The Korea Herald

BOK freezes key rate at 3 percent

Benchmark interest rate unchanged as central bank assesses impact of last month’s cutThe Bank of Korea on Thursday kept the key interest rate unchanged at 3 percent, as widely predicted, in a bid to size up the after-effects of its surprise rate cut in July.The central bank cut the benchmark seven-day repo rate by 0.25 percentage point a month ago after freezing it at 3.25 percent for 13 months since June last year. It was the first time the BOK lowered the key interest rate since February 2009.

Aug. 9, 2012

Men prefer heavier women when stressed: study

A new study indicates that putting men under stress can lead them to find overweight women more attractive.The new study, led by researchers Viren Swami of the University of Westminster and Martin Tovee of Newcastle University, alleges that men who are put under stress have a higher preference toward overweight women than men who are relaxed.Swami and Tovee randomly selected a group of men and asked them to take part in a mock interview designed to elevate their stress levels. The control group,

TechnologyAug. 9, 2012

Men prefer heavier women when stressed: study

Seoul shares jump 1.96 percent on foreign buying

South Korean stocks closed 1.96 percent higher Thursday on strong foreign buying fed by optimism over a global economic recovery, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 37.33 points to 1,907.13. Trading volume was moderate at 483.1 million shares worth 6.32 trillion won ($5.60 billion) with advancers outstrippi

Aug. 9, 2012

BOK freezes key rate following July's rate cut

South Korea's central bank froze the key interest rate on Thursday in a bid to gauge the impact of its surprise rate cut in July on the local economy amid the protracted eurozone debt crisis.As widely expected, Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his fellow policymakers held the benchmark 7-day repo rate steady at 3 percent for August. The move followed the BOK's quarter-percentage point r

Aug. 9, 2012

Fossil find shows other human cousins

Fossils show two additional species of our genus Homo lived alongside our direct ancestral species in Africa almost 2 million years ago, scientists say.The discovery near Lake Turkana in Kenya confirms that a fossil skull found 40 years ago was a different species of early Homo living alongside Homo erectus during the Pleistocene epoch.That skull, dubbed KNM-ER 1470, missing the teeth and lower jaw but distinguished by a large brain size and long flat face, started a longstanding debate about j

TechnologyAug. 9, 2012

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.75 points, or 0.56 percent to 1,913.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Blue chips pushed up shares, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 0.23 percent and No. 4 lender Shinhan Financial climbing more than 2 percent.U.S. mark

Aug. 9, 2012

Samsung to investigate alleged child labor abuse at its Chinese supplier

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it will inspect a Chinese supplier alleged of exploiting child labor.New York-based labor rights group China Labor Watch released a 31-page report Tuesday on HEG Electronics Co., a partner of the South Korean electronics behemoth, saying the Chinese firm employs children under the age of 16. "Samsung Electronics has conducted two separate on-site inspections

IndustryAug. 8, 2012

S-Oil invites children to ecology camp

S-Oil has invited 100 children from low-income families to Togomi Village in the Demilitarized Zone in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, for a tour that started Tuesday. The children will learn about local ecology and explore habitats of natural treasures such as the otter and “orumachi,” or cyprinid fish, until Aug. 9, company officials said.S-Oil also provides activities such as picking corn, pounding boiled rice for rice cakes and making handkerchiefs with grass leaves. The children will experience

Aug. 8, 2012

Asiana links up with Chinese schools for underprivileged

This is the first in a series of articles featuring companies’ social contribution activities at home and abroad. ―Ed. Asiana Airlines, the Korean air carrier with the most routes to China, has started a social contribution program this year supporting underdeveloped schools in the country’s suburban areas. On July 10, a team consisting of Asiana officials and members of the Korea International Cooperation Agency arrived at a small school in the city of Dalian Wafangdian in Liaoning Province, no

IndustryAug. 8, 2012

Asiana links up with Chinese schools for underprivileged

Heat waves push up vegetable prices

More than 830,000 farm animals die since July 20 amid scorching heatPrices of green-leaf vegetables shot up as unusually high temperatures continued for the third week, killing acres of crops and hundreds of thousands of livestock.The supply of vegetables normally rises during summer, but harvests are slow this year as green-leaf veggies increasingly shrivel up with temperatures hovering over 35 degrees Celsius. “Prices of leafy vegetables are rising sharply as many of them withered to death in

Aug. 8, 2012

Seoul likely to resume oil imports from Iran

Korea is likely to resume the import of Iranian oil from mid-September as Iran pledges to insure shipments of its oil for foreign tankers following the European Union’s insurance ban. Korea has suspended imports of Iranian oil since June 25, after the EU decided to stop insurance contracts on tankers carrying Iranian crude in protest against the country’s nuclear programs. “Iranian officials and Korean refiners are discussing ways to ship crude oil via Iran’s fleet. There is some progress in the

IndustryAug. 8, 2012

SK Platform opens Hoppin to other telecom users

SK Planet will allow users or subscribers of other telecom network services operated by KT and LG Uplus to access SK’s media platform and see a variety of entertainment content.The mobile platform operating subsidiary of SK Telecom said the media platform named “Hoppin” will open beginning Aug. 8 to such users who can enjoy video on demand, television shows and movies, as well as other free programs such as news and comedies.Consumers can watch them not only on smartphones, but also on their per

TechnologyAug. 8, 2012

NCsoft posts loss in Q2

NCsoft said Wednesday that it recorded an operating loss of 7.6 billion won ($6.73 million) in the second quarter, going into the red for the first time since 2006.In a regulatory filing, the company said that its net loss also reached 7.3 billion won, while its sales figure totaled up to 146.8 billion won, down about 12 percent from the same period last year.The firm’s quarterly sales went up 34 percent thanks to its steadily popular online game “Lineage” and its increase in royalties from over

IndustryAug. 8, 2012

Korea’s auto exports forecast to lose steam in H2

South Korea’s exports of automobiles are expected to lose steam in the second half of the year on contracted demand in Europe and increased competition from foreign carmakers, a report said Wednesday.According to the report compiled by the Korea Automotive Research Institute, South Korea is forecast to export 1.68 million units of cars in the July-December period, up 4.3 percent from a year earlier. In the first six months of the year, car exports increased 10.4 percent on-year to 1.7 million un

Aug. 8, 2012

Seoul calls France’s stance on Korean autos groundless

Korea on Wednesday dismissed as groundless France’s claim that its domestic auto market has been hit by a surge in imports of Korean vehicles.Last month, France made a request to the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, that Korean autos be on a prior surveillance list, which could trigger a safeguard measure against imports from Korea in the worst case scenario. The commission is set to announce early next month whether to accept France’s claim. “We analyzed auto trade

Aug. 8, 2012

Banks’ household loan growth hits 4-month low in July

Korean banks’ household loans grew at the slowest pace in four months in July as the growth of mortgage lending eased amid a tepid property market, the central bank said Wednesday.Local banks’ household loans, including home-backed and credit loans, amounted to 457.8 trillion won ($405.9 billion) as of the end of July, up 695.3 billion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The July growth contrasted with a 1.3 trillion won expansion in June and marked the slowest expansion

Aug. 8, 2012

LG Uplus launches smart foreign education service

LG Uplus, the smallest of Korea’s three telecom companies, has formed an alliance with foreign language education service providers to launch smart education services in foreign languages via Long Term Evolution.With partnerships with Korea’s YBM Sisa, Edubox and SDA, Uplus will kick off the service in September, featuring native speakers and teachers through its fast and real-time LTE networks, the telecom company said.The foreign language program will be offered in English, Japanese and Chines

TechnologyAug. 8, 2012

Financial sector braces for blackouts

Most banks ready emergency backup system and staffMajor banks and brokerage houses are preparing against possible power blackouts as electricity consumption soars due to high temperatures.Unexpected power outages struck Seoul and many other parts of the country in September last year, raising concerns that similar accidents may recur at times of high electricity demand. The Korea Power Exchange issued a power shortage alert Tuesday after the nation’s electricity reserve dropped to below 4,000 me

Aug. 8, 2012

Shares rise on stimulus hopes

Korean stocks closed up 0.87 percent Wednesday as investor sentiment got a boost from heightened optimism over stimulus efforts in the United States and Europe, analysts said. The local currency inched up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 16.43 points to finish at 1,903.23, extending its winning streak to a third consecutive session and restoring the 1,900 mark in seven weeks. Trading volume was moderate at 477.2 million shares worth 5.34 trillion won

Aug. 8, 2012

Korea focuses on expanding tax revenue without rate hikes

Government plans to raise 1.7 trillion won in additional tax revenue by 2021The government turned its focus for its tax revision bill on expanding the overall tax revenue base by finding hidden income sources and streamlining related laws rather than hiking tax rates, the finance minister said Wednesday.“Our tax bill this time is focused on legalizing (hidden) tax sources, expanding the overall revenue base, which is deemed to be less transparent than other advanced countries, and reducing the s

Aug. 8, 2012