The Korea Herald

Forgetting why you entered a room studied

TechnologyNov. 21, 2011

Banks, card firms face antitrust probe

The antitrust watchdog launched a probe into banks and credit card companies for possible manipulation in their service charges, industry sources confirmed Sunday, intensifying its push to slash fees further. The Fair Trade Commission is said to have launched their investigation into 17 local banks and more than 13 credit card firms to see if they conspired to fix prices to ease competition. Charged guilty, the case be a major blow to their balance sheet where the fines could add up to several h

Nov. 20, 2011

Civil servants seek to avoid Sejong City move

Less than 10 months before 36 government agencies are to move to Sejong City in South Chungcheong Province, many civil servants are looking for ways to avoid relocation. Sitting by the construction site in full swing, next to nothing but a field of incomplete apartment blocks in Sejong City, a couple agreed not to make the second administrative town their new home.Lee, a deputy director at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy who declined to give her full name, found it difficult to imagine settlin

Nov. 20, 2011

Civil servants seek to avoid Sejong City move

Telecom market for overseas Koreans to reach W1.5 trillion by 2015: report

The telecommunication market for overseas Koreans will see a boost in sales as more of them want to stay connected to their roots, an industry report concluded Sunday. According to DigiEco, a KT Corp.-affiliated think tank, the telecom market for overseas Koreans is expected to reach 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) by 2015, a 36 percent increase from 1.1 trillion won this year. The report, which analyzed the influence of 90 million overseas Koreans in the IT sector, found the market for mobile p

IndustryNov. 20, 2011

LG, Woongjin clash over water purifier commercial

A water purifier commercial has become the latest source of tension between LG and Woongjin over air purifiers and cosmetics.Woongjin Coway requested LG Electronics to stop airing its Healthcare water filter commercial, accusing it of slandering Woongjin products.The LG television commercial says: “Water put in a plastic tank is for washing, not drinking.”LG Electronics water purifiers use water tanks made of stainless steel, while Woongjin’s are fitted with plastic tanks.“The use of the express

IndustryNov. 20, 2011

Hyundai Heavy launches transformer plant in U.S.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said Sunday it had opened a transformer factory in Alabama to get a toehold in the North American electric equipment market. Located near Montgomery, the state’s capital, the $100 million facility is capable of producing some 200 power transformers of up to 500 kilovolt annually. The world’s largest shipyard broke ground in September last year. The new plant will save the Korean company costs and time on shipping and provide a starting point to branch out into Latin

IndustryNov. 20, 2011

Hyundai Heavy launches transformer plant in U.S.

Tefal still hungry for growth

Company aims to boost Rowenta brand to the level of TefalIn the late 1990s, the French cookware and home appliance brand Tefal was preparing to show its first TV commercial for “non-stick” frying pans in Korea. The Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation refused to approve it, saying the slogan “the pan that really doesn’t stick” was an exaggeration. Kay Paeng, then marketing manager for the brand, visited the advertising regulator’s office on a Saturday and cooked eggs without using oil in fron

IndustryNov. 20, 2011

Seoul shares expected to move in tight range

South Korean stocks are forecast to move in a tight range next week as fiscal debt problems in Europe and the United States will weigh on investor sentiment, analysts here said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1,839.17 on Friday, down 1.27 percent from a week earlier.The market suffered ups and downs throughout the week, affected by news coming from the debt-ridden eurozone economy.Foreign investors sold a net 595.9 billion won ($523.2 million) worth of stocks h

Nov. 20, 2011

POSCO develops own steel welding equipment

POSCO has developed a steel welding machine as part of its efforts to cut costs and localize equipment, the company said Sunday.The latest welder, which will be used to sever and fuse steel plates together, is designed to offer clean sheared edges with precision and prevent corrosion during the process using lasers, officials said.The world’s fourth-largest steelmaker said it embarked on a project early last year to craft a substitute for pricey welding tools it has sourced from Germany for deca

IndustryNov. 20, 2011

LG Electronics readies for comeback

LG Electronics, the world’s No. 3 handset maker, is striving to bounce back by the first half of next year with smartphones running on fourth-generation Long Term Evolution technology.On Friday, shares of LG Electronics rose 1,600 won, or 2.44 percent, from the previous day to close at 67,200 won per share. The stock price had plunged to 61,600 won when the announcement came on Nov. 3 that the company would issue new shares for the first time in six years.The main reason for issuing new shares w

IndustryNov. 20, 2011

FSC chief under pressure to resign

Light action on Lone Star expected to invite series of protestsFinancial Services Commission Chairman Kim Seok-dong will likely be under heavier pressure to resign following regulators’ allegedly lukewarm action against Lone Star Funds last Friday.A group of lawmakers are poised to call for Kim to quit as the top regulator, criticizing the FSC for not taking stern measures on the U.S.-based equity fund.A group of unionized workers in the financial sector had already said Kim should leave the po

Nov. 20, 2011

Suzuki says it wants to end alliance with Volkswagen

Suzuki Motor Corp said Friday it was terminating itspartnership with Volkswagen AG and threatened to take the matter toan international arbitration if the German company refused to sellits 19.9-per-cent stake in its smaller Japanese partner.The two carmakers are at odds over claims by Suzuki thatVolkswagen had not granted it access to certain technologies, inbreach of a promise made in a 2009 partnership deal. Relations souredfurther after VW called Suzuki an “associate” in its annual report.“To

MobilityNov. 20, 2011

Toyota awaits Prius bounce as inventory recovers, oil rises

Toyota Motor Corp., the biggest seller of gasoline-electric cars, said U.S. sales of Prius will revive with increased inventory and rising oil prices.Deliveries of the Prius, the top-selling hybrid since 1997, declined 9.4 percent through October from a year ago. Competitors also stumbled. Honda Motor Co.’s Insight fell 21 percent and Ford Motor Co.’s Fusion Hybrid sedan slid 48 percent in the same period, according to Autodata Corp.“When Toyota is 70 percent of the market and we had to stop Pri

MobilityNov. 20, 2011

All-electric SM3 planned for 2012

Renault Samsung says state support required for cars with replaceable batteriesTheRenault Samsung Motors said Sunday that it is working to produce an all-electric version of its mid-sized SM3 sedan next year with replaceable batteries that can be exchanged at drive-in facilities.The Korean unit of the French carmaker has the goal of launching 250 “zero-emission” vehicles by December 2012 to show its commitment in clean energy vehicles, while key requirements for the plan would involve policymake

MobilityNov. 20, 2011

New car sales in Europe fall amid deepening economic gloom

New car registrations in Europe fell by 1.8 percent in October, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said Wednesday, amid signs of deepening economic gloom across the region.The month-on-month drop brought total new registrations in the 27-member European Union down to 1.01 million vehicles, with sharp falls in the nations that have emerged at the heart of Europe’s debt crisis.This includes Italy and Spain, where new car registrations slumped by 5.5 per cent and 6.7 per cent respec

MobilityNov. 20, 2011

Pfeiffer hails Eastern Germany as investment venue for Korea

Germany Trade and Invest CEO cites subsidy, infrastructure, dedicated workersEver since German unification 20 years ago, the eastern part of the country has been clawing back the economic gap with its western counterpart.“We want a level playing field for companies in the west and the east, we want to have the same chances for people,” Michael Pfeiffer, chief executive of Germany Trade and Invest, said in an interview at a seminar aimed at highlighting the advantages of investing in the former c

Nov. 20, 2011

Pfeiffer hails Eastern Germany as investment venue for Korea

Metal 100 times lighter than Styrofoam created

TechnologyNov. 20, 2011

Research firm: Amazon sells $199 tablet at a loss

NEW YORK (AP) -- Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire tablet, which started shipping this week, costs $201.70 to make, a research firm said Friday. That's $2.70 more than Amazon charges for it.The analysis by IHS indicates that Amazon is, at least initially, selling the tablet at a loss that it hopes to co

TechnologyNov. 20, 2011

Scientists: Faster-than-light finding still holds

GENEVA (AP) -- The chances have risen that Einstein was wrong about a fundamental law of the universe.Scientists at the world's biggest physics lab said Friday they have ruled out one possible error that could have distorted their startling measurements that appeared to show particles traveling fast

TechnologyNov. 20, 2011

Scientists: Faster-than-light finding still holds

Regulator allows Lone Star to sell KEB to Hana

FSC paves the way for the country’s biggest banking takeover amid protestsKorea’s financial regulators on Friday paved the way for Lone Star Funds, convicted of stock manipulation, to take huge premiums from selling its stake in Korea Exchange Bank. The nine-member panel of the Financial Services Commission chose not to take stern action against the U.S.-based fund, ordering it to sell most of its KEB shares to any investor within six months. Under the decision, the fund is entitled to select an

Nov. 18, 2011