The Korea Herald

Household debt approaches $1tr

Borrowing from secondary banking sector increasesKorea’s household debt is on track to exceed $1 trillion by 2013 due to growing spending tied to mortgage payments and daily necessities, fueling concerns about domestic financial fragility.Outstanding household credit, including loans from commercial banks and the secondary banking sector, rose to record high of 892.5 trillion won ($791 billion) at the end of October, up 45.6 trillion won or 5.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank

Dec. 4, 2011

Toyota’s first U.S. gain since April caps positive month

Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. delivered more vehicles in the U.S. than analysts estimated as auto demand climbed to the highest of the year. Toyota sales in November grew 6.7 percent from a year earlier, the first increase in seven months, and Leaf-maker Nissan posted a 19 percent gain, according to statements yesterday. South Korea’s Hyundai and affiliate Kia had a combined increase of 29 percent. Deliveries at Honda Motor Co. fell 6.7 percent, the

MobilityDec. 4, 2011

Peugeot to launch diesel hybrid in Korea

Hanbul Motors CEO predicts eco-friendly technology to determine fate of automakersThe world’s first diesel-electric hybrid vehicle, developed by Peugeot and currently on sale in Europe, will likely be imported into the Korean market next year.Hanbul Motors Corp., the official importer and distributor of vehicles of France-based PSA Peugeot-Citroen, plans to launch the diesel-electric hybrid version of its 3008 crossover hatchback here.The Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 has been gaining popularity in the

MobilityDec. 4, 2011

Peugeot to launch diesel hybrid in Korea

Yuhan-Kimberly honored with presidential citation

Yuhan-Kimberly, Korea’s leading hygiene products maker, has won a presidential citation for its innovative efforts to protect consumer rights, the company said last week. The company was awarded the top honor in celebration of Consumer Rights Day, which falls on Dec. 3 every year. A joint venture of Korea’s Yuhan Corp. and U.S.-based Kimberly-Clark Corp., the company was established in 1971. Under the leadership of CEO Choe Kyoo-bok, who took office in 2010, the company is also striving to expan

IndustryDec. 4, 2011

Yuhan-Kimberly honored with presidential citation

Woman: Psychologist implanted horrific memories

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The memories that came flooding back were so horrific that Lisa Nasseff says she tried to kill herself: she had been raped several times, had multiple personalities and took part in satanic rituals involving unthinkable acts. She says she only got better when she realized they were

TechnologyDec. 4, 2011

Woman: Psychologist implanted horrific memories

Geoengineering could save Earth, or destroy it

DURBAN, South Africa (AP) -- Brighten clouds with sea water? Spray aerosols high in the stratosphere? Paint roofs white and plant light-colored crops? How about positioning ``sun shades'' over the Earth?At a time of deep concern over global warming, a group of scientists, philosophers and legal scho

TechnologyDec. 4, 2011

US court rejects Apple request on Samsung sales

Samsung Electronics Co. welcomed Saturday a U.S. court decision that turned down Apple Inc.'s request for a preliminary injunction against its mobile devices, a major victory for the Korean firm in a series of high-stakes global legal battles against the iPhone maker.The ruling, delivered by a U.S.

TechnologyDec. 4, 2011

Stealthy cellphone software stirs outcry

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Technology bloggers are asking if our cellphones are spying on us after a security researcher said a piece of software hidden on millions of phones was recording virtually everything people do with them.Amid a broad outcry, Sen. Al Franken is calling for an investigation. A cla

TechnologyDec. 3, 2011

Seoul shares likely to gain ground next week

South Korean stocks are expected to move upward in the coming week, as an upcoming central bank meeting and a summit in Europe drive investor expectations for more actions to tackle the eurozone crisis, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 7.86 percent,

Dec. 3, 2011

Shares end flat after surge

South Korean stocks finished nearly unchanged on Friday as investors sat on the sidelines after the key index’s rally in the previous session, analysts said. The localcurrency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged down 0.01 percent, or 0.14 points, to 1,916.04. Trading volume was moderate at 382 million shares worth 5.73 trillion won ($5.08 billion) with gainers leading losers 434 to 389. “There was no market trigger,” said Kwak Joong-bo, an analyst a

Dec. 2, 2011

BOK purchases more gold in November

South Korea’s central bank said Friday it had raised its holdings of gold in four months in November in an effort to diversify its portfolio of foreign exchange reserves worth more than $300 billion. South Korea purchased 15 tonnes of gold, raising the country’s gold holding to 54.4 tonnes at a value of $2.17 billion at the end of November, according to the Bank of Korea.The move marked the BOK’s second purchase of the precious metal so far this year. It bought 25 tonnes of gold bullion in June

Dec. 2, 2011

Oh to head KOTRA

Oh Young-ho, executive vice chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, was named the president of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.Starting Monday, Oh will succeed Hong Suk-woo who took office as the minister of knowledge economy two weeks ago.Having entered public service in 1980, Oh has served as the chief of the organizing committee of the Seoul G20 Business Summit and first vice minister of commerce, industry and energy, before the Ministry of Knowledge Economy receive

IndustryDec. 2, 2011

Electricity rates raised by 4.5%

Electricity rates will be raised by 4.5 percent on average starting Monday, with prices of high-voltage power for industrial use going up by 6.6 percent, to induce a reduction in power consumption, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Friday.High-voltage, industrial power consumers account for 51.5 percent of the nation’s electricity consumption, followed by households (14.6 percent).Electricity rates for housing and farming will remain unchanged, while the rates for four other categories ― in

IndustryDec. 2, 2011

Asiana wins another honor as ‘Airline of the Year’

Asiana Airlines was named “Airline of the Year” by a U.S. travel magazine, becoming the first air carrier to win the top award from three different institutions for three years in a row.The Global Traveler named Asiana the “2011 Airline of the Year” and the top airliner in six other categories. Asiana had been named “Airline of the Year” by the industry publication Air Transport World in 2009 and consultancy Skytrax last year. The Global Traveler awarded winners in 68 travel-related categories,

IndustryDec. 2, 2011

Asiana wins another honor as ‘Airline of the Year’

Hana set to seal KEB takeover deal with Lone Star

Hana Financial Group said in a regulatory filing to the Korea Exchange on Friday that it has reached an agreement with Lone Star Funds on an 11 percent cut in takeover price for Korea Exchange Bank. The official announcement, issued right after Hana held a meeting of board members Friday afternoon, marks the beginning of the last phase of the long-protracted acquisition deal that spawned a series of heated public disputes, legal wrangling and rampant speculation about pricing.Under the new deal,

Dec. 2, 2011

LG Display CEO replaced

LG Chem CEO Kim retained; LG Display’s Kwon moves to Chem’s new battery unitLG Display named Han Sang-beom, head of the company’s television business division, as its new CEO, replacing Kwon Young-soo, in a reshuffle on Friday.Kwon will move to head the new battery project unit at LG Chem, which will focus on work related to secondary batteries, such as small batteries, electric car batteries and those used for energy storage, according to LG officials.Kim Bahn-suk, chief executive and vice chai

IndustryDec. 2, 2011

Porsche has “overwhelming” orders for $119,000 revamped 911

Porsche AG said it has received ‘overwhelming’ orders in Germany for the revamped 911 sports car two days before the 88,000-euro ($119,000) model goes on sale in Europe.Porsche will have a “particularly strong rush” for the seventh-generation 911 at showrooms in Europe’s biggest economy, the Stuttga

MobilityDec. 2, 2011

Porsche has “overwhelming” orders for $119,000 revamped 911

Gov't announces 4.5 percent electricity price hike

SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Yonhap) -- The country's electricity price will be raised by an average 4.5 percent from next week, though rates for households and the agricultural industry will remain intact, the government said Friday.Starting on Monday, prices of electricity used by industrial and educational sec

Dec. 2, 2011

Apple juice can pose a health risk _ from calories

It's true _ apple juice can pose a risk to your health. But not necessarily from the trace amounts of arsenic that people are arguing about.Despite the government's consideration of new limits on arsenic, nutrition experts say apple juice's real danger is to waistlines and children's teeth. Apple ju

TechnologyDec. 2, 2011

Apple juice can pose a health risk _ from calories

US report: Arctic much worse since 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) _ U.S. officials say the Arctic region has changed dramatically for the worse in the past five years.It is melting at a near record pace, and it is darkening and absorbing too much of the sun's heat.A new report card from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rates the

TechnologyDec. 2, 2011