The Korea Herald

‘Drug makers offered W100b in rebates over 5 years’

(Yonhap News)FTC last year slapped fines on Korean units of Sanofi-Aventis and Janssen Drug makers in Korea have offered nearly 100 billion won ($89.4 million) in rebates between 2006 and 2010, a report showed Sunday, pointing to a rampant illicit practice that has long dragged on one of Asia’

IndustryFeb. 5, 2012

‘Drug makers offered W100b in rebates over 5 years’

Hana Financial seeking to buy Korean American bank in U.S.

Los Angeles (Yonhap) -- Hana Financial Group Inc.,South Korea's No. 4 banking group, said Saturday that it is pushingto acquire a Korean American commercial bank in the United Statesas part of its bid to accelerate expansion abroad. The move comes as Hana Financial Group see

Feb. 4, 2012

Analysts rule out key rate move in Q1

Korea’s central bank is expected to stand pat on its key interest rate in the first quarter as murky economic situations and a membership transition in the rate-setting committee is likely to spur a wait-and-see stance, analysts said Friday.The benchmark seven-day repo rate currently stands at 3.25 percent after the Bank of Korea froze the rate for the seventh consecutive month in January, citing increasing downside growth risks stemming from the eurozone debt crisis.The forecast contrasts with

Feb. 3, 2012

Bahk raps city’s bus, subway fare hikes

Korea’s top economic policymaker voiced discontent Friday with the decision by the Seoul government to raise public transportation fares, saying it could drive up overall inflationary pressure in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.The Seoul government said Thursday it will raise public transportation fares by 150 won ($0.13) later this month to make up for rising deficits from energy costs and transfer discounts.“We are deeply disappointed with the decision, which came despite our repeated expression

Feb. 3, 2012

Korea to support SMEs to boost trade

Korea will intensify its efforts to nurture more small and mid-sized exporting companies to help the nation’s annual trade volume exceed $2 trillion by 2020, the Commerce Ministry said Friday.Korea’s trade volume topped $1 trillion in early December for the first time in its history, making the country the world’s ninth to have ever reached the $1-trillion mark in trade.According to the ministry, the government plans to foster 20,000 more small and mid-sized exporters by 2020 through programs ai

Feb. 3, 2012

Fake social network accounts in dispute ahead of elections

Politicians rush to improve Twitter, Facebook profiles amid growing worry over artificial enhancementKorea’s politicians are desperately scrambling to boost their influence on social networks ahead of the parliamentary elections. How desperately? Some allegedly buy new Twitter accounts with more followers, a practice that is muddying their already tainted reputations. Although there are no official numbers of how many fake Twitter, Facebook and other social network accounts are traded in return

TechnologyFeb. 3, 2012

Fake social network accounts in dispute ahead of elections

Lotte shakes up CEOs of subsidiaries

Lotte Group on Friday replaced the chief executives of about 10 subsidiaries, naming its home shopping arm chief as the head of its department store operator.Lotte Home Shopping CEO Shin Heon was appointed CEO of Lotte Department Store, succeeding Lee Chul-woo who will take charge of the conglomerate’s external affairs.Kim Yong-su, senior vice president and CEO of Lotte Samkang, was promoted to executive vice president and CEO of Lotte Confectionery, replacing Kim Sang-hoo. KP Chemical CEO Huh S

IndustryFeb. 3, 2012

Watchdog to probe coffee shop chains

The nation’s antitrust watchdog said Friday it will probe five major coffee shop chains, including Caffe Bene, over allegations of unfair treatment of franchises. The Fair Trade Commission plans to begin the inquiry in April, and focus on unfair practices by the headquarters such as forcing franchises to pay for interior renewals.“We received reports on unfair practices by some of the coffee shop chain headquarters,” an FTC official said.“We plan to launch a sweeping inquiry to help franchise ow

IndustryFeb. 3, 2012

POSCO, Hyundai Heavy production increase

POSCO said Friday its net profit last year dropped 11.6 percent to 3.7 trillion won ($3.3 billion) on raw material price hikes and the weak domestic currency despite record sales.The steelmaker said its operating profit fell only 0.3 percent from a year ago to 5.41 trillion won as it increased the use of lower-priced raw materials and recycling of by-products.POSCO’s steel production last year hit its highest point ever at 37.32 million tons, up 10.7 percent from a year earlier` as new productio

IndustryFeb. 3, 2012

LG chief: Price will be paid for price-fixing

Chairman Koo calls for executives’ efforts to be fair and become global market leaderLG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo said Friday that he will punish any employee involved in price-fixing, saying it goes against the group’s business policies.In a session held to educate the group’s new top executives, anyone ― regardless of the person’s rank ― will take full responsibility for he or she has taken away the customer’s trust in LG, said Koo.“Price-fixing is an action that can’t be permitted by a group

IndustryFeb. 3, 2012

LG chief: Price will be paid for price-fixing

Debates growing over KDB Financial privatization

Ministry’s excluding KDB from list of public agencies ignites pros and consThe government’s recent decision to exclude KDB Financial Group from the list of public corporations has paved the way for the lender to speed up its privatization project, financial sources said.In late January, the Finance Ministry took the state-run financial group off the yearly list of public agencies.But the government’s policy, which has paved the way for KDB Financial to push for a stake sale, is inviting contradi

Feb. 3, 2012

New chief named for GM Korea

GM Korea named Sergio Rocha, head of its Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay branch, the new CEO of the Korea office, the company said Friday. Rocha, scheduled to head the branch from March 1, replaces John Buttermore, who was holding the interim chief position after Mike Arcamone resigned in January. Arcamone left for Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Commercial Aircraft after two and a half years in Seoul.“We are pleased to have Sergio taking over GM’s growing operations in Korea,” said GM

IndustryFeb. 3, 2012

KOSPI holds steady on mixed data

Seoul shares barely budged before the 2,000 mark level Friday as mixed economic data and weaker-than-expected earnings undermined investor sentiment. Analysts projected the benchmark KOSPI to stay above the 2,000 level next week under the scenario that the U.S. jobs indicator continues to improve. The KOSPI lost 0.6 percent to close at 1,972.34, ending a relatively stable week after a three day winning streak. The junior KOSDAQ gained 0.1 percent to 522.59. The local currency traded flat, gainin

Feb. 3, 2012

Brains of addicts are inherently abnormal: study

Drug addicts have inherited abnormalities in some parts of the brain which interfere with impulse control, said a British study published in the United States on Thursday. Previous research has pointed to these differences, but it was unclear if they resulted from the ravages of addiction or if they were there beforehand to predispose a person to drug abuse.Scientists at the University of Cambridge compared the brains of addicts to their non-addicted siblings as well as to healthy, unrelated v

TechnologyFeb. 3, 2012

Brains of addicts are inherently abnormal: study

Valentine's Day may be worst day to kiss

Valentine's Day falls smack dab in the middle of flu and cold season, so kissing may not be such a good idea, a U.S. infectious disease expert suggests.Dr. Jorge Parada, medical director, infectious disease at Loyola University Health System in Maywood, Ill., said changing weather or temperatures ar

TechnologyFeb. 3, 2012

Valentine's Day may be worst day to kiss

Blood test detects depressed patients

A blood test analyzing levels of nine biomarkers accurately distinguished patients diagnosed with depression from others, U.S. researchers said.MCTLead author Dr. George Papakostas of the Massachusetts General Hospital said previous efforts to develop tests based on a single blood or urinary biomark

TechnologyFeb. 3, 2012

Hynix sets 4.2 trillion won facility investment plan

Hynix Semiconductor said Thursday it will inject 4.2 trillion won in facility investments this year, up 20 percent from last despite the unfavorable market conditions in the semiconductor industry.Kwon Oh-chul, chief executive of Hynix, said the firm will spend up to 60 percent on NAND Flash memory, used in smartphones and tablet PCs, whereas it spent about 70 percent of facility investments in DRAM last year.“NAND Flash demand will be driven by mobiles and Solid State Drive notebooks,” he said

IndustryFeb. 2, 2012

Korea’s industrial output to remain weak for some time: IBs

Major foreign investment banks predicted that South Korea’s industrial output will likely remain weak for some time, citing less demand for its products caused by the toughening external market conditions, a report showed Thursday.Korea’s industrial output grew 2.8 percent in December from a year earlier, slowing from a 5.8 percent gain in November.It shrank 0.9 percent on-month in December, marking the third straight month that production declined.Foreign IBs said that the sluggish global shipy

Feb. 2, 2012

Foreign stock buying hits record

Foreign investors snapped up a record amount of South Korean stocks on a monthly basis in January amid signs of recovery in the U.S. economy and easing global uncertainties, the financial watchdog said Thursday.Overseas investors bought a net 6.2 trillion won ($5.5 billion) of local stocks last month, compared with a net purchase of 113.4 billion won in December, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The figure marks a new record high for monthly purchases.Overseas investors offloaded 9

Feb. 2, 2012

Varied diet reduces risk of metabolic syndrome

Not being too choosy about food provides a better chance of preventing metabolic syndrome, the Korea Food and Drug Administration said Friday. According to the U.S. National Health, Lung and Blood Institute, metabolic syndrome refers to a group of risk factors that raise the risk of heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke.A research team at the organization conducted a cohort study of 6,640 adults living in the Ansan and Anseong regions of Gyeonggi Province from 2001

TechnologyFeb. 2, 2012