The Korea Herald

Korea retains global shipbuilding leadership

A late surge helped cement the Korean shipbuilding industry’s global lead in order volume last year, according to a report released by U.K.-based Clarkson’s Research on Wednesday.Korea was tied with China in terms of the number of shipbuilding orders in December, with 30 vessels each, but Korean shipbuilders stayed ahead of Chinese in terms of order value. Korean shipbuilders inked $2.83 billion worth of orders in December, while the value of the Chinese deals stood at $880 million, the report s

IndustryJan. 9, 2013

Kia unveils new K9 with lower price tag

Kia Motors announced price cuts for popular models including the K9 luxury sedan on Wednesday, following its sister carmaker Hyundai Motor’s recent price cuts. The price cuts are largely aimed at maintaining their competitive edge in the domestic market amid an intensifying offensive by import brand cars. It is the first time ever for them to lower car prices. On Wednesday, Kia unveiled the new 2013 version of the K9 with a lowered price tag. Despite its highly publicized launch last year, the f

IndustryJan. 9, 2013

FSS, BOK left out of transition team briefing

The Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea have not been included on the transition team’s list of government agencies that are due to brief President-elect Park Geun-hye on social and economic administrative issues between Jan. 11 and 17.Officials on Park’s team said that it omitted them as they are “not official state ministries.” The Financial Services Commission, the financial policymaking body, however, is scheduled to report to the transition team on Jan 15. FSS is the regulat

Jan. 9, 2013

Woori Card to spin off in first quarter

Financial regulators are set to approve Woori Financial Group’s plan to spin off its credit card unit from Woori Bank later this month, sources said Wednesday.The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service held a senior-level meeting on Wednesday to fine-tune details in a preliminary step to endorse Woori Financial’s proposal to launch a stand-alone credit card operation. An FSC official said regulators will reach a final decision in the coming panel discussion, slated f

Jan. 9, 2013

CJ Freshway opens Busan outlet despite protest

CJ Freshway has opened an outlet in the Busan area despite the government advising against it, according to the Small and Medium Business Administration earlier this week. On Jan. 2, CJ Freshway, a CJ affiliate specializing in distributing food materials and food services, opened a store in Busan although the SMBA had requested that the company suspend the opening.The administration had issued the request after receiving demands from the Busan area’s association of retailers and wholesalers, ask

IndustryJan. 9, 2013

Shares down on earnings woes

South Korean stocks finished 0.31 percent lower on Wednesday as investor sentiment was dented by concerns over weak corporate earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 6.13 points to 1991.81. Trading volume was heavy at 598 million shares worth 3.95 trillion won (US$3.71 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 428 to 376.“Local listed firms are estimated to have remaine

Jan. 9, 2013

Orion’s Chinese sales surpass W1tr

Orion Group, best known for its signature chocolate-covered pies, has become the first Korean confectionery to achieve annual sales topping 1 trillion won in the Chinese market, the company said Wednesday. Orion said its sales for the year 2012 stood at 1.1 trillion won ($1 billion) to record a considerable increase from slightly over 700 billion won the year before. Orion has shown an average annual growth rate of almost 50 percent over the past five years, and in 2012, the company expects its

IndustryJan. 9, 2013

Park aims to empower consumers, SMEs

As President-elect Park Geun-hye vowed to be the president for the low and middle-income groups, one of the key economic policies her administration plans to implement involves consumer protection and micro credit financing.In her broader economic democratization agenda that aims for equality of opportunity irrespective of economic status, Park sets out to create a control tower, or an executive branch of sorts, to focus on supporting and protecting the middle class.Various policy suggestions ma

Jan. 9, 2013

Apple said to develop cheaper iPhone for late 2013 debut

Apple Inc. plans to sell a smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone as soon as this year, said a person familiar with the plans, part of a push to gain customers in developing nations.Apple, which had been working on a more affordable smartphone since at least February 2011, is weighing retail prices of $99 to $149 for a device that would debut in late 2013, at the earliest, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Apple has spoken to at least one of

TechnologyJan. 9, 2013

Innovative tech augments autos

LAS VEGAS ― Carmakers are expressing their big appetites for in-vehicle technology integration at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, led by Audi and Lexus’ unveiling of skills for driverless driving.“Whenever I don’t want to drive, I can allow myself to be driven. Ultimate responsibility rests with the pilot,” said Ricky Hudi, head of development in electrics and electronics at Audi. Boasting that Audi is the world’s first car manufacturer that has a license to test automated driving in Neva

TechnologyJan. 9, 2013

OLED TV market to grow to 1m units in 2014: LG

LAS VEGAS ― LG Electronics’ home entertainment chief Kwon Hee-won said Wednesday that the firm expects that about 1 million units of OLED TVs will be shipped globally next year thanks to the increase of competitors.With the rise of Japanese firms in the OLED TV market, LG is getting ready to mass produce the 55-inch OLED TV which it claims to have superior brightness, clear picture quality and good contrast ratio. Using W-RGB display technology, the company also showcased the world’s first 55-in

TechnologyJan. 9, 2013

OLED TV market to grow to 1m units in 2014: LG

Samsung, LG unveil world’s first ‘curved’ OLED TVs

LAS VEGAS ― Samsung and LG Electronics, the world’s top two TV makers, once again boasted tech prowess in the TV industry by revealing the world’s first curved OLED TV at the Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday.Creating a panorama effect, the 55-inch curved OLED TV is intended to offer a more immersive viewing experience for consumers, according to Samsung officials.They also said that the curved display offers consistent picture quality from any angle and that consumers are deemed to be more

TechnologyJan. 9, 2013

Samsung, LG unveil world’s first ‘curved’ OLED TVs

Nearly 100 doctors caught for abusing propofol, other drugs

Nearly 100 doctors have been caught for misusing narcotics and psychotropic drugs such as propofol, police said Wednesday.Police have uncovered 98 medical workers -- mostly doctors -- and eight hospitals in a two-month nationwide crackdown on illegal use of drugs by hospitals.The crackdown, conducted jointly with the health authorities, came after a local obstetrician was arrested in August on charges of injecting his girlfriend with an anesthetic that caused her death and then abandoning her bo

TechnologyJan. 9, 2013

Nearly 100 doctors caught for abusing propofol, other drugs

Online game 'ArcheAge' captivates with unique economic system

"ArcheAge," a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is said to provide gamers with a new experience of farming and trade.Korean game developer XLGAMES’ new title "ArcheAge" offers a complex economic system, including farming, lumbering, mining, manufacturing and trading, with which gamers can not only earn in-game money but also raise their character’s level without engaging in combat or completing quests.The system allows players to produce crops, livestock, lumber and minerals to pro

TechnologyJan. 9, 2013

Online game 'ArcheAge' captivates with unique economic system

LG Display to finalize OLED investment soon

LAS VEGAS ― LG Display chief executive Han Sang-beom said Tuesday that the company will make a final decision on its additional investment scheme involving the next-generation OLED displays by early next month.The move comes as the company projects that the market will ship up to 3 million units of its latest OLED displays by 2015."Commercial sales of OLED TVs will not number too high this year and we expect the industry to sell around 600,000-700,000 units next year," Han said.“Based on the be

Jan. 9, 2013

Smart TVs get smarter, by just a little bit

In the not-so-distant future, couch potatoes will be waving, pointing, swiping and tapping to make their TVs react, kind of like what Tom Cruise did in the 2002 movie ``Minority Report.'' That's the vision of TV manufacturers as they show off ``smart TVs.''The sets will recognize who's watching and will try to guess what viewers want to see. They'll respond to more natural speech and will connect with your smartphone in a single touch.The idea is to make TV watching easier and more pleasant as v

TechnologyJan. 9, 2013

Anxiety found as Koreans’ top mental illness: report

Anxiety disorder ranked No. 1 on a list of mental illnesses in Korea, according to a study by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.In “The Epidemiological Survey of Mental Disorders in Korea,” 6,022 randomly selected Koreans were asked if they have suffered from 25 major mental illnesses for the past year. Among them, 16 percent said they suffered from anxiety disorder.About 6.8 percent of respondents answered that they have experienced anxiety disorder, which surpassed the percentage of alcohol a

TechnologyJan. 9, 2013

Anxiety found as Koreans’ top mental illness: report

S. Korea's jobless rate stands at 2.9 pct in Dec.

South Korea's jobless rate remained under 3 percent for the fourth straight month in December, but job growth sharply slowed down, suggesting the labor market conditions remain tough for many job seekers, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 2.9 percent last month, slightly up from the previous month's 2.8 percent. The rate has been in the 2-percent range since September.The number of jobs added to the economy, however, decli

Jan. 9, 2013

Samsung expects to post W200tr in sales

Samsung Electronics is expected to post up to 200 trillion won in annual sales based on a record-breaking year in 2012, the company said in a statement Tuesday.Last year, the company estimates that it recorded 201 trillion won of sales, while operating profit reached 29 trillion won. This was because in the fourth quarter, Samsung Electronics is seen to have posted sales of 56 trillion won and an operating profit of 8.8 trillion won. This indicates that sales rose by more than 7 percent compared

IndustryJan. 8, 2013

Korea’s exports to emerging nations soar

Korea now may have to pay more attention to emerging countries given that the nation’s exports to them have soared over the past decade.According to government data released Tuesday, Korea’s exports to emerging countries accounted for 72.8 percent of its total exports while outbound shipments to advanced economies declined to 27.2 percent last year.Officials attributed the changing trend to emerging countries’ relatively fast economic growth and advanced nations’ protracted economic slump.But th

Jan. 8, 2013

Korea’s exports to emerging nations soar