The Korea Herald

Court receivership looms larger over STX Offshore & Shipbuilding

Creditors of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. are moving to put the midsize local shipyard under court receivership this month, ending their yearslong financial aid, amid ongoing efforts to revamp the ailing industries, such as shipping and shipbuilding, industry sources said Wednesday.According to the sources, the creditors, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank, will discuss later in the day whether to extend a lifeline to the financially troubled shipbuilder. But the sources said the cre

Industry May 25, 2016

Court receivership looms larger over STX Offshore & Shipbuilding

Korean shares open higher on Wall Street gains

Korean stocks started higher Wednesday, following overnight gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 15.99 points, or 0.83 percent, to 1,953.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. (Yonhap)Top market cap Samsung Electronics gained 0.24 percent, and industry leader Hyundai Motor was up 0.37 percent. The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. also rose 1.34 percent.In New York on Tuesday (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 213.12 points, or 1

May 25, 2016

Korean shares open higher on Wall Street gains

[Graphic News] Kitchen, another culprit behind fine dust: ministry

Fine dust concentration reaches alarming levels when cooking food on stoves using oil without proper ventilation, the Environment Ministry said.The ministry said it measured the concentration level of PM2.5 -- the fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter -- that build up while cooking on a stove at 32 sample houses and calculated the average.The tests showed that after some 10 minutes of pan-frying mackerels the level of PM2.5 surged to 2,290㎍㎥. This is a 76-fold denser t

Latest News May 24, 2016

[Graphic News] Kitchen, another culprit behind fine dust: ministry

Prosecutors raid 8 construction material firms over price-rigging

Korean prosecutors on Tuesday raided the offices of eight local firms that manufacture construction materials to determine if they rigged prices of their products.The move aims to determine if companies deliberately fixed prices that distorted the free market and hurt other firms and consumers that used their products.Investigators raided offices of the firms and homes of senior executives, and confiscated documents and other materials, which they think will help determine the validity of the pr

Social Affairs May 24, 2016

Korean street dancer snatches ticket to 'World of Dance' competition

Korean singer and contemporary dancer Nam Hyun-joon, better known by his stage name Poppin' Hyun Joon, has secured a ticket to a global dancing competition in the United States, his agency said on Tuesday.The 37-year-old dancer, famous for his popping techniques, and his teammates won second place in the preliminary competition in Korea on Saturday, according to his management company Happy Face Entertainment.In Korea, Nam is considered to be one of the first-generation K-pop street dancers, alo

People May 24, 2016

PM returns from overseas trip

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn returned from his overseas trip to Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Tuesday, after expanding Seoul's diplomatic ties and fostering business opportunities for local firms.During his trip, Hwang met Uzbekistan Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev and agreed to expand economic cooperation between Seoul and Tashkent. It marked the first time in eight years for a Korean prime minister to visit the Central Asian country. He also visited Saudi Arabia in an apparent bid t

Diplomatic Circuit May 24, 2016

Hyundai pushes to extend Ioniq Electric's range to 400 km by 2020

Hyundai Motor Co., Korea's top automaker, has been stepping up collaboration with leading battery makers to extend its electric vehicle's driving range to 400 kilometers on a single charge by 2020, company officials said Tuesday. Hyundai is set to officially launch the Ioniq Electric next month, which topped the nation's fuel economy test with a 191 km range on a single charge earlier in the day. Hyundai Motor's new electric vehicle model, the Ioniq Electric (Yonhap)Its range was evaluated at 20

Industry May 24, 2016

Hyundai pushes to extend Ioniq Electric's range to 400 km by 2020

N. Korea uses women on TV to push forward anti-smoking campaign

North Korea has cast women in a TV program to push forward an anti-smoking campaign, Pyongyang observers here said Tuesday.North Korea's Central TV Station aired a 40-minute-long public service announcement program on Friday titled "The Extra Quality Favorite Item Threatening Life," North Korea watchers said.In the video, a narrator from the TV station explained about the dangers of smoking, saying, "Today, our North Korean women do not smoke at all, so we have met many women to hear various opi

North Korea May 24, 2016

Korean envoy receives award from Rome

Korean Ambassador to Italy Lee Yong-joon on Monday received a Premio Simpatia 2016 award from the Rome city government for his contributions to disseminating Korean culture in the European country.Lee is the first Korean diplomat to receive the award in the ceremony held at the city hall. He was honored for his contributions to spreading Korean culture among Italians since his appointment as ambassador to Rome in May last year.Lee successfully operated the Korean Pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo,

Diplomatic Circuit May 24, 2016

Seoul shares dip to 3-month low on looming Fed rate hike

Korean stocks closed 0.9 percent lower Tuesday as concerns about a potential U.S. rate hike weighed on market sentiment here. The local currency sharply fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 17.57 points to 1,937.68, the lowest since late February. A total of 511 million shares were traded, worth 4.9 trillion won ($4.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 582 to 247. (Yonhap)Foreigners and institutional investors sold a net 120 billion

May 24, 2016

Seoul shares dip to 3-month low on looming Fed rate hike

Pangyo Techno Valley posts over 70 trillion won in sales in 2015

The Korean version of Silicon Valley crossed the 70 trillion won ($59 billion) line in gross sales for the first time last year, a report from a think tank of the Gyeonggi provincial government said Tuesday.The number of companies operating at Pangyo Techno Valley, just south of Seoul, reached 1,121 as of the end of last year, up 119 firms or 11.9 percent on-year. Their total sales recorded 70.27 trillion won, also up 1.3 percent from a year before, according to the Gyeonggi Institute of Science

Industry May 24, 2016

Pangyo Techno Valley posts over 70 trillion won in sales in 2015

Korean designers to open pop-up store in Paris

Ten Korean designers will open a pop-up store at a renowned concept store in Paris next month, a local design foundation said Tuesday.The Seoul Design Foundation said the store, named "Seoul's 10Soul," will open at L'eclaireur in Paris on June 22 and run for three weeks.The designers include those who participated in Seoul Fashion Week, including D. Gnak, Heich es Heich, Nohke and Moohong. "We created the opportunity for the designers' clothes to be actually sold to customers," said Jung Ku-ho w

Arts & Design May 24, 2016

Korea's Cabinet passes anti-terrorism bill

Korea's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a package of new bills, including the country's first comprehensive anti-terrorism bill that the government stresses is critical for safeguarding the country from acts of violence spreading across the globe.The bill approved in the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho, provides the National Intelligence Service with access to personal information, including financial transactions of terrorism suspects.It also includes plans on establishi

Politics May 24, 2016

Single stock account to be available for foreigners

Korea will introduce a single account system in a pilot program to make it more convenient for foreign investors to trade stock here, the financial regulator said Tuesday. Under the "omnibus account" system, offshore institutional investors can open a single account at a local securities company to handle stock trading of their clients in Korea.Under the new system, they receive trading orders for Korean stocks from their clients and place the orders with the securities company where they have a

May 24, 2016

Single stock account to be available for foreigners

Korea to launch FTA negotiations with Israel next month

Korea said Tuesday that it has come to an agreement with Israel to begin negotiations next month on a free trade deal that could further boost bilateral trade.The first round of negotiations is set for June 27 in Seoul.The decision was reached in a meeting between South Korea's vice trade minister Woo Tae-hee and a senior Israeli official in Jerusalem, according to South Korea.Korea and Israel began talks on a free trade deal in 2009, but progress has been slow amid Seoul's efforts to seal free

May 24, 2016

Korea to launch FTA negotiations with Israel next month

Articles by Choi He-suk