European SMEs eye Korean business

Eric Hamelinck, general manager of the EU Gateway Programme to Japan and Korea

Small European businesses are getting much-needed help in entering the Korean market, thanks to a program funded by the European Union (EU).

The EU Gateway Programme hosted a two-day exhibition of 58 small and medium enterprises (SME) offering high-quality products and technology relating to the environment, energy, construction and building sectors at COEX, southern Seoul which ended Thursday. 

Eric Hamelinck, general manager of the program to Japan and Korea, said the program brings European SMEs to Korea to establish business connections and learn about the business culture here.

Naro rocket blows up in midair

The Naro space rocket with the payload of a science satellite lifts off from the launch pad at the space center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, Thursday evening. At right are three sequential shots taken from footage by television station KBS that show, from top, the rocket exploding. / Korea Times

Korea demands Russia provide rocket for 3rd launch


GOHEUNG, South Jeolla Province ― The second flight of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle I (KSLV-I) ended in failure with an explosion Thursday. The rocket, carrying a satellite aimed at observing the atmosphere and oceans, blasted off from the Naro Space Center here at 5:01 p.m., but exploded about two minutes later. 

The spectacular letdown adds to the fears that the country's Herculean investment of money and effort into its first home-launched rocket may never produce the desired returns.

The Naro spaceport lost contact with the rocket 137 seconds after liftoff, when it was believed to be at an altitude of around 70 kilometers, which appears to be the moment when it exploded, according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the country's space agency. 

Sources close to the launch project told The Korea Times that first indications suggest a failure of the rocket's main, RD-151 rocket engine, developed by Russia's NPO Energomash, as its performance was seen to be reduced considerably as the vehicle began to veer off course. The rocket's payload, the Science and Technology Satellite No. 2 (STSAT-2), was also destroyed. 

Zipel Brightens Up Kitchen Life

Zipel has been the synonym for the prestigious side-by-side refrigerators for the past 10 years in Korea. The latest Zipel Quartro sets a new paradigm _ a fridge with four compartments that can be programmed and cooled separately. 

There are two evaporators for each compartment and the refrigerator senses which compartment needs cooling and cools only that compartment. It results in a more efficient refrigerator with powerful performance. Thanks to the Twin Cooling System, strong food odors, from fish, or onions, are filtered out so that they won't be transferred to other foods.

The four-door compartments also make food access and storage a breeze. The design is sleek and versatile for any lifestyle or shopping need.

The Zipel Quatro refrigerator combines beauty and function for everything you need in a refrigerator. The sleek, four-door design combines the benefits of a side-by-side refrigerator with two separately controlled, drawer-type compartments, named the Arctic Fresh Zone and the Fresh Select Zone.

Will Samsung’s iPhone killer hit jackpot?

Samsung’s Galaxy S

Late this February, Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) gave a briefing on smartphones to President Lee Myung-bak and his aides as the Apple iPhone fad was enveloping the country. 

After the presentation a SERI economist was asked whether Samsung Electronics, the world's No. 2 cell phone maker and a sister firm of the research institute, was ready to take on Apple and its iPhone. His answer was ``100 percent yes.''

What gave him such confidence? Many observers point out that it's due to the Galaxy S smartphone, which Samsung plans to launch across the world this month as their ultimate iPhone killer. 

``We launched the Galaxy S in Singapore and Switzerland and it will be introduced in Korea next week. It is the culmination of Samsung's 20-years of handset technologies,'' a Samsung spokesman said. 

``Armed with the capabilities for fast processing of high-definition video clips and a super-clean display, it is expected to make a splash. In addition, it is ultra slim at a mere 9.9 millimeters in thickness compared to other thicker smartphones.''

The Galaxy S is powered by the Android 2.1 operating system and features a 1GHz processor, which is strong enough to run high-definition videos or three-dimensional games on its upgraded active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AM OLED) display. 

IBK Gears Up to Bolster Green Growth Industries

Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) CEO Yun Yong-ro, second from right, delivers a speech at a meeting with CEOs of green growth companies at Guro Digital Industrial Complex in Seoul, on Sept. 28. / Courtesy of IBK

The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), as a policy lender, has stepped up its efforts to foster green growth industries in a move to support the government's ``low carbon, green growth'' strategy.

The state-run lender allocated one trillion won to green industries this year. In April, it introduced a ``Green Growth Corporate Loan'' for companies engaged in eco-friendly businesses, such as renewable energy.

Samsung goes toe to toe with iPhone

The impending arrival of the next-generation Apple iPhone, which may or may not be called iPhone 4G, is clearly the most-anticipated event for global tech lovers since, well, the debut of the current iPhone 3GS.

But this hasn't discouraged Samsung Electronics, wielding a new sleek and cool smartphone of its own, from attempting to lure eyeballs away from Apple's massive hype machine.

The South Korean technology giant has timed the worldwide release of its new Galaxy S smartphone to Apple's annual developer conference that starts Tuesday (KST), which is where the company is widely expected to refresh its iPhone product line.

Korean space rocket cleared for launch

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) is placed on the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, Tuesday. The KSLV-1’s maiden flight in August last year ended in disappointment when the rocket failed to deliver its payload satellite into the orbit. Engineers at KARI, the country’s space agency, have made technical adjustments to the upper part of the rocket, which holds and releases the satellite, to reduce the possibility of another malfunction. / Korea Times

GOHEUNG, South Jeolla Province ― After months of anticipation, the day has finally arrived when South Korea can reintroduce itself as a serious player in the Asian space race.