U.S. Rep: Pregnancy from rape is 'really rare'

Missouri Congressman Todd Akin, the conservative Republican U.S. Senate candidate, said in a television interview that it is “really rare” for women to become pregnant when they are raped.Akin, a six-term congressman running against incumbent Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill, was asked in an interview that aired Sunday on St. Louis television station KTVI if there were any circumstances in which he would support a woman's decision to have an abortion.Akin, who has said he's Missouri's most conserv

TechnologyAug. 21, 2012

Firms face global patent disputes

Korea’s business sector has faced a growing number of patent disputes with foreign enterprises as many local big players are increasing their shares in overseas markets.According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the business sector saw the number of international patent lawsuits surge by 80.5 percent over the past two years. In particular, Korean firms are increasingly becoming the target of patent offensives from foreign technology powerhouses.“A growing number of foreign firms have

IndustryAug. 20, 2012

Lackluster sales prompt Chung’s visit to U.S.

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo is expected to call on the automotive group’s U.S. operation to map out measures against Toyota Motor’s rapid sales growth in North America.Chung has left for Los Angeles where Hyundai’s U.S. sales corporation is located. “The chairman will also visit the Alabama plant of Hyundai Motor and the Georgia plant of (affiliate) Kia Motors,” a group spokesman said Monday.“The U.S. auto market was also hit by the eurozone debt crisis. The chairman’s visit is a

IndustryAug. 20, 2012

Ssangyong E&C sale in rough waters

Preferred bidder E-Land gives up in last-minute talksSsangyong Engineering and Construction has failed again to find a new owner as its largest shareholder, Korea Asset Management Corp., and the preferred bidder E-Land Group could not reach an agreement in last-minute talks on Monday.At a subcommittee meeting held on the day, the Financial Services Commission decided to suspend the sale of the financially troubled builder Ssangyong E&C, citing a huge difference between the two parties.“E-Land a

IndustryAug. 20, 2012

Graduates of Ewha, HUFS, Korea strong force in foreign firms’ HR staff

Ewha Womans University graduates made up the largest number of human resources staff at foreign companies in Korea, a recent survey showed.Korea Foreign Company Employee’s Human Network, a non-profit organization founded in 1999, recently looked at 1,026 employees who work in the HR divisions of foreign companies and are members of the network.KOFEN, an internet-based recruitment service specializing in foreign companies, said the survey showed that those who attended Seoul-based four-year colle

Aug. 20, 2012

STX Group focuses on overseas orders to overcome recession

STX Group, a Korean shipbuilding and trading conglomerate, raked in $3.8 billion in the first half of this year from overseas deals for constructing 70 liquefied natural gas carriers and container carriers alone. With a 30 percent on-year growth in sales, the group has steadily won bids from the world’s major three shipbuilding markets ― Korea, China and Europe ― amid the unfavorable business climate in the wake of the European debt crisis.The group’s Chinese operation, STX Dalian, kicked off th

IndustryAug. 20, 2012

Foreign luxury brands donate little despite booming sales

Some wire home 90 percent of profits while making zero charity donationsFailing to bear corporate social responsibility ethics among foreign luxury brands has prompted criticism from both consumers and the business community. The Financial Supervisory Service and online conglomerate tracker chaebul.com released financial reports in August of foreign luxury brands’ operating in Korea. Foreign luxury brands saw a large-scale increase in sales by about 270 percent, from 1.42 trillion won ($1.25 bil

Aug. 20, 2012

After marriage: Men drink less, women more

Men who drink tend to stem their alcohol use once they marry, while women tend to increase their drinking after marriage, U.S. researchers found. Corinne Reczek of the University of Cincinnati, Tetyana Pudrovska of Pennsylvania State University, Deborah Carr of Rutgers University and Debra Umberson of the University of Texas at Austin found married men reported consuming the lowest number of drinks compared with single, divorced and widowed men.The researchers analyzed survey data from the Wisco

TechnologyAug. 20, 2012

NASA rover Curiosity shoots a Mars rock with laser

NASA’s Curiosity rover has zapped its first Martian rock, aiming its laser for the sake of science.During the target practice on Sunday, Curiosity fired 30 pulses at a nearby rock over a 10-second window, burning a small hole.Since landing in Gale Crater two weeks ago, the six-wheel rover has been checking out its instruments including the laser. During its two-year mission, Curiosity was expected to point the laser at various rocks as it drives toward Mount Sharp, a 3-mile (5-kilometer)-high mo

TechnologyAug. 20, 2012

Gasoline prices approach 2,000 won

Gasoline prices continued to climb over the past month in the local market, marking an average figure of nearly 2,000 won ($1.76) per liter, with international crude oil prices spiking.According to the Korea National Oil Corp., retail gasoline prices surged to 1,980.05 won per liter on average as of Aug. 19, compared with 1,891.86 won on July 16.The nation’s gasoline prices on average had risen at a moderate pace, but accelerated from mid-July. After surpassing 1,900 won on July 24, they reached

IndustryAug. 19, 2012

Near-speed-of-light collisions fundamental to rare isotope generation

Since opening the Korea-U.S. Cooperation Center for Accelerator Science and beginning work on the design of the rare isotope accelerator, the Institute for Basic Science has sped up preparations for the country’s first particle accelerator of its kind. The purpose of a rare isotope accelerator is to produce isotopes of elements that do not or rarely occur naturally. An isotope is a variant of an element that has a different number of neutrons in the nucleus.Under the plans the IBS’ accelerator,

TechnologyAug. 19, 2012