The number of dormant credit cards in South Korea dropped for the third straight year in March, according to Financial Supervisory Service data released Sunday. About 10.56 million credit cards were idle for more than a year, down more than half from 23.72 million a year earlier, due in part to more issuers closing inactive accounts.According to industry watchers, local banks and card firms have been cleaning up dormant accounts since a massive data leak earlier this year. A series of accidents

June 8, 2014

Five intellectual property experts of the IP5, a global patent cooperation framework, are gathering in Busan this week for a meeting hosted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office. Launched in 2008, the conference aims to enhance the efficiency and stability of patent rights. The host country’s KIPO commissioner, Kim Young-min, is a former director general for trade and Industrial cooperation at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. He served as a deputy commissioner at KIPO from 2011-2

Industry June 3, 2014

State-run Korea Electric Power Corp, the county’s biggest utility firm, said Friday it finished building a 1,204-megawatt thermal power plant in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia.“It is the biggest power plant project in Saudi Arabia, completed by an independent power producer,” KEPCO said in a press release. KEPCO CEO Cho Hwan-ik took part in the ceremony with other VIPs, including Saudi Deputy Minister for Electricity Saleh Bin Hussein Al Awaji to celebrate the competition of the mega-power project.  Saudi

Industry May 30, 2014

Kumho Tires, South Korea’s leading tire maker, is betting big on tires for full-electric vehicles as the company’s future growth engine. “Years of experience in the EV market will give us a competitive edge when more electric vehicles go into mass production and become more popular,” a Kumho Tires official said. With governments toughening environmental regulations, carmakers have poured more resources into the emissions-free electric-powered vehicles in recent years, which also provides a boon

Industry May 28, 2014

‘SEASONS Summer Special’KT&G will roll out limited edition SEASONS Summer Special cigarettes with a package designed for the season, the company announced Monday. The country’s leading tobacco maker said the special line will be available for sale for two weeks beginning Wednesday.The product is the latest in the SEASON series lineup, the only cigarette containing 2.0 milligrams of tar in the domestic market. It kept the lineup’s distinctive smooth taste and full-bodied flavor, the company said.

Industry May 26, 2014

The Korea Labor Foundation’s functions need to be streamlined to become more effective, says its new chief Eom Hyeon-taek. “The projects we handle do not fit the institution’s name or goal,” the secretary-general said in an interview with The Korea Herald on May 9.Until now, Eom says, the foundation has been tasked with carrying out a wide range of state labor-related projects that do not match its intended purpose. The government programs that the foundation has been in charge of include employ

Social Affairs May 20, 2014

Seoul Metro CEO Chang Jung-woo resigned Friday over the subway collision that injured more than 246 people last week. A train rear-ended another at Sangwangsimni Station on Seoul’s busiest subway line, Line 2, on May 2. The operator said the accident was caused by an apparent mechanical malfunction of its signal system.  (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said in a briefing that the CEO offered to resign early in the morning. “(Those involved) will be held responsible,” Par

Social Affairs May 9, 2014

Investigators on Thursday detained the CEO of the Sewol’s operator as they sought to uncover the cause of the ferry accident. Chonghaejin Marine Co. CEO Kim Han-shik was detained at his house in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, after the court issued a warrant late Wednesday, officials said.Charges against Kim include manslaughter, negligence and violation of the Ship Safety Act. The prosecution also detained an auditor surnamed Park working for I-One-I Holdings ― a subsidiary of Semo Group ― and sum

Social Affairs May 8, 2014

A closed gate of Yoo Byung-eon’s house in Yeomgok-dong, southern Seoul (Yonhap)A transfer of assets between former Semo Group chairman Yoo Byung-eon and his eldest son has come under scrutiny with records suggesting illegal methods may have been used in the process.Records show that Yoo’s real estate assets were purchased by his eldest son Dae-gyun during Semo Group’s liquidation, at the time of which the younger Yoo was aged 28-33. The methods were allegedly used to avoid a loss of assets follo

Social Affairs May 7, 2014