World Bank seeks cybersecurity center in S. Korea

The World Bank and Korea Communications Commission (KCC) will sign a deal next week on a joint project to establish a "Global Cybersecurity Center" in South Korea, officials said Sunday.The World Bank, headed by Korean-born physician Jim Yong Kim, proposed it set up the center in South Korea in late 2013, they said.The facility will be tasked with promoting cybersecurity and other information protection in developing nations."The World Bank and KCC plan to sign a memorandum of understanding on e

Jan. 7, 2013

Korea suffers sharp decline in labor productivity

Korea posted the second-largest drop in labor productivity among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development during the third quarter of 2012.According to the OECD, Korea’s labor productivity fell by 0.4 percent in the July-September period from a quarter before, along with the Czech Republic and Portugal, both of which recorded the same figure.While Norway saw its labor productivity, or the rate of output per worker per unit of time, fall heaviest by 1.3 percent, two mo

Jan. 6, 2013

Insurance firms face sanctions for accounting violations

The Financial Supervisory Service is considering reprimanding major life insurance companies for breaches of accounting standards or irregular trading with their parent groups, officials said Sunday.The regulator conducted its investigation into eight major players last year and its possible sanction targets involve conglomerate-based players such as Samsung Life Insurance and Hanwha Life Insurance (then Korea Life).Some of the eight firms, including Kyobo Life, Tong Yang Life, Mirae Asset Life,

Jan. 6, 2013

Polarization deepens in construction industry

Polarization has become a buzz word in the nation’s construction industry. Large builders are looking overseas amid the prolonged slump in the local real estate market. But small and medium-sized builders, who heavily depend on the local housing market, are being pushed further to the brink of bankruptcy. According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, overseas construction orders won by Korean builders in 2012 rose 9.8 percent to $64.9 billion (68.1 trillion won) from $59.1 b

Jan. 6, 2013

Shops halt interest-free card installment plans

Big retailers stopped offering sales based on interest-free monthly installments, as a protest against the revised laws which would burden both credit card firms and card settlement membership stores for additional costs. Despite customers’ complaints due to the unexpected halt of the zero-interest installment sales, retail chains including E-mart, online shopping mall G-market, Shinsegae Department Store and other retailers decided to ban the zero-interest installment promotions.The long-standi

IndustryJan. 6, 2013

Bond turnover hits record high in 2012

The turnover of the South Korean bond market reached an all-time high in 2012 due to investors’ flight to safety, with the value of stock transactions dropping to a four-year low, industry data showed Sunday.The amount of bonds traded on the local market came to 7,320 trillion won ($6.88 trillion) last year, topping the 7,000 trillion won mark for the first time, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Financial Investment Association.The turnover of government bonds traded rea

Jan. 6, 2013

Shares to stay flat on gloomy Q4 earnings outlook

South Korean stocks are expected to move in a tight range this week with investors sitting on the sidelines amid the announcement of fourth-quarter performances of local firms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 2,011.94 in the first week of 2013, up 0.75 percent from the previous week.The KOSPI soared in the first trading session of this year on rising optimism following the settlement of the U.S. fiscal cliff issue.The U.S. Congress passed a budget bill t

Jan. 6, 2013

Korea to provide 191 billion won to ADB

South Korea will provide the Asian Development Bank with an all-time high 191.2 billion won ($179.4 million) this year to assist developing countries, the government said Saturday.“South Korea decided to provide the assistance to the Asian Development Fund after reaching an agreement on the country’s share of expenses last year,” an official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said.Introduced by the regional lender ADB in 1968, the fund aims to provide loans to developing countries at a lo

Jan. 6, 2013

Korea to impose fines on buildings with open doors

Starting Monday, buildings and commercial shops in South Korea that keep their doors open while running heaters will face as much as 3 million won ($2,800) in fines, officials said Saturday. The measure is part of the government’s mandatory campaign to save electricity as the nation is bracing for an unusually cold winter amid risks of a possible power shortage. Big commercial buildings such as hotels and department stores will be required to keep their thermostats at 20 degrees Celsius or lower

Jan. 6, 2013

Porsche 911 triggers my racer instinct

The Korea Herald, in cooperation with carmakers, offers a test-driving experience to executive officials at multinational companies or ranking diplomats here. The opinion below is the author’s own. For any inquiry into this column, please contact jylee@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed. By Kim Byung-chul, Director of Philip Morris KoreaI sat ― no, drove ― in the lap of luxury when I had the opportunity to take the new Porsche 911 Carrera S for an outing on a recent weekend. The car is one of the fastest cars

MobilityJan. 6, 2013

Hyundai-Kia top midsize car sales in U.S.

Hyundai and Kia topped U.S. car sales in the midsize segment for the second consecutive month in December, industry data showed Sunday. Hyundai Motor Group, which owns Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, sold 32,834 midsize sedans in the U.S. market last month, slightly outpacing Japan’s Toyota that sold some 31,000 units. The Korean auto giant grabbed the top position in the segment in November for the first time since its entry into the U.S. market, largely driven by Hyundai’s Sonata and Kia’s K5 se

MobilityJan. 6, 2013

Credit card firms suspend interest-free installment purchases

Local credit card firms have suspended interest-free installment purchases for card-accepting businesses with annual sales over 100 billion won (US$93.9 million) following a revised financial act, market sources said Saturday.According to the sources, South Korean credit card firms stopped their interest-free installment purchase services for businesses, including large discount stores, airliners, and mobile carriers.The suspension came as local credit card member stores refused to follow the re

BusinessJan. 5, 2013

Lock & Lock unlocks Chinese market

South Korean cookware maker Lock & Lock Co. said Friday that its glass container sales in China are estimated to have grown about 60 percent last year on its efforts to tap deeper into the world’s most populous country.Lock & Lock’s glass container business is estimated to have logged 70 billion won ($65.8 million) in sales in China in 2012, up nearly 63 percent on-year from 43 billion won in 2011, company officials said.With China’s disposable income rising and Chinese people’s eating habits be

IndustryJan. 4, 2013

Listed firms’ quarterly earnings to miss expectations

Fourth-quarter earnings of South Korea’s major listed companies are expected to hover below earlier forecasts due to a protracted global economic slump, data showed Friday.The combined operating profit of 116 listed firms is estimated at 26.5 trillion won ($24.9 billion) for the October-December period, according to the data based on predictions made by local brokerage houses and compiled by local financial information provider FnGuide.The estimate is down 1.13 percent from the 26.8 trillion won

IndustryJan. 4, 2013