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Heavy snow alerts issued in greater Seoul area, Gangwon Province; over 20 cm of snow seen in Seoul
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Seoul blanketed by heaviest Nov. snow, with more expected
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NewJeans to terminate contract with Ador
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Seoul snowfall now third heaviest on record
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NewJeans terminates contract with Ador, embarks on new journey
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Samsung shakes up management, commits to reviving chip business
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Hybe consolidates chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s regime with leadership changes
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Heavy snow of up to 40 cm blankets Seoul for 2nd day
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Korean Air gets European nod to become Northeast Asia’s largest airline
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How $70 funeral wreaths became symbol of protest in S. Korea
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Korea to expand renewable energy’s role in power supply
Korea’s dependency rate on renewable energy sources in total electricity supply is likely to rise to 12 percent by 2027, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy seid on Thursday. In the first National Energy Basic Plan for 2008 to 2030, the energy policy master plan, the portion of electricity from renewable energy sources to the total supply by 2027 was put at 7 percent.The new target for renewable energy sources came in a draft of the 6th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand for 20
Jan. 31, 2013
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S. Korea's industrial output grows 0.8 pct on-year in Dec.
South Korea's industrial output grew at a weaker pace than a month earlier in December, raising worries industrial activities might be slowing amid toughened economic conditions, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries increased 0.8 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a revised 3.2 percent on-year gain tallied in November.The output expanded 1 percent from a month e
Jan. 30, 2013
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Korea's service account swings back to black after 14 years
Korea’s services account has swung into the black for the first time in 14 years, mainly thanks to robust transportation transactions, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.This has helped the country to achieve an annual record in the current account surplus, the broadest measure of trade.Korea’s current account surplus reached a record high of $43.25 billion in 2012, remaining in the black for 15 consecutive years.The current account surplus increased $17.18 billion to $43.25 billion last year, sur
Jan. 30, 2013
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FTC needs to launch task force on chaebol: chief
SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s antitrust watchdog needs to launch an organization focused exclusively on tackling problems caused by excessive concentration of power and market influence in large conglomerates, its head said Tuesday.“In order to tackle problems related to large business groups, which is crucial to economic democratization, we need to create an organization that will exclusively take the lead (on the issue),” Fair Trade Commission chairman Kim Dong-soo told reporters during
Jan. 29, 2013
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KEPCO head picked as chief organizer for energy congress
Korea Electric Power Corp. CEO Cho Hwan-eik was named Tuesday as the new chairman of the organizing committee for the 22nd World Energy Congress to be held in Daegu between Oct. 13 and 17, 2013.The post had been led by acting chairman Kim Young-hoon, chairman of Daesung Group, since November last year, following the resignation of former KEPCO CEO Kim Joong-kyum. Cho said the organizing committee will prepare for the event as a festival for all participants. The 2013 WEC in Daegu, the world’s la
Jan. 29, 2013
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State-run oil firm KNOC to boost local SMEs
The state-run Korea National Oil Corp. presented on Monday its future business vision to help small and medium-sized oil companies reinforce their international competitiveness.“Our vision is to achieve a global oil company that embraces small-scale companies,” said KNOC president and CEO Suh Moon-kyu.“These efforts will contribute to boosting small and medium-sized oil business units here.”To realize such a goal, the company suggested three major slogans ― reinforcing the competitiveness of sma
Jan. 29, 2013
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‘Korea’s economy is doing well, despite skepticism’
Overall outlooks on the nation’s economy for this year are negative as the Bank of Korea predicted lower growth and local industries are concerned about a protracted business slowdown.It is, however, such pessimism that discourages and aggravates the economy, not the other way around, according to an economist.“Negativism in economics has a self-fulfilling power,” said Choi Yong-sik, chief of the Turning Age Economic Research Institute, in an interview with The Korea Herald. “Our country’s econo
Jan. 29, 2013
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KOMIPO helps build schools in Indonesia
KOMIPO has developed social responsibility activities to generate happiness when it goes abroad. “Power is a necessity for life of people, and without it people cannot be happy. Generating happiness is tied to our core business,” KOMIPO CEO Choi Pyeong-rak said.When KOMIPO goes abroad, the company seeks out such activities to deliver its corporate value to local people as part of its global corporate citizenship program. Following a series of discussions, the power generation company developed e
Jan. 29, 2013
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KOMIPO expands overseas power plant projects
This is the second in a series of case studies on the nation’s leading state-run companies which have made success stories overseas. ― Ed.The Korea Midland Power Co., or KOMIPO, has big plans, seeking to emerge as a global brand for power generation by 2020.“I am confident that the successful launch of a power plant in the fast-growing Indonesian power generation market last year will lay the foundations for the company’s drive for overseas expansion,” KOMIPO CEO Choi Pyeong-rak told The Korea H
Jan. 29, 2013
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S. Korean manufacturers' biz sentiment for Feb. hits 4-month high
South Korean manufacturers' business confidence for February rose to the highest level in four months, underscoring optimism that the incoming government will unveil economic stimulus steps, the central bank said Tuesday.The index of manufacturers' outlook on business conditions came in at 72 for February, up from 70 tallied for January, according to a monthly survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' expectations for the coming month.It marked the highest level since
Jan. 29, 2013
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KOTRA urged to focus on supporting SME exports
Backing her earlier pledges to foster small businesses and promote economic equality, President-elect Park Geun-hye urged the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency to prioritize its support for the overseas expansion of small and medium enterprises.“Small and medium-sized companies are often discouraged from reaching out to foreign markets because of the lack of information and local expertise,” Park said during the presidential transition committee’s economic forum late on Sunday.She pointed
Jan. 28, 2013
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Weak yen to take toll on Korean exports
More than half of the top 50 export items from Korea and Japan overlapped in 2012, raising concern over a possible sharp fall in the nation’s outbound shipments amid the weakening Japanese yen, according to a research institute. The duplication rate of Korea and Japan’s top 50 export items hit a record high of 52 percent in 2012, LG Economic Research Institute, or LGERI, said based on trade data from the Korea International Trade Association. The rate started to soar in the early 2000s. In 2000,
Jan. 28, 2013
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Ready, set, meet
The following is the fourth article in a series featuring support and networking systems for foreigner-owned businesses in Korea. ― Ed.Under the bright fluorescent lights of a seminar room in a quiet dental laboratory in Geumcheon, southwestern Seoul, on a Saturday afternoon, people stand in pairs with handwritten name tags hanging from their necks. The basic questions float in the air: Where are you from? What do you do? What brought you to Korea? They lead some pairs to boisterous banter, busi
Jan. 28, 2013
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BOK board member says global economy to face currency war
The global economy is likely to face a currency war this year, triggered by Japan's drive to weaken its currency through an open-ended asset-buying program, a central bank policymaker said Monday. "It is not an exaggeration that the global economy will face a currency war. An atmosphere of protectionism is spreading," Ha Sung-keun, a policymaker on the seven-member monetary policy committee of the Bank of Korea (BOK), told reporters.Japan's drive to weaken its currency aimed at propping up its f
Jan. 28, 2013
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Trade minister determined to get WTO’s top post
To boost the stagnant global economy and reinstate the multilateral trade framework, it’s crucial for Korea to play the role of an international arbitrator, bridging developed and developing countries, according to Trade Minister Bark Tae-ho.“Despite the general consensus on lifting trade barriers and opening markets, the talks on multilateral trade have seen little progress over the past 10 years,” Bark told The Korea Herald in an interview.“Such depression created a rift between developed and
Jan. 27, 2013
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Per-capita GNI hits all-time high in 2012
South Korea’s per-capita gross national income (GNI) is estimated to have reached an all-time high in 2012 despite the country’s low economic growth, the finance ministry Sunday.The country’s nominal per-capita GNI probably came to US$22,720 last year, up 1 percent from the previous year’s $22,489, according to the ministry.The ministry’s estimate is based on the assumption that the country’s nominal gross domestic product expanded 3.2 percent in 2012 from a year earlier, amounting to 1,240.5 tr
Jan. 27, 2013
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STX unit wins W200b deal for four bulk carriers
STX Group, a South Korean shipping and shipbuilding conglomerate, said Friday its Chinese unit has clinched a 200 billion won ($187 million) deal to build four bulk carriers.Under the deal with a European shipping firm, STX Dalian Shipbuilding will build the vessels at its yard in Dalian, a port city in northeastern China, and deliver them by the first half of 2015, the group said. The group did not reveal the name of the buyer.A group official said STX Dalian Shipbuilding, based on its strong c
Jan. 25, 2013
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IMF lowers global growth outlook
The International Monetary Fund forecast a global growth rate of 3.5 percent this year, down from its initial 3.6 percent estimate in October.The IMF said the slow recovery in the eurozone and uncertainties concerning the U.S. fiscal cliff pose downside risks to the world’s economic growth.The U.S. is expected to post 2 percent growth, and Japan will grow 1.2 percent due to its stimulus programs.China would maintain growth above 8 percent, but the eurozone would shrink 0.2 percent, it said.South
Jan. 24, 2013
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LG Display swings to black in Q4
South Korean panel giant LG Display Co. said Thursday it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, boosted by strong demand for its lucrative products.Net profit reached 319.7 billion won ($299.1 million) in the October-December period, compared with a loss of 6.3 billion won a year earlier, LG Display said in a regulatory filing. Revenue jumped 32.3 percent on-year to 8.7 trillion won in the quarter, while the company posted an operating profit of 587.3 billion won, a sharp t
Jan. 24, 2013
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Early beef talks possible between U.S., Korea: Cutler
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A top U.S. trade official said Wednesday that the Obama administration may soon renew a push for unfettered access to the South Korean beef market.“It’s possible that in the near future we may decide that it would be useful to have consultations (on the issue),” Wendy S. Cutler, assistant U.S. trade representative for Japan, Korea and APEC affairs, said in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency.South Korea currently imports U.S. beef produced from cattle only u
Jan. 24, 2013
