Under pressure, SKT leads phone fee cut

The government announced its telecom fees discount plan on Thursday, which included a 1,000 won cut in SK Telecom’s basic service fees and 50 free text messages every month.The Korea Communications Commission, the state telecom regulator, said it agreed with SKT, the country’s top mobile carrier, to provide a 1,000 won discount for all customers, along with more text messages, both beginning in Se

June 2, 2011

Hyundai-Kia grabs 10% of U.S. market

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. saw their U.S. market share exceed 10 percent for the first time in May, mainly thanks to robust demand for new models.The automakers under the wing of Hyundai Motor Group sold 107,426 vehicles in the United States last month, up 21 percent from a year earlier.They captured 10.1 percent of the American market, where the total sales of global aut

MobilityJune 2, 2011

CJ Group to bid for Japan’s Hayashibara

CJ Group, the country’s largest food company, is bidding to take over Japan’s biggest food-additive maker, Hayashibara, reportedly in consortium with Japanese private equity firm Unison Capital.CJ confirmed the bidding scheduled for July but declined to comment on its consortium with Unison capital.Acquiring Hayashibara is part of CJ Group’s plan to expand into amino acids and other biochemical fo

IndustryJune 2, 2011

Airlines add new routes and planes

Asiana Airlines opened two new routes to Vietnam from Busan, while Korean Air announced that the Airbus A380 will go into service on June 17.On Thursday, Asiana Airlines began operating daily flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam from Busan. Asiana Airlines chief executive Yoon Young-doo (left) poses with pilots at the ceremony marking the opening of the Busan-Ho Chi Minh City

IndustryJune 2, 2011

Hyundai Heavy aims to be global top 3 robot maker

Hyundai Heavy Industries set sights Thursday on the top three spots in the booming global robot market with its new plant ready to enter full-swing production.The world’s top shipbuilder said it has remodeled and expanded existing production lines three times at its headquarter in Ulsan, a major industrial port city on the southeast coast of Korea, which began in September to meet surging demand f

IndustryJune 2, 2011

Korea’s foreign reserves slide

Korea’s foreign exchange reserves shrank in May from the previous month as a stronger U.S. dollar reduced the conversion value of assets in other currencies, the central bank said Thursday.The country’s foreign reserves reached $305.08 billion as of the end of May, down $2.12 billion from April’s record high of $307.2 billion, according to the Bank of Korea. It was the first monthly decline since

June 2, 2011

[Herald Interview] ‘Every corporation should embrace clean technologies’

Global corporations should pursue revenue opportunities in such clean technologies as solar cells and smart-grids to keep up with the trend toward a low-carbon economy, said Gil Forer, the head of Ernst & Young’s global cleantech unit.Forer said corporations should take advantage of transformational opportunities and adopt clean technologies.“A number of factors including the growth in world popul

June 2, 2011

LG chief fosters creation, innovation

Koo tells staff to ceaselessly search for new opportunitiesLG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo touted the importance of creation and innovation, as the single most effective way to lead the market, the Seoul-based company said Thursday.“Constantly creating new things is the only way we can lead the markets,” Koo said at LG’s 19th session of the company’s gathering to spearhead innovative business held M

IndustryJune 2, 2011

BAT Korea sells superpremium Dunhill

British American Tobacco Korea announced Thursday that it will introduce “Dunhill SWITCH” cigarettes on the local market on June 7.The Dunhill SWITCH, which will be priced at 3,000 won ($2.8), comes in packaging with the “RELOC” inner wrapping, the company said.According to the company, which holds the patent on the inner wrapping method, RELOC is a re-sealable double cover that provides additiona

IndustryJune 2, 2011

Philip Morris Korea names new chief

Philip Morris International Inc., the multinational tobacco group, said Wednesday it has appointed Chong Il-woo as managing director for the Korean unit.Chong, 49, will oversee management and orchestrate the unit’s strategy and business, the company said. Chong Il-wooPrior to the new post, Chong headed the Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indochina operation for the U.S.-based conglomerate. He st

IndustryJune 2, 2011

‘Why do you stick to eating meat?’

Vegan doctor says vegetarian diets can meet all nutrient needsWhen asked why he promotes vegetarianism, Yoon Sung-chul, professor of nephrology at Dankook University Medical College, responded in Kind: “Why do you stick to eating meat?” he asked.“I have numerous reasons why we should be vegetarians. How about you?” he said in a Korea Herald interview.On May 21, Yoon took part in the inauguration o

TechnologyJune 2, 2011

Wine, wellness, not the best mix for boomers

DECATUR, Georgia ― As baby boomers approach their golden years, they are embracing wellness and wine ― two things that don’t always go together.While a glass of red wine a day may reduce the risk of heart disease, many boomers are drinking a lot more and not realizing they are increasing their potential risks for other serious health problems, ranging from alcohol abuse disorders to chronic diseas

TechnologyJune 2, 2011

Cervical cancer: preventable with shot, screening

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer and fourth-leading cause of cancer mortality in women worldwide. More than half a million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and the annual mortality rate for cervical cancer is more than 270,000. Unfortunately, the incidence rate of our country (15 in 100,000 women) is much higher than that of other developed countries (less than si

TechnologyJune 2, 2011

Gmail targeted in China-based campaign: Google

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -- Google said Wednesday that a cyber spying campaign originating in China had targeted Gmail accounts of senior US officials, military personnel, journalists and Chinese political activists."We recently uncovered a campaign to collect user passwords, likely through phishing," Google security team engineering director Eric Grosse said in a blog post. The logo of internet search

TechnologyJune 2, 2011