The Korea Herald

SK Hynix drops out of Elpida bidding

SK Hynix announced it will not participate in the bid for Tokyo-based Elpida Memory on Friday after it took a cautious stance on the issue last week.Following a board meeting which went on for more than two hours, its decision-makers came to the conclusion not to join the second round of bidding to take over the financially troubled Elpida.“What’s important is whether the second bidding is worth it in strategic aspects, but we decided that the acquisition doesn’t give us the advantage strategica

IndustryMay 4, 2012

1st round of FTA talks with China due May 10

Korea will hold its first round of negotiations with China on the bilateral free trade agreement next Thursday in Beijing, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said Friday.The two sides will set the detailed rules on how to proceed with the negotiations and exchange views on the scope and coverage of the FTA at the meeting next week, the ministry said in a statement.They also plan to discuss how to organize the negotiation working groups, exchange trade statistics and information related to tariff rates and f

IndustryMay 4, 2012

Korea’s largest aquarium opens at Yeosu Expo site

South Korea’s largest aquarium opened at the 2012 Yeosu Expo site on Friday, about a week ahead of the official kickoff of the three-month-long international fair.Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corp., which built the aquarium, said the Aqua Planet is a four-story building covering 16,400 square meters and equipped with a 6,000 ton main tank.The overall size of the aquarium is two to three times larger than existing facilities in Seoul and Busan and will remain on the site after the Yeosu Expo

May 4, 2012

Korea’s largest aquarium opens at Yeosu Expo site

Hyundai Motor sponsors Brazilian scholarship program

Hyundai Motor Co. agreed to sponsor Brazil’s scholarship program to send 100,000 undergraduate students to study in the world’s top schools by 2014.The carmaker inked a preliminary deal with the Brazilian education ministry at the ministry building in Brasilia on Thursday to offer students internship opportunities in Korea and grant scholarships. The “Science without Borders” scholarships will be given primarily to students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics as par

IndustryMay 4, 2012

Imminent suspension prompts runs on big savings banks

Some of the nation’s largest mutual savings banks showed signs of bank runs on Friday as the Financial Supervisory Service is set to suspend their operations as early as Sunday.The top financial regulator is expected to suspend the business of three of the 10 biggest savings banks and a smaller bank, the combined assets of which hover at 10 trillion won ($8.84 billion).Banking sources said the financial authorities already put the computer network systems of the four troubled lenders under their

May 4, 2012

Imminent suspension prompts runs on big savings banks

Samsung, LG roll out flagship smartphones

Samsung’s Galaxy S III to battle with upcoming Apple’s iPhone 5Samsung Electronics on Friday rolled out the new Galaxy S III in London, staging another battle with its rival Apple Inc., which is getting ready to unveil its new iPhone 5.In a “Mobile Unpack” event in London, the world’s IT behemoth introduced its 4.8-inch new flagship model which showcases innovative features like eye tracking and direct calling.“The Galaxy S III is a totally new smartphone that presents the best technology, human

TechnologyMay 4, 2012

Samsung, LG roll out flagship smartphones

Triangular ‘UFO’s spotted in U.S., U.K., and Australia

`UFO`s sighted over Tennessee, United States (YouTube)Multiple UFO sightings have startled people around the world, according to news reports.Over a six-day period, four reports emerged: one in the United Kingdom, one in Australia and two in the United States.The first sighting took place last Thursday when a passenger on an airplane in the U.K. reportedly videotaped what looked like three UFOs fl

TechnologyMay 4, 2012

Triangular ‘UFO’s spotted in U.S., U.K., and Australia

Goldman Sachs lauds Samsung's new smartphone

Samsung Electronics Co.'s latest smartphone will be a "worthy" successor to its flagship smartphone series due to improvements in both hardware and software, Goldman Sachs said Friday.Samsung Electronics unveiled its Galaxy S III at an event in London Thursday, launching the latest version of its Galaxy S smartphone series. The company will start selling the product in 145 countries later this mon

TechnologyMay 4, 2012

Alcohol spray makes you ‘instantly drunk’

A French American scientist has developed a new alcohol spray that can intoxicate the user instantly, a U.S. news report said. According to the report, however, the spray’s effects last only moments.David Edwards created the spray called “WA|HH Quantum Sensations” and unveiled it during an exhibition in Paris, the report said.The spray is contained in a finger-long bottle, designed by French product designer Philippe Starck.It will be sold for about $26, the report said.(yoonmi@heraldm.com)<관련 한

TechnologyMay 4, 2012

Alcohol spray makes you ‘instantly drunk’

Kids with stock holdings exceeding 100 mln won top 100 mark

The number of kids with stock holdings exceeding 100 million won (US$88,400) exceeded the 100 mark for the first time in April as owners of large businesses take steps to pass on their wealth to their children, data showed Friday.According to the data compiled by Chaebol.com, an information provider on large conglomerates, 102 children under 12 held sizable shares in listed companies as of the end

May 4, 2012

FSS asks prosecutors to probe 4 savings banks

The Financial Supervisory Service recently asked the prosecution to investigate four debt-saddled savings banks for alleged embezzlement or breach of duties, officials said Thursday.The four troubled savings banks are Solomon, Korea, Hyundai Swiss and Mirae, according to regulatory officials at the FSS.Solomon Savings Bank is the largest player in the secondary banking sector, and the combined assets of the four lenders hover at 10 trillion won ($8.84 billion).As the FSS is also considering susp

May 3, 2012

Pantech ready to compete with Samsung and Apple: CEO

Pantech CEO Park Byeong-yeop said Thursday the company is ready to join the intense competition with Samsung Electronics and Apple, calling its new one-chip solution smartphone Vega Racer 2 the “world’s best.”“Even though Samsung and Apple are powerful players, the product quality of the Vega Racer 2 is second-to-none,” Park told reporters after a launching event held at the company’s headquarters in northern Seoul. He was appearing in public for the first time since the nation’s third-largest h

TechnologyMay 3, 2012

Pantech ready to compete with Samsung and Apple: CEO

Steelmaker mired in controversial ‘Picity’ project

Steelmaker mired in controversial ‘Picity’ development project and patent suitPOSCO, the world’s fourth-largest steelmaker, is mired in the influence-peddling scandal involving “Picity.” Suspicious eyes are looking to relations between POSCO and JE&T chief Lee Dong-jo after prosecutors summoned Park Young-joon, a former vice commerce minister and close confidant to President Lee Myung-bak, to question him about the corruption scandal. While businessman Lee allegedly managed Park’s slush funds,

IndustryMay 3, 2012

Hyundai foundation offers W2b to help N.K. defectors

A Hyundai foundation pledged Thursday to give 2 billion won ($1.7 million) to help North Korean defectors better adjust to life in South Korea.The Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation inked the deal with the North Korean Refugees Foundation for three years of financial assistance for defectors, according to the Unification ministry.The aid is to be used to hire three medical personnel, including a psychiatrist, to help treat North Korean defectors in a government-run resettlement center.The m

May 3, 2012

Tax policies unnerve foreign investors

The foreign business community expressed uneasiness through a survey about the nation’s taxation policies, despite Korean tax authorities’ recent promise of fewer and easier audits on foreign firms.In March, the National Tax Service said it would reduce the frequency and scope of tax audits on foreign companies doing business here in a bid to attract more long-term investment.But in a survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries on 150 foreign firms operating in Korea, 72 percent of t

May 3, 2012

Lone Star sues Korea Exchange Bank over $49 million bill

Lone Star Funds, whose investment in Korea Exchange Bank earned it at least $4 billion, claimed in a lawsuit that the lender alone was liable for a $49 million compensation-related payment to Olympus Capital Holdings Asia. Five units of Lone Star are asking Singapore’s High Court to rule that the South Korean bank should compensate them for payments made to Olympus Capital, according to court papers filed in the Southeast Asian city. An international arbitration tribunal in Singapore ordered Lon

May 3, 2012

Shares end lower on weak U.S. data

South Korean stocks closed 0.20 percent lower on Thursday on weaker than expected U.S. economic data and lingering eurozone woes, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 3.96 points to close at 1,995.11, the first drop in five sessions.Trading volume was heavy at 677 million shares worth 4.57 trillion won ($4.03 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 442 to 378.“Lower than expected job gains in the United States and oth

May 3, 2012

Seoul plans to limit fallout of China FTA on farm sector

South Korea will draw up safeguard measures to minimize the fallout of a free trade agreement with China on its farming sector, the Seoul government said Thursday.“The close proximity of China, the similar agricultural structure and sizable difference in product prices has raised considerable concerns that an open trade arrangement will hurt local farmers,” the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said in a press release.To alleviate such concerns, every effort will be made to

May 3, 2012

Korea’s foreign reserves hit record high in April

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves reached a new record high in April as the strength of the euro and other currencies boosted the conversion value of those assets, the central bank said Thursday.The country’s foreign reserves reached $316.84 billion at the end of last month, up $890 million from March, according to the Bank of Korea. The previous record was $315.95 billion set in the previous month.Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its foreign reserves surpass the $300 billion mark for the

May 3, 2012

Korea’s foreign reserves hit record high in April

Korea, China, Japan agree to invest in each other’s state bonds

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea, China and Japan agreed Thursday to invest in each other’s government bonds, reaffirming their commitment to stabilizing the regional financial and currency markets, government officials said. “We agreed to promote the investment by the foreign reserve authorities in one another’s government bonds, further strengthening our cooperation,” the financial ministers and central bank governors from the three nations said in a joint statement. “We agreed to have wo

May 3, 2012

Korea, China, Japan agree to invest in each other’s state bonds