Herald Media, the publisher of The Korea Herald and Herald Business, is holding the first iDEA Herald Design Forum on Oct. 5 and 6.The iDEA forum, (short for information, design, entertainment academy) will bring together leading designers and futurologists from across the world to hold discussions

Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Joong-kyung, who has made several stern comments about large companies’ practices, once again earned the ire of the country’s business community on Sunday.This time, the minister’s remarks were aimed at executives and their huge paychecks, ruffling the feathers of

Doosan Group chairman Park Yong-hyun on Monday said the company must focus on qualitative growth.In a message posted on the company’s intranet to mark its 115th anniversary, Park said that the company should now focus on qualitative growth and that it should continue trying harder despite its achiev

Korea’s business community is coming forward to help those affected by the heavy rains that wreaked havoc across the country this week.On Friday, some of the country’s largest conglomerates said they would provide money, goods and repair services for those affected by the rains. Chung Eui-sun (left), vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, poses with Han Joong-gwang, chairman of Korea Disaster Relie

An Asiana Airlines cargo flight bound for Shanghai Pudong International Airport crashed off the coast of Jeju early Thursday while diverting to the island due to a fire in the cargo hold.“The cargo plane said in its last communication with the control center in Shanghai that there was a fire in the cargo hold,” Kim Han-young, Director General of Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs’ Of

Hyundai Steel said Thursday its earnings hit new highs in the April-June period, breaking the previous record set in the first three months of this year.The company posted sales of 4.05 trillion won ($3.8 billion) for the second quarter. This is the first time Hyundai Steel has posted quarterly sales of more than 4 trillion won. In comparison to the same period last year, Hyundai Steel’s sales hav

Hanwha Group, one of the nation’s top conglomerates, will focus its resources on solar power and biosimilar business over the remainder of the year, the group said Wednesday.According to the plans, the conglomerate will direct much of its investment budget for the period into polysilicon production facilities, expanding solar cell and module production lines, biosimilars and other new business are

The Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement is unlikely to be passed by the U.S. Congress in August, Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said Monday.Kim said that the negotiations for raising the U.S. government debt-ceiling, and difficulties surrounding the process, have taken center stage making it unlikely that the trade pact with Korea will be processed within the next month. Korean Trade Minister Kim

Hyundai Heavy Industries on Tuesday signed an agreement with the state of Rio de Janeiro and the city of Itatiaia to set up a plant producing construction equipment in the Brazilian city.For the plant, the company will invest $150 million and the Brazilian government will provide support in building gas and water supply lines, and other infrastructure, Hyundai Heavy said.The company plans to compl

Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co.’s second quarter sales came in at 1.48 trillion won ($1.4 billion), rising 21.17 percent from a year ago, the company posted in a regulatory filing on Monday.Over the same period, the company’s operating profits fell 11.68 percent to 144.5 billion won while its net profits soared 158.04 percent to come in at 158.3 billion won.Compared to the first quart

Electronics giant signs with SMEs to finance innovative technologiesSamsung Electronics has pledged 100 billion won ($95 million) to support smaller companies’ research and development efforts.On Monday, the electronics giant signed an agreement with the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and members of a group of small and medium-sized enterprises launching a program for providing financial support fo

Supermarkets saw the smallest sales increase among retailers during the first quarter of the year affected by rising consumer prices and the increase in the number of other forms of retailers.According to Statistics Korea, the combined first quarter sales of supermarkets in the country rose 3.4 percent to about 5.9 trillion won ($5.6 billion), while other types of retailers saw double-digit growth

Prada Korea transferred most of its net profits for 2009 to its parent firm, while providing nothing in the way of social contributions to Korea, placing the company among foreign firms accused of turning a blind eye to social causes.The Korean vendor of the Italian fashion brand is wholly owned by Prada Far East, based in the Netherlands. According to Prada Korea’s regulatory filings, more than 1

 Corporate image ad campaign that posts short poems become cultural iconKyobo Life Insurance Co. billboards offering excerpts from poems, which has long been a familiar sight for Seoulites, made their international debut through the quarterly magazine Koreana.Koreana is a quarterly magazine published since 1987 in eight languages ― Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Ru

More trips abroad, Japan’s disaster recovery crowds transport hubA record number of people will go through Incheon International Airport on July 30, the airport’s operators said Thursday.According to the airport’s estimates, the number of people using international and domestic flights to and from the airport on July 30 will come in at 118,547. The figure is about 2 percent higher than the previou

Hyundai Steel is pushing the drive to expand its presence in the Japanese market for steel plates for ships, with up to four new supply contracts looking likely to be closed during the second half of the year.The company, which began producing thick steel plates in April 2010, has been supplying thick plates to Japanese construction firms and machinery makers since September. According to the comp

Huh Jeong-seok and Lee Yoon-young  were named the new co-chief executive officers of electric systems maker Iljin Electric Co. on Thursday.Huh and Lee replaced Choi Jin-yong.Lee Yoon-young and Huh Jeong-seok Huh is the son of Iljin Group chairman Huh Chin-kyu. The younger Huh is currently the president of Iljin Holdings and will continue to hold the post while serving as the co-CEO of Iljin Electr

The first locally developed civilian aircraft completed its maiden flight at Korea Aerospace Industries in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province on Wednesday.Once the project is completed, and necessary certifications are granted for the vehicle, Korea will become the world’s 28th country to have developed civilian aircraft using indigenous technologies.  The first locally developed civilian aircraft

GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo called on group executives to go beyond developing new products and services as the group aims to become an “ultra first-rate” corporation. Huh Chang-sooSpeaking at the executives meeting for the third quarter on Wednesday, Huh also said that corporations need to go beyond developing new products and services if they are to address current issues.“The aim of managem

Power plants, resource development complement KEPCO’s business modelKorea Electric Power Corp.’s rapidly expanding overseas portfolio is fueling the company’s growth and its drive to become one of the top five players in the world’s power industry.Earlier this year, the company announced a set of long-term plans under which it aims to raise its annual sales to 85 trillion won ($80.5 billion) by 20