The Korea Herald

S. Korea to provide 26 tln won worth of support for start-ups: sources

South Korea plans to provide 26 trillion won ($23.9 billion) worth of support for small start-up companies this year as part of efforts to create a business friendly environment for such venture business activities, officials said Thursday.The support plan and other measures, including tax incentives, will be unveiled next week, which would represent the fourth large-scale policy package by President Park Geun-hye to boost the slowing economy since her inauguration in February."Details have yet

May 9, 2013

SoloPower to invest in Gwangju

SoloPower, a U.S.-based thin-film solar photovoltaic cell producer, will invest $125 million in Gwangju to build a plant to produce CIGS, semiconductor material composed of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium, said CTI Co., a local partner of the U.S. firm.CTI officials said the two companies had held ceremony early this week in New York, attended by SoloPower CEO Robert Campbell and CTI chairman Lee Yong-kyu and CEO Song Dong-jeong.Campbell revealed that his company will also build a research

May 8, 2013

Booyoung to upgrade residential environment in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH ― Booyoung Group, the nation’s 19th-largest conglomerate and one of the leading house builders, has launched a project to build the largest-ever urban complex in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.The company held on Tuesday the groundbreaking ceremony for Booyoung Town I, a comprehensive commercial and residential town including high-rise buildings, sports centers and schools.The event was attended by Booyoung Group chairman Lee Joong-keun, Cambodian Land Minister Im Chhun Lim, Korean Ambassador K

May 7, 2013

Booyoung to upgrade residential environment in Cambodia

[Graphic News] IPTV subscribers surpass 7m mark

The number of Internet Protocol television subscribers surpassed 7 million on Friday, according to the Korea Digital Media Industry Association.Since its first appearance in January 2009, the IPTV penetration rate has been faster than any other paid TV broadcasting such as cable TV and satellite broadcasting. It took eight years for cable TV to pass 7 million subscriptions and nine years for satellite broadcasting to reach 3 million. Analysts said the fast rise in IPTV subscriptions is largely t

May 6, 2013

[Graphic News] IPTV subscribers surpass 7m mark

[Power Korea] Strategic infrastructure development behind Korea’s economic success

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on infrastructure as part of its second installment of Power Korea. Korea’s success story is a 60-year-old tale written by not one, but many who worked to build one of the world’s most powerful nations from the ashes of war. This series features the development and global competitiveness of Korea’s infrastructure. The special articles were made in cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. This is the first part of the

May 6, 2013

[Power Korea] Strategic infrastructure development behind Korea’s economic success

Korea to export infrastructure development know-how

Korea will eye overseas infrastructure development projects, armed with local experience and know-how accrued over the past half century, the nation’s chief construction policymaker said. “Korea is one of the few countries that have risen from recipient to donor in just half a century,” Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Minister Suh Seoung-hwan said in a written interview with The Korea Herald. “This rapid growth largely took place in line with strategic infrastructure development, a model whi

May 6, 2013

Korea to export infrastructure development know-how

Poor financing shutting Korea out of nuclear deals: ministry

As neighboring Japan celebrates its recent success in winning a $22 billion bid to build a nuclear reactor in Turkey, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has pledged to build up Korea’s competitiveness in project financing for overseas deals. “Japan’s financial package was clearly favorable,” Kim Jun-dong, director of the ministry’s energy and resource office, told the local press. “Korea, on the other hand, is relatively weak in the field of project financing, especially when it comes to

May 5, 2013

Korean delegation out to sell and assure

President Park Geun-hye’s first official visit to the U.S. is largely about politics, but economic issues will remain firmly on the table, as evidenced by the largest-ever business delegation accompanying her.Above all, offering reassurance to the U.S. markets of the safety of Korea despite its rocky relations with the North is going to be the top priority for the delegates, industry watchers said. “We’ve been getting a lot of questions and concerns from foreign companies, including those locate

May 5, 2013

Korean delegation out to sell and assure

Korea seeks deeper U.S. economic ties

On her first overseas trip as president this week, Park Geun-hye will also become the first Korean president to visit the United States since the free trade agreement between the two countries took effect in March last year.Observers said the trip also reflects her intention to elevate the two countries’ alliance to a higher level and expand it into the economic domain.The scale of the accompanying business delegation is the largest ever, which includes such tycoons as Samsung Group chairman Lee

May 5, 2013

Park’s creative economy vision takes shape

Ever since President Park Geun-hye introduced her vision and policy for a “creative economy” after taking office in February, the public and politicians alike have paid particular attention to the slogan.She laid out a number of pointers for the development of a creative economy such as convergence of IT and science, and sustainability of small and medium enterprises, in line with goals of achieving an employment rate of 70 percent.“The main axis that will form the creative economy is science an

May 5, 2013

Park’s creative economy vision takes shape

[Graphic News] Incheon Airport best-paying public firm for new staff

Incheon International Airport Corp. has been revealed to pay the highest starting salary among public corporations.The average yearly salary for new employees at the 30 top public corporations last year was 39.18 million won ($27,825), up 10.2 percent from the previous year, according to local employment portal Saramin on Thursday.The data was based on Alio (All Public Information In One), a public management information system run by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.IIAC was followed by Uls

May 2, 2013

[Graphic News] Incheon Airport best-paying public firm for new staff

Korea to launch SME productivity drive

The government and the business community agreed to promote a campaign to boost productivity of small and medium-sized suppliers for sustainable growth, officials said on Thursday.The agreement was reached at a meeting between Industry Minister Yoon Sang-jick and leaders of the nation’s five business associations.“The initiative, dubbed the ‘industry innovation movement 3.0’ and aimed at raising the capability of SME suppliers to seek innovation, will be launched in June,’’ Minister Yoon told th

May 2, 2013

SKT Q1 net jumps 15% on LTE boost, equity gain

SK Telecom Co., the country’s top mobile operator, said Thursday its first-quarter net profit increased 15.2 percent from a year earlier gains from equity ties with its chipmaking affiliate and its market leadership in the long-term evolution market.Net profit came to 346 billion won ($314 million) on a consolidated basis in the January-March period, compared with 300 billion won a year earlier, SK Telecom said in a regulatory filing.Revenue rose 3.6 percent on-year to 4.1 trillion won, while op

May 2, 2013

Conglomerates call on Park to help derail bills

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo said Thursday that he agrees with the “general frame” of the government’s economic democratization initiative, hinting that Hyundai is playing its part well.“We know the direction where Hyundai should be headed,” Chung told reporters ahead of a dinner he hosted for Prime Minister Chung Hong-won and the Federation of Korean Industries, the mouthpiece for local conglomerates. Hyundai recently decided to add more small and mid-sized suppliers to its list

May 2, 2013

Measures unveiled to boost investment

The government unveiled Wednesday a set of deregulatory measures aimed at boosting corporate and foreign investment to offset weak facility investment and construction activities as part of its efforts to overcome low domestic growth and boost business confidence.The Ministry of Finance said Wednesday that it would move to cut red tape and make its regulatory systems efficient so that domestic and foreign-invested companies can speed up their investment projects in the country. Such deregulatory

May 1, 2013

Trade surplus narrows to $2.58b in April

South Korea’s trade surplus narrowed in April from a year earlier as local exporters lost ground in overseas markets in the face of a weaker Japanese yen, the government said Wednesday.The country chalked up a trade surplus of $2.58 billion last month, compared with a surplus of $3.36 billion a month earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Exports gained 0.4 percent on-year to $46.29 billion last month, while imports inched down 0.5 percent to $43.71 billion over the ci

May 1, 2013

S. Korea's trade surplus narrows to $2.58 bln in April

South Korea's trade surplus narrowed in April from a year earlier as local exporters lost ground in overseas markets in the face of a weaker Japanese yen, the government said Wednesday.The country chalked up a trade surplus of $2.58 billion last month, compared with a surplus of $3.36 billion a month earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Exports gained 0.4 percent on-year to $46.29 billion last month, while imports inched down 0.5 percent to $43.71 billion over the ci

May 1, 2013

S. Korea's consumer prices grow 1.2% on-year in April

South Korea's consumer prices increased at a slower pace in April than a month earlier, keeping its on-year growth in the 1-percent range for the sixth straight month, a government report showed Wednesday.The country's consumer prices index rose 1.2 percent on-year in April, slowing from a 1.3 percent on-year gain in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. From a month earlier, it dropped 0.1 percent.The on-year figure represents the sixth straight month since November t

May 1, 2013

‘Stronger Korea-Japan ties needed for creative economy’

South Korea must work on stronger ties with Japan before discussing creative economy, French professor and columnist Guy Sorman said on Tuesday.Speaking at a meeting with a group of government policymakers and businesspeople in Seoul, he said, “South Korea needs to rebuild its ties with Japan. It’s absolutely necessary for the geopolitical stability of the region and for economic reasons.“It’s useless to talk about creative economy and added-cultural value, if the world around you is struggling,

April 30, 2013

‘Stronger Korea-Japan ties needed for creative economy’

Korea-Turkey FTA to boost industrial exports

With its free trade agreement with Turkey taking effect from Wednesday, Korea is expected to see solid growth in its exports of industrial goods.The top 10 beneficiary items are television sets, automobile parts, lenses, synthetic resin, rubber, steel, blended thread, metal-processing machines and knitted goods, according to a report by the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.The sales growth rate will especially be high for low-priced items such as steel, plastic, synthetic resin

April 30, 2013