Korean Air introduces premium in-flight services

By Cho Ji-hyunKorean Air, the country’s largest air carrier, introduced a number of new services on Wednesday, including an upgraded menu on some routes and a new cosmetic skin care set, in a bid to enhance its in-flight services.At a press event in Incheon, the company said it will upgrade the in-flight menu for economy seat passengers beginning in June, serving a healthier meal option -- salmon

IndustryApril 27, 2011

Bioethics body approves first embryonic stem cell test

A clinical test using embryonic stem cells was approved for the first time in Korea on Wednesday. 　The National Bioethics Committee said it had approved CHA Bio & Diostech’s request to conduct a clinical test using embryonic stem cell in treating macular degeneration which can lead to sight loss. 　The test in particular will be conducted to prove the stem cells’ effect on Stargardt’s Macular Dystr

TechnologyApril 27, 2011

Chaebol seethe at Seoul’s control drive

The country’s corporate giants appeared to be inwardly seething over the latest remarks from a presidential aide who said public funds should play a bigger role in promoting corporate governance by more proactively exercising their shareholder rights.Samsung Electronics, which Kwak Seung-jun mentioned as one company that needs to see more of its shareholders taking control, refused to comment, say

April 27, 2011

Business sentiment up for May

South Korea’s business sentiment for May rose from a month ago on expectations about solid economic growth at home and abroad, a poll showed Wednesday.The monthly Business Survey Index (BSI) for the upcoming month came in at 104.3, compared with 98.4 a month earlier, according to the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the country’s leading business lobby.A reading below 100 means pessimists ou

April 27, 2011

Ulleung Island in East Sea to be zero-carbon area

By Choi He-suk Ulleung Island in the East Sea will be established as a zero-carbon island where most energy requirements are met by renewable sources, according to a government plan released Wednesday.As such, the government will draw up comprehensive plans to turn Ulleung Island into a “green island” that surpasses Denmark’s Samso Island in terms of renewable energy uses, the Ministry of Knowledg

April 27, 2011

Hyundai Heavy’s packaged power stations go online in Japan

By Choi He-sukThe packaged power stations Hyundai Heavy Industries provided to Tokyo Electric Power Co. began operations Wednesday.Developed by Hyundai Heavy, a packaged power station is a piece of diesel-fueled power generating equipment contained within a 40-feet long container.The world’s largest shipyard sent over four packaged power stations to Japan after TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear po

IndustryApril 27, 2011

Controversy to elevate on location-based service bill

By Cho Ji-hyunThe government has approved a plan to relax the regulations on cellphone location-based services amid rising public calls for better state privacy protection measures.The Cabinet endorsed Tuesday a revised regulation on protection and use of location information, which aims to give more room and flexibility for location-based service operators. According to the bill, service provider

April 27, 2011

Buying power weakens despite GDP growth

By Kim Yon-seKorean consumers’ purchasing power has weakened on average even though the economy sustained its pace of growth during the first quarter, a Bank of Korea report showed Wednesday.The central bank said the country saw its growth rate of gross domestic product post 4.2 percent in the first quarter on a year-on-year basis and 1.4 percent on a quarter-to-quarter basis.But the gross domesti

April 27, 2011

Prices of DRAM chips remain below $1: report

Prices of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices rose marginally in the second half of this month but stayed below the $1 level, an industry report showed Wednesday, casting doubts on the prospect for their quick recovery.The contract price of the benchmark DDR3 1-gigabit 128Mx8 1066-megahertz device rose 1.03 percent from the first half of this month to $0.98 in the second half, according to

IndustryApril 27, 2011

Foreign life insurers take up 17% of Korean market

Foreign life insurance companies operating in South Korea claimed 16.9 percent of the local market in terms of assets last year, industry data showed Wednesday.The combined assets of the nine foreign life insurers reached 68.9 trillion won ($63.8 billion) as of the end of 2010, according to the data. However, the figure is dwarfed by the 408.4 trillion won in total assets held by the three leading

April 27, 2011

Q1 auto exports to Eastern Europe surge

South Korea’s automobile exports to Eastern Europe rose sharply in the first three months of this year thanks to an economic recovery in the region, a local automobile association said Wednesday. During the January-March period, South Korean car makers’ auto exports to Eastern Europe, including Russia, reached 72,393 units, compared with 37,670 units a year earlier, according to the Korea Automobi

IndustryApril 27, 2011

May manufacturing sentiment at 8-month high

South Korean manufacturers’ business confidence for May rose to the highest level in eight months due to optimism about the economic recovery, the central bank said Wednesday.The index of manufacturers’ outlook on business conditions reached 100 for May, up from 95 for April, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers’ outlook on business conditions for the coming month

April 27, 2011

Lone Star haunts FSC chief for 8 years

Ruling on Lone Star’s eligibility as KEB owner postponedThe Financial Services Commission decided to delay its ruling on the issue of Lone Star Funds’ eligibility as the majority shareholder of KEB.The decision marks a shift from its earlier stance to rule on whether the U.S. fund was a financial investor in 2003 in its scheduled panel meeting Wednesday.Though the issue has come into the spotlight

April 27, 2011

Tycoon families prefer to live in Gangnam: report

By Koh Young-aahSeoul’s Gangnam area, on the southern side of the Han River, has emerged as a popular residential area for families of the country’s top 30 tycoons over the years, a research firm said in a report Wednesday.Seongbuk-dong and Hannam-dong, located in Gangbuk, north of the river, have historically been considered wealthy areas where most local conglomerate owners reside.The trend, how

IndustryApril 27, 2011

LG Electronics post Q1 profit after two quarterly losses

By Cho Ji-hyunLG Electronics announced its comeback Wednesday by getting back into the black, posting 13.15 trillion won ($12.19 billion) in sales and 130 billion won in operating profit for the first quarter of this year.In its quarterly earnings report, the company said total sales maintained a similar level to the same period last year, down 0.4 percent. However, its net loss during the term wa

IndustryApril 27, 2011

‘Knowing market key for foreign retailers’ entry here

By Koh Young-aahForeign retailers seeking to enter the Korean market should consider its unique traits and cultural differences to succeed, according to Richard Hwang, managing director of global commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield’s Korean unit. “A lot of global retailers have experienced failure here because they had little understanding of the market before entering it. As

IndustryApril 27, 2011

KAIST develops robotic offshore docking system

South Korean engineers successfully tested the world’s first operational automatic docking system between two large ships off the country’s southeastern coast, a state-run science and technology university said Tuesday.The test carried out in Busan, 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul, is an integral part of the larger “mobile harbor” project that aims to make it possible to speed up the loading and

IndustryApril 27, 2011