The Korea Herald

Korean scientists find ways to repair DNA damage

Korean scientists have discovered a way to restore DNA in human cells damaged by ultraviolet radiation from the sun, chemical and toxic agents, and smoking that can potentially lead to aging and cancer.A team led by professor Kang Tae-hong of Dong-A University Department of Biological Science said nucleotide excision repair, or NER, holds the key through the modulation of enzymes to prevent diseases such as skin cancer, developmental disorder and progeria.NER has been widely known to play a vita

TechnologyDec. 9, 2012

Korean scientists find ways to repair DNA damage

Trade in 2013 sees mixed outlook

The export-driven Korean economy is expected to set another record in trade early this week as the nation’s trade volume will reach the $1 trillion mark again this year for the second consecutive year. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy has anticipated the milestone since the start of this month as the nation’s outbound and inbound shipments hit $503.2 billion and $476.4 billion, respectively, as of the end of November. Exports of oil and petrochemical products have led exports this year, contrib

Dec. 9, 2012

Korean firms fined W3.3tr for cartels

Korean enterprises have paid more than 3 trillion won ($2.8 billion won) in antitrust fines in foreign markets over the past 16 years.According to the Fair Trade Commission, foreign antitrust regulators have imposed on Korean businesses, such as LG Electronics and Samsung SDI, fines totaling 3.31 trillion won for fixing product prices through methods such as cartel practices.The violation of the competition law was the most serious in the United States in terms of fines. The U.S. regulator has f

IndustryDec. 9, 2012

Shinhan Financial shares with community under Christmas tree

Shinhan Financial Group unfolded a series of volunteer programs on Thursday and Friday at Cheonggye Plaza, downtown Seoul, to support neighbors in need.Organized together with the Korea National Council of Social Welfare and the Community Chest of Korea, the two-day charity event, held for the second time since last year, consisted of kimchi-making, sweater-knitting, and sending Christmas postcards with UNICEF under a large Christmas tree set up at the downtown plaza. About 200 Shinhan Financial

Dec. 9, 2012

Shinhan Financial shares with community under Christmas tree

Korea attracts $160m investment from U.S.

Korea attracted investment totaling about $160 million (172 billion won) from enterprise in the United States through the government-led investor relations session, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Sunday.The successful IR performance was attained during a forum in Washington, D.C., which is designed to promote “bilateral investment,” over the weekend.“Their investment in Korea includes a U.S. firm’s promise to advance in the real estate development project in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Prov

IndustryDec. 9, 2012

Korea attracts $160m investment from U.S.

Financial firms face bumpy road amid low growth

South Korea’s financial firms are expected to fare poorly next year and possibly for some years to come as the economy is experiencing a low-growth trend with a low-rate policy, the financial regulator said Sunday.The Financial Supervisory Service forecast that financial companies here will likely underperform in 2013, with a substantial number of players to swing losses in the following years should the low-growth and low-rate pattern continue.“The financial sector grew at 6 percent in 2010 and

Dec. 9, 2012

Shares likely to inch up this week

South Korean stocks are likely to edge up this week on hopes that the United States could reach a compromise to avert the fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts.South Korea’s key stock index, the KOSPI, finished at 1,957.45 on Friday, up 1.27 percent from a week earlier, as a management reshuffle in Samsung Group, South Korea’s biggest family-owned conglomerate, generated optimism and China reaffirmed its stance of stable economic growth.Local investors, in addition, are likely to

Dec. 9, 2012

SKT sees sharp rise in iPhone 5 subscribers

South Korea’s top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. saw the net number of subscribers sharply rise on the first day that Apple Inc.’s iPhone 5 made its debut in Korea, industry data showed Sunday.Apple’s iPhone 5 made its belated debut in South Korea on Friday with SK Telecom Co. and KT Corp., Korea’s two biggest mobile carriers, kicking off the release of the first iPhone that runs on the Long Term Evolution network.SK Telecom lured a net 9,555 subscribers on Friday while its rivals KT Corp. and LG

Dec. 9, 2012

Government likely to cut 2013 growth outlook

The South Korean government is likely to cut its 2013 estimate for economic growth to the 3-percent range as downside risks at home and abroad will weigh on the economy, officials said Sunday.The government earlier forecast that Asia’s fourth-largest economy would grow 4 percent next year, much rosier than outlooks presented by the central bank and private think tanks.“I think that we have to consider the weak growth in the third quarter (in adjusting the growth forecast). The government is taki

Dec. 9, 2012

SK Group inks biz tie-up with buyout fund Carlyle

South Korea’s No. 3 conglomerate SK Group said Sunday it has agreed to team up with U.S. buyout fund Carlyle Group as part of its push into overseas investments.SK Group said that it has clinched a strategic partnership with the U.S. private equity fund in a bid to strengthen business synergy by combining the group’s expertise in corporate management and energy with Carlyle’s investment skills.“The partnership would pave the way for SK Group to grow as a global portfolio investor,” the group sai

Dec. 9, 2012

Mercedes looks to blue to make diesel green

The Korea Herald, in cooperation with carmakers, offers a test-driving experience to executive officials at Korean or multinational companies here. The opinion below is the author’s own. For inquiries, please contact jylee@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed. Visually similar to the vehicle Jang Dong-gun called “Betty” in the drama “A Gentleman’s Dignity,” the Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTEC that I had the pleasure of driving for a weekend is what you might call Betty’s less wild, economically minded, environment

MobilityDec. 9, 2012

Mercedes looks to blue to make diesel green

Little big heroes

When BMW Korea unveiled the second-generation 1 Series in October, CEO Kim Hyo-joon pinned high hopes on the smallest and cheapest BMW model for further growth of the best-selling foreign car brand here. Now two months later, local customers are required to wait for at least four months to purchase the car, according to a BMW Korea spokesperson who would not reveal the specific sales figures, citing company policy.“The 1 Series is favored by younger customers. But it is also true that overall ca

MobilityDec. 9, 2012

Japanese dealerships in China retrench in wake of disputes

Three months after a territorial dispute led rioters to vandalize Japanese cars in China, automakers from Toyota Motor Corp. to Nissan Motor Co. are luring back buyers with discounts and guarantees. Dealers like William Chen may take more persuasion to invest in the brands. “Sales of Japanese brands plunged about a third at my outlets,” said Chen, whose family owns about 30 showrooms selling Nissan and nine other brands in the eastern city of Taizhou. “I would prefer safer brands over Japanese o

MobilityDec. 9, 2012

Japanese dealerships in China retrench in wake of disputes

Equus wins U.S. value award

Hyundai Motor’s Equus took first place in the luxury car segment in the 16th annual Strategic Vision Total Value Awards in the United States.“Our flagship sedan Equus beat out competitors such as the Mercedes-Benz CLS, the Audi A8 and the Jaguar XJ,” the company said in a statement Sunday.While Strategic Vision’s Total Value Index reflects all aspects of perceived value ― from quality, to economics to customer appeal ― the Equus also received the award for Best Model and the automaker’s Sonata s

MobilityDec. 9, 2012

Parents may live longer than childless

A study involving Danish couples found a correlation between childless couples dying earlier than couples with children, researchers said. Researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark studied more than 21,000 couples having in vitro fertilization treatment between 1994 and 2005 -- while 15,210 children were born, 1,564 were adopted, the Daily Telegraph reported. During the study period, 96 women and 200 men died. The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, found the

TechnologyDec. 9, 2012

S. Korea likely to cut 2013 growth outlook

The South Korean government is likely to cut its 2013 estimate for economic growth to the 3-percent range as downside risks at home and abroad will weigh on the economy, officials said Sunday.The government earlier forecast that Asia's fourth-largest economy would grow 4 percent next year, much rosier than outlooks presented by the central bank and private think tanks."I think that we have to consider the weak growth in the third quarter (in adjusting the growth forecast). The government is taki

Dec. 9, 2012

S. Korea to gradually raise pension eligibility age to 65

South Korea will gradually increase the age of eligibility for public pensions to 65 from the current 60, the country's national pension fund said, in what could be a move to ease the government's financial burden from the retiring population. The age for a retirement pension will be 61 years in 2013 and increase one year every five years to reach 65 years in 2033, the National Pension Service (NPS) said on its Web site.People born between 1953 and 1956 will become eligible to claim their benefi

Dec. 8, 2012

S. Korea, U.S. to boost cooperation on shale gas

South Korea and the United States have agreed to step up cooperation on shale gas, an increasingly popular source of energy, a visiting top Seoul official said Friday."In a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu yesterday, I had a lot of discussions on cooperation in the shale gas sector," South Korean Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo told reporters. His ministry handles trade, energy and industry affairs. He is on a trip here for the U.S.-Korea Investment and Trade Cooperation

IndustryDec. 8, 2012

Korean consortium to build solar farm in Japan

A consortium comprising four South Korean firms said Friday that it has signed a preliminary deal to build a solar farm in Japan.Under the deal, STX Solar Energy Co. and the Korea South-East Power Co., a unit of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp., and two other South Korean firms will construct and operate the solar farm in Sendai with a capacity of 45MW, according to the consortium.Sendai in northeastern Japan is one of the areas that was hit hard by the unprecedented quake in March 2011.

IndustryDec. 7, 2012

Seoul orders ships to change routes on N.K.’s rocket path

South Korea has instructed domestic and foreign ships to reroute their courses in the West Sea to avoid any possible collisions with falling debris from a long-range rocket that Pyongyang could launch, the government said Friday.The precautionary move comes as North Korea informed the International Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization that it will fire off the Unha-3 rocket between Dec. 10-22 during the hours of 7 a.m. and noon to put a satellite into orbit.The

Dec. 7, 2012