Two nuclear power plants in Japan are located right on top of a seismically unstable region, raising the possibility of an earthquake-induced disaster, according to a report on Wednesday.Tomari plant in Hokkaido and Tsuruga plant in Fukui Prefecture sit on active faults, the Japanese media reported, citing a report by Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. The fault under the Tsuruga plant is believed to have moved some 4,500 years ago, according to Kyodo news agency. The underground laye

TechnologyApril 25, 2012

 The South Korean economy is not expected to make a quick recovery from its current slump due to external uncertainties and domestic problems, a local think tank said Wednesday."A stable and rapid rebound of the South Korean economy is not in the cards as the private sector remains vulnerable to economic shocks and lacks resilience," Samsung Economic Research Institute(SERI) said in a report.The r

April 25, 2012

Much of the human genome is yet to be understood. Only 1.5 percent of the genetic material in our cells is coded for human life. Half of the rest is “junk DNA” with no known function, while the other half consists of genes from viruses and other parasites.A recent study attempting to explore this so-called “dark matter” in our genome has revealed that ancient viruses from around 100 million years ago invaded the genomes of 38 mammals including humans, mice, rats, elephants and dolphins.The study

TechnologyApril 25, 2012

South Korea plans to take bids for its stake in Woori Finance Holdings Co. in a third attempt to sell the nation’s largest financial company by assets.The government will hold an international auction and announce details on the plan soon, Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Seok Dong said in Seoul today. Local and foreign investors’ bids will be treated equally, he said.The sale is part of

April 25, 2012

Swiss scientists have demonstrated how a partially paralyzed person can control a robot by thought alone, a step they hope will one day allow immobile people to interact with their surroundings through so-called avatars.Similar experiments have taken place in the United States and Germany, but they involved either able-bodied patients or invasive brain implants.On Tuesday, a team at Switzerland's

TechnologyApril 25, 2012

South Korea’s budget for 2013 will focus heavily on welfare, job creation and education-related spending to meet growing demands for social security and achieve sustainable growth, the government said Tuesday.The budget plan, outlined by the finance ministry and approved by the Cabinet, emphasizes sustainable growth and restoring a balanced budget next year to ensure the country has the available resources to cope with its rapidly aging population, reunification and other unforeseen economic cri

April 24, 2012

LG Display said Tuesday it posted 6.18 trillion won ($5.41 billion) in sales and 178.2 billion won in operating losses for the first quarter, recording a bigger loss due to decreased shipments stemming from low demand and new product development.In its quarterly regulatory filing, the company said its operating loss widened from 145 billion won in the final quarter of last year, while its quarterly net loss reached 129.2 billion won from January-March.The firm’s total sales figure also went down

IndustryApril 24, 2012

Samsung Engineering Co., one of South Korea’s largest industrial plant builders, said Tuesday its net profit jumped 18.3 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, thanks to increased overseas sales.Net income came to 143.6 billion won ($125.9 million) in the January-March period, compared with 121.4 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales soared 46.2 percent on-year to 2.6 trillion won during the cited period, and operating profit reached 189.3 billion w

April 24, 2012

Korean companies  fined over 2 trillion won  for global cartelismKorea’s Fair Trade Commission said on Tuesday that cartelism among industry peers will bring nothing but harsh penalties for executives found guilty of price-fixing in global markets.An FTC official said that cartelism is illegal in any country, adding that even the temptation of price collusion to reap short-term profit is not worth it, as anybody participating in such activity will end up either with large fines or in prison in t

April 24, 2012

South Korean stocks dropped 0.47 percent Tuesday on rising political uncertainties in Europe and overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI lost 9.21 points to close at 1,963.42. Trading volume was heavy at 622 million shares worth 4.97 trillion won ($4.35 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 641 to 206.“Fiscal woes in Europe fueled political uncertainties on the continent, having a negative impact on the local bourse,”

April 24, 2012

The amount of European funds that left South Korea reached $18.2 billion in 2011 mainly due to financial woes facing many eurozone economies, a report by the central bank showed Tuesday.European investors pulled the money from the local bourse last year, contributing to a net outflow of $10.9 billion in stock investments, according to the report by the Bank of Korea.Despite the withdrawal of funds, the European Union still accounted for 28.1 percent of all inbound investments last year, which wa

April 24, 2012

South Korea’s air cargo traffic dropped 1.9 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter of this year due to a decline in shipments of information technology products, the government said Tuesday.The country’s air cargo shipments came to 857,000 tons in the January-March period, compared with 874,000 tons a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.The drop resulted mainly from decreased international air cargo volume, which slipped 2.9 percent on-year t

April 24, 2012