The Korea Herald

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street rallies

South Korean stocks started higher on Wednesday as overnight gains on Wall Street lifted investor sentiment, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 0.28 percent, or 5.56 points, to 2,001.88 in the first 15 minutes of trading. A retreat in oil prices bolstered U.S. stocks on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rallied 1.03 percent and the tech-foc

March 9, 2011

Banks' capital adequacy ratio inches down in Q4

The capital adequacy ratio of South Korean banks edged down in the fourth quarter of 2010 from three months earlier due to their payouts of year-end stock dividends, the financial regulator said Wednesday. The average capital adequacy ratio of 18 local lenders, including top lender Kookmin Bank and Woori Bank, reached 14.6 percent as of the end of December, down 0.02 percentage point from end-Se

March 9, 2011

What can we do for misaligned eyes?

Strabismus is a visual defect in which the eyes are misaligned and point in different directions. One eye may look straight ahead, while the other eye turns inward, outward, upward or downward. You may always notice the misalignment, or it may come and go. The turned eye may straighten at times and the straight eye may turn.Strabismus is one of the most common pediatric eye problems ― approximatel

TechnologyMarch 9, 2011

Foreign Ministry under fire for FTA translation errors

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade came under fire for mistranslation of the free trade agreement with the European Union which was signed on Oct. 6, 2010.On Monday the ministry announced that it has agreed with the EU to correct yet more errors found in the Korean version of the agreement, less than two weeks after other mistakes were corrected.On Feb. 25, the ministry announced that mista

IndustryMarch 8, 2011

Foreign Ministry under fire for FTA translation errors

Lee urges Samsung to ensure products are competitive

Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., said Tuesday that the electronics giant should produce more competitive products in order to dominate the global markets. Samsung Electronics is the world’s top maker of computer memory chips, liquid-crystal display panels and flat-screen TVs. It is also the runner-up in the semiconductor market after Intel Corp. and is the No. 2 mobile brand after

IndustryMarch 8, 2011

Lee urges Samsung to ensure products are competitive

Samsung cuts price for Galaxy Tab WiFi version

Samsung Electronics Co. will launch a WiFi-only version of the Galaxy Tab in the domestic market, which is one-third cheaper than its predecessor, the company said Tuesday. Samsung Electronics started to receive pre-orders for the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab at the price of 600,000 won ($536) this week through its online Web site and retail shops in Korea. It did not disclose the launch date.The WiFi-onl

IndustryMarch 8, 2011

Samsung cuts price for Galaxy Tab WiFi version

Default rate of household loans rises in 2010

The delinquency rate of Korean financial companies‘ household loans gained in 2010 from a year earlier, a report showed Tuesday, adding concerns over worsening loan repayment ability.The default rate stood at 1.09 percent of their total lending as of the end of 2010, up 0.06 percentage point from end-2009, the Financial Supervisory Service said in the report to the National Assembly.Out of the tot

March 8, 2011

Exports of used cars drop in 2010: KOTRA

Korea’s exports of used vehicles dropped in 2010 from a year earlier, a local trade body said Tuesday, despite a large boost in overseas sales of new Korean cars last year.The country shipped 239,556 pre-owned vehicles to overseas countries last year, down 9.4 percent from 264,742 units a year earlier, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).Revenue from overseas sales of

IndustryMarch 8, 2011

Citigroup cuts KOSPI mid-year target

Korea’s KOSPI Index, which posted its biggest monthly decline in two years last month, had its mid-year target cut at Citigroup Inc. on concern higher oil prices will hurt corporate profits.The mid-year estimate for the benchmark stock gauge was reduced to 2,050-2,150 from 2,200-2,300, Citigroup analysts led by Michael Chung wrote in a report dated yesterday. The brokerage increased its Brent crud

IndustryMarch 8, 2011

Kia China venture to enhance research

Kia Motors Corp.’s China venture will invest about $150 million on a research and development center to produce its own brand of cars, according to the parent of the Chinese partner.The venture, Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motors Co., will start construction this year and will complete building the center by 2015, Jiangsu Yueda Group Co.’s Vice Chairman Shao Yong said in an interview in Beijing.Automakers

IndustryMarch 8, 2011

GS head stresses technology, mutual growth

GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo stressed the significance of original technology and mutual growth with suppliers on Tuesday during his visit to a GS Caltex lubricants plant in Incheon, Gyeonggi Province.“GS has been showing a strong performance overseas with its solid base in the domestic market. I believe we can become a leading global firm if we secure original technologies with which we can co

IndustryMarch 8, 2011

GS head stresses technology, mutual growth

Further softening seen in domestic demand: ministry

Korea’s Finance Ministry said on Tuesday in a closely watched monthly report that economic uncertainty has increased globally and that domestic demand in Asia’s fourth-largest economy showed signs of softening. “Recovery in the world economy is improving but uncertainty has increased due to such factors as the political unrest in the Middle East, possible monetary policy tightening in emerging eco

March 8, 2011

Yuhan-Kimberly gets organic certification

The Anyday feminine hygiene product brand from Yuhan-Kimberly has received eco-friendly certification for five consecutive years. The Well-being Certification, granted by Korea Management Association Registrations & Assessments Inc., recognizes a domestic product’s functionality, safety and its environmental compatibility.As well as existing Anyday products, new Anyday Organic Cotton, made wholly

IndustryMarch 8, 2011

Yuhan-Kimberly gets organic certification

Regulator to guide firms on cartel laws

FTC to help Korean companies act within tighter U.S., EU regulationsThe Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday cautioned local companies over increasingly tougher anti-trust regulations and surveillance in Europe and the U.S. after Korean companies were slapped with billions of dollars in fines for collusion overseas. The regulator said it will step up efforts to help Korean companies to trade within th

March 8, 2011

iPads in cockpits may hasten end of era for paper charts

Apple Inc.’s iPad won approval from U.S. regulators to display navigational charts for some charter pilots, a step that may speed the end of the decades-old tradition of paper maps in the cockpit. With the Federal Aviation Administration endorsing iPads in a test project at Executive Jet Management, a unit of Warren Buffett’s NetJets, the way is open for pilots at airlines and other commercial car

TechnologyMarch 8, 2011

iPads in cockpits may hasten end of era for paper charts

Social commerce set for major showdown

Global giant Groupon joins Korea’s growing social commerce marketA major showdown is expected in Korea’s social commerce market with the introduction of global giant Groupon next week.The U.S.-based social commerce firm announced Monday that it will launch its branch here next Monday, going head-to-head with the country’s industry leaders like Ticket Monster and Coupang.Recruiting about 200-300 em

TechnologyMarch 8, 2011

‘China faces 60% risk of bank crisis by 2013’

China faces a 60 percent risk of a banking crisis by mid-2013 in the aftermath of record lending and surging property prices, according to a Fitch Ratings gauge. Fitch sees the risk of “holes in bank balance sheets” should a property bubble burst, Richard Fox, a London-based senior director, said in a phone interview on March 4. The risk assessment is from a macro-prudential monitor used by the ra

IndustryMarch 8, 2011

Volkswagen launches new Volkswagen CC in S. Korea

Volkswagen Korea, the local importer of German automaker Volkswagen, introduced the latest version of the Volkswagen CC sedan in South Korea Tuesday. The new Volkswagen CC is Volkswagen's second vehicle introduced in South Korea with the BlueMotion technology, which automatically shuts down the engine when the vehicle is idling and restarts it when the car is ready to move again, significantly i

MobilityMarch 8, 2011

Volkswagen launches new Volkswagen CC in S. Korea

Seoul shares open higher on shipbuilders

South Korean stocks started higher on Tuesday as retail and institutional investors picked up shares of shipyards, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 4.13 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1,984.4 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The world's largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries rose about 1.5 percent, helping the key index bounce back from a sharp

March 8, 2011

Korea’s savings rate far below OECD average

Korea’s household savings rate stayed far below the average for major economies in the world, a report showed Monday, apparently indicating that the latest economic crisis resulted in a decline in income reserved for bank savings. According to the report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea’s household savings rate ― the ratio of savings to total disposable income ―

March 7, 2011

Korea’s savings rate far below OECD average