U.S. researchers said if a parent is worried about the weight of their child, the parents should lose weight themselves and their children will too. Kerri N. Boutelle, an associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at University of California, San Diego, and Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego,

TechnologyMarch 21, 2012

South Korea will inject 1.08 trillion won ($962.3 million) into research and development this year to bolster its capabilities in the energy sector, the government said Tuesday.The funds are to be used for 19 projects that cover the development of new energy resources, nuclear power generation and radioactive waste management, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.“Money will also be given to building up know-how in renewable energy that is critical for sustainable growth,” it said.The ministry

March 20, 2012

Ustream Korea, the Korean operation of global live streaming platform Ustream, started services Tuesday to distribute Korean-made content online, especially K-pop. The company, established in October, is a joint venture between KT Corp., holding 51 percent of shares, and Japan’s SoftBank, with the remaining 49 percent. The first CEO Jimmy Kim showed confidence in achieving bigger success than in Japan within two to three years, citing major events this year such as the presidential elections and

IndustryMarch 20, 2012

Korea’s jobless rate is expected to decline down the road, helped by a decrease in the number of job seekers, a report showed Tuesday.According to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley said the country’s jobless rate surged in February as soon-to-be graduates started to search for work.The jobless rate in Asia’s fourth-largest economy stood at 4.2 percent last month, the highest level since March of 2011 when the rate reached 4.3 percent, as more

March 20, 2012

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key will speak at a forum sponsored by the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Korea on March 26, organizers said Tuesday.Key will address more than 80 chamber members and important business leaders as part of his visit, which also aims to advance negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement, according to chamber officials.The prime minister is scheduled to visit Korea to attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul on March 26-27.“We are very pleased to have Pr

March 20, 2012

Seoul shares finished 0.24 percent lower on Tuesday as institutional investors locked in profits amid the absence of fresh upward momentum, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. After briefly trading in positive territory, the benchmark KOSPI lost 4.85 points to 2,042.15. Trading volume was moderate at 533 million shares worth 5.33 trillion won ($4.75 billion) with losers leading gainers 521 to 302. “The market lacked new upward momentum ahead of the first-quarter earni

March 20, 2012

Korea will extend its tariff quotas for pork belly and dried peppers by three months to ensure their steady supply and help stabilize domestic prices, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.The tariff quotas for the two items will be extended till the end of June, with Seoul to increase the pork belly quota by 70,000 tons. The ministry said the quota for dried peppers has been raised to 11,185 tons from 6,185 tons.Originally, both quotas were scheduled to expire on March 31.The tariff quota system is

March 20, 2012

Citibank Korea has decided to shift its asset management business focus to the middle-income bracket, from its earlier target of wealthy customers.While the bank had mainly focused on private banking for customers with deposits of at least 100 million won ($87,700), its target will be expanded to those with financial assets of at least 20 million won.“Among total Korean adults, the proportion of them whose financial assets come to 20 million won is 35 percent,” Citibank Korea CEO Ha Yung-ku told

March 20, 2012

South Korean aerospace company Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. said Tuesday it has won a $1.22 billion contract to exclusively supply wing parts to Europe’s Airbus SAS.The contract, signed in France late Monday, calls for the building of wing bottom panels for the very popular A320 passenger jets and marks the single largest civilian aircraft components deal won by a local company. KAI said it will supply the panels for the duration of the aircraft’s production that may extend to 2025, with the

IndustryMarch 20, 2012

But earnings from charging service fees remain robust: FSS dataThe yearly earnings of credit card firms dropped in 2011 for the first time in three years amid financial regulators’ stricter policy on blocking reckless business expansion.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, six major credit card issuers saw their combined net profit stay at about 1.3 trillion won ($1.15 billion) in 2011, down 51 percent from 2.7 trillion won a year earlier.This was the first fall since their net profit

March 20, 2012

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said that it will focus on smart and 3-D TV sales in the Middle East in order to strengthen its dominant presence in the large emerging market.The company said it aims to aggressively market its latest high-end TV sets and expand cooperative tie-ups with content suppliers to solidify its status as the No. 1 smart electronics product supplier in the area.Samsung said that it was able to pull off TV sales growth of 26 percent last year despite the ge

TechnologyMarch 20, 2012

Robert Bosch GmbH, the world’s biggest car-parts supplier, is in discussions with joint venture partner Samsung SDI Co. about producing more electric car batteries independently of each other.Bosch has been discussing greater autonomy from its partner in the SB Limotive joint venture for at least a month as it seeks to react more quickly to customers’ demands, Udo Ruegheimer, a spokesman for the Stuttgart, Germany-based company said by telephone.“All customer contracts are decided jointly, so it

IndustryMarch 20, 2012