The Korea Herald

Jobless rate hits 11-month high of 4.2 percent in February

Korea’s jobless rate jumped to the highest level in 11 months in February, indicating that the job market conditions remain cloudy despite the continued economic recovery, a report showed Wednesday.The jobless rate stood at 4.2 percent last month, up from 3.5 percent in January, according to the report by Statistics Korea. It was the highest since March last year when the rate reached 4.3 percent.Job creation also decelerated, with a total of 447,000 jobs added to payrolls in February compared w

March 14, 2012

Jobless rate hits 11-month high of 4.2 percent in February

U.S. FTA brings cheaper goods, expands exports

Same tariff incentives will apply to online, offline purchases of American goodsThe Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement went into effect on Thursday, making Korea the first Asian country to have FTAs in effect with the world’s largest economy and the European Union. Tariffs were immediately removed for 82.1 percent of U.S. items such as shirts, jeans, cosmetics, handbags and wine, and 80.5 percent of Korean items. Tariffs on American cars will be removed gradually.The effectuation, which experts pre

March 14, 2012

U.S. FTA brings cheaper goods, expands exports

Korea to adopt new growth-sharing program

Participating firms will get incentive points in bidding for public projectsThe Korean government said it will kick off a new growth-sharing program between small and big enterprises in April amid the slower-than-expected adoption of shared growth practices in the country’s corporate sector. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said on Wednesday it will introduce a “growth-sharing certification program” next month, offering incentives to big businesses that support their suppliers or other small fi

March 14, 2012

Introduction to Pilates

CHICAGO ― With some fitness regimens, that first trip to the gym can nearly kill you.Pilates, with its emphasis on core training and an abundance of moves, works the other way.“The first time is almost the easiest,” says Alycea Ungaro, owner of Real Pilates in New York (realpilatesnyc.com and author of “Pilates: Body in Motion” (DK Publishing). “It gets harder after that. Once you know what to do, the bar gets higher, the demand gets harder. You see things you’re doing wrong and you fix them. Yo

TechnologyMarch 14, 2012

LG Display to start building plant in China

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea’s LG Display Co. will likely start building its 8.5 generation liquid crystal display plant in China next month, in a bid to garner a larger market share there, a source said Wednesday. In December 2010, the world’s No. 2 maker of LCD panels obtained approval from the Chinese government to build an LCD factory in the southern city of Guangzhou.The South Korean company, however, has been delaying breaking ground on its Guangzhou factory due to prolonged sluggish de

IndustryMarch 14, 2012

Korea mulls Japanese seafood origin labeling

The Agriculture Ministry is considering mandatory origin labeling at restaurants selling pollack and mackerel, responding to fears about radioactivity in Japanese waters. “The ministry began studying measures to enforce origin labeling to help customers filter out Japanese imports,” said a spokesman at the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.“We have been promoting honest origin labeling at eateries, but more consumers have been complaining about having to eat seafood without

IndustryMarch 14, 2012

KT&G to launch pharmaceutical business

KT&G Corp., Korea’s largest tobacco and ginseng product manufacturer, said Wednesday that it will jump into the pharmaceutical business in a bid to diversify its business portfolio.The company said it launched KT&G Life Sciences Corp., formerly known as Mazence Inc., which KT&G acquired late last year to spearhead the business.KT&G said it will focus on developing treatments for cancer and osteoporosis and drugs for atopic diseases, as well as new medicines for diabetes and obesity that Mazence

IndustryMarch 14, 2012

Rats as good at decision-making as humans: study

Rats are smart, that's a well known fact. But US researchers said Tuesday a series of tests have shown they may be just as good as humans at juggling information in order to make the best decision. A white rat in a laboratoryThe discovery could help scientists better understand how the brain works i

TechnologyMarch 14, 2012

Rats as good at decision-making as humans: study

Scientists claim nuke could stop asteroid Armageddon

A huge asteroid hurls toward Earth. In desperation, scientists send a group of astronauts to blast the deadly rock with a nuclear bomb and save humanity.It is a scenario that has been depicted in Hollywood films, but new a U.S. study suggests that a timely nuclear explosion could save us from a devastating asteroid impact.Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory conducted a supercomputer simulation to test the effects of a nuclear weapon on an asteriod, according to Space.com.They “hit” a 50

TechnologyMarch 14, 2012

Scientists claim nuke could stop asteroid Armageddon

Samsung Supplies Apple With Touch Screen for New IPad

Samsung Electronics Co. will supply the screen for Apple Inc.’s new iPad after LG Display Co. and Sharp Corp. didn’t meet the U.S. company’s quality requirements, according to an analyst with iSuppli. Samsung, the world’s top flat-panel maker, currently is the sole vendor of the display for the 9.7-

IndustryMarch 14, 2012

South Korean researchers to clone mammoth

A private bioengineering laboratory led by disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk said Tuesday that it agreed to work together with a Russian university in cloning an extinct woolly mammoth.The agreement with the North-Eastern Federal University calls for the use of biological samples taken from mammoth remains so they can help make a live animal using a somatic cell nuclear transfer process, the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation said.It said the school in the Russia’s Sakha Federal Republi

TechnologyMarch 13, 2012

‘Korea will emerge as hub of FTAs’

‘FTA negotiations with China to begin within first half of this year’This is the first of a series of interviews of top officials on FTAs as the Korea-U.S. FTA takes effect on March 15. ― Ed.The free trade agreement with the United States, which goes into effect Thursday, is anticipated to help Korea attract foreign investment in addition to boosting exports to the world’s largest market.“Being a country that depends heavily on trade, our competence means strong exports to the advanced economy,

March 13, 2012

700 foreigners apply for jobs at Samsung

Samsung Group said Tuesday that 700 foreigners from 47 different countries submitted job applications during its regular recruitment session.This year’s figure is a sharp jump from 130 applicants from 15 countries in 2009 and 500 applicants from 42 countries last year, according to Samsung officials.Samsung’s new recruits, who will have to go through the company’s aptitude test and a series of interviews, will begin work in the latter half of this year.Samsung currently has 2,000 foreign workers

IndustryMarch 13, 2012

Seoul confirms outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza

South Korea on Tuesday confirmed an outbreak of a low pathogenic avian influenza virus that is less damaging, both to birds and humans, than a highly pathogenic strain.The outbreak was confirmed at a poultry farm in South Chungcheong Province, where some 100 chickens were showing symptoms of AI, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.An initial test had produced positive results for the AI virus in six of 10 chickens tested at the farm.Follow-up tests confirmed th

March 13, 2012

Korea to improve systems for KORUS FTA implementation

South Korea will step up efforts to streamline regulations, distribution structure and other systems that could hamper the successful implementation of the free trade agreement with the United States, the finance minister said Tuesday.“We will improve inefficient systems such as the complex distribution structure and other regulations that could pose a hindrance to the FTA with the U.S.,” Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said during a meeting with other policymakers. He vowed to provide more inform

March 13, 2012

Hynix Semiconductor hints at production of NAND Flash chips in Wuxi, China

Hynix Semiconductor said Tuesday that it would focus on NAND Flash projects this year, indicating that it may make the chips at its plant in Wuxi, China.Hynix chief executive Kwon Oh-chul said its only overseas plant in Wuxi is capable of producing NAND Flash chips, widely used in wireless devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs, in a press conference. It was the first since SK Telecom’s takeover of the chipmaker.“We’re planning to expand our business boundaries, but we will need to more spec

IndustryMarch 13, 2012

Hynix Semiconductor hints at production of NAND Flash chips in Wuxi, China

Hyundai Motor’s Veloster sales brisk in U.S. market

Hyundai Motor saw its U.S. sales of Veloster, a three-door sports car, jump last month on the back of the company’s Super Bowl advertisement.The company’s sales of the Veloster came to 3,240 units in the United States in February, up 91.4 percent from a year earlier.The Hyundai vehicle is vying for the top place in the sport compact segment with BMW’s Mini Cooper and the Fiat 500, which posted sales of 3,686 units and 3,227 units, respectively.The Veloster made a sensation in October last year,

MobilityMarch 13, 2012

Over half of Koreans use e-learning system

South Korea’s market for online or electronic-learning (e-learning) systems rose sharply last year with more than half of the population aged over three saying they have used such educational aids, the government said Tuesday.Combined sales by the country’s service operators rose 9.2 percent from a year earlier to about 2.45 trillion won ($2.19 billion) in 2011, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.The number of service providers also increased 6.9 percent on-year to 1,656 with the num

TechnologyMarch 13, 2012

Korea expects tax cuts on U.S.-made cars, wine

The government listed a range of tax benefits Korean consumers will be able to enjoy with the onset of the Korea-U.S. trade pact starting Thursday, in which the biggest price cuts will be on imported cars, wine and fruit. The Free Trade Agreement between Korea and the United States will immediately cut the import tax to 4 percent from 8 percent for all U.S.-manufactured cars, which could save Korean consumers up to 4 million won for a 50 million won vehicle, the Finance Ministry said. “The pact

March 13, 2012

Seoul shares gain 1.13% on Fed hopes

South Korean stocks rallied 1.13 percent Tuesday as investors raised their sense of optimism toward the U.S. Federal Reserve’s move for a fresh monetary easing, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI climbed 22.54 points to close at 2,025.04. Trading volume was moderate at 442.2 million shares worth 5.58 trillion won ($4.96 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 490 to 330. “There is a certain sense of trust that investors are holding onto, like ‘Berna

March 13, 2012