ECB cuts benchmark interest rate to 0.5 percent

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP)- The European Central Bank has cut its benchmark interest rate to a new record low to stimulate the lagging economy in the 17 countries that use the euro. The bank's rate-setting council lowered the refinancing rate a quarter-point to 0.5 percent at a meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia.  The move comes amid fears the eurozone economy may not recover later in the year from its recession.   In theory, a cut helps companies by lowering borrowing costs for banks that have borrow

May 2, 2013

Korea eyes expansion of commercial space industry

The government will soon set up measures to help commercialize its space technology while also working to further develop its commercial space sector that will include the early development of a shuttle to the moon, the science ministry said Thursday.The move comes as there are only 61 private companies or research institutes developing space technologies in the country while 44.2 percent of them have annual sales of less than 1 billion won ($909,000), according to the Ministry of Science, ICT a

TechnologyMay 2, 2013

Houses of former NIS agents, informant raided over scandal

Prosecutors on Thursday raided the houses of two former agents of the nation’s main intelligence agency and one informant as part of a widening investigation into allegations that the organization attempted to influence public opinion ahead of last year’s presidential election. The scandal centers around allegations that the National Intelligence Service extensively and systemically meddled in the presidential election by using its agents to post a slew of politically sensitive comments against

TechnologyMay 2, 2013

U.S. appeals emergency contraception ruling

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The U.S. Department of Justice appealed Wednesday a federal judge’s ruling ordering regulators to provide emergency contraception to women and girls of all ages.The appeal came just one day after the Food and Drug Administration allowed a manufacturer to make the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill available to those aged 15 and older without a prescription.The FDA says that decision is not related to the pending court case over emergency contraception.Until now, emergency cont

TechnologyMay 2, 2013

Regulators warn insurers against overpricing

Financial regulators warned insurance companies to not purposefully over-charge customers on insurance fees.The Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday that it will hold chief executives accountable for such practices and impose tougher disciplinary measures against them and their companies, such as business suspension or higher fines.The financial regulatory enforcement agency also plans to deeply scrutinize whether insurers are fairly pricing their products for their policyholders in the s

May 2, 2013

Expensive air purifiers no better: watchdog

The Korea Consumer Agency said Thursday that not all premium air purifiers were functional, high-quality products.The consumer watchdog evaluated the performance, efficiency, noise and maintenance requirements of 22 air purifier models made by six companies. The air purifier makers were LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Coway, Chungho Nais, Kyowon L&C and Whirlpool.It said that Chungho Nais’ CHA-310BA had many functional options, but fell short in terms of efficiency, and that its maintenance

IndustryMay 2, 2013

SKT Q1 net jumps 15% on LTE boost, equity gain

SK Telecom Co., the country’s top mobile operator, said Thursday its first-quarter net profit increased 15.2 percent from a year earlier gains from equity ties with its chipmaking affiliate and its market leadership in the long-term evolution market.Net profit came to 346 billion won ($314 million) on a consolidated basis in the January-March period, compared with 300 billion won a year earlier, SK Telecom said in a regulatory filing.Revenue rose 3.6 percent on-year to 4.1 trillion won, while op

May 2, 2013

LG to roll out Optmus G Pro in United States next week

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics Inc. said Thursday it plans to roll out the Optimus G Pro, the latest version of the Optimus G smartphone line-up, in the U.S. next week.U.S. customers can preorder the smartphone on AT&T’s Web site starting Friday, and can purchase the device at local retail stores from May 10, it said.In February, the South Korean smartphone maker launched its 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro in its home country, joining the race of smartphones with bigger and brighter displays.In

May 2, 2013

Ultra HDTV shipment to reach 3.9m units next year

The global market for Ultra HDTVs is forecast to grow rapidly down the road with worldwide shipments expected to reach 3.9 million units next year, data showed Thursday.Worldwide shipments of Ultra HDTVs are expected to hit 6.88 million units in 2015 and 9.87 million units in 2016, according to the data by DisplaySearch. For this year, around 930,000 Ultra HDTVs are expected to be shipped, it said.Ultra HDTVs have four times the resolution of the Full HDTVs. Global manufacturers are ramping up e

May 2, 2013

Watchdog to delay suppliers’ loan repayments

South Korea’s watchdog said Thursday that it will delay loan repayments by subcontractors of big firms under debt rescheduling for nearly four months starting this month in a bid to help the small firms avoid cash shortages.The Financial Supervisory Service said it will have creditor banks defer debt repayments by a subcontractor for up to 130 days if its prime contractor company is under a restructuring process. The measure is set to take effect from May 20. “Prime contractors’ debt reschedulin

May 2, 2013

Korea-based carmakers see mixed performance in April

Car sales in April showed mixed results across the nation’s five carmakers, with Hyundai and Kia leading the pack, largely boosted by their newest models. Hyundai Motor sold 407,666 vehicles globally in April, including 58,365 in Korea and 349,301 in overseas markets, up 9.7 percent from the same period last year. Despite reduced production following the union’s refusal to work on weekends, sport utility vehicles, such as the Santa Fe and Maxcruze, saw 5.2 percent growth in domestic sales. In ov

IndustryMay 2, 2013

Baby boomers’ quality of life falls in 2012: MetLife

South Korean baby boomers’ quality of life apparently deteriorated in 2012 from two years earlier, as they were forced to spend more on health care and children’s education despite decrease in income, data showed Thursday.According to the data by MetLife Mature Market Institute and Seoul National University, the baby boomers’ expenditures on children education jumped 27.2 percent over the cited period, while they spent 14.6 percent less on leisure activities.In contrast, their average monthly in

May 2, 2013

LG Chem CEO outlines company’s core values

LG Chem’s chief executive Park Jin-soo on Thursday emphasized the company’s core values of a safe corporate environment, fair trade and mutual growth with smaller players.“In creating a safe working environment, (achieving) 99.9 percent is meaningless,” Park said at a quarterly executive meeting at the company’s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. “In this case, minus one does not equal 99, but zero. That’s how important a safe environment is.” The same priority applies to the corporate principles o

IndustryMay 2, 2013