The Korea Herald

Borrowers to sue over bank bullying

Financial firms seize assets, salaries as value of loan collateral dipsA consumer group is planning a class action against financial institutions for seizing the assets and salaries of mortgage borrowers as property prices nosedive. The Financial Consumer Agency said an estimated 1 million people who took out some 10 trillion won ($8.85 billion) in mortgage loans are “unreasonably pressured” by financial firms to pay back the loans as they near maturity and home prices plummet.The FCA said Thurs

Aug. 2, 2012

Samsung lawyer loses bid to add Apple trial evidence

Samsung Electronics again lost its bid to use evidence a lawyer for the company described as “critical” to rebutting Apple Inc.’s central allegations in a patent-infringement trial in California. Samsung was barred by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose from presenting images of a smartphone that it claims to have been developing in 2006, the year before Apple introduced the iPhone. Samsung said in a filing that the images show evidence that it was developing the next generation of mobile p

IndustryAug. 2, 2012

Scorching weather sets off AC sales boom

Sales of air conditioners are booming thanks to the scorching weather and the Summer Olympic Games, electronic appliance companies said.“The extremely hot summer is the No. 1 reason for the air conditioner sales boom. The Olympics also contributed to the sales because these games are usually on during the night when people are back home from work,” said a spokesperson of LG Electronics. The boom is good news for AC manufacturers companies, especially as sales volume was cut almost in half in Jun

IndustryAug. 2, 2012

Scorching weather sets off AC sales boom

Premium water makes bigger splash in market

Diversified products appeal to consumers’ taste for luxurySeoul resident Park Byoung-shik makes a habit of frequenting stores once or twice a week to scout out the latest offerings of premium bottled water. “I don’t tend to drink carbonated water, so today I am trying out Irosoo ― water extracted directly from birch trees,” the 32-year-old said at the Shinsegae Gangnam Department Store on Wednesday. The domestic bottled water industry recorded sales about 550 billion won ($486.75 million) last y

IndustryAug. 2, 2012

Premium water makes bigger splash in market

Kim named Janssen Korea CEO

Janssen Korea became the first multinational medical firm in the country to name a woman CEO, the company said in a statement Thursday. The Korean branch of multinational firm Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. said that Kim Oak-yeon, 44, has accumulated rich experience as the former CEO of Janssen Malaysia, and is expected to become an even larger asset to the company. “I will make the best of my experience from working overseas so that Janssen Korea can take a step further in the fast-changing Korea

IndustryAug. 2, 2012

Bank customers file suit over alleged rate-fixing

Three customers have filed a compensation suit against local banks, arguing that they suffered damage from the banks' alleged collusion to rig interest rates on certificates of deposit (CD) that are tied to interest rates on home mortgage loans, court sources said Thursday.The lawsuit is the first to be filed since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the country's anti-trust watchdog, began looking i

Aug. 2, 2012

Distant galaxy scene of cosmic violence

A seemingly tranquil galaxy that has been the scene of violent cosmic events has been captured in new telescopic images, European astronomers said.　The galaxy, NGC 1187, discovered by English astronomer William Herschel in 1784, looks tranquil and unchanging but it has hosted two supernovae explosions since 1982, they said.The galaxy‘s half a dozen prominent spiral arms containing large amounts of gas and dust show bluish features indicating the presence of young stars born out of the clouds of

TechnologyAug. 2, 2012

Samsung releases Apple-related documents, sparking disputes

Samsung Electronics has landed in hot water after leaking iPhone-related documents to the media on Tuesday, disobeying an order by a U.S. judge in charge of the legal battle with Apple. Judge Lucy Koh had barred Samsung from making public the phone design documents as evidence because its submission was “too late” under the U.S. legal process.The evidence revealed by Samsung amid the ongoing legal fight with Apple includes a testimony by Shin Nishibori, Apple’s former designer, saying that his e

IndustryAug. 2, 2012

Samsung releases Apple-related documents, sparking disputes

Who owns the North Pole?

Danish geologists heading for the arctic say their expedition could support a claim the North Pole belongs to Greenland, and by extension to Denmark.Seismic data they collect may support the claim of Denmark and Greenland, politically linked, to 60,000 square miles of extra territory extending north from Greenland into the oil and gas-rich arctic sea floor, they said.The claim rests on whether an underwater formation extending north of Greenland called the Lomonosov Ridge qualifies as an extensi

TechnologyAug. 2, 2012

Global online ad market grows 12.1 % in Q1: report

The global market for Internet advertisements jumped 12.1 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, growing faster than traditional advertising channels, a report showed Thursday.The increase surpassed a 3.1 percent growth in the overall global advertising market as well as single-digit growth in other advertising channels such as TV, newspaper and radio, according to the quarterly report

Aug. 2, 2012

Average price of houses drops for first time in 2 years

The average price of houses in South Korea dropped for the first time in two years, related data showed Thursday, offering another clear indication of the country's struggling housing market.The average price of homes across the country dropped 0.1 percent from a month earlier in July, according to the data released by Kookmin Bank, the largest bank in South Korea. July marks the first time since

Aug. 2, 2012

Seoul shares open higher ahead of eurozone meeting

South Korean stocks started a whisker higher Thursday as investors remained optimistic on stimulus packages at a key meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) later this week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 2.27 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,882.2 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large-cap shares lent support to the increase, with the world's bigges

Aug. 2, 2012

L'Oreal heiress sells island paradise in Seychelles

L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, France's richest woman, has sold a string of private islands in the Seychelles to a firm linked to an ocean conservation foundation, a minister said Tuesday.Bettencourt, 89, bought D'Arros Island along with several neighbouring islets for $18 million in 1998 and recently sold them for $60 million (74 million euros) to a Seychelles-registered business, Housing a

IndustryAug. 2, 2012

Korea, Turkey sign free trade deal

Korea and Turkey signed their free trade deal on Wednesday, paving the way for South Korean firms to tap deeper into the Eurasian nation, Seoul's trade ministry said.Seoul Trade Minister Bark Tae-ho and Turkish counterpart Zafer Caglayan signed the pact on merchandise in the Turkish capital of Ankara earlier in the day, according to the ministry."The Korea-Turkey FTA is expected to serve as a good

Aug. 1, 2012

Minimum tax rate for big companies set to be raised

The government and the ruling Saenuri Party agreed Wednesday on raising the minimum tax rate for large firms that receive various tax benefits from the current 14 percent to 15 percent.The revised tax bill also includes lowering the tax cut limits for big businesses; imposing taxes on financial income of more than 30 million won, down from the current 40 million won; expanding taxation on gains from stock transfers by major shareholders; and introducing transaction taxes on derivatives. The Saen

Aug. 1, 2012

SK scholarship benefits over 3,000 students

A nonprofit organization founded by SK Group has awarded a scholarship to its 3,000th student this year, SK officials said.According to the officials, the scholarship program has financially supported a total of 3,059 students as of July 29.The program is promoted by the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, a non-profit organization established in 1974 with the aim of fostering talented scholars. SK Group founder and late chairman Chey Jong-hyun created the foundation to materialize his vision

Aug. 1, 2012

SK scholarship benefits over 3,000 students

Aussie company aims to run first uranium mine in Korea

Korea, the world’s fifth-largest user of nuclear power, is expected to start the production of its own uranium as early as 2015, Australian energy company Stonehenge Metals, which has the exclusive rights to the deposits, said Wednesday. “Our goal is to operate the first uranium mine in Korea, which would be both a massive national asset and a boon to the local communities,” Richard Henning, managing director of the Perth-based Stonehenge, said at a press conference in Seoul. In the 1980s, the

IndustryAug. 1, 2012

Aussie company aims to run first uranium mine in Korea

STX Group signs $200 million contract to ship corn from U.S.

STX Group announced on Wednesday that it had formed a business partnership with Nonghyup Feed Co. in Portland, Oregon, to import U.S. corn for about one year starting November 2012. The partnership contract states that STX will be responsible for shipping about 700,000 tons of U.S. corn to Korea for livestock feed. The corn will be processed and distributed by Nonghyup Feed, which holds about an 18 percent share of the livestock feed market here. Among rising concerns regarding agflation ― a com

Aug. 1, 2012

Trade surplus narrows on falling exports

Korea’s trade surplus shrank from a month earlier in July as exports slipped at a greater pace than imports, the government said Wednesday.The country’s trade balance came to $2.7 billion in the black last month, compared with a surplus of $4.96 billion in June, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.Still, July marks the sixth consecutive month the country has posted a trade surplus since January when the country’s trade balance went into the red for the first time in 24 months.Exports

Aug. 1, 2012

Trade surplus narrows on falling exports

July consumer prices grow at slowest rate in 12 years

Korea’s consumer prices grew at the slowest pace in 12 years in July as the slowing global economy drove down costs of crude oil and other products by cutting overall demand, a report showed Wednesday.The country’s consumer price index rose 1.5 percent in July from a year earlier, compared with a 2.2 percent on-year gain the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea.July’s reading marks the slowest growth since May 2000 when consumer prices gained 1.1 percent. It also marks the

Aug. 1, 2012

July consumer prices grow at slowest rate in 12 years