The Export-Import Bank of Korea said it has issued foreign currency bonds worth $1 billion to investors in the global market on Wednesday. The bank issued 5-year and 12-year bonds to raise $500 million with each, and their interest rates were 72.5 bps and 85 bps higher than U.S. government bonds, respectively. In particular, the 5-year bond’s interest rate is the lowest since the global financial crisis in 2008, the bank’s official said. Their interest rates are around 17.5 to 45 bps lower than

Analysts warned Tuesday that Korea’s productivity will suffer if Asia’s fourth-largest economy fails to address its low rate of female workforce participation. South Korea continues to struggle with low female economic activity due to socioeconomic factors including a lack of financial support for child care and education, and discrimination.The analysts suggested government intervention and policy revisions that could benefit both private companies and female workers.Easing the taxes on working

Hanwha Life Insurance, the nation’s second-largest insurer, is reaching out to customers with heartfelt a advertising campaign. Its latest television commercial, called “Live your today,” is part of a series of marketing initiatives encouraging people to lead happier lives. The new commercial questions the traditional way of thinking that calls for the younger generation to sacrifice the present for a better future, emphasizing that the more important values in life involve pursuing true happine

Rescuers dug through shattered homes Monday looking for survivors of a strong earthquake in southern China's Yunnan province as the death toll rose to at least 398 people, with more than 1,800 injured. About 12,000 homes collapsed when the quake struck Sunday afternoon in impoverished Ludian county, around 370 kilometers (230 miles) northeast of Yunnan's capital, Kunming, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.Ma Yaoqi, an 18-year-old volunteer in the quake zone, said by phone that at leas

North Korea's trade with its economic lifeline China fell 2.1 percent on year to US$2.89 billion in the first six months of this year, data compiled by South Korea's government trade agency showed Monday, in another sign that strained political ties between the two nations have affected their economic relations.During the six-month period, North Korea's exports to China declined 3.9 percent to $1.31 billion and imports slipped 0.6 percent to $1.58 billion, according to the data provided by the B

Speculation is rife that KB Financial Group’s attempt to buy LIG Insurance may fail as the banking group’s top executive may face severe sanctions from financial authorities.KB Financial Group is scheduled to submit the application to financial authorities this week to take over the country’s fourth-largest nonlife insurer, according to market watchers. The banking group promised to apply within 45 days of signing a deal with LIG Insurance on June 27. The deadline is Aug. 11. KB Financial Group

Naver, South Korea’s largest search engine, on Thursday said its operating profits rose 38 percent in the second quarter, driven by its strong overseas performance. The company posted 191.1 billion won ($186 million) in business profits to record a 38 percent rise from the 189.1 billion won a year ago. Sales were at 697.8 billion won, representing a 22 percent increase compared to the same period in 2013. “The growth in sales was driven by a solid performance from overseas businesses including L

Social media is an important digital platform to build social networks and share activities. According to the Korea Internet & Security Agency, around 55 percent of South Koreans used social media in 2013, and the number is expected to rise this year. With more personal information being exposed online, however, experts are voicing concerns about privacy issues. They say digitalized personal information can be a target for hackers or criminals, who attempt to take advantage of such data. “South

Kakao Corp., the operator of Korea’s most-used mobile messenger Kakao Talk, is scheduled to launch a news content service later this year.“We plan to start offering news content that collects and shows information from news, blogs and social networking services. For this, the company is in talks with media outlets to open the new mobile service in the second half of this year,” Kakao’s spokesperson said Friday. The service will reportedly be launched in September. Kakao’s move to launch a news s

Displaying navigation information on car windshields may become reality in about a decade, according to a local display expert. “If thin, transparent and curved display panels could be attached to a windscreen, drivers would be able to see navigation information displayed there,” Chu Hye-yong, head of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute’s display research department, said in an interview with The Korea Herald. The related technology is expected to become commercialized by n

Foreign smartphone makers are eyeing the domestic market, which has so far been nearly impenetrable due to strong local brands. Experts say that although the foreign brands may not perform impressively in the short term, they may gain more popularity down the road as more users become attracted to the lower prices and unique designs. Sony, Acer and Asus already launched smartphones in the domestic market over the last couple of months, with prices ranging between 160,000 won and 350,000 won ($15

Foreign game companies are eyeing South Korea’s 1.3 trillion won ($1.2 billion) mobile game market, which is the second largest globally, behind only Japan. The London-based King Digital Entertainment and Helsinki-based Supercell in may began promoting their marquee mobile games “Candy Crush Saga” and “Clash of Clans” in the domestic market. Supercell spent around 10 billion won advertising “Clash of Clans” on television, subway platforms and billboards over the last couple of months. The commer

Apple may adopt sapphire glass for the highest-end models of its new smartphone, the iPhone 6, according to a display research company. “Apple’s sapphire material supplier, GT Advanced Technologies, appears capable of producing the glass for around 45 million smartphones. Still, only the iPhone 6’s most premium models may adopt it due to its high cost and a possible supply (set aside) for the iWatch,” said Brian Huh, a senior analyst at NPD DisplaySearch Korea, at its touch conference in Seoul.

Winix, once a parts supplier for Samsung Electronics’ refrigerators and water dispensers in the 1980s, has grown into a leading dehumidifier manufacturer in South Korea, beating home appliance giants including LG Electronics.Dunstin Yoon, senior director of Winix’s management innovation, said the company will make all-out efforts to retain its leadership in the dehumidifier market, especially during July and August, the hottest and most humid months of year.“We will continuously forge ahead to m

Flexible and transparent displays have emerged as the next promising technology that could change the way consumers watch content on screens.A local researcher, however, said they require new components such as circuits and sensors that also need to be flexible and transparent before the displays can be fully commercialized.A team of South Korean researchers has recently developed flexible, transparent touch sensors which can better detect the intensity, direction and location of users’ fingers.

South Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and Kakao are expected to muscle into the domestic mobile payment market, which has long been dominated by financial companies, industry sources said. A recent media report said that Samsung Electronics was exploring the business potential in cooperation with local retail companies. Shares of related companies including Korea Cyber Payment, Korea Information & Communications, and Danal all rose on Friday, following the media report. Samsung Electronic

Professor Lee Kwang-hyung at KAIST is known in the university as an eccentric scientist. He puts his television upside down, ties his shoelaces in different colors and hangs picture frames at slanted angles.But Lee’s reputation, however, mostly comes from his achievements in incubating start-up business leaders. The companies that his students set up generate around 2.5 trillion won ($2.4 billion) in annual sales and employ 7,000 people. The nation’s largest game company Nexon, created by Kim Ju

The CEO of the nation’s third-largest handset maker, Pantech, pleaded on Thursday for support from telecom carriers and its creditors in a bid to save the struggling company. “Pantech can be a viable company if mobile carriers agree to a debt swap and the company carries out its plan to normalize the management,” said Lee Jun-woo, CEO of Pantech, at a press conference at its headquarters. The press conference comes with the country’s three telecom giants ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― dragging

Samsung Electronics’ quarterly operating profits are expected to fall below 8 trillion won ($7.9 billion) for the first time in two years. The company said in its earnings guidance Tuesday that it posted 7.2 trillion won of profit in the second quarter, a 24 percent drop from the 9.5 trillion won recorded a year ago. Its sales were at 52 trillion won, representing a 9.5 percent fall compared to the same period in 2013. Samsung Electronics tried to explain the profit decline, saying that a strong

구글 글래스보다 30배 빠른 케이 글래스(K-Glass)가 내년 초에 상용화될 예정이다. 케이 글래스 연구팀을 지도한 유회준 카이스트 전기전자공학과 교수는 코리아헤럴드와의 인터뷰에서“올해 말 또는 내년 초 카이스트 졸업생들과 협력해서 소량으로 생산할 예정”이라고 말했다. 안드로이드 기반의 이 스마트 안경은 인터넷, 유튜브, 이메일과 사진 촬영 등 구글 글래스의 대부분의 기능을 지원하지만, 가장 큰 차이점은 케이 글래스는 증강현실 기능에 초점을 맞추고 있다. 증강현실은 현실세계에 3차원 가상물체를 겹쳐 보여주는 기술이다. “구글 글래스는 애초에 증강현실을 고려하지 않고 만든 스마트 안경이지만, 케이 글래스는 증강현실 구현을 위해서 만들어진 기기이다. 스마트 안경이 스마트폰을 대신하게 된다면 안경의 제한된 유저인터페이스로 인해 증강현실 기능이 중요해질 것”이라고 유 교수는 전했다. 현재 구글 글래스는 TI의 스마트폰용 AP를 사용하기 때문에 증강현실을 구현할 경우 화면이 끊기는 현상이