The Korea Herald

LG Chem to set up joint venture with German firm

LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s leading chemical maker, said Tuesday that it has agreed with a German chemical firm to set up a joint venture in South Korea to produce a cathode material for rechargeable batteries.Under a memorandum of understanding with Sud-Chemie Inc., the joint venture will produce 2,500 tons of lithium iron phosphate cathode material annually from 2014, said LG Chem.LG Chem did not give specifics on the deal, including how much it will spend on the project.Cathode materials are

IndustryDec. 13, 2011

LG Chem to set up joint venture with German firm

FP College runs financial camp for graduates

FP College, a private education institution for finance, will hold months-long camps on weekends for those looking to become investment and financial professionals, it said Tuesday.The institution will run customized consulting programs for a group of 20 selected candidates studying to attain financial qualifications such as Associate Financial Planner Korea and Certified Financial Planner. “The 20 students are selected from a pool of about 200 applicants eager to enter the industry. Financial e

Dec. 13, 2011

FP College runs financial camp for graduates

GE Korea gets new chief

General Electric Co. said Tuesday it has appointed Chris Khang, a former executive of Cisco Systems Inc., as the new head of its Korean unit.Kang, 50, will orchestrate the U.S. conglomerate’s expansion in the Korean market by crafting growth strategies, fostering synergies between different divisions and upgrading the workforce, culture and operation systems, company officials said.He will take office on Jan. 1.Prior to GE, Kang led Cisco’s Asia Pacific business from 2002. He also held various e

IndustryDec. 13, 2011

Smoking strongly associated with non-melanoma skin cancers in women: study

Women who smoke are more likely to suffer from skin cancer, a study found, reported Science Daily.According to the study, women who have smoked for 20 years or more are twice likely to suffer from the disease. A woman smokes a cigarette in New York (Bloomberg)Study results showed that cigarette

TechnologyDec. 13, 2011

Smoking strongly associated with non-melanoma skin cancers in women: study

Fish may have started walking underwater: study

TechnologyDec. 13, 2011

Vaccine attacks breast cancer in mice: study

WASHINGTON, Dec 12, 2011 (AFP) - Scientists in the United States said Monday they have developed a vaccine that attacks tumors in mice, abreakthrough they hope will help fight breast, colon, ovarian and pancreatic cancer in humans. (Bloomberg)Although studies on mice often do not translate directly

TechnologyDec. 13, 2011

Vaccine attacks breast cancer in mice: study

Samsung Card to sell 17 pct stake in Everland to KCC

Samsung Card Co. said Monday it has decided to sell a 17 percent stake in its unlisted affiliate Samsung Everland Inc to KCC Corp. for 773.9 billion won (US$674.4 million).Samsung Card said in a regulatory filing that its board has approved a plan to sell 425,000 shares in Samsung Everland, the de f

IndustryDec. 13, 2011

Korea honors 4 foreigners for boosting exports

The Korean government on Monday awarded 31 people, including four foreigners, for their special contributions in helping Korea boost exports, days after the country logged more than $1 trillion in annual trade for the first time.On top of the list of awardees was Scotsman William John Duncan, a shipbuilding engineer who provided technical assistance to Hyundai Heavy Industries in the 1970s.The late Duncan was awarded the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit for his contributions to the K

IndustryDec. 12, 2011

Korea honors 4 foreigners for boosting exports

Korea cuts outlook for 2012 economy

GDP outlook for 2012 lowered to 3.7%, inflation projected to ease to 3.2%The government slashed its growth forecast for this year and next, backing off from its ambitious growth plan due to weakening consumption and persistent risk stemming from slumps in major economies, the Finance Ministry said Monday.In a downbeat assessment of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, it said the economy will grow 3.7 percent in 2012, down from its 4.5 percent projection in June, the ministry said in its 2012 econo

Dec. 12, 2011

Discount gas stations face setback

Korea’s plan to launch discount gas stations hit a fresh snag as the government has again failed to strike a bargain with refiners over the prices of petrol supplies last week. The project was initiated in July as a key mechanism for the government’s battle against sky high fuel prices, and calls for converting about 10 percent of the country’s gas stations, about 1,300 outlets, into discount vendors by 2015.The Korea National Oil Corp. and Nonghyup, a state-funded agricultural bank, aim to cut

IndustryDec. 12, 2011

Hyundai Motor chief stresses internal strength

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo called for heads of overseas corporations to prioritize enhancing internal stability amid the unfavorable global market conditions.His remarks come during a meeting of overseas corporations’ presidents from countries such as the U.S., China and India with the Hyundai-Kia staff at their headquarters in Seoul.Chung was quoted by a Hyundai executive as saying that “Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have posted great performances. The global automotive industry

MobilityDec. 12, 2011

Hyundai Motor chief stresses internal strength

Banks’ ratings rise despite EU woes

Korea’s commercial banks recently saw their credit ratings raised while many big foreign banks suffered downgrades by three global rating agencies.According to the Korea Center for International Finance, six Korean banks recently enjoyed upgraded credit ratings or more positive outlooks from the rating firms.In July, Standard & Poor’s raised its rating of Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank by one notch.In November, Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on three state-run banks ― Industrial Bank of Korea, Ex

Dec. 12, 2011

Hyundai Group withdraws from fourth telecom bid

Hyundai Group said Monday that it has decided to withdraw bid to participate in the competition to select the country’s fourth telecom project.Hyundai Group’s affiliate Hyundai Ubiquitous and Information Technology said it is withdrawing from the IST consortium, indicating it will take out its investment sum of 35 billion won ($30.4 million).“We were planning to inject about 35 billion won because we believed the fourth telecom project was a promising one for future growth and a plus for the cou

IndustryDec. 12, 2011

Seoul shares rise 1.33% on EU deal

South Korean stocks closed 1.33 percent higher on Monday as investors were emboldened by hopes that a new EU fiscal treaty may help solve the eurozone debt crisis, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI gained 25.01 points to 1,899.76. Trading volume was moderate at 404.2 million shares worth 5.28 trillion won ($4.61 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 515 to 293.“European leaders’ agreement on a new fiscal treaty gave some support to the market, bu

Dec. 12, 2011

Watchdog to look into mutual home loans by cooperative funds

South Korea’s financial watchdog said Monday it will look into whether local mutual cooperative funds followed rules on home loan extension as household debt has been on the rise, led by non-bank institutions.The Financial Supervisory Service said it plans to launch a field inspection into branches of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or Nonghyup, and National Credit Union Federation of Korea in a bid to uncover irregularities related to the extension of household lending.The FSS

Dec. 12, 2011

Private pension market to expand by 34% this year

The country’s private pension market is on course to expand by about 34 percent this year as more are joining the retirement market in one of the world’s fastest-aging societies, industry sources said Monday.The retirement and personal pension market is forecast to exceed 250 trillion won ($218 billion) by the end of this year, up from 187 trillion won last year, sources said. The flock to the pension market comes as Korea is fast becoming an aged society, as senior citizens aged 65 or older are

Dec. 12, 2011

Less than half of S. Korean firms see export gains in 2012: poll

Less than half of South Korean exporters predicted their overseas shipments will expand in 2012 amid lingering concerns of global economic slowdown, a survey showed Monday.According to a survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industries, 44.2 percent of 502 exporting companies said next year’s business will exceed figures for this year.The poll also showed 43.8 percent expected exports to remain unchanged from this year, while 12 percent expected a decrease in sales in foreign mar

Dec. 12, 2011

New policy measures may not reverse downward pressure in 2012

Worsening external conditions, faltering domestic consumption cloud the outlook furtherWhen an illness spreads too far, few kinds of medicine can bring it back under control.The implication of the newly unveiled economic policy blueprints fits this scenario, unfortunately, as the impact is seen as severely limited, if not altogether ineffective. The Finance Ministry’s set of plans, announced on Monday, are aimed at fighting the stubbornly strong downward pressure on Asia’s fourth-largest economy

Dec. 12, 2011

S-Oil CEO receives top industrial award

S-Oil chief executive Ahmed A. Subaey received a top industrial award at the annual Trade Day ceremony Monday for the company’s steady exports of petrochemicals and large-scale investments.At the 48th Trade Day ceremony, the Korean government awarded 785 people for general merit in helping improve Korea’s trade balances, and another 31 for special merit in helping the country reach $1 trillion in annual trade.In the general merit section, Subaey became the second foreigner ever to be granted the

IndustryDec. 12, 2011

SK fosters social enterprises, helps create jobs

As part of its efforts to fulfill its social responsibility, SK Group has provided systematic support for social enterprises based on its experience of creating social service jobs since 2005.SK organized a division under its Happy Nanum Foundation last year to help develop business items for social enterprises using some 50 billion won ($42 million) in funds.SK launched a website for networking among research institutes, social enterprises, nongovernmental organizations and the government in 20

IndustryDec. 12, 2011