The Korea Herald

Hyundai Heavy names new chief

Hyundai Heavy Industries promoted the head of its construction equipment division Choe Byeong-ku to president and chief executive of the company in a regular reshuffle of executives. Born in 1951, Choe became an executive of Hyundai Heavy in 1999 and was named chief of the construction equipment division in 2009. He became senior executive vice president last year.Hyundai Heavy said its executive-level shakeup on Tuesday was focused on bolstering its electo electric systems, engine and machinery

IndustryDec. 14, 2011

KCCI chief speaks up against profit-sharing

Sohn Kyung-shik, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expressed his opposition to forcing large companies to share profits with suppliers by law.“Everyone agrees that large and small businesses must cooperate, but you can’t force (profit-sharing) by law because each company has its own situation,” Sohn said during a year-end press conference in downtown Seoul on Tuesday.“Both sides should reach an accord through dialogue. I don’t think it is impossible to come to an agreement.

IndustryDec. 14, 2011

KCCI chief speaks up against profit-sharing

Samsung Electronics restructures for next year

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday that it has restructured its organization, dividing it into two separate units ― digital media/communications and device solutions ― for independent operations.Consumer electronics and information technology and mobile communications will be included in the digital media and communications unit, which will focus on finished goods.Yoon Boo-keun, who served as the president of Samsung’s visual display business, will lead the consumer electronics business that inc

IndustryDec. 14, 2011

Nuclear reactor hiccups stoke power supply jitters

A series of breakdowns of nuclear reactors and power plants is fueling concerns over power shortages this winter despite Korea’s all-out efforts to increase supply and ward off a blackout.On Wednesday morning, a 950,000-kilowatt nuclear reactor in Gori, South Gyeongsang Province, was brought to an abrupt halt due to a temporary overvoltage. That came merely 12 hours after a reactor with a capacity of 1 million kilowatts in Uljin, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, came to a standstill due

IndustryDec. 14, 2011

POSCO shares in focus after founder’s death

Steelmaker’s share stages tenfold growth on solid performancePOSCO shares attracted public attention again on Wednesday, one day after its founder and honorary chairman Park Tae-joon died. The country’s representative steelmaker is the No. 3 stock on KOSPI, with its market capitalization valued at 34.2 trillion won, easily outpacing other blue-chip shares. POSCO, whose shares closed up 500 won at 390,000 won on Wednesday, is widely regarded as one of the favorites for investors at home and abroa

Dec. 14, 2011

Korea pays tribute to Park

Major figures in business and politics gave tribute on Wednesday to POSCO’s founder and honorary chairman Park Tae-joon who died on Tuesday at 84.“Honorary chairman Park Tae-joon has always been the pillar for us and we feel deeply sad about his death,” said Chung Joon-yang, chairman of POSCO, at Severance Hospital in Seoul on Wednesday. “Honoring his dedication, POSCO employees will make efforts to turn the company into the leading steelmaker in the world.” Chung cut short his business trip sch

IndustryDec. 14, 2011

Youth jobless rate continues to rise

Unemployment rate held at a three-year low in NovemberThe youth jobless rate inched up half a percent point from a year earlier to 6.8 percent in November even as the overall jobless rate stayed at a three-year low for a second month, Statistics Korea said Wednesday. The agency said the November jobless rate for those aged 15-29 grew 0.1 percent over a month. The number of graduates in their 20s who found new jobs in November fell to 3,535,000, down 40,000 from the same time last year. The figur

Dec. 14, 2011

SK Telecom reaches 500,000 4G subscribers

SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s largest mobile carrier, said Wednesday that the number of fourth-generation wireless subscribers has topped 500,000 in about five months. In July, SK Telecom kicked off the long-term evolution network in Seoul, offering faster wireless data than the third-generation network for data-hungry smartphone users. The carrier has since launched 10 new mobile devices compatible with the new high-speed data service. The mobile operator said the growth rate of the 4G service

TechnologyDec. 14, 2011

Cheong Kwan Jang sets exports milestone

Cheong Kwan Jang, the Korean red ginseng brand name owned by Korea Ginseng Corp., saw its exports to overseas markets surpass $100 million this year. The market leader in Korea said Wednesday that its exports reached $115 million as of October and were expected to exceed $128 million by the end of this year. The highest-ever figure is a 75 percent jump from $73 million last year, the company said. Cheong Kwan Jang has set up overseas operations in China, Taiwan, Japan and the United States and i

IndustryDec. 14, 2011

High-spending households increase

South Korean households with monthly spendings of 4 million won ($3,450) or more are on the rise as prices for essentials increase, a report showed Wednesday.According to Statistics Korea, such households in the highest spending bracket accounted for 10.51 percent of all households in the third quarter of the year, exceeding the 10-percent mark for the first time.The comparable figure for 2010 was 8.79 percent, the statistics agency said, adding that spending on a vast array of goods and service

Dec. 14, 2011

Shares end lower on lack of U.S. Fed stimulus

South Korean stocks closed 0.34 percent lower on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve failed to lay out new stimulus measures to prop up the economy, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI fell 6.31 points to 1,857.75. Trading volume was moderate at 396.6 million shares worth 4.36 trillion won ($3.77 billion), but gainers outpaced losers 433 to 381.“The market was largely lackluster. The Seoul bourse started weaker due to a lack of the Fed’s fresh economic

Dec. 14, 2011

Businesses honored for product innovation

The 37th Korea National Quality Awards were held Tuesday at COEX Auditorium in Samsung-dong, southern Seoul, with Vice Economy Minister Yoon Sang-jik and representatives of some 1,600 company in attendance.The event, hosted by the Korea Agency for Technology and Standards and organized by the Korean Standards Association, honors entrepreneurs and businesses that have shown achievements through quality management. Eighty-one individuals received awards, with WOORY Industrial Company CEO Kim Myung

IndustryDec. 14, 2011

Businesses honored for product innovation

SC First to cut 13% of staff via voluntary redundancy

SC First Bank, the local unit of the British banking group Standard Chartered, plans to accept the request of all 813 workers who applied for early retirement, the bank said Wednesday, cutting 13 percent its workforce as part of cost cutting reforms.“We plan to accept all 813 applications for voluntary redundancy. They will work until the end of the month,” a spokeswoman at the bank said.The bank started taking applications for voluntary redundancy from those who are aged 35 or more and have wor

Dec. 14, 2011

FSC suspected of Lone Star lies

Report says 2003 documents were written by regulators, not accounting firmFinancial regulators are suspected of fabricating documents on Lone Star Funds in 2003 when Korea Exchange Bank was acquired by the buyout fund, according to a news report.At least over the past few months, the Financial Services Commission (then the Financial Supervisory Commission) has argued that the records, submitted by an accounting firm, prove that Lone Star was eligible to own a Korean bank.But the documents were a

Dec. 14, 2011

S&P affirms credit rating on S. Korea

Global credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's said Wednesday it has affirmed its sovereign credit rating for South Korea, citing the nation's fiscal soundness and its net external creditor position.According to an e-mailed statement, S&P said that it has decided to maintain the credit rating on Sou

Dec. 14, 2011

Israeli scientists develop cancer 'cluster bomb'

Israeli medical researchers say they have developed a new technique for blasting cancer tumours from the inside out which reduces the risk of the disease returning after treatment.Tel Aviv University professors Yona Keisari and Itzhak Kelson are about to start clinical trials of a pin-sized radioact

TechnologyDec. 14, 2011

Facebook aims to help prevent suicide

MENLO PARK, California (AP) _ Facebook is making it easier for people who express suicidal thoughts on the social networking site to get help.A program launching Tuesday enables users to instantly connect with a crisis counselor through Facebook's “chat” messaging system.The service is the latest to

TechnologyDec. 14, 2011

Founding Apple contract sells for $1.6 million

A three-page contract that established Apple Computer Co. (AAPL) sold for $1.59 million at Sotheby’s (BID) in New York today, soaring past the presale estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. The bidding started at $70,000 in a half-empty room attended by about 20 people and almost as many Sotheby’s staffe

TechnologyDec. 14, 2011

Learning high-performance tasks with no conscious effort may soon be possible

TechnologyDec. 14, 2011

New operating system for space: High-tech tycoons

SEATTLE (AP) -- The tycoons of cyberspace are looking to bankroll America's resurgence in outer space, reviving ``Star Trek'' dreams that first interested them in science.Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen made the latest step Tuesday, unveiling plans for a new commercial spaceship that, instead o

TechnologyDec. 14, 2011

New operating system for space: High-tech tycoons