The Korea Herald

Aussie millionaire offers W2.5b for Korean bride

At least 2,000 women have applied to meet the Australian millionaire who is looking for a Korean wife, marriage consulting agency UVIS said Friday. Among the applicants, women in their 40s make up the majority, the agency added. An Australian millionaire is looking for love and willing to offer more than 2 billion won ($1.7 million) for it, according to a marriage consulting firm.The 80-year-old b

March 25, 2011

Aussie millionaire offers W2.5b for Korean bride

Hyundai Merchant fails to get nod for stock sale limit

Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., the biggest unit of Korea’s Hyundai Group, surged in Seoul trading after shareholders rejected a proposal to increase the preferred stock sales limit, raising speculation it may become a takeover target. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., owner of a 23.8 percent stake in Korea’s second-biggest shipping line, and three other companies with holdings voted against the plan at

IndustryMarch 25, 2011

Hyundai Merchant fails to get nod for stock sale limit

LG Electronics expanding 3-D TV alliance

Sharp of Japan latest foreign firm LG is seeking new technology partnership withLG Electronics is bit by bit winning partners from its biggest rival Samsung in a bid to gently, but firmly, nudge the entire television industry to go the “LG Way.”The “LG Way,” in terms of 3-D TVs, happens to be LG’s new technology that involves, to put it simply, placing a sheet of special film on TV panels to reali

IndustryMarch 25, 2011

LG Electronics expanding 3-D TV alliance

Labor dispute delays Hyundai car production

Disagreements between Hyundai Motor Co. and its union are delaying production at the company’s Ulsan complex, causing shortages in domestic and export demand.According to the company, productivity of the plant producing small vehicles has fallen to about 33.5 percent as workers are refusing to comply with its proposal of moving some of the plant’s workers to other parts of the complex.With a signi

IndustryMarch 25, 2011

POSCO to invest W2.2tr in plants by 2013

POSCO will spend 2.2 trillion won ($1.97 billion) by 2013 on building two new plants and renovating a stainless steel mill, the steelmaker announced Friday. Under the plans, approved by the company’s board of directors Friday morning, POSCO will build a new FINEX facility and a fourth plant producing steel coils at its steelworks in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. Developed by POSCO and put int

IndustryMarch 25, 2011

Korean food firms flooded with orders from Japan

Women walk down an aisle where seaweed is displayed at a store in Seoul on Thursday. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald)Korean food makers have been swamped with orders for bottled water and instant noodles from Japan following radiation leaks from an earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant, the companies said Thursday.The flood of orders comes as concerns over the safety of food and drinking water ar

IndustryMarch 25, 2011

Korean food firms flooded with orders from Japan

Korea’s smartphone users top 10 million

The state media regulator said Thursday that the number of smartphone owners here exceeded 10 million people earlier this week, surging more than twelvefold from 800,000 in 2009.The Korea Communications Commission said that a total of 10.02 million people used smartphones as of Wednesday, showing a sharp increase since the launch of Apple’s iPhone in Korea in November 2009.From 800,000 in December

March 25, 2011

Do you know enough about tuberculosis?

Authorities announce measures to bring down TB prevalence, highest in the OECDTo many people, tuberculosis, often abbreviated as TB, is a disease in novels or TV dramas: The beautiful but pale protagonist spits blood on his or her white handkerchief and cries over their fate. A classic scene in a romantic novel. However, the real tuberculosis is nothing romantic. The hemoptysis and excessive cough

TechnologyMarch 24, 2011

LS Group firms get new English names

LS Group’s LS Cable Ltd. announced Thursday that it had changed its name to LS Cable and System at the previous day’s shareholders meeting.LS Cable and System said that the change was approved as its previous name LS Cable did not sufficiently represent the scope of its operations.The company, the country’s largest producer of cables and wires, has been changing its business model from a supplier

IndustryMarch 24, 2011

Sky Life subscribers break 3 million

Sky Life, a digital satellite broadcaster, announced Thursday that its subscriber figure had reached over 3 million as of Wednesday.Speaking at a press conference in downtown Seoul, its chief executive Lee Mong-ryong said the broadcaster will add 10 high-definition channels next month, offering a total of 85 HD channels ― at least twice the number of its rivals.Lee also said that it will offer pay

IndustryMarch 24, 2011

Seoul shares rebound on foreign buying

Korean stocks ended 1.22 percent higher on Thursday as foreign investors sharply increased their holdings on reviving appetite for riskier assets, analysts said. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 24.6 points to 2,036.78. Trading volume was light at 290.3 million shares worth 6.56 trillion won ($5.8 billion), with gaine

March 24, 2011

Kia exports 10 millionth car

Kia Motors Corp. loaded its 10 millionth vehicle to be exported at the Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi Province on Thursday.The vehicle, a K5 midsized sedan, will be shipped to the U.S. “Today’s achievement was made possible by the efforts of Kia employees and the affection shown by the customers,” Kia vice chairman Lee Hyung-keun said at the ceremony marking the event.The company’s exports began with

IndustryMarch 24, 2011

Korea’s labor productivity growth slows in Q4

Growth in Korea’s labor productivity in the manufacturing sector slowed in the fourth quarter of 2010 due to weaker private consumption and business investments, a government report showed Thursday.According to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the labor productivity index in the three month period gained just 3.3 percent on-year to 137.0, marking the third straight quarter of slowe

March 24, 2011

Seoul examines China FTA benefits: minister

Korea’s top trade official said Thursday that the government is carefully looking into the impact of a free trade deal with China on Asia’s fourth-largest economy as there are divided views on benefits.“We are cautiously examining the impact of a free trade deal with China on our economy,” Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said in a meeting with business leaders. Kim said there are opinions that

March 24, 2011

Mortgages make up 66% of household loans

Home-backed loans amount to 284.5tr won, set to grow furtherThe proportion of mortgage loans to total household lending hit a record high level in the fourth quarter of last year amid monetary easing, central bank data showed Thursday.Home-backed loans extended by local banks reached 284.5 trillion won ($253.3 billion) as of the end of 2010, accounting for 65.9 percent of an outstanding 431.5 tril

March 24, 2011

Mortgages make up 66% of household loans

One in seven suffered hacking: survey

One out of every seven in the Korean online community experienced hacking last year, while one out of six said their personal information was exposed online without their consent, according to government figures on Thursday.In the corporate sector, one out of eight companies said their websites were disturbed or hacked, the Korea Communication Commission said, citing a survey it conducted on indiv

IndustryMarch 24, 2011

Korea strives for agricultural security

Government, companies to establish grain trading firm, boost overseas farmingAlarmed over a surge in global food inflation, Korea is ratcheting up its efforts to safeguard against price volatility and secure a stable supply. The government and companies are joining hands to expand the country’s overseas farming bases, establish a direct import channel and modernize agricultural production and dist

IndustryMarch 24, 2011

Sex can be heart attack trigger for couch potatoes

CHICAGO (AP) ― Sex and exercise can trigger heart attacks in older people who don’t get much of either, a new analysis finds. The risk is low, but it’s a good reminder that slackers should change their exercise habits gradually, especially in middle age.People who exercise regularly have a much smaller risk of having a heart attack immediately after sexual or physical activity, said lead author Dr

TechnologyMarch 24, 2011

‘Renal failure linked to hypertension, diabetes’

Those suffering from diabetes or hypertension are more likely to have chronic renal failure as well. The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service said Monday that about 53 percent of those suffering from long-term kidney disorder had other chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure or diabetes.“We suspect such chronic disorders to affect one another,” the organization said in a press rele

TechnologyMarch 24, 2011

What’s in popcorn? Cinemas don’t want to say

LOS ANGELES ― Theater owners to the FDA: Don’t mess with our popcorn.The nation’s cinema operators are fuming about proposed federal rules that could require them to disclose the calories in their concession food ― including popcorn, a highly profitable item for theater chains.Regulators could issue final rules as early as Wednesday that would force movie theaters to post calorie counts for popcor

TechnologyMarch 24, 2011

What’s in popcorn? Cinemas don’t want to say