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Park Jin-hai

Korea Times K-Culture Reporter

Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.

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Companies

Lotte cements Chairman Shin's one-man leadership

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin enters a meeting room for a biannual gathering with top management at Lotte Hotel, in southern Seoul, Friday. / YonhapBy Park Jin-haiLotte Group, embroiled in a prolonged succession dispute and failed bid to renew the license for its Lotte World Tower duty free shop, held its biannual meeting of company executives, Friday.Unlike 30 to 40 executives previously forecast to be present, some 80 top management officials, including Lotte Shopping Vice Chairman Lee In-won and President Hwang Kag-gyu, and Lotte Corp CEO Noh Byung-young, took part in the meeting, at the Lotte Hotel in southern Seoul, showing that Chairman Shin Dong-bin is in total control of the group. It was the first meeting of top executives since Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho was dismissed from his executive posts at Lotte Holdings Japan in July.The company leadership has been problematic since last summer as the group founder’s two sons ― Dong-joo and Dong-bin ― battled for the control of the group.The eldest son Dong-joo was ousted from key posts at the group’s

Dec 4, 2015By Park Jin-hai
Companies

FTC to lessen fines on wholesalers

By Park Jin-haiThe Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is moving to cut back fines levied on wholesalers that abuse their power against subcontractors and small distributors.When revised, the fines will be calculated based on the “amount of money in violation of the relevant law,” instead of the “payment of goods.”For instance, when a wholesaler receives 1 billion won of goods from a supplier and returns 100 million of stock at the end of the year unfairly, the fine will be calculated by the FTC on the basis of the 100 million, not the 1 billion won, as is done now.The industry is concerned it could dilute the Large-Scale Retailers' Fair Trade Practices Act, enacted in 2011 to realize the “democratization of the economy,” following the Namyang Dairy Products scandal.The dairy maker was under fire for abusing its power and pressuring or unfairly dumping products onto distributors to meet sales quotas.Following the scandal, the fine was increased to be based on the payment for the goods.Min Byung-du, of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy

Dec 4, 2015By Park Jin-hai
Companies

Lee takes helm of Samsung fashion business

By Park Jin-haiLee Seo-hyun, President of Samsung C&T's fashion groupSamsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee's daughter, Lee Seo-hyun, has taken the helm of the company’s struggling fashion business.In Samsung’s huge management reshuffle on Tuesday, Lee was promoted to president of Samsung C&T's fashion group.She had previously been leading the management strategy for Cheil Worldwide and Samsung C&T's fashion division.Lee is expected to orchestrate Samsung’s fashion business including fostering its SPA brand 8 Seconds at home and abroad, competing against global fashion moguls like Uniqlo and H&M.The SPA brands, which stand for specialty retailer of private label apparel, refer to fast fashion brands like Zara and H&M. Low-priced trendy collections are a fast-expanding market. Lee, a graduate of the Parsons School of Fashion, joined the company in 2002, working at Cheil Industries, now merged into Samsung C&T. While building her career in the fashion business, she has been credited with raising the company’s brand value.There, she t

Dec 2, 2015By Park Jin-hai
Lee takes helm of Samsung fashion business
Companies

Shinsegae opens duty free shop at Incheon airport

A customer enters the newly opened Shinsegae duty free shop at Incheon International Airport, Tuesday./ Courtesy of Shinsegae GroupBy Park Jin-haiShinsegae Group has opened a duty free shop with over 300 brands at Incheon International Airport , the company said Wednesday.The retail giant gained a license in February to operate a duty free shop specialized in fashion and luxury items in section 7 of the airport.Since refurbishing work started in September, section 7 has housed 80 percent of shops, including boutiques of MCM, Coach and Montblanc.In order to enable travelers’ one-stop shopping, the shops are grouped in small sections of fashion accessories, foods and sunglasses according to customers’ purchasing patterns.The company said that it also has diversified brands to differentiate itself from its rivals. It has the very first local optician, Gentle Monster, in the duty free shop, while it also operates a brand experience zone for portage massager Breo.Items for male travelers have been diversified as well to include shops selling drones and camera gear.  &ldqu

Dec 2, 2015By Park Jin-hai
Companies

POSCO E&C wins $900 mil. power project in Philippines

Oh Kun-soo, third from left, POSCO E&C vice president, poses with Donald Gray, center, project director of the Mashinloc Expansion Project, after signing a $900 million contract to build two coal-fired power plants, in Manila, Tuesday. / Courtesy of POSCO E&CBy Park Jin-haiPOSCO E&C has signed a contract with Masinloc Power Partners (MPPCL) to build thermal power plants that will cost $900 million in the Philippines.MPPCL is an affiliate of U.S. power company AES, which operates an accumulated 34,732 megawatts of power plants in 18 countries.Under the terms of the contract, POSCO E&C will engineer, procure and build the two 300-megawatt coal-fired power plants in Zambales, 250 kilometers northwest of Manila.The plants will use a supercritical steam generator, a boiler that operates at very high pressure to produce power. This will provide it with much higher fuel efficiency and produce less carbon dioxide compared with other conventional power plants.POSCO E&C will build the plants over 38 months.“The Masinloc power project has been part of Philippine govern

Dec 1, 2015By Park Jin-hai
Companies

FTC investigates VW ads

By Park Jin-haiThe Fair Trade Commission said Monday it has begun investigating Volkswagen’s advertisements to see if they misled customers.The commission requested Volkswagen submit related documents and it will review whether the German carmaker has breached the local law that prohibits advertising that can mislead customers by exaggeration and giving false information about the products.Volkswagen Korea has been using the terms “clean diesel” and “eco-friendly” in their sales campaigns since 2009, stressing their diesel engines have passed the high emission standards of the U.S. and Europe.The decision followed the announcement of the Ministry of Environment last week that concluded it had found evidence of emission cheating software in Volkswagen and Audi models, ordering the recall of 123,000 cars and slapping a 14.1 billion won fine on the company.If false advertising is confirmed, the German carmaker can be levied with a fine that could reach 2 percent of their total sales at maximum, as well as being sued by the prosecution.Some say that the fine

Nov 30, 2015By Park Jin-hai
Companies

Hyundai Motor sales bottom out in China

By Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor sales are recovering in China after a months-long slump.The company and its sibling Kia Motors sold a combined 156,575 cars in China last month, up 4.7 percent year-on-year.Their market share in the world’s biggest automotive market reached 8.9 percent in October, compared to 8.4 percent a month earlier.The figure is the third largest after Volkswagen at 17.4 percent and General Motors at 12.3 percent.Hyundai and Kia have maintained their market share at between 10.4 and 10.5 percent since 2012. However, sandwiched between global auto giants armed with aggressive marketing campaigns and fast-growing local automakers, they have been struggling to hold on to their market share since early this year.In June, their market share fell to 7.2 percent.In August, Hyundai had a massive personnel shuffle in its China business, hoping to make a breakthrough in the troubled market. Hyundai and Kia have fought to earn back their market share, offering deep price cuts for their popular models and launching strategic models such as the new Avante compact, locally n

Nov 30, 2015By Park Jin-hai
Companies

Car industry feels fallout from Volkswagen emission scandal

By Park Jin-haiThe local car industry is feeling the fallout from the global Volkswagen emission scandal as the government introduces successive measures to widen the investigation and penalize all polluting diesel makers.The environment ministry last week confirmed Volkswagen’s cheating and ordered a recall, slapping a total fine of 14.1 billion won for its 15 models, the largest yet.Now the investigation has been widened to include all diesel models sold here. Included are models of 16 carmakers including Porsche, Jaguar, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors.The government is also close to raising the cap for the polluting carmakers tenfold to 10 billion won.Moreover, the land ministry, which watches over fuel efficiency and safety, said it would investigate how the so-called defeat device could affect fuel efficiency.The ministry plans to conclude its investigation by mid-December and take punitive and administrative measures against companies whose vehicles’ fuel efficiency exceeds by more than five percent the figure that has been claimed.Experts said that such unpreced

Nov 29, 2015By Park Jin-hai
Companies

KAIDA forecast slower imported car growth next year

Jung Jae-hee, KAIDA chairman and Ford Korea CEO, makes his opening speech at an event to mark its 20th anniversary, at Banyan Tree Club and Spa in Seoul, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Park Jin-haiThe Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) expects the local imported vehicle market, which has posted double-digit growth in recent years, to have slower growth next year.This announcement was made during the 20th anniversary of the organization, Wednesday.It predicts 255,000 imported vehicles will be sold here next year, an increase of 8.5 percent from this year. It is a conservative figure, in consideration of the market developments at home and abroad that adversely affect the local industry.Apart from the Volkswagen scandal that is shaking confidence in German cars, lawmakers are moving to revise tax and insurance codes affecting the industry. “For the past two decades, KAIDA has worked hard to make the foundation for growth,” said Jung Jae-hee, KAIDA chairman and Ford Korea CEO, during the celebration at Banyan Tree Club and Spa in Seoul, Wednesday.

Nov 25, 2015By Park Jin-hai
KAIDA forecast slower imported car growth next year
Companies

Hyundai EQ900 records 4,000 pre-orders in a day

A rendered image of Hyundai Motor EQ900By Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor’s EQ900 (globally named the G90), the first model in the company’s luxury Genesis brand, is set to stir up a storm in the domestic car industry.Hyundai received 4,342 preorders for the top-of-the-line luxury sedan one day after it began to accept reservations Monday.This number is four times higher than the 1,180 recorded for the second-generation Equus in 2009. “Given that the EQ900 is a high priced luxury flagship sedan, the number is surprising,” said a Hyundai Motor official. “The elegant and refined exterior and high-end craftsmanship, together with people’s expectations of luxury cars, seemed to have all worked to our advantage,” he added.The EQ900 will be launched next month with various engine types ― the Lambda 3.8 V6, the Lambda 3.3 V6 Turbo and the Tau 5.0 V8 ― all of which were developed by Hyundai Motor.The vehicle will be the first mass-produced car with partially autonomous driving, including the highway driving assist system, whereby the car can

Nov 24, 2015By Park Jin-hai
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