iPhone 4S gets radio approval

Apple’s latest smartphone iPhone 4S has gotten radio approval in Korea, the National Radio Research Agency said Friday. The radio approval, however, does not necessarily indicate imminent sales of iPhone 4S in Korea. The Apple handset will have to receive approval from the Korea Broadcasting Commission, with the launch date to be decided among local telecom providers. Considering that it took more than a month for the previous model iPhone 4 to be marketed here after radio approval, industry sou

IndustryOct. 28, 2011

Non-regular workers numbered at 6 million

College graduates make up 30% of irregular workforceThe number of “irregular” workers with low pay and less job security in Korea reached nearly 6 million, data showed on Friday, underscoring that the country’s employment condition continues to deteriorate. Statistics Korea said the number of non-regular workers in Korea stood at 5.99 million as of end-August, accounting for a 34.2 percent share in the total workforce. The total number of salaried workers, including temporary employees, rose 2.7

Oct. 28, 2011

Google chief to meet KT head in Seoul

Google chairman Eric Schmidt will visit Korea early next month for a series of talks with KT chairman Lee Suk-chae and other leaders of tech companies, industry sources said Friday. This will be the second time for the Google chief executive to visit Korea.Amid diverse smartphone-related issues expected to be discussed during the talks, industry sources predicted that mobile payment services would be the main topic. KT, which in February acquired the nation’s top credit card firm BC Card, this w

Oct. 28, 2011

Financial market gains ground

CDS premium down, KOSPI up on improved sentimentKorea’s stock market ended higher on Friday, helped by a new European deal aimed at slashing Greece’s massive debt, amid declining credit default swap premiums pointing to stabilizing sentiment. The benchmark KOSPI closed up 0.39 percent at 1,929.48 on foreign and institutional buying. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ, however, dropped 1.3 percent to 490.59. The Korean won closed at 1,104.9 won against the U.S. dollar, strengthening from 1,115.2 won a day ear

Oct. 28, 2011

Making money bigger priority than preserving it, SEI says

Increasing their wealth is a priority for more high-net-worth families than merely maintaining what they already have, according to a survey of individuals with an average household net worth of more than $20 million.About 74 percent of those surveyed said that growth of wealth was a priority over t

Oct. 28, 2011

Aspirin slashes cancer rate for those with hereditary risk

Long-term, daily doses of aspirin led to a fall of some 60 percent in cases of colorectal cancer among people with an inherited risk of this disease, the journal The Lancet reported on Friday.The trial -- considered to be broad in sample and long in duration -- confirms evidence elsewhere that aspir

TechnologyOct. 28, 2011

US ties newer birth control drugs to blood clots

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Safety concerns about the popular birth control pill Yaz increased Thursday as federal health scientists reported that the Bayer drug and other newer birth control treatments appear to increase the risk of dangerous blood clots more than older medications.A new study released by t

TechnologyOct. 28, 2011

Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains, eased eurozone woes

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Friday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 33.79 points, or 1.76 percent, to 1,955.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Financial shares,

Oct. 28, 2011

Teeth study shows big dinosaurs trekked for food

LOS ANGELES (AP) — What did giant plant-munching dinosaurs do when they couldn't find enough to eat in the parched American West? They hit the road. An analysis of fossilized teeth adds further evidence that the long-necked dinosaurs called sauropods — the largest land creatures —

TechnologyOct. 28, 2011

S. Korea's current account surplus jumps in Sept.

SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's current account surplus jumped more than 10-fold in September from the previous month on brisk exports, the central bank said Friday, showing that overseas shipments are weathering global economic uncertainty.The current account surplus reached US$3.1 billion

Oct. 28, 2011

NATO to formally end Libya operations Oct 31

 BERLIN (AP) _ NATO's secretary-general says the alliance will on Friday confirm a decision to end its operations in Libya by Oct. 31.Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday after meetings in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the U.N.'s resolution adopted earlier in the day “reflects

Oct. 28, 2011

Samsung Electronics Q3 net plunges 23 percent

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top memory chip supplier and second-biggest handset maker, said Friday that its third-quarter earnings declined 23 percent from one year ago, hurt by a slow recovery in consumer electronics markets worldwide. Net profit reached 3.44 trillion won (US$3.09 billion)

IndustryOct. 28, 2011

Merck files pigment patent suit against two Korean companies

Merck Patent GmbH, the intellectual property arm of the chemicals and pharmaceutical group, said Thursday it has filed a lawsuit in Korea against CQV Co. and Sungmin Chemicals, claiming the two local firms infringed upon its patents for pigment technology.The Darmstadt, Germany-based company had attempted to resolve the patent issue with CQV after claiming that the Korean firm’s pearl luster pigments used to create unique gold color effects for cosmetics copied its products. Sungmin distributes

IndustryOct. 27, 2011

POSCO pledges W260 billion for ventures and small firms

POSCO will set up a 260 billion won ($230 million) fund to support shared-growth between large and small companies.The plans were announced at the company’s Idea Marketplace event in Seoul on Thursday.Of the 260 billion won, 160 billion won will be used for profit sharing and 50 billion won will be operated by the Large and Small Business Cooperation Foundation. The fund will also include 30 billion won for supporting establishment of venture companies and 20 billion won to help companies with d

IndustryOct. 27, 2011

Number of holding firms grows: watchdog

The number of holding companies in South Korea grew over the past year as businesses continued efforts to streamline their corporate governance structure, the corporate watchdog said Thursday.The number of holding firms in South Korea stood at 105 as of end-September, up 9 from the same period a year earlier, according to a report by the Fair Trade Commission. Over the period, 24 firms were added to the list, while 15 were taken off. Of the total, 13 are financial holding companies, while the re

Oct. 27, 2011

Foreign exchange rates, rising costs dent local companies’ Q3 figures

Fluctuating foreign exchange rates and Europe’s financial instability dampened Korean firms’ performances in the third quarter.According to the financial information provider Fn Guide, 62 percent of listed companies that have posted net profits for the period by Wednesday, saw their net profits fall or move into the red.As of Wednesday, 91 listed firms posted third-quarter figures, of which 79 disclosed their net figures.Of the 79, seven companies including Korea Air, LG Display and LG Electroni

Oct. 27, 2011

Seoul shares up 1.46% on Europe bailout plan

South Korean stocks rose 1.46 percent on Thursday as investors were buoyed by a set of bailout measures agreed on by European policymakers and financialinstitutions. The local currency shot up against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soared 27.73 points to a near three-month high of 1,922.04. Trading volume was heavy at 410.4 million shares worth 7.82 trillion won ($7.02 billion), with gainers far outnumbering decliners 594 to 234.“Market watchers are split on the

Oct. 27, 2011