The Korea Herald

Samsung CEO stresses future competitiveness

Samsung Electronics on Thursday celebrated its 43rd anniversary with its chief asking its employees to work toward transforming the firm into a global top 5 brand.“With the global economy continuously expected to see low growth, the electronics industry has met huge changes which we have never experience in the past,” said the company’s chief executive Kwon Oh-hyun. “If we stay satisfied with our current results and don’t gain future competitiveness, we will collapse before we even realize it.”I

IndustryNov. 1, 2012

Samsung CEO stresses future competitiveness

SKT, SK Hynix hold first joint global technology summit

SK Telecom and SK Hynix on Thursday jointly held their first global technology summit at Silicon Valley with about 40 Korean industry experts working in the U.S.At the event dubbed “Global Tech Leader Summit,” which was presided over by SKT chief executive Ha Sung-min, they discussed the future growth engines in the sectors of telecommunications and semiconductors as well as non-telecommunications, according to SKT officials.They also shared strategies and technologies valued by the two tech fir

IndustryNov. 1, 2012

SKT, SK Hynix hold first joint global technology summit

Trade surplus widens to $3.8b in Oct.

South Korea’s trade surplus more than doubled in October from a year earlier as exports posted positive growth, ending their three-month losing streak, the government said Thursday.The country’s trade surplus is estimated to have reached $3.8 billion in October, compared with $1.44 billion in the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The figure also marks a slight growth from the trade surplus of $3.15 billion in the previous month.The country’s exports are estima

Nov. 1, 2012

Shares dip on autos, shipbuilders

South Korean stocks sank 0.71 percent Thursday as investors dumped auto shares on a dim industry outlook in addition to the recent appreciation of the local currency. The Korean won lost against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 13.62 points to finish at 1,898.44. Trading volume was moderate at 395.6 million shares worth 5.17 trillion won ($4.74 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 505 to 305. “There are growing negative market prospects about auto s

Nov. 1, 2012

Consumer prices gain 2.1% on-year in Oct.

South Korea’s consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in four months in October on higher prices of farm products, but they remained within the central bank’s inflation target band, a government report showed Thursday.The country’s consumer prices index rose 2.1 percent in October from a year earlier, compared with a 2 percent on-year gain in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The index fell 0.1 percent from September when the consumer prices rose 0.7 percent on-mo

Nov. 1, 2012

Samsung Engineering wins $2.4b UAE order

Samsung Engineering Co., South Korea’s largest industrial plant builder, said Thursday that it has won a $2.4 billion order to build carbon black and delayed coker units in the United Arab Emirates.Under the deal with Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Co., the state-run company known as Takreer, on Wednesday, Samsung Engineering will build the units in the refining complex in Ruwais, west of Abu Dhabi, by January 2016.The units, when completed, can produce 40,000 tons of carbon black per year and 30,000 ba

Nov. 1, 2012

Samsung Heavy Q3 net more than doubles

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Thursday that its third-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year earlier on increased orders for offshore facilities.Net profit reached 277 billion won ($254 million) on a consolidated basis in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 111 billion won a year earlier, the company said.Sales rose 19 percent on-year to 4.06 trillion won over the cited period, and operating income surged 39.2 percent to 324 billion won.In th

Nov. 1, 2012

Korea, China end FTA talks with little progress

Korea and China ended their fourth round of negotiations for a free trade agreement on Thursday with little progress.But the two sides reached an agreement to include intellectual property in items to be discussed in negotiations.Trade Ministry officials in Seoul said the FTA talks held in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, did not yield specific results, expressing hope that the two countries would reach a consensus in the next negotiation talks in China.“The Korean government will seek to pr

Nov. 1, 2012

Hyundai Motor sales hit monthly high

Hyundai Motor, the nation’s largest carmaker, logged its best monthly sales in October, with its global sales increasing by 13.9 percent to reach 412,189 vehicles. It was the first time that the Korean auto giant has ever seen its monthly sales exceed the 400,000 mark, officials said. The record sales came as Hyundai’s overseas production succeeded in meeting the growing demand globally, while the domestic car market also showed some sign of recovery. In Korea, the company sold 61,486 vehicles,

IndustryNov. 1, 2012

Japanese cans face antidumping duties from Korea

South Korea is moving to freshly impose antidumping tariffs on Japanese aluminium bottle cans, the government said Thursday.Following a yearlong investigation that began at the request of a local manufacturer, TechPack Solutions Inc., the Korea Trade Commission concluded that Japanese products were effectively damaging local manufacturers by preventing them from establishing firm ground for their business here.“The commission’s decision is the first of its kind in which the commission applied an

Nov. 1, 2012

Instant coffee makers seek success abroad

Some instant coffee mix producers are tapping or aiming at the global stage amid heated competition in the local market.Korea’s typical instant coffee product features three-in-one coffee mix sachets containing powdered coffee, powdered cream and sugar for a single serving.Namyang Dairy has initiated the moves abroad, called “coffee reexports,” by recently making inroads into countries such as China, the United States and Australia.Though the company’s current sales target in the overseas market

IndustryNov. 1, 2012

Instant coffee makers seek success abroad

Income inequality in rural Korea hits record high

Income inequality in rural South Korea reached its worst level in 2011 due largely to the government’s misguided agricultural policies, a report showed Thursday.The top 20 percent of the rural households earned an average of 74.62 million won ($68,400) in 2011, a whopping 12.3 times the 6.09 million won for the bottom 20 percent, according to the report released by Rep. Hwang Ju-hong of the main opposition Democratic United Party.The income gap between the two brackets was much larger than 9.7 t

Nov. 1, 2012

Lotte, Hi-mart aim for retail top spot

Lotte Shopping and Hi-mart on Thursday made their merger official by launching their new name, “Lotte Hi-mart,” an entity both parties hope will help take them to the top in the electronics and retail industries. Experts said the acquisition by Lotte Shopping is expected to bring forth a positive synergy effect, despite Moody’s credit rating agency slashing its rating on Lotte, citing likely deterioration in the company’s financial profile. “For now, the M&A is no doubt weighing on Lotte’s finan

IndustryNov. 1, 2012

Sharapova named Samsung publicity envoy in Russia

Maria Sharapova, one of the world’s best-known tennis players, will promote Samsung electronic appliances in Russia as its goodwill ambassador.Samsung Electronics in Russia appointed the 24-year-old World No. 2 Russian player as its publicity envoy for Russia and the 2014 Sochi Olympics in a ceremony in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, officials said.Sharapova, a U.S. resident since 1994, had flown to Moscow a day earlier to attend the event. Samsung Electronics seeks to further enhance the image of S

IndustryNov. 1, 2012

Sharapova named Samsung publicity envoy in Russia

New tree-dwelling tarantulas described

Nine new species of tree-dwelling tarantulas have been identified in central and eastern Brazil, researchers say, bringing the total in the area to 16 species.Arboreal tarantulas -- known from a few tropical places in Asia, Africa, South and Central America, and the Caribbean -- generally have a lighter build, thinner bodies and longer legs than their ground-living cousins, which better suits them for their forest tree habitats, they said.The new species have been reported in the journal Zookeys

TechnologyNov. 1, 2012

Parental stress linked to child obesity

Stressed-out parents are more likely to have obese children, U.S. researchers suggest. "Stress in parents may be an important risk factor for child obesity and related behaviors," Dr. Elizabeth Prout-Parks, a nutrition specialist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who was the study leader, said in a statement. "The severity and number of stressors are important."Among the parental stressors associated with childhood obesity were poor physical and mental health, financial strain and leadi

TechnologyNov. 1, 2012

In-flight magazine to go digital, wireless

A Norwegian airline and an in-flight magazine publisher say they will use WiFi to bring airline passengers new options in in-flight entertainment.Norwegian Air Shuttle and Ink, which provides magazines for about 30 airlines around the world, said they would debut the new system next year, The New York Times reported.Using Norwegian Air Shuttle's free WiFi service, passengers will be able to access content including music, video and travel articles from the carrier's in-flight magazine on their s

IndustryNov. 1, 2012

Korea's consumer prices gain 2.1 pct on-year in Oct.

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in four months in October due mainly to an increase in prices of farm products, a government report showed Thursday.The country's consumer prices index rose 2.1 percent in October from a year earlier, compared with a 2 percent on-year gain in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The index fell 0.1 percent from September when the consumer prices rose 0.7 percent on-month.The so-called core inflation, which excludes

Nov. 1, 2012

How far will Apple fall?

Apple Inc. has long been about infinitely more than just gadgets and devices; it became as iconic as an IT brand could get. Profit and stock prices aside, the fact that it garnered a spot on every hip youngster’s Christmas wish list was proof enough of its success.Now there are questions about whether it could follow in the footsteps of RIM and Nokia, one-time industry leaders who are now becoming mere shadows of their former selves. Apple certainly isn’t on its deathbed, far from it ― it’s stil

IndustryOct. 31, 2012

Korean passengers too pampered?

AirAsia, the world’s largest budget carrier, recently launched a new route connecting Incheon and Narita, offering a special price for a one-way ticket at 30,000 won (less than $28) with all taxes included. The 4,000 prepared tickets sold out immediately via the company’s website between Oct. 11-17. But intense competition aside, some complaints surfaced even among the lucky customers who purchased the tickets. They didn’t know that they could be charged to use additional services like a meal on

IndustryOct. 31, 2012