The Korea Herald

[KEB union seeks injunction over Hana deal]

The labor union of Korea Exchange Bank sought an injunction to block financial regulators’ endorsement of Hana Financial Group’s takeover of KEB.“We (and a group of KEB’s small investors) filed for the injunction with the Constitutional Court late Jan. 31,” a KEB union leader said on Wednesday.The unionized workers’ move comes four days after the Financial Services Commission approved Hana Financial’s application to acquire the bank from U.S.-based Lone Star Funds last Friday.The FSC has been ne

Feb. 1, 2012

[KEB union seeks injunction over Hana deal]

[Korea suffers first trade deficit in two years]

Korea’s trade balance swung into the red for the first time in two years in January as the Lunar New Year holiday reduced the shipment volume and the eurozone fiscal crisis dented exports. The country logged a trade deficit of $1.96 billion last month, compared with a surplus of $2.9 billion a year earlier, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy data showed Wednesday. Exports unexpectedly fell 6.6 percent on-year to $41.54 billion in January, marking the first contraction in 27 months on a year-on-ye

Feb. 1, 2012

[Korea suffers first trade deficit in two years]

[Top officials warn against chaebol bashing]

FTC chief Kim opposes move to revive equity investment cap for large conglomeratesHeads of government offices, starting with President Lee Myung-bak, have started voicing opposition to the recent political move of limiting the business expansion of conglomerates. “Putting excessive pressure on companies can lead to decreases in new investment and job creation,” Lee said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.“All the political discussions are creating an environment that pushes companies too hard.

IndustryFeb. 1, 2012

[Top officials warn against chaebol bashing]

[New Mercedes-Benz Korea chief named]

Mercedes-Benz appointed Thomas Urbach as the new president and CEO of its Korea office, replacing outgoing chief Harald Behrend, the carmaker said Wednesday.“Mr. Urbach will have his first day as chief of the Korea office from Feb. 1,” the company said in an emailed statement.The German leader, 49, brings more than 23 years of experience in the industry. He has served as vice president of sales and marketing vans since 2006 from the company’s headquarters in Berlin. He joined the industry in 198

IndustryFeb. 1, 2012

[Cheaper Sonata hybrid introduced]

Hyundai Motor has launched a cheaper model of the Sonata hybrid sedan, with a price tag set below 30 million won ($26,300).The new hybrid model is aimed at attracting more middle-income consumers as the eco-friendly vehicle has been quite expensive compared to gasoline-powered models.“The new model is cheaper by about 1.1 million won than the original Sonata hybrid,” the company said in a statement Wednesday.To lower the consumer prices, a spokesman said, several options including leather steeri

Feb. 1, 2012

[GSK’s pneumonia vaccine OK’d for wider age group]

GlaxoSmithKline Korea Ltd. said Wednesday that Korea’s drug agency has extended approval for its hot-selling pneumonia vaccine to be used in babies born premature at 27 to 28 weeks and children up to 5 years old.The expanded approval makes Synflorix the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine here for premature babies, the local unit of the U.K.-based corporation said. The vaccine was first approved by the Korea Food & Drug Administration in 2010 for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease

IndustryFeb. 1, 2012

[LG climbs back into the black in 4Q]

LG Electronics said Wednesday it climbed back into the black in the final quarter of last year, posting 13.81 trillion won in sales and 23.1 billion won in operating profit.The sales figure for the fourth quarter is a 7 percent increase from the third quarter backed by the positive sales of smartphones which run on the fourth generation Long Term Evolution network.In a regulatory filing, the company also said that its total sales recorded 54.25 trillion won in 2011, a drop of 3 percent from 2010

IndustryFeb. 1, 2012

Patterns of connections reveal brain functions

For more than a decade, neuroscientists have known that many of the cells in a brain region called the fusiform gyrus specialize in recognizing faces. However, those cells don’t act alone: They need to communicate with several other parts of the brain. By tracing those connections, MIT neuroscientis

TechnologyFeb. 1, 2012

Patterns of connections reveal brain functions

Petition urges ‘ethical’ iPhone from Apple

An online petition is urging Apple to monitor working conditions and practices of its overseas manufacturers to make its next iPhone “the first ethical iPhone.” The advocacy group SumOfUs posted the petition asking Apple to “make the iPhone 5 ethically,” referring to the company’s use of firms su

TechnologyFeb. 1, 2012

KEB union files injunction against FSC’s approval of Hana's acquisition

The labor union of Korea Exchange Bank filed an injunction to block financial regulators’ recent approval of Hana Financial Group’s takeover of KEB.“We filed the injunction with the Constitutional Court late Jan. 31,” a KEB union leader said Thursday.He said unionized workers are discussing whether

Feb. 1, 2012

Korea posts first trade deficit in 24 months in Jan.

Korea’s trade balance swung into the red for the first time in two years in January as the Lunar New Year holiday reduced the shipment volume and the eurozone fiscal crisis dented exports. The country logged a trade deficit of $1.96 billion last month, compared with a surplus of $2.9 billion a year

Feb. 1, 2012

Korea posts first trade deficit in 24 months in Jan.

3 financial groups taken off list of public institutions

South Korea has taken three state-owned financial groups off the list of public institutions, paving the way for their privatization process, the finance ministry said Tuesday.KDB Financial Group, the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) were taken off the list of publ

Jan. 31, 2012

Kim named CEO of Kumho Tire

Kumho Asiana Group on Tuesday named Kim Chang-kyu, president of Asiana IDT, the chief executive of Kumho Tire. Hwang Sun-bok, executive vice president of the conglomerate’s strategic management, was promoted to president of Asiana IDT, and Park Sang-bae, executive vice president of Asiana IDT, was assigned to the same post at Kumho Resort.Suh Jae-hwan, executive vice president of Korea Express, will head the group’s strategic management division, Kumho Asiana said in a press release.(sophie@hera

IndustryJan. 31, 2012

Lotte scion withdraws bakery chain business

Bliss, French gourmet food company Fauchon’s Korean brand, said Tuesday it is withdrawing from the bakery business.“The decision came in order to comply with the government’s shared growth initiative and the public opinion to protect smaller vendors,” a Bliss official said. The move is the latest in a series of business withdrawals amid criticisms that bakery or coffeehouse chains run by chaebol offspring are fast overtaking the sales of smaller, individually-owned stores.Fauchon had been operat

IndustryJan. 31, 2012

Korea sells Cheongju airport rights

The government has sold the operational rights of an international airport in the central part of Korea to a private consortium for 25.5 billion won ($22.6 million), officials said Tuesday.The consortium will take over operational control of Cheongju International Airport, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, late this year after completing the necessary administrative process, the finance and transportation ministries said. The consortium, named the Cheongju Airport Group, is made up of Korea Aviatio

Jan. 31, 2012

LG Chem reaches sales record in 2011

LG Chem said Tuesday it posted 22.68 trillion won ($20.17 billion) in sales and 2.84 trillion won in operating profit last year, with its yearly sales figure recording more than 20 trillion won for the first time.The 2011 sales figure is a 16.5 percent jump from the previous year and the operating profit is also a slight increase of 0.7 percent from the same period.The company, however, said in a regulatory filing that its total sales and operating profit figures for the final quarter of last ye

IndustryJan. 31, 2012

E-Land going global with Dodgers bid

E-Land chairman Park Sung-su has moved aggressively in recent years to expand the business portfolio of the nation’s leading fashion retailer. Following purchases of luxury resorts and foreign fashion brands, he now aims to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers, which declared bankruptcy last year.An E-Land official confirmed Tuesday that the company has joined a consortium to acquire the baseball club and made last Friday’s first cut. “The Dodgers are not just a baseball team, but a symbol of Los Angeles

IndustryJan. 31, 2012

KEB highest paying bank in Korea

Employee salaries at Korea Exchange Bank, Korea’s fifth-largest lender, were the highest among the country’s six largest banks, industry data showed Tuesday. KEB paid an average of 51.7 million won ($45,858) to its employees during the first three quarters of 2011, the highest among South Korea’s six lenders, according to industry data. Hana Bank, the fourth-largest lender in Asia’s No. 4 economy, had the lowest average salary in the same period with 38 million won. Following a regulatory approv

Jan. 31, 2012

Lone Star faces hefty corporate tax on capital gains

Korea’s tax agency said Tuesday it plans to impose a corporate tax on U.S.-based buyout fund Lone Star Funds’ investment gains from the purchase of a local skyscraper instead of the previously-imposed transfer income tax, which a Seoul court ruled illegal.Nearly 100 billion won ($89 million) in corporate taxes will be levied next month on the fund’s capital gains of nearly 245 billion won, stemming from its purchase and sale of a commercial high-rise in the posh southern part of Seoul. The decis

Jan. 31, 2012

Hong vows support for small exporters to U.S.

Korea’s knowledge economy minister vowed Tuesday to provide policy support to small and medium businesses so that they can reap benefits from the ratified Korea-U.S. free trade agreement.“That’s why we will launch a trade comprehensive assistance center under the Korea International Trade Association (this month),” said Minister Hong Suk-woo during a luncheon hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce. The goal of the center, he said, is to provide assistance to Korean businesses that are intere

Jan. 31, 2012

Hong vows support for small exporters to U.S.