The Korea Herald

Prices of daily necessities up in Jan.: report

Prices of many daily necessities increased in January despite government efforts to fight rising inflation, a report by the state-run consumer protection watchdog showed Sunday. The report by the Korea Consumer Agency showed that of the 80 everyday consumer necessities monitored such as sugar, cereals and detergents, prices for 53 of the products, or 66.3 percent, went up in the cited month co

Feb. 13, 2011

Korea strives to curb home rent prices

Policymakers plan to expand financial benefits for tenants and further ease regulations to control surging housing rent prices in the country, the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs said Friday.The latest set of measures is particularly targeted at reducing the deposits for “jeonse,” a Korean rent system under which tenants pay a lump-sum deposit to rent a house for a certain te

Feb. 13, 2011

NASA comet hunter finds its date on Valentine's Day

A U.S. spacecraft’s long-awaited rendezvous with a comet will finally be realized on Valentine’s Day. The comet explorer Stardust-NExT (New Exploration of Comet Temple 1) will approach the comet Temple 1 at a distance of only 200 kilometers at 8:37 p.m., PST, Feb. 14 (1:37 p.m., Feb. 15 in Korea) and NASA will broadcast the encounter live on NASA Television and the agency’s website from 8:30 p.m.

TechnologyFeb. 12, 2011

NASA comet hunter finds its date on Valentine's Day

KOSPI falls below 2,000

Seoul stocks plunged to a two-month low on Friday as foreigners continued their selling spree and an interest rate freeze stoked investor jitters, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index sank 31.31 points, or 1.56 percent, to 1,977.19, extending a losing streak to a fourth session. The benchmark index fell below the 2,000-point level for the first time this year, sinking to i

Feb. 11, 2011

Central bank puts off key rate hike

The Bank of Korea kept its benchmark interest rate for February unchanged Friday despite growing inflationary pressures, which may invite severe criticism in the market.The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee kept the key rate untouched after it raised it by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent in January. The bank only confirmed its earlier stance for a gradual rate hike.Like several past cases,

Feb. 11, 2011

IMF calls for global monetary reform

IMF chief urges bigger global role for yuan, emerging economies' currenciesWASHINGTON (AFP) ― IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Thursday said the currencies of China and other emerging economies should play a greater role in global finance, as part of a bid to promote monetary stability.Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the 187-nation International Monetary Fund, backed the inclusion of the

Feb. 11, 2011

Rising producer prices deepen inflation woes

Surging farm product prices lift index to 26-month high in JanuaryKorea’s producer prices rose to a 26-month high in January on stoking agricultural and farm products, posing the prospect of further food price hikes for the consumers.The producer price index, indicating price movements at retailers, increased 6.2 percent in January from a year ago, recording a steeper pace from 5.3 percent posted

Feb. 11, 2011

Rising producer prices deepen inflation woes

Apple Korea settles first iPhone damage suit with teen girl

Apple Korea has agreed to make a payment to a 14-year-old South Korean iPhone user in the nation's first iPhone damage suit filed for the breakdown of her device supposedly caused by water damage, court officials said Friday.Apple agreed to pay 290,000 won (US$259) to the girl, identified only as Lee, in the lawsuit arbitrated by a Seoul court Thursday. iPhone 4 (Yonhap News)Her father, Lee Chul-h

TechnologyFeb. 11, 2011

Apple Korea settles first iPhone damage suit with teen girl

BOK freezes key rate at 2.75 pct for Feb.

South Korea's central bank left the key interest rate unchanged on Friday in a bid to gauge the effect of a surprise rate hike made last month despite concerns about inflation. Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his fellow policymakers froze the benchmark seven-day repo rate, dubbed the base rate, at 2.75 percent. Last month, the BOK unexpectedly hiked the borrowing costs by a quarter

Feb. 11, 2011

Korea, U.S. sign supplementary FTA accord

Korea and the U.S. have signed their recently concluded free trade agreement, paving the way for the pending pact to be ratified in both countries, Seoul‘s trade ministry said Thursday.In December last year, both countries reached a final agreement focusing on U.S. demands that South Korea soften its automotive safety and environmental standards.The Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, known as the K

Feb. 10, 2011

Hyundai begins marketing programs for Veloster

Hyundai Motor Co. said Thursday it has launched a marketing program for the Veloster sports coupe releasing limited information about its engine and features. The vehicle will be launched on the local market within the month.The Veloster has an asymmetrical layout ― one door on the driver’s side, and two on the passenger side ― marking Hyundai’s first breaking away from traditional designs. The ve

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

Hyundai begins marketing programs for Veloster

IMF ignored warnings: report

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The IMF ignored warnings about the financial crisis from its own top economist and acted like cheerleader for the U.S. economy rather than monitoring it, according to a scathing watchdog report published on Wednesday.The International Monetary Fund “failed to highlight the relevant vulnerabilities” in the U.S. financial system in the run up to the 2008 crisis, according to a 51-

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

SK Innovation to focus on new markets, tech revolution

SK Innovation Co. CEO Koo Ja-young said Thursday that the firm will speed up the technology revolution and investments in new growth engines with a sales target of 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) by 2015.The firm, parent of the nation’s biggest oil refiner SK Energy, spun-off of its petroleum and petrochemical operations on Jan. 1. Koo saw the future of the firm in world-leading technologies such as

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

SK Innovation to focus on new markets, tech revolution

Asiana Airlines posts all-time record profit

Asiana Airlines, the country’s No. 2 air carrier, reported record high yearly sales of over 5 trillion won ($4.51 billion) in 2010, buoyed by the rising demand for flights, its officials said Thursday.The company said that it reached 5.07 trillion won in sales, an increase of over 30 percent from 2009, and 635.7 billion won in operating profit last year. Both figures are the highest the company ha

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

Android smartphones top 5 million in Korea

Google-made mobile platform spices up competition against Apple’s iPhoneThe number of people who own an Android-powered smartphone has reached 5 million since it was launched in the local market a year ago.Of the people who own smartphones running on the Android mobile operating system, SK Telecom had the highest number of subscribers ― 3.72 million. It was followed by KT Corp., the exclusive serv

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

Stronger won an option to tame inflation

Currency appreciation would improve supply of imports, reduce currency volatility, economists sayA stronger won could help tame the country’s inflationary pressure, as a tool to ease the burden of surging import prices, economists said Thursday.Although tolerating a more expensive won would hurt exporters, the move will ease some supply shortage, they said. They predicted that further appreciation

Feb. 10, 2011

Lotte Group founder’s son promoted to chairman

Lotte Group, a retail-focused Korean conglomerate, promoted Vice Chairman Shin Dong-bin to chairman in a reshuffling carried out Thursday.The group, which operates chains of Lotte Department Store, Lotte Mart and Lotte Super and retail giant GS Group, promoted a total of 172 executives including seven new presidents for its subsidiaries, it said in a statement. Shin Dong-binLotte’s founder and for

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

Lotte Group founder’s son promoted to chairman

KNOC to spend $4 billion on overseas oil assets

Korea National Oil Corp., a state-run energy resources developer, plans to invest as much as $4 billion in overseas oilfields this year as it aims to increase crude production by 33 percent.“We’re interested in assets in Africa, Europe, Asia, the U.S. and Canada,” Kim Seong Hoon, senior executive vice president, said in an interview. “We plan to raise daily output by 60,000 barrels to 240,000 barr

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

LG Electronics accused of breaching Sony TV patents

LG Electronics Inc. was accused in two lawsuits by Sony Corp. of infringing eight patents for technology used in liquid-crystal display televisions and monitors.Sony filed two new complaints, each listing four patents, yesterday in federal court in Los Angeles. The Tokyo-based electronics maker said LG’s 32LD350 LCD television and E2360V LCD monitor are among the products that infringe its technol

IndustryFeb. 10, 2011

Refiners’ profit margins not small: minister

New Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Joong-kyung Thursday reaffirmed the government’s intent to intervene in the local refining market to contain the recent petrol price hike.“The profit margins of local oil companies are 3 percent, even after giving out salaries. Considering that they do not have many other costs, the figure is not at all small compared to those of other manufacture industries,

Feb. 10, 2011