The Korea Herald

[Graphic News] SNU tops energy use in Seoul

Seoul National University was the most energy-hungry building in Seoul, a report showed Sunday.From 2011 to 2012, the university devoured 4,403 tons of oil equivalent, surpassing major hospitals, department stores, hotels and office buildings, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said.According to the officials, frequent use of experimental apparatus in laboratories and high energy loss typical of old buildings mainly contributed to the high energy use. The officials also assume the 22 percent elec

May 27, 2013

[Graphic News] SNU tops energy use in Seoul

K-sure, Eximbank to finance U.S. LNG project

The state-run Korea Trade Insurance Corp., known as K-sure, and Korea Export-Import Bank will offer $1.5 billion in loans to the “Sabine Pass” liquefied natural gas project in the U.S., K-sure said on Monday.The LNG project refers to the LNG-related facility expansion project at Sabine Pass in the state of Louisiana, which will allow the U.S. to export LNG for the first time in its history. The U.S. government has stepped up lifting a ban on LNG exports in line with the rising supply of natural

May 27, 2013

Sri Lanka could serve as Korean firms’ gateway to India-Pakistan market

Sri Lanka has expressed hope that Korean firms will make more investments in the country, saying it was an ideal spot for a logistics hub in the South Asian region.“Ever since 2010, the year after the civil war ended, the country has been recording a steady growth rate of 8 percent or more every year,” Shivan de Silva, executive director of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, told The Korea Herald.Boosted by this sustainable growth, the Sri Lankan government is now all out to attract foreign d

May 27, 2013

Sri Lanka could serve as Korean firms’ gateway to India-Pakistan market

RCEP, first step toward economic integration in Asia

Recently I went to Brunei to engage in the first round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, negotiations in my capacity as Korea’s lead negotiator. RCEP is not well known to the general public despite its importance and potential to our economy. The RCEP aims to create a free trade area in Asia, currently with the participation of 16 countries including Korea, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, India and 10 ASEAN countries.This opening meeting follows the official decl

May 27, 2013

RCEP, first step toward economic integration in Asia

Chinese gamblers become No. 1 patrons of S. Korean casinos

The number of Chinese gamblers visiting South Korean casinos surpassed that of Japanese high-rollers for the first time last year, the culture ministry said Monday, as fears of North Korea's provocations and the falling yen curtailed growth of Japanese customers.According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, more than 970,000 or 40.7 percent of foreigners visiting local casinos came from mainland China last year, compared with 33 percent from Japan.The number of Japanese gamblers plun

May 27, 2013

S. Korea's consumer sentiment rebounds in May

South Korean consumers' confidence rebounded in May from the previous month as the government's extra budget and the central bank's rate cut raised optimism about the economic recovery, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Monday.The consumer sentiment index (CSI) -- a gauge of consumers' overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending -- came in at 104 for May, up from 102 tallied for the previous month, according to a monthly survey by the BOK. The index stayed above the benchmark 100

May 27, 2013

Dispute over privatization of KTX rekindled

The government’s announcement of a tentative plan to introduce competition to train operations is rekindling a dispute over the privatization of operations of the high-speed KTX.Last week, the Transport Ministry announced proposals made by its civilian reviewing committee to end the monopoly of the state-run rail operator KORAIL for the industry development. The centerpiece of the proposals was about who should operate the new high-speed KTX routes connecting Suseo in southern Seoul to the south

May 26, 2013

Economist Yoo to join National Economic Advisory Council

Yoo Byung-kyu, 53, a senior economist at the Hyundai Researcher Institute, will join the National Economic Advisory Council to President Park Geun-hye and lead the council’s support division, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.The main responsibilities of the macro-economist will include developing the council’s agenda, preparation for council meetings and implementing follow-up measures, the ministry said. The 30-member council’s general meeting is convened on the president’s req

May 26, 2013

Economist Yoo to join National Economic Advisory Council

U.S. lawmakers send letters to ITC ahead of Samsung-Apple ruling

A bipartisan group of congressmen in the United States has sent letters to the Washington-based International Trade Commission, stressing the need for careful consideration in rulings about “standard-essential patents.” News reports said the letter might be interpreted as supporting Apple ahead of the ITC ruling on Samsung Electronics’ claims against the U.S. tech firm’s infringement of its patents.According to Foss Patents, a blog covering software patent news, a letter from the leaders of the

May 24, 2013

Gov't to launch commission to investigate controversial river project

The government plans to launch a commission next month to look into a highly controversial public project to refurbish the country's four major rivers, officials said Friday.As a trademark of the previous Lee Myung-bak administration, the mega project costing 22 trillion won ($19.5 billion) is aimed at helping prevent floods and promote tourism along the country's four major rivers - the Han, Nakdong, Kum and Yeongsan. But it has long drawn criticism from civic activists and the opposition party

May 24, 2013

Gov't submits bills to ratify information-sharing deals with 2 tax havens: sources

The government has submitted ratification bills for parliament to approve information sharing deals with two tax haven countries to intensify its crackdown on offshore tax evasion, government sources said Friday.The government recently submitted the bills for a National Assembly session scheduled for next month to ratify the deals it signed with the Bahamas and Vanuatu, according to the sources.Under the deals, the government will be able to request from them such information as business registr

May 24, 2013

[Graphic News] Tax havens under spotlight

Tax havens are drawing media limelight after a journalist group disclosed 245 Korean businessmen and their families suspected of evading taxes by running paper companies in countries or territories that either have very low tax rates or do not impose them at all.Tax havens are generally divided into three categories ― tax paradises, tax shelters and tax resorts.Tax paradises mainly refer to countries that have no tax treaty regime with other countries and do not impose any income tax. They inclu

May 23, 2013

[Graphic News] Tax havens under spotlight

Daewoo International to start sales of gas to China

Daewoo International, a trading arm of POSCO, said Thursday it would start sales of natural gas, which will be produced from June in its two offshore gas blocks in Myanmar, to China. The company has explored natural gas in the A1 and A3 offshore blocks, Kyauk Phyu, Myanmar, since 2000 with a 51 percent stake. The produced gas will be sold to the China National Petroleum Corporation and the gas will be transferred to inland China from Myanmar through a 800km-long pipeline, which will be completed

May 23, 2013

Samsung C&T makes strides in new areas

Samsung C&T, a global construction and trading arm of Samsung Group, said Wednesday its growth engines, including power plants, health care and mining, have been making progress.For the past three years, the company has invested in securing high-caliber human resources and technologies as well as innovating management and pushing aggressive global marketing strategies. As of May 2013, the company has already won $7 billion worth of contracts, which is 65 percent of this year’s sales target. In M

May 23, 2013

S. Korea's trade deficit with Japan jumps in April

South Korea's trade deficit with Japan soared in April from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, as the weak Japanese currency dented local exports.Asia's fourth-largest economy saw its trade deficit with Japan reach 248.2 billion yen ($2.39 billion) in April, up 45.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Japan's finance ministry.It marked the fourth shortfall South Korea has registered with Japan this year since January, when the deficit came to 88.8 billion yen.By cou

May 23, 2013

Trade commission recommends extension of anti-dumping duties on choline chloride

The country's trade commission said Thursday that it has recommended yet another extension of punitive duties on choline chloride imports from four countries, including the United States and China.The country has been imposing anti-dumping duties of between 22.19 percent and 27.32 percent since October 2004 on shipments of choline chloride from the U.S., Canada, China and India.Choline chloride is an organic compound often used as an additive in feed for animals.The Korea Trade Commission said i

May 23, 2013

245 Koreans have paper firms in tax havens: journalists’ group

More than 200 Koreans, including corporate executives and conglomerate owners, are expected to come under scrutiny by state tax auditors after being exposed as holding offshore accounts and assets in tax havens.The Korea Center for Investigative Journalism, a non-profit, independent news agency, said Wednesday that 245 Koreans currently owned paper companies, or ghost assets, in the OECD-designated tax havens, including the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands.It disclosed in its first

May 22, 2013

245 Koreans have paper firms in tax havens: journalists’ group

[Graphic News] Samsung’s brand value soars

Samsung was named one of the 100 most valuable global brands for 2013, a survey has shown. According to the list of the Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands for 2013 released by Millward Brown, a global research company, Samsung ranked 30th this year, at $21.4 billion, an increase of 51 percent from the value of $14.1 billion in 2012. The Korean tech giant ranked 55th last year.Apple gained the honor of the most valuable global brand with a value of $185 billion while Google came in second, worth

May 22, 2013

More Koreans book early for summer travel

More and more vacation-goers seem to be preparing earlier for their summer holidays. The number of early reservations for summer holiday packages has significantly increased compared to that of last year, said travel industry officials. According to Interpark Tour, an online travel agency, the number of early reservations made in May for summer trips has shown a 23 percent increase from last year. “Many people are showing interest in our special summer holiday promotions. I think this is because

May 22, 2013

Exporters' net plunges in 2012 amid weak yen

Local exporters saw their net fall in 2012 from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, as the weak Japanese yen apparently dealt a harsh blow to their price competitiveness and global sales.Top 500 South Korean firms' net nosedived 7.8 percent to reach 98 trillion won ($88.1 billion) last year from 2011, according to data compiled by CEO Score, a local corporate research firm.Chemical firms led the overall decline, with their operating profit moving down 50.5 percent in 2012 from a year earlier.

May 22, 2013