The Korea Herald

Ericsson sues Samsung in U.S. for patent infringement

STOCKHOLM (AFP) ― Swedish telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson said Tuesday that it was suing South Korean rival Samsung in a U.S. court for violating patents.“Ericsson has today filed a lawsuit in the United States against Samsung for infringing its patents, after nearly two years of negotiations failed to reach an agreement,” a statement said.“The dispute concerns both Ericsson’s patented technology that is essential to several telecommunications and networking standards used by Samsung

TechnologyNov. 27, 2012

Apple, LG face U.S. trial over Alcatel-Lucent patents

Apple Inc. and LG Electronics Inc. are set to face trial over claims by an Alcatel-Lucent SA unit that they infringed patents for electronic devices including phones and computers. The jury trial, scheduled to begin in federal court in San Diego, stems from a 2010 lawsuit by the Paris-based company’s Multimedia Patent Trust accusing Apple and LG Electronics of copying video-compression technology that allows data to be sent more efficiently over communications media, including the Internet and s

IndustryNov. 27, 2012

Exports of Korean food rise on Korean Wave

Exports of Korean traditional foods of kimchi and red pepper paste rose sharply over the past three years on the back of the Korean wave, industry and customs data showed Tuesday.According to the data, exports of kimchi, a spicy fermented dish usually made with cabbage or radish, came to $88.82 million in the January-October period.Overall exports of kimchi for all of 2012 are expected to reach $107 million, up from $104.6 million last year, the data indicated.Outbound shipments of kimchi have r

Nov. 27, 2012

Shares up on Greek debt deal

South Korean stocks closed 0.87 percent higher on Tuesday as eurozone agreements to cut Greek debts and aid the debt-ridden country helped ease investor jitters, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 16.69 points to 1,925.2. Trading volume was moderate at 572.1 million shares worth 4.49 trillion won ($4.14 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 425 to 392.“The recent development in the Greece situation, cou

Nov. 27, 2012

Korea’s total debt reaches 2.3 times its GDP: regulator

South Korea’s total debt has ballooned to more than double the value of its gross domestic product, the financial regulator said Tuesday, calling for all-out efforts to rein in corporate and household debt.The country’s aggregate debt owed by the government, companies and households stood at 234 percent of its GDP as of the end of June, according to data by the Financial Supervisory Service. The debt-to-GDP ratio came in at 152 percent in 2000 for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, before jumping to

Nov. 27, 2012

Hyundai-Kia third in market cap

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors are together the world’s third-biggest carmaker in terms of market capitalization.According to industry data, the two companies’ combined market capitalization reached 70.2 trillion won ($65 billion) ― Hyundai with about 47.1 trillion won and Kia with 23 trillion won ― as of Nov. 19.Their value on the global stock market could be regarded as No. 3 out of 12 major automakers, research analysts said.Toyota Motor topped the list with 155.5 trillion won in

IndustryNov. 27, 2012

City protests Korean Air’s KAI takeover

Korean Air faces a bumpy road to take over Korean Aerospace Industries as a local city government in South Gyeongsang Province officially declared that it would oppose the sale of KAI to the nation’s flagship carrier. “Korean Air’s recent investment plan to invest in Busan deals a blow to Sacheon City’s continued efforts to make the city a mecca of the nation’s aerospace industry,” Sacheon Mayor Chung Man-gyu said in a press briefing on Monday. “We are not going to be deceived by any sweet talk

Nov. 27, 2012

2013 top six issues for Korean companies

In 2013, persistent low growth in the global economy and new governments in major countries will shape the business environment. Korean companies will have to be aware of three major characteristics of the situation ahead. First, the sluggish prospects will last through the year, prolonging the worldwide L-shaped slowdown. In other words, businesses will need to prepare for a difficult, long haul. Second, the weak growth will not spare any region or industry. The currency crisis at the end of th

Nov. 27, 2012

2013 top six issues for Korean companies

Ewha streets no longer ‘it’ shopping district

The streets and alleys of Ewha Womans University used to be filled with youngsters on the lookout for a bargain on new clothes and new shoes or just browsing with friends. The shoppers usually ranged from preteens to college students, mostly girls, making the area so popular that “let’s go to Ewha” equated “let’s go shopping.” That was 10 years ago. The same streets have taken on a much different look over the years, and the changes are not all good.“I’ve been here for a long time, for more than

IndustryNov. 27, 2012

Ewha streets no longer ‘it’ shopping district

‘Green growth plays important role in sustainable future’

SINGAPORE ― Green growth, South Korea’s key growth initiative, will play an important role in developing sustainable development goals for Asian and European countries, said a high-ranking official from the Asia-Europe Foundation, under the Asia-Europe Meeting. “Key priority of the Asia-Europe Environment Forum, or ENVforum, of ASEF will be placed on sustainable development goals and green growth together for the next three years,” ASEF director for intellectual exchange Thierry Schwarz said in

Nov. 27, 2012

‘Green growth plays important role in sustainable future’

Index measures sustainable development’s progress

SINGAPORE ― Studies on eco-innovation have flooded in since the 1990s, when it emerged as one of the key tools to achieve sustainable development, but progress in eco-innovation has been limited due to a lack of measurement. This is why the Seoul-based ASEM SMEs Eco-Innovation Center, or ASEIC, whose key mission is to promote eco-innovation in Asia and Europe, invested in developing an index to measure processes in eco-innovation this year. The ASEIC was established in June 2011 following the en

Nov. 27, 2012

Index measures sustainable development’s progress

Experts discuss sustainable development

Asian and European leaders reaffirmed their commitment to achieving sustainable development goals, and discussed the measurement of SDGs in a recent Asia-Europe Environment Forum under the Asia-Europe Foundation, or ASEF. “ENVforum” was held in the ASEF headquarters in Singapore on Nov. 21-22. SDGs are the new framework for development that was proposed in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, dubbed as Rio+20, which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 20-22 this year

Nov. 27, 2012

U.K. woman unaware of pregnancy gives birth

A British woman oblivious of her pregnancy gave birth to a child when she visited a hospital for back pain, local media reported Monday.Kayleigh Renwick, a 24-year-old nurse from County Durham, was just hoping to relieve her backache when she visited a hospital in May this year. She had initially suspected a kidney infection as the source of her pain.Instead she found out -- for the very first time -- that she was carrying a child. Shocked, Renwick visited the University Hospital of North Durha

TechnologyNov. 27, 2012

U.K. woman unaware of pregnancy gives birth

S. Korea to further tighten banks’ handling of currency forwards

South Korea said Tuesday it will lower the ceiling of foreign exchange forward positions held by local and foreign banks by 25 percent in a bid to curb the volatility of cross-border capital flows.The move will restrict local branches of foreign banks from holding currency forward deals to 150 percent of their equity capital from the current 200 percent. The ceiling for domestic banks will be lowered to 30 percent from 40 percent, the government said. The move will fully take effect starting on

Nov. 27, 2012

Seoul shares start higher on Greek bailout settlement

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on the settlement of the Greece bailout deal, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 5.80 points, or 0.3 percent, to trade at 1,914.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips drove up the shares, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics increasing 0.71 percent, while LG Electronics gained 1.05 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO added 0.47 percent.Carmakers also traded higher, with No.1 player Hyundai Motor ris

Nov. 27, 2012

S. Korea's brand value ranks 9th worldwide: think tank

South Korea's brand value reached US$1.6 trillion this year, ranking ninth among 39 countries surveyed, a local think tank said Tuesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy has received good marks in the corporate field, thanks mainly to its strong exports and market share growth around the world, according to the state-run Institute of Industrial Policy Studies (IPS).Brand value covers both corporate and country-level recognition and products made in the country. It also calculates the level of social

Nov. 27, 2012

S. Korean nurse honored for voluntary medical work in Malawi

The foreign ministry on Tuesday honored a South Korean nurse for her voluntary medical services and dedication to education in Malawi over the past 20 years. Baik Young-sim, 50, became the recipient of this year's "Lee Tae-seok Award," which Seoul's foreign ministry introduced last year to honor the late Catholic missionary and physician Lee Tae-seok. He devoted his life to helping people in South Sudan. Baik began her voluntary medical work in Kenya in 1990 and, after four years, moved to Mala

IndustryNov. 27, 2012

Average Korean spends $67 a year on ‘Lotto’: ministry

The average Korean has spent about 73,000 won ($67) per year on average in buying “Lotto,” the best-selling lottery ticket issued by the nation’s largest lottery operator Nanum Lotto, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said on Monday. Fluctuations in the sales history of the national lottery meet the unspoken rule that Lotto is a hidden barometer for the nation’s real economy.Celebrating the 10th anniversary of foundation, Nanum Lotto was first issued in December 2002, when its average annual

IndustryNov. 26, 2012

Average Korean spends $67 a year on ‘Lotto’: ministry

[Newsmaker] Samsung couple richest in stocks

Samsung owner Lee Kun-hee and his wife Hong Ra-hee topped the lists of Korea’s wealthiest in terms of stock holdings.Lee ranked the richest on the list for men, while Hong was at the top for women. This was the first time the couple nabbed the No. 1 slot for both lists, according to Chaebul.com, a local website providing exclusive business information on conglomerates.As of last Friday, Lee’s stock portfolio was worth a combined 11.14 trillion won ($10.27 billion). The net value of his stocks ha

Nov. 26, 2012

[Newsmaker] Samsung couple richest in stocks

Samsung TV sweeps East European markets

South Korean tech behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. retained its top position in the east European countries’ television market in the first nine months of the year, industry data showed Monday.Samsung claimed 35 percent of the region’s flat panel television market in the January-September period, with its market share reaching 35.1 percent for liquid crystal TVs and 38.7 percent for light-emitting diode TVs, according to market researcher GfK Group.The South Korean company was the top smart TV a

Nov. 26, 2012