A local company has unveiled the world’s first smartphone-connected lockers at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2014, which kicked off in Busan Oct. 20. Smart Box said on Wednesday it has set up 1,500 of its digital lockers at the venue for the convenience of the conference participants. The smart lockers, which come with wireless communications modules, allow users to set the passwords via their smartphones. The company said its system has appealed to the participants whose main agenda happen

Industry Oct. 29, 2014

Shinhan Bank has been expanding its microcredit financing business for low-income customers, with the service reaching 1 trillion won ($900 million) in the first half of this year, the company said Tuesday. “We are stepping up our efforts to make society better through the company’s finance business for low-income earners,” said Suh Jin-won, president of Shinhan Bank. Shinhan Bank has been making progress in its financial support programs for borrowers with low credit scores.  Shinhan Bank emplo

Industry Oct. 28, 2014

Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan (right) discusses key economic issues with his deputy during an audit on the ministry’s fiscal policies at the National Assembly in Seoul on Monday. (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)The government is seeking to reduce expenditure as its tax revenue shortfall is expected to surpass 10 trillion won ($95 billion) this year, according to a report published by the National Assembly Budget Office last week. The shortfall is forecast at 10.7 trillion won, as this year’s tax r

Industry Oct. 27, 2014

LG Electronics said Sunday that it would set up a 6 billion won ($5.6 million) fund with its affiliate LG Chem to invest in social enterprises over the next three years.The South Korean tech giant said the LG Social Fund would financially support companies such as social venture firms and village enterprises seeking to improve the country’s socioeconomic conditions by creating innovative solutions.The LG companies said they hoped LG-backed social enterprises would not only increase productivity

Industry Oct. 26, 2014

IBK Securities’ chief on Thursday outlined the ambitious goal of becoming one of the industry’s top 10 brokerages during his term, even though it has yet to reach the top 20 among the 41 in the nation.“We expect to see 10 billion won ($9.5 million) in net income this year and also will aim to enter the industry’s top 10 in terms of return on equity,” IBK Securities’ chief Shin Seong-ho told reporters at his first press meeting in Seoul on Thursday.  IBK Securities’ chief Shin Seong-ho. (IBK Secu

Industry Oct. 23, 2014

As Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan marks his first 100 days in office on Thursday, questions are being raised about his economic vision ― dubbed “Choinomics” ― as the nation continues to grapple with rising household debt and the economy showing lackluster performance amid lowered growth forecasts. Since Choi took office in July, he proposed diverse measures to boost the sluggish economy. They included a 41 trillion won ($40 billion) stimulus package, relaxed mortgage regulations for stimulatin

Industry Oct. 22, 2014

Global forest experts on Tuesday discussed the negative impact of forest fires, including the loss of biological diversity, during a sideline event of the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity hosted by the Korea Forest Service. “In recent years, we have frequently witnessed large-scale forest fires all over the globe, mostly on account of climate change. This has caused damage to plants, wild animals and insects, leading to a loss in biodiversit

Industry Oct. 21, 2014

South Korea’s Agriculture Ministry said Monday that it had partnered up with PortugalFoods, a Portuguese food association, at SIAL Paris 2014, an international food exhibition being held in Paris from Oct. 19-23. PortugalFoods is a Portuguese agro-food association, which was set up in 2009 to promote the nation’s food industry and to build networks with compatriot and foreign firms. The South Korean government said the partnership was a follow-up measure to the discussion the presidents of the t

Industry Oct. 20, 2014

Hite Jinro’s persistent efforts to globalize appear to be paying off as the leading South Korean distiller is successfully shipping to a growing number of regions across the world. Until now, Hite Jinro was mainly focused on the Asian and U.S. markets, but recently began to expand significantly and added a number of new continents to its clientele.Early this year, the distiller partnered with Dominican Republic’s leading tourist company, Barcelo Group, to target Latin American consumers. It also

Industry Oct. 16, 2014

Yamaico Navarro of Samsung LionsThe Samsung Lions clinched their fourth consecutive pennant in the top South Korean baseball league with a narrow victory on Wednesday.The Lions defeated the LG Twins 5-3 at their home in Daegu, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to secure first place in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season this year with one game remaining. Second baseman Yamaico Navarro hit a tie-breaking solo shot in the two-run eighth inning, as the Lions improved to 78-4

Baseball Oct. 15, 2014

South Korea’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 2 percent from 2.25 percent on Wednesday on the grounds of a sluggish global and domestic economy. The Bank of Korea last lowered the rate from 2.5 percent to 2.25 percent in August. “Despite the signs of a global economic recovery, the world economy is faced with several uncertainties including further changes in the Fed’s monetary policy, a prolonged euro-area slowdown, weak growth in the emerging markets and lingeri

Industry Oct. 15, 2014

MILAN -- President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday urged businessmen and authorities from South Korea and Italy to expand bilateral cooperation, so that the two countries could together attain new global business opportunities through strengthening partnership.Highlighting Italy‘s role in leading industrial innovation and also Korea’s advanced IT technology and manufacturing capability, Park said the two nations could produce outstanding business outcomes if they work together.“If the two nations cou

Foreign Affairs Oct. 15, 2014