The Korea Herald

SC Bank Korea offers fees exemption for migrant workers

A certain portion of expat employees in Korea will be exempted from service charges on their overseas cash transfer when they use the preferred service offered by Standard Chartered Bank Korea.The commercial bank said the service is applicable to employees from 48 countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal.The 48 nations were designated by the United Nations and the service will continue until Sept. 19.Banks operating in Korea have been bolstering their services for foreign

March 23, 2012

Shares edge up after volatile trade

Korean stocks finished a tad higher on Friday as bargain hunting by foreign and retail investors helped recover earlier losses, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. After falling as much as 0.61 percent, the benchmark KOSPI added 0.04 percent, or 0.71 percentage point, to reach 2,026.83. Trading volume was moderate at 500 million shares worth 4.77 trillion won with losers outpacing gainers 422 to 382. “Foreigners resumed net buying, mostly picking up shares of base met

March 23, 2012

BOK requests joint household debt probe

The Bank of Korea has asked the Financial Supervisory Service to conduct a joint probe into the country’s household and corporate debt situations. The BOK made the decision Thursday and the financial regulator of its intention, a move that reflects its expanded supervisory role. The formal request marked the first time the central bank revealed its intent to play a role in stabilizing the overall financial system in addition to its primary function of keeping inflation at bay. In the document se

March 23, 2012

Sohn Kyung-shik reelected as Korea chamber chief

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Friday that it reelected Sohn Kyung-shik as chairman of the nation’s influential business lobby group.Chamber members agreed in a unanimous vote to offer another three-year term to the CJ Group co-chairman, who has led the Seoul chamber since November 2005.According to chamber officials, Sohn has been recognized for linking the business community with the government as he also serves as the chairman of the Presidential Council on National Competiti

IndustryMarch 23, 2012

Sohn Kyung-shik reelected as Korea chamber chief

Kim Seung-yu finishes 15 years as top banker

Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Seung-yu finished his 15-year career as chief of the financial company on Friday.Kim worked as chief executive of Hana Bank between 1997 and 2005 and as the first chairman of Hana Financial Group between 2005 and 2012.The 68-year-old banker has been highly evaluated as one of the few figures to foster their organizations via mergers and acquisitions in the nation’s financial industry.Hana, which took over Seoul Bank in 2002, Boram Bank in 1999 and Chungcheong Ba

March 23, 2012

Kim Seung-yu finishes 15 years as top banker

Spot oil trading system to start within March

New trading system expected to stabilize oil prices and improve transparencyThe Korean government said on Friday it would kick off a spot oil electronic trading system within March to help rein in stubbornly high oil prices and improve transparency in the local oil market. The electronic market will be run by the Korea Exchange, the country’s bourse operator, and government officials said the new system will contribute to stabilize oil prices. Korea relies on foreign imports for all of its oil n

March 23, 2012

Nuclear energy giant Areva sees Korea as aggressive competitor

Areva, the Paris-based nuclear energy giant, said Friday that Korean nuclear companies have become more aggressive competitors while also serving as customers of the firm.“I think the Korean industry is a competitor and a customer and we respect both,” said Areva’s president and chief executive Luc Oursel in a press conference on the sidelines of the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Industry Summit in southern Seoul.“We obviously see a more aggressive competitor and we like competition.”Areva, a well-known na

IndustryMarch 23, 2012

Nuclear energy giant Areva sees Korea as aggressive competitor

KHNP hosts industry summit, steps up safety

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said it has been stepping up its efforts to boost safety and energy security as the operator of the country’s 23 nuclear power plants. The state-run utility hosted the two-day Nuclear Industry Summit in Seoul on Friday, setting the stage for leaders from across the globe to share their experience and knowledge in enhancing the safety of atomic power ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit on March 26-27. After being spun off from Korea Electric Power Corp. in 2001, t

IndustryMarch 23, 2012

Raising accredited security professionals ‘essential’

Korea needs to foster more sufficiently accredited nuclear security professionals to stand out as a reactor exporter in an expanding global atomic power plant market, Roger Howsley, president of the World Institute for Nuclear Security, said on Friday.The British expert on nuclear security said exporting of nuclear power plants should come with safety management for the reactor post-construction.“I think it’s essential to have accredited professionals for safety and emergency management. Raisin

IndustryMarch 23, 2012

Raising accredited security professionals ‘essential’

Hanwha chairman Kim sells stake in Hanwha Securities

Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn sold his entire holdings of Hanwha Securities, the brokerage said in a filing to the Korea Exchange on Friday. Kim held about 323,000 shares in the securities house, or 0.39 percent. Hanwha Securities said that Kim’s sale was to “simplify the stake ownership” and its affiliate Hanwha Time World took over Kim’s entire stake in order not to have an impact on the market. The stake sale came after Hanwha Group went through a turbulent period concerning Kim and fo

March 23, 2012

Study shows potential for mind manipulation

A group of U.S. scientists have succeeded in artificially manipulating memories in mice brains, offering possibility for weakening harmful thoughts in mental patients, Science Daily reported Thursday.It has been known that stimulating certain parts of the brain can induce behaviors or memories, but the mechanism behind those memory functions has remained a mystery.Now a new study by the Scripps Research Institute suggests a clue to understanding the complexity of the human mind.Researchers genet

TechnologyMarch 23, 2012

Study shows potential for mind manipulation

Foods needed to quit smoking

The eating habits of smokers are not only that they have a higher intake of high-calorie foods, including fatty foods or alcohol, as compared with non-smokers, but also that they are more vulnerable to a variety of cancers as well as arteriosclerosis due to a lower intake of fresh vegetables and fruits, both of which are dietary sources of anti-oxidant vitamins (vitamins C, E and A).Besides, they have a greater preference for foods such as coffee. Their eating habits are also more irregular.Seru

TechnologyMarch 23, 2012

Scientists develop stem cells that may help treat dementia

A joint research team from South Korea and Germany said Friday they have created stem cells that have the potential to help treat people suffering from dementia and spinal cord trauma.Scientists from Konkuk University and the Max Planck Institute said they have successfully used somatic cells from mice to create so-called induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) that can be cultivated for over a year under laboratory conditions.The iNSCs have also been injected into the brains of mice and differentiate

TechnologyMarch 23, 2012

Scheduled feeding may lower baby's IQ

Babies breastfed or bottle-fed to a schedule may not perform as well in school as babies fed on demand, British researchers found. (MCT image)Study leader Dr. Maria Iacovou of the Institute for Social and Economic Research at University of Essex and at the University of Oxford said this was the firs

TechnologyMarch 23, 2012

Scientists develop stem cells that may help treat dementia

A joint research team from South Korea and Germany said Friday they have created stem cells that have the potential to help treat people suffering from dementia and spinal cord trauma.Scientists from Konkuk University and the Max Planck Institute said they have successfully used somatic cells from m

TechnologyMarch 23, 2012

Industry leaders open forum on nuclear safety

Nuclear energy industry leaders from around the world kicked off a two-day meeting in Seoul Friday to help advance atomic safety and support global security.The Nuclear Industry Summit will offer viable recommendations to leaders of 58 nations and international organizations who will participate in

IndustryMarch 23, 2012

Noodle firms fined W135.4b for price-rigging

Ramen makers tangled up in shady deals for nine years: FTCThe Fair Trade Commission said Thursday that it imposed fines totaling 135.4 billion won ($120 million) on four major instant noodle makers here for colluding to fix prices. Nongshim, the market leader, was fined the largest amount of 107.7 billion won, followed by Samyang with 11.6 billion won, Ottogi with 9.7 billion won and Korea Yakult with 6.2 billion won. The four companies had exchanged product information and fixed the prices of k

IndustryMarch 22, 2012

Noodle firms fined W135.4b for price-rigging

Nuclear industry discusses safety

Industry leaders to discuss role of private sector in enhancing nuclear safety, securityMore than 200 representatives of nuclear power companies and related international organizations, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, will gather in Seoul on Friday for discussions on how to ensure nuclear safety.The two-day Nuclear Industry Summit, themed “The Role of the Nuclear Industry in Enhancing Nuclear Security and Safety,” is being held in conjunction with the Seoul Nuclear Security Summi

IndustryMarch 22, 2012

Hyundai Heavy, 40, targets W100tr sales

Hyundai Heavy Industries has set the goal of achieving 100 trillion won ($88 billion) in yearly sales within four years.The shipbuilding group’s sales target was announced during an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of its foundation on Thursday.While the group posted sales of 66 trillion won in 2011, it is aiming at 52 percent growth in four years to reach 100 trillion won in 2015.Hyundai Heavy CEO Lee Jae-sung vowed to meet new challenges for further development during his speech at the e

IndustryMarch 22, 2012

Biz bodies warn politicians against populist pledges

Korea’s major business organizations urged politicians Thursday to refrain from making populist pledges to win votes, stressing such moves will hurt the country’s economy in the long run.The Federation of Korean Industries, the lobby for the country’s family-controlled conglomerates, and four other organizations claimed that resorting to populism poses problems for the country’s fiscal health and can seriously affect economic growth potential.“There is a rush by politicians and some civic groups

March 22, 2012