, dubbed Dream Concert, for this year is drawing heated attention, its official sponsor Hyundai Oilbank said Sunday.The event, one of the nation’s largest concerts featuring a group of Korean pop singers, is scheduled to be held at the Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul on May 12.Hyundai Oilbank revived the Dream Concert in 2010 after Hyundai Heavy Industries took over the petroleum and refinery firm from foreign capital. “The concert had to suffer suspension for a certain

IndustryMay 6, 2012

Hyundai Oilbank sponsors Dream Concert 2012

Ferrari targets Korean wealth, casts eye on Vietnam

Ferrari SpA said it expects South Korea’s economic growth to make the country a standout for sports car demand, and Vietnam may be next.“A surprise over the next five years will be South Korea,” Herbert Appleroth, Ferrari’s Asia Pacific chief executive officer, said in an interview. “It has an abundance of wealth and economic prosperity, and there is appreciation for supercars. I think you will see very strong growth.”Appleroth’s projections point to the next pockets of growth for luxury carmake

MobilityMay 6, 2012

Chrysler leads April auto sales boosting U.S. manufacturing

Chrysler Group LLC led the five largest automakers by U.S. sales in exceeding analysts’ estimates for April as the industry’s increased production drove expansion in the manufacturing sector.Chrysler sales climbed 20 percent to 141,165 light vehicles and Toyota Motor Corp.’s deliveries rose 12 percent to 178,044, according to company statements. Those results beat eight analysts’ average estimate for increases of 16 percent and 10 percent. General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. s

MobilityMay 6, 2012

Cheap import cars make Korean inroads

Foreign automakers aggressive in launching models priced under 30 million wonA series of import cars with relatively low price tags are aggravating the worries of Korea’s automakers, who are suffering a continuing drop in month-on-month vehicle sales at home.“Cheap import cars have emerged as a threat not only to Hyundai-Kia but companies which operate manufacturing factories in Korea ― GM, Renault Samsung and Ssangyong,” said an executive in the local automotive industry.Among the foreign playe

MobilityMay 6, 2012

Hyundai-Kia to provide eco-friendly cars to Yeosu Expo

The Hyundai Kia Automotive Group said Sunday it will provide 51 eco-friendly vehicles to the organizing committee of the Yeosu Expo 2012 to help facilitate logistics. The Expo will run for three months from Saturday and is expected to attract more than 8 million visitors from across the globe with the emphasis being put on challenges posed by climate change and protecting the marine environment.

MobilityMay 6, 2012

Etrade seeks investors for stable share price

Largest PE shareholder G&A could consider exit next year　When Nam Sam-hyun joined Etrade Korea as its chief executive officer four years ago, he was in deep sorrow at seeing the company, the first online brokerage firm to be established in Korea, fall behind Kiwoom Securities. Nam, the former CEO of Woori Futures, said he has since vowed to improve everything about Etrade’s image and operations by first investing in not only its electronic systems but also human capital.“When I first came to thi

May 6, 2012

Etrade seeks investors for stable share price

Economic growth slower than expected due to continued eurozone crisis: KDI

South Korea's economic growth slowed in March due mainly to the mining and manufacturing industry showing lackluster growth affected by the eurozone debt crisis, a state-run think tank said Sunday. The eurozone crisis has adversely affected South Korea's exports to slow economic growth of Asia's fourth largest economy, the Korea Development Institute report said, adding the U.S. and some other a

May 6, 2012

Scientists create ‘e-bra’ that detects health problem

U.S. scientists have developed an ‘e-bra’ that monitors health information for female heart patients. Engineers at the University of Arkansas integrated nanotextiles and smartphone technology allowing uploads of health information which the patient and their doctors can access with a wireless network such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.“Our e-bra enables continuous, real-time monitoring to identify any pathophysiological changes. It is a platform on which various sensors for cardiac-health monitoring are

TechnologyMay 6, 2012

Scientists create ‘e-bra’ that detects health problem

Four savings banks suspended for lack of sufficient capital

(Heraldbiz.com)Financial regulators Sunday suspended operations of four savings banks for their failure to meet the capital adequacy ratios recommended by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) standards.They are Solomon Savings Bank, Mirae Savings Bank, Korea Savings Bank, Hanju Savings Bank, the Financial Services Commission(FSC) said.It is the second time since September that the financi

May 6, 2012

Four savings banks suspended for lack of sufficient capital