The Korea Times

'Telecom regulators must address shared challenges of COVID-19'

Huawei Corporate Senior Vice President and Director of the Board Catherine Chen delivers a keynote speech at the online Better World Summit 2020, on July 29. / Courtesy of HuaweiBy Kim Jae-heunHuawei Corporate Senior Vice President and Director of the Board Catherine Chen urged telecom regulators across many nations and industries to work together to address the shared challenges that have emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.“We need to create a more inclusive future for all,” Chen said during her keynote speech on Thursday at the online Better World Summit 2020 held by Huawei from Shenzhen, China. The Better World Summit was held for four days from July 27 to 30, gathering mobile carriers, analysts, industry partners and press from around the world. They included representatives from the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA), the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA), the South African Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, Thailand's Office of

Jul 30, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

'Telecom regulators must address shared challenges of COVID-19'

Companies

Online fashion startups attract huge investments

Trenbe's website / Screen captured from Trenbe's official website By Kim Jae-heunThe coronavirus pandemic has had both negative and positive effects on many businesses here. In coronavirus pandemic has affected many businesses here both negatively and positively. In the fashion industry, market-leading Samsung C&T, LF and Shinsegae International have all failed to avoid a drop in sales. As a result, Samsung will close 150 stores of its signature brand Beanpole by next February and LF will shut down 30 shops of its outdoor-clothing label Lafuma. Online fashion startups, however, are thriving and some have successfully attracted huge venture capital investments in approval of their promising outlook.Domestic fashion startup Must It drew a 15 billion won ($12.45 million) Series A investment on July 21, bringing a surprise to the industry. It is unusual for fashion companies that have been operating for less than three years to attract more than 10 billion won in fundin

Jul 29, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Online fashion startups attract huge investments

Companies

POSCO sets new guidelines for 'Corporate Citizenship'

POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo, right, looks at the corporate citizenship charter established at the POSCO center in Seoul, July 28. / Courtesy of POSCOBy Kim Jae-heunPOSCO revealed its Corporate Citizenship Management Standards (CCMS), Tuesday, promising to grow into a 100-year enterprise through social responsibilities. This is the second year the steelmaker adopted the pro-social management philosophy and has established new guidelines to fully implement the measures.POSCO Chairman CEO Choi Jeong-woo hosted this year's very first strategy meeting to discuss the company's past corporate citizenship activities.Choi said it is important for corporations to seek mutual growth with society and not only seek personal interest, especially amid the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I learned that companies, as members of the community, should become 'corporate citizens' who actively participate in social affairs and play a leading role in creating a better world based on our capabilities and resources,” Choi said. “It is POSCO's goal as a corporate citizen to util

Jul 28, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

POSCO sets new guidelines for 'Corporate Citizenship'

Companies

Green New Deal to benefit foreign firms

Doosan Heavy Industry & Construction built Korea’s first offshore wind power facilities adjacent to Jeju Island in 2017. / Courtesy of Doosan Heavy Industry & ConstructionBy Kim Jae-heunThe government's Green New Deal initiative is picking up steam, with over 70 trillion won to be invested to nurture eco-friendly new growth engines and provide local companies more business opportunities in the renewable energy sector.However, there is growing cause for concern as local firms are fairly new to the eco-friendly market and they will need to compete with global powerhouses in the bidding for government contracts. Foreign companies have for decades been developing state-of-the-art eco-friendly technologies, differentiating their products in addition to the massive leverage in price competitiveness. Industry watchers believe that in a fair competition setting, foreign companies will have a massive advantage over local companies and could win most government-led projects in the coming years.Recently, the government revealed a plan to invest 25 billion won ($20.85 million) in o

Jul 28, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

SK E&C signs cooperation deal with Hilti

Yoon Hyuk-noh, managing director of SK E&C's High-Tech Business Division, holds a written agreement after he signed a deal to cooperate with Hilti, the world's largest manufacturer of products for construction and building maintenance, at its headquarters in Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of SK E&CBy Kim Jae-heunSK E&C said Monday it signed a cooperation agreement with Hilti, the world's largest manufacturer of products related to construction, building maintenance and energy, to seek a new business model in the global market. Yoon Hyuk-noh, managing director of SK E&C's High-Tech Business Division, met online with Hilti Vice President Reinhard Schindler to close the deal last Friday.Hilti Group was established in 1941 and it has over 30,000 employees worldwide. It is based in Schaan, Liechtenstein, and it showed approximately 7.56 trillion won ($6.32 billion) of annual sales in 2019. Hilti offers high-tech and structural improvement services in the fields of construction, heavy industry and plants. Its main products include mechanical and chemical anchors, electric tools,

Jul 27, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

SK E&C signs cooperation deal with Hilti

Companies

E-mart achieves record sales amid COVID-19

Workers at E-mart Traders prepare store opening in Nowon-gu, northern Seoul, in this 2019 photo file. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunShinsegae Group Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin has reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic well, while his sister Chung Yoo-kyung, vice president of Shinsegae, has failed to do so. The country's largest retailer E-mart, an affiliate of Shinsegae Group, recorded its largest sales in the first quarter following a surge in online shopping as many people remained housebound to prevent the spread of the coronavirusE-mart reported an operating profit of 48.4 billion won on sales of 5.21 trillion won in a Q1 regulatory filing Wednesday, the largest since it split from Shinsegae Group in 2011.However, while sales increased 13.6 percent compared to the same period last year, the operating profit declined by 34.8 percent, after nearly 30 E-mart stores were forced to temporarily shut down after people infected with COVID-19 visited the stores. Growing revenue coming from the warehouse style E-mart Traders and online shopping mall SSG.com were also behind E-mart's improved sales pe

Jul 27, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

E-mart achieves record sales amid COVID-19

Entertainment

Naver to invest in S.M. Entertainment to create new market overseas

By Kim Jae-heunThe country's largest portal site operator Naver is said to be set to make a massive investment in S.M. Entertainment that could possibly make it the second-largest shareholder of the agency after its founder Lee Soo-man. According to a local media report, the two firms are discussing the capital increase through third-party allocation for Naver to acquire S.M. Entertainment's share. It has not been revealed exactly how much the IT company will pay, but the report predicted a little over 100 billion won ($83.48 million). In 2017, when Naver invested in YG Entertainment's share, it paid the same amount.One of the major reasons the portal site operator wants to invest in the entertainment company is because it wants to utilize the intellectual property of its K-pop acts. Naver seeks to distribute not just K-pop content but also overall hallyu-related content through its platform and open up new markets overseas. Also, it hopes to host many more online K-pop concerts amid the current contactless events trend.In April, Naver began holding its paid online concert series tit

Jul 27, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Naver to invest in S.M. Entertainment to create new market overseas

Tech & Science

LG expected to dominate global appliance market in Q2

An LG Electronics employee explains the functions of the steam clothing care system “Styler” at the tech firm's pop-up store in Sinsa-dong, Seoul, in this 2018 file photo. / Courtesy of LG ElectronicsBy Kim Jae-heunLG Electronics is expected to retain the No. 1 spot in the global home appliance market for the second consecutive quarter, showing off its solid grip in the sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic.According to the industry, LG Electronics second quarter earnings in the home appliance sector is predicted to record between 5.2 trillion won to 5.3 trillion won. This is around 300 billion won more than the previous leader, Whirlpool.The U.S. home appliance giant said it recorded 4.93 billion won sales in the second quarter, down 22 percent compared to the same period last year. Despite the decline, its performance is better than many expected after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the shutdown of electronics retailers such as Best Buy in the United States. LG is expected to outperform Whirlpool for the second consecutive quarter after surpassing it in the first quarter by 2

Jul 26, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

LG expected to dominate global appliance market in Q2

Companies

Eggslut considers localized menu items: founder

Jeff Vales / Courtesy of SPC GroupBy Kim Jae-heunEggslut Co-Founder and CEO Jeff Vales said the sandwich seller is considering adapting its menu to use local ingredients.“As we've continued to grow our brand abroad, we are learning more about the local flavor of each region. We are looking into the possibility of adding some local specials,” Jeff Vales said in a recent written interview with The Korea Times.At the Korean branch, there are currently six sandwiches on the menu which are the same as you will find in Eggslut restaurants in other parts of the world including the United States, England, Japan and Kuwait. Vales said Eggslut will focus on the consistency of all its products it offers for now but in the future, the fast food franchise can adopt new items using local foods. However, he didn't elaborate regarding the possibility of opening a second restaurant in the country.“I hope it will be soon. I absolutely plan on visiting. Unfortunately, with everything going on, traveling has become a little difficult. But I look forward to going to Korea and experienci

Jul 23, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Eggslut considers localized menu items: founder

Companies

Can Coupang survive amid snowballing losses?

2020-07-21(코리아타임스)By Kim Jae-heunCoupang, the nation's largest e-commerce company, has drawn unwanted attention from market observers with its business model being called into question, after it has seen snowballing losses over the past years despite these coinciding with a growth in sales.The company has expanded its sales and market share by employing aggressive marketing strategies and a unique delivery service, but its losses have been ballooning, raising a fundamental question about the e-commerce giant's business sustainability: Can it manage to survive?Concerns are also growing that the snowballing losses will likely thwart the firm's ambitious plan to attract global investors in a listing on the tech-based Nasdaq.From a business standpoint, the ailing Coupang is an interesting case to look at as its financial numbers show the contrasting aspects of the SoftBank-backed company.Founded by Kim Bom in 2010, Coupang made a big splash with its signature Rocket Delivery service that guaranteed delivery within 24 hours, striking a blow at the country's existing retail giants includin

Jul 22, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

'Telecom regulators must address shared challenges of COVID-19'

Online fashion startups attract huge investments

POSCO sets new guidelines for 'Corporate Citizenship'

Green New Deal to benefit foreign firms

SK E&C signs cooperation deal with Hilti

E-mart achieves record sales amid COVID-19

Naver to invest in S.M. Entertainment to create new market overseas

LG expected to dominate global appliance market in Q2

Eggslut considers localized menu items: founder

Can Coupang survive amid snowballing losses?

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