South Koreans have spent an annual average of more than $4 billion on overseas study since 2006, far exceeding the amount of money foreigners spend on education programs here, central bank data showed Sunday.According to the data by the Bank of Korea, South Koreans’ spending on overseas education programs came to $4.36 billion last year, a slight decrease from $4.39 billion a year earlier.Remittances for overseas study had hovered around the $4 billion mark since 2006, except 2009 when the amoun

IndustryMarch 10, 2013

Goheung, Naro Space Center ― The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 rocket had a successful launch last month and carried a satellite into orbit, to the joy of Koreans all over the nation. However, when seen from a technological point of view, there is much room for improvement, particularly in terms of the fuel used to power the rocket. Due to no wrong from the scientists or the engineers who worked on KSLV-1, Korea is restricted from fueling rockets ― even those to be used for peaceful or space deve

TechnologyMarch 10, 2013

Several foreign companies are seeking to build casino facilities in South Korea’s economic free zones following eased regulations on investment, industry sources said Sunday.U.S.-based firm Caesars Entertainment Corporation and Lippo Group, an Indonesian company, applied for preliminary review by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in January for a joint casino in Yeongjongdo, home to Incheon International Airport, sources said.Universal Entertainment Corporation, a Japanese casino firm,

IndustryMarch 10, 2013

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. claimed the top spot in the Chinese smartphone market for the first time in 2012 by nearly tripling its sales in the world’s largest market, industry data showed Sunday.Samsung Electronics sold 30.06 million smartphones in China last year, up from 10.90 million units a year earlier, garnering a 17.7 percent market share, according to the data by market researcher Strategy Analytics.Last year’s market share represents a 5.3 percentage point increase

IndustryMarch 10, 2013

CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea’s largest food company, said Sunday it is targeting to post 1 trillion won (US$920 million) in animal feed sales this year by establishing more overseas production facilities.To achieve the sales goal, CJ Cheiljedang said it will build six production plants in China, Vietnam and Indonesia, where demand for animal feed has been experiencing explosive growth.The completion of the envisioned facilities would raise the number of the company’s overseas feed factories

IndustryMarch 10, 2013

South Korean stocks are expected to be affected this week by how the North Korea risks heightened by the U.N.’s toughened sanctions on its nuclear test will be playing out among investors’ sentiment, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 20.48 points or 1.01 percent to 2,006.01 on Friday from the previous week.Earlier this week, the market tided over the increased uncertainty after the automatic across-the-board budget cuts in the U.S. went in

March 10, 2013

GOHEUNG, Naro Space Center ― The KSLV-1, more affectionately known as the “Naro” rocket, may be only half Korean rocket science, but in terms of devotion, it’s 100 percent ours.At the same, the IT technology that perfected the rocket is also completely home-grown.On Saturday, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, unveiled the launch control center to the press ― where all the IT-related data is gathered to make informed decisions on the Naro launch.Here, more than 180 types of different data a

IndustryMarch 10, 2013

Korea will likely see a slow economic recovery as various indices ranging from domestic consumption to exports registered lackluster figures, a state-run think tank said on Sunday.Exports, the country’s main growth engine, dropped about 9 percent in February from a year ago, but Korea was able to record a trade balance surplus of some $2 billion, the Korea Development Institute said in the report.The fall in exports is in part due to sluggish outbound shipments of ships and automobiles, as well

March 10, 2013

VIENNA, Austria ― The International Atomic Energy Agency, the world’s nuclear watchdog under the United Nations wing, projected the world’s nuclear energy generating capacity to see steady and continued growth, recovering from the dent made by the Fukushima nuclear accident on March 11 in 2011. Nuclear energy, which enjoyed a renaissance as a low-carbon energy source, has recently fallen into a slump, challenged by safety concerns after the Fukushima accident, the world’s worst nuclear disaster

IndustryMarch 10, 2013

The U.S. International Trade Commission is stuck between a rock and a hard place over the patent infringement cases filed by Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc. against each other.While it would most likely run into difficulty banning products of the Cupertino-based company on its home turf, it may also be afraid of “protectionism” claims if it chooses to block U.S. imports of Samsung, which is the world’s biggest smartphone and TV maker by shipments.The U.S. trade agency announced Thursday, loca

IndustryMarch 10, 2013

The Export-Import Bank of Korea could assist Incheon International Airport Corp to finance Myanmar’s new airport project as the state-run airport operator is currently looking into ways to fund the potential deal worth some $600 million, said sources familiar with the situation.IIAC could seek Korea Eximbank, which has a non-binding agreement with IIAC to support the export of its airport operation know-how, to back its consortium through the policy bank’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund o

BusinessMarch 10, 2013

 A Dutch airliner is flying from New York to Amsterdam on a fuel mix that includes leftover oil from frying Louisiana‘s Cajun food.The KLM flights from Kennedy Airport are powered by a combination of 25 percent recycled cooking oil and 75 percent jet fuel.After the first such flight Friday, the concept will be tested on 24 round-trip trans-Atlantic trips every Thursday for the next six months.KLM executive Camiel Eurlings jokingly told the New York Post that “it smelled like fries” while the pla

IndustryMarch 10, 2013

South Korea will take necessary steps to stabilize its markets in case any additional provocations by North Korea result in heightening geopolitical risks, a senior finance ministry official said Saturday.The steps will be part of what is specified in contingency plans the government came up with to prepare for all stages of situations, Vice Finance Minister Shin Je-yoon told a meeting with other policymakers."The government is seeing that the U.N. Security Council's decision to impose sanctions

March 9, 2013