Asia’s increasing clout and resilience in the wake of an economic meltdown are steering growth of the exhibition industry, said Paul Woodward, managing director of UFI, the global association of the tradeshow business.Combined with the Pacific islands including Australia and New Zealand, he said the budding sector in Asia has expanded more than 50 percent over the past five years in terms of size

European distilleries and wineries set out to aggressively tap the local market as a free trade agreement with Korea began scrapping tariffs on alcoholic beverages.Although the markets for wine and whisky have been booming in recent years here, heavy duties on imported bottles have limited choices of local drinkers. Under the deal, 15 percent tariffs on wine were removed on July 1, the first day o

SUNY at Stony Brook plans to open school in Songdo next Feb.The State University of New York at Stony Brook received the nod from the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority for its plan to set up a campus in Songdo next year, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Wednesday.The U.S. institution plans to open graduate school classes at the Songdo Global University Campus in the Incheon FEZ starting i

Government aims to slash transportation emissions to 34 percent below projected levelsKorea outlined action plans to tackle climate change on Tuesday, breaking down reduction targets for high-emitting sectors in the medium term.The pan-governmental plan was devised to put the country’s low-carbon, green growth initiatives in motion, which President Lee Myung-bak launched in 2009 with a goal of cut

KT&G Corp. said Monday that its share in the local market has risen for the second quarter in a row to nearly 60 percent, thanks to robust sales of its new products and price hikes by rival tobacco firms. Korea’s top cigarette manufacturer said its 55.7 percent stake in the fourth quarter last year climbed to 58 percent in the first quarter this year, then to 59.8 percent in the second quarter. It

The Korea Communications Commission said Friday it has dispatched a group of officials to the headquarters of Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in the U.S. for its ongoing probe over location data storage.The investigation committee, which consists of six experts from the KCC and the Korea Internet & Security Agency, will overhaul how the two tech giants utilize resources stored in their servers until Ju

Ahn Cheol-soo has polled as one of the figures young Koreans most look up to.(Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)Ahn committed to planting entrepreneurship in young hopefulsBehind Korea’s leadership in the high-tech world are a number of business innovators, technology wizards and far-sighted investors.Ahn Cheol-soo leads the pack with his success, acumen and a dramatic life story that combined to make him

Maxim MaminKorea and the European Union should pursue integrated standards and regulations on medical equipment to maximize the benefits of a free trade agreement between the two regions, a senior European industry official said.The latest pact became effective on July 1, and eliminates tariffs on medical devices from the EU over seven years. But concerns remain among European manufacturers that e

Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements President Park Yang-ho (right) and the World Bank Group’s manager of the urban development unit Abha Joshi-Ghani, after signing an agreement to exchange resources on sustainable urbanization. (KRIHS)The Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, a state-run think tank, said Thursday it has forged an agreement with the World Bank Group to share re

Competition is set to become intense between cosmetics and medical equipment firms in Korea and the European Union after the two regions’ free trade agreement came into effect on July 1.Though it will take up to seven years until all the tariffs are eliminated, Korean manufacturers are stoking fears that cheaper European products will erode their competitiveness in the market.European leaders, on

Continuous tracks. (Hyundai Steel)Hyundai Steel is upping the ante in its earth-moving equipment parts business as it seeks to meet surging demand for excavators in emerging markets.Korea’s second-largest steel mill said Wednesday it plans to pour 94.4 billion won ($88.6 million) this year alongside its suppliers into a project to establish facilities for components such as continuous tracks, trac

Incheon International Airport Corp. announced Tuesday it has acquired a 10-percent stake in Khabarovsk Airport in Russia’s Far East, stepping up its charges into the development of the Russian partner.This makes the IIAC the first foreign airport operator to step into management of a Russian airport, which has been safeguarded by the government there as a national strategic industry.As the third-l

Korea will crank up its push for exploit indium and lithium around the world by facilitating local companies’ direct investment into the two scarce metals by law, the government said Tuesday.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said it plans to place indium, a key element of liquid crystal displays and touch-screens, on a list of 49 foreign rare metals. Lithium, used in aircraft and electric car batt

Ministry: 166 firms reduced 56,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions during last 2 yearsKorea’s efforts to shrink its carbon footprint are progressing through partnerships between big and smaller companies.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Monday that 166 local businesses have reduced more than 56,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the last two years in a green collaboration program, a

The Korea International Trade Association said Sunday the number of people who found jobs through its online recruitment services has topped 10,000 in less than two years. The website, named JobTogether (http://jobtogether.net/), was opened in September 2009 as part of KITA’s campaigns to tackle labor shortages in the local trade industry and rising unemployment in Korea. As of May, 10,838 job see

Korea’s state pension fund is said to inject at least 250 billion won ($234.3 million) into a Korean-led consortium for its project to buy Titleist golf brand, industry sources said Sunday.The group led by Fila Korea Ltd. struck a deal with Fortune Brands Inc. in May to take over the U.S.-based liquor firm’s golf equipment unit Acushnet for $1.23 billion. Other partners include Mirae Asset Private

Korea has found rare earths reserves in the North Chungcheong and Gangwon provinces, with a sufficient supply for the next 50 years, a state-run think tank said Wednesday.The deposit in Chungju, 147 kilometers southeast of Seoul, contains 71,500 metric tons of rare earths. The one in Hongcheon in the country’s east has about 76,000 metric tons, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resourc

SK Group sold its 24-million-share stake in SK Securities Co. in a block deal on Tuesday, a move seen as a measure to preclude penalties for breaking the fair trade law. The shares owned by SKC Inc., the group’s industrial film-making affiliate, account for 7.73 percent of the total and were traded at 1,920 won ($1.77) each, about 10 percent down from Monday’s closing price. Samsung Asset Manageme

Imperial 19 Quantum, a leading premium whiskey brand by Pernod Ricard Korea, has won a 2011 Korea Herald Best Brand Award.The local unit of the French drinks group launched the 19-year-old whisky in November, seeking to bring change and innovation to the local market.With the name borrowed from physics ― quantum leap ― the “ultra super premium” edition targets “premiumizing” Korean consumers, shif

South Korea’s trade volume will likely cross the $1 trillion threshold this year on the back of brisk recovery, a report showed on Sunday.According to the study by the Korea International Trade Association, the country will log $561 billion in exports and $530.5 billion in imports by the end of the year. The trade surplus would amount to $30.5 billion, the association said. This would make Korea a