The Korea Herald

Common hip problems

The hip is the joint that connects the pelvis to the leg. Pelvic disease often occurs in this joint, which supports much of the body’s weight and has a structure commonly described as a ball and socket. When walking, the joint can be placed under 3-4 times more pressure than caused by body weight, and when running, this pressure can be 10 times more.Pelvic disease can occur after the middle-aged years. Fractures For younger people, fractures around the joint are usually caused by serious acciden

TechnologyJan. 17, 2013

Stem-cell venture goes offshore to sidestep regulations

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and RNL Bio Co., a Seoul-based bio venture, are locking horns over controversial stem cell operations on Korean patients in Japan and China arranged by the firm.The government is considering taking legal action against the stem cell developer for a violation of Korean pharmaceutical law that bans injections of manufactured stem cells without approval from the state-run drug agency.Officials claim the firm has evaded the Korean law because it administered stem c

TechnologyJan. 17, 2013

Stem-cell venture goes offshore to sidestep regulations

Credit card firms face probe over fees

The Financial Supervisory Service will dispatch inspectors to the headquarters of seven major credit card firms next week, in a bid to find out whether they charged retailers irregular service fees.“Starting on Jan. 21, the investigation into the overall credit card industry will be carried out over the next three weeks,” an FSS official said on Thursday.He said the financial regulator had demanded the seven issuers to tender a variety of documents on the card transaction fees on retailers befor

Jan. 17, 2013

Shares slip on foreign selloff

South Korean stocks closed marginally lower Thursday, as overseas investors continued to dump shares amid lingering economic jitters and a strong local currency, analysts said. The Korean won edged up against the U.S dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 3.18 points, or 0.16 percent, to finish at 1,974.27. Trading volume was heavy at 821.3 million shares worth 4.06 trillion won ($3.84 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 450 to 342. “Investor sentiment has become more

Jan. 17, 2013

Korea not to levy taxes on clergy: ministry

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― The Finance Ministry said Thursday that it has decided not to impose taxes on priests, monks and other religious leaders anytime soon, apparently leaving the controversial issue to the incoming government.The decision, which is part of the ministry’s tax code revision proposal unveiled earlier in the day, comes amid expectations that the government might push ahead with its earlier confirmed plan to tax the clergy under the principle that “there is a tax where there is an

Jan. 17, 2013

LS Industrial wins $67m deal in Iraq

LS Industrial Systems Co., a leading South Korean manufacturer of electric components, said Thursday it has won a $67 million deal to build a power distribution control center for the Iraqi government.Under the deal with Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity, the company will build seven distribution control centers across the country by early 2015, LS Industrial said in a press release. The deal is the biggest a local firm has won in the smart grid sector.The distribution control center, which operate

Jan. 17, 2013

Samsung-LG dispute escalates

Samsung Display Co. has filed a suit against LG Display Co. seeking the invalidation of the latter’s patents on liquid crystal display, according to legal industry sources Thursday, the latest move in a heated patent tussle between the two display giants.LG Display, the world’s No. 2 maker of LCD, first raised three patent infringement claims on LCD technologies against Samsung Electronics Co. and Samsung Display.In a suit filed with the Seoul Central District Court last month, LG Display argued

TechnologyJan. 17, 2013

E-Land signs deal to buy K-Swiss

Apparel giant E-Land Group inked a deal on Thursday to acquire Nasdaq-listed U.S. footwear company K-Swiss, Inc. for $170 million, becoming the first Korean company to buy a listed American fashion firm.Through taking over K-Swiss, which saw its sales halve from 2005 to around 600 billion won in 2011, E-Land plans to beef up its footwear line and business in China.About half of K-Swiss’ sales come from the U.S., and the other half from Europe and Asia.“By expanding our sports brand business from

IndustryJan. 17, 2013

Dutch court rules in favor of Samsung

A Dutch court on Wednesday ruled that Samsung Electronics did not infringe on design-related patents of Apple Inc. for its Galaxy tablets, including the flagship 10.1.“We welcome the court’s decision, as making unreasonable claims involving the general design will not be helpful for the consumers or for the development of the industry,” the Suwon-based company said in a statement. Samsung and Apple have been enmeshed in a high-profile patent battle for over a year now, with Samsung ordered to pa

TechnologyJan. 17, 2013

Uljin nuke reactor halts on malfunction

The first reactor of the Uljin nuclear power plant in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, suspended its operations due to a technical malfunction, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power said Thursday. The breakdown in a power measurement instrument in the reactor stopped operations, but the reactor is safe and without signs of radiation leakage, the KHNP said. The 25-year-old first reactor of the Uljin nuclear power plant, which has the power generation capacity of 950 megawatts, has raised safety concerns

Jan. 17, 2013

BOK to brief transition team on nation’s economic outlook

The Bank of Korea is expected to brief the transition team of President-elect Park Geun-hye on overall monetary policy and economic outlook on Friday.BOK officials said that the subjects presented would range from overviews of its monetary policy to household debt and its economic forecast for 2013. Although the team’s official policy briefing ended on Thursday with the statistics bureau, the team included the central bank at the last minute after it had omitted it from the seven-day briefing sc

Jan. 17, 2013

Shipbuilders vying for W4tr UAE project

The nation’s top two shipbuilders ― Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Maritime Engineering ― are competing to win a $3.8 billion onshore oil facility construction project in the United Arab Emirates.In a recent bid made to Zakum Development Co., a subsidiary of the UAE’s state-run petroleum corporation, DSME emerged as a strong candidate by offering the lowest price, shipbuilding sources said Wednesday.DSME, in a consortium with U.K.-based Petrofac, entered a bid with a price

IndustryJan. 17, 2013

NPS may get greater shareholder rights to rein in big firms

The National Pension Service, the country’s pension fund manager, has been increasingly called upon to carry out duties for the markets, becoming more than a mere manager of public money investing in safe assets.Whether it is stabilizing the stock market as it did at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008 or providing support to Korean companies for cross-border mergers and acquisitions, the NPS will likely once again emerge into the spotlight as a savior of sorts ― this time, for the

Jan. 17, 2013

NPS may get greater shareholder rights to rein in big firms

‘Leadership gene’ found: study

Certain qualities that allow a person to become a leader can be inherited, according to a recent study.“We have identified a genotype, called rs4950, which appears to be associated with the passing of leadership ability down through generations,” said the study’s lead author Jan-Emmanuel De Neve from University College London.De Neve, with colleagues from Harvard University, New York University and the University of California, analyzed genetic samples of about 4,000 individuals and found signif

TechnologyJan. 17, 2013

Psychiatric disorders prevalent in inmates

Psychiatric disorders are prevalent among inmates, and mental-health treatment could help former inmates reintegrate into society, U.S. researchers say.Study co-author Jason Schnittker of the University of Pennsylvania, Michael Massoglia of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Christopher Uggen of the University of Minnesota said most common psychiatric disorders found among former inmates, including impulse control disorders, emerge in childhood and adolescence and, therefore, predate incarc

TechnologyJan. 17, 2013

Psychiatric disorders prevalent in inmates

Hyundai Rotem blasted for sloppy handling of U.S. rail car project

Hyundai Rotem was pounded by a U.S.-based public transportation agency for failing to follow through with a $190 million contract for providing new commuter rail cars.The U.S. company -- the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or MBTA -- has consequently threatened to terminate the contract in case of further delays. According to a letter sent to Hyundai Rotem on Dec. 21 last year from Jonathan Davis, the MBTA’s chief financial officer, obtained by The Boston Globe, the procurement contr

IndustryJan. 17, 2013

Seoul shares slip 0.16 pct on foreign selloff

South Korean stocks closed marginally lower Thursday, as overseas investors continued to dump shares amid lingering economic jitters and a strong local currency, analysts said. The Korean won edged up against the U.S dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 3.18 points, or 0.16 percent, to finish at 1,974.27. Trading volume was heavy at 821.3 million shares worth 4.06 trillion won (US$ 3.84 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 450 to 342. "Investor sentiment has b

Jan. 17, 2013

Vaccinated mothers are safer for fetus: study

A large study concluded that it is safer for pregnant mothers to be vaccinated during pregnancy. According to the journal from scientists at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, vaccination during pregnancy reduces the risk of fetal death by 25 percent. 　The study had a sample of 113,331 mothers who had been pregnant between spring 2009 and fall 2010, when the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic was in full swing. The study result shows that there were 492

TechnologyJan. 17, 2013

Vaccinated mothers are safer for fetus: study

A secret mobile phone for illicit lovers in Japan

An old-fashioned Japanese mobile phone has drawn lasting popularity, thanks to its strong and subtle privacy protection.The online edition of the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the old mobile phone model called “F Series,” produced by Japanese electronics maker Fujitsu, has been favored by male customers in Japan even after smartphones dominated the market.The phone features a special function called “privacy mode,” which allows users to thoroughly protect details of calls and messa

TechnologyJan. 17, 2013

A secret mobile phone for illicit lovers in Japan

Seoul shares down 0.21 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.21 percent lower late Thursday mornings, as earlier gains in tech blue-chips and shipping lines pared down, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 4.12 points to 1,973.33 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics dipped 1.7 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix losing nearly 1 percent. The country's leading bulk shipping firm STX PanOcean slumped around 4 percent. In contrast, autos and brokerage houses advanced, with indust

Jan. 17, 2013