The Korea Times

Merrill Lynch accused of pocketing $3.3 million from insider trading

By Park Jin-haiA local lawmaker said Sunday that that Merrill Lynch pocketed 3.4 billion won from insider trading while consulting for the Korea National Oil Corp.(KNOC) eight years ago as an investor advisor on the purchase of Canadian oil producer, Harvest Operations.Hong Young-pyo, a lawmaker of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, claims that Barclays Global Investors (BGI), a Merrill Lynch affiliate, purchased nearly 1 million Harvest shares over the 20 days prior to KNOC’s purchase of the Canadian oil producer on Oct. 21, 2009, despite its poor financial record.“In the first half of 2009, BGI like other financial institutions has been selling Harvest share en mass. However, as the KNOC deal started to take shape in July that year, it abruptly changed its investing pattern, buying up shares,” said Chung Han-mo, the lawmaker’s aide said during an interview with The Korea Times.He claims that Merrill Lynch not only gave the bad investment advice, making KNOC suffer a loss of nearly $1.2 billion from its failed investment in Harvest Opera

Oct 25, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

MPARK EASYAUCTION makes used car sales easy, convenient

A Korea Times reporter consults with an Easy Auction manager at a parking lot in front of the newsroom in Migeun-dong, central Seoul, Friday.  / Korea TimesBy Park Jin-haiBuying a car is hard. But, selling it is much harder.Customers in the used car market ― called “the market for lemons” ― often face falsified information or haggling dealers that try to buy their cars at dirt cheap prices.The maze-like second-hand car trade system has been simplified with the adoption of an online-to-offline auction system such as MPARK EASYAUCTION.“The most fabulous thing about this service is the simplicity. All you need to do is to make a phone call to the call center on the day of the auction,” said Lee Ki-young, a spokesman at Dongwha Group, which owns the MPARK Offline used car complex in Incheon. “Wherever you are an Easy Manager will come to you and evaluate your car free of charge. In a real-time auction, you can sell your car around 3 p.m. the same day.”Although less known, compared with similar services Hyundai Glovis and SK Encar, MPARK

Oct 21, 2015By Park Jin-hai

MPARK EASYAUCTION makes used car sales easy, convenient

Companies

Hyundai Motor strengthens communication with customers

By Park Jin-haiIn a desperate bid to shed its image as a non-communicative company, Hyundai Motor’s top executives including its President Kim Choong-ho and chief designer Peter Schreyer will meet customers here to listen to them first hand.Kim will meet some 80 customers at a casual meeting during the event, Maeum Dream, where customers will ask questions of the carmaker at The K Hotel, in Seoul, Oct. 27. It is rare for a local carmaker to have its chief executives come forward to meet customers and answer their complaints.Following the event, other executives, including Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Kwon Moon-sik, Kwak Jin, executive vice president of the domestic sales division, and chief designer Peter Schreyer, will hold successive talks with customers.The world’s fifth largest carmaker, which once held the dominant position in its home market, has been losing market share. Not only the rise of imported brands, but also blamed are rumors surrounding the car maker, for instance, it is said that it manufactures the same brand cars with lower quality parts and

Oct 18, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Super car sales continue in top gear

By Park Jin-haiDespite a slew of government measures to impose more taxes on luxury cars, the sales of super cars costing 100 million won and more continue to sell strongly here.Due to the heightened status of the global super car market, luxury automakers are stepping up their promotions to court local customers.  Next month, Italian super car maker Ferrari will launch the 488 Spider with the strongest driving performance yet to be available here.Although the price is estimated at between the mid-300 million won to the mid-400 million won range, equivalent to the price of an apartment in Seoul, 60 people have already ordered the super car.“After the 488 GTB model made its world premier, customers started ordering the car as early as May, knowing that the open car version of the 488 Spider’s local launch will be imminent,” said an official at importer FMK Korea. “Customer response has been beyond what we expected.”In the midst of government plans to revise tax laws and insurance regulations to levy more taxes and cap insurance payments on high-price

Oct 18, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

OCI bags 50 megawatt solar power supply deal in U.S.

Sheep graze at the solar power plant Alamo 2, which OCI Solar Power built in San Antonio, Texas, under the 2012 Alamo Project with a U.S. power company, CPS energy. / Courtesy of OCIBy Park Jin-haiOCI Solar Power, the U.S. unit of the solar energy firm OCI, clinched a deal with Texas-based power company CPS Energy to provide 50 megawatts of electricity, the company said Friday.Under the new deal, OCI will construct a 50 megawatt Alamo +6 solar energy power plant in Pecos County. When completed in October 2016, it will provide electricity to CPS Energy for 25 years.It is the second such deal with CPS, following a 2012 contract where it agreed to construct power plants and provide 400 megawatts of electricity over 25 years under the Alamo Project.“It is meaningful that with the experience and know-how which enabled the Alamo Project to be a success, we have been recognized as the top leader in solar power development in Korea,” said Yoon Seog-hwan, OCI Solar Power CEO. “We will work to become one of the best eco-friendly energy firms in North America, helping develop

Oct 16, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

KEPCO, Maryland agree to cooperate on new energy sector

KEPCO CEO Cho Hwan-eik, left, shakes hands with Michael Gill, Maryland secretary of commerce, after signing an energy development agreement in Annapolis, Thursday. / Courtesy of KEPCOBy Park Jin-haiKorea Electric Power Corp has reached an agreement with the U.S. state of Maryland to work together developing the new energy sector.Under the pact, signed in Annapolis on Thursday, the two agreed to cooperate on smart grids, smart city development, advanced metering, energy storage systems and recharging infrastructure for electric vehicles, the company said Friday.It is the first time a Korean company has entered into an agreement with a U.S. state in the energy field.  Maryland has large-scale electricity infrastructure, KEPCO said, adding the state is keen to improve its overall energy efficiency, update old power grids into smart grids and establish energy storage capacity.The company expects the partnership to put it in a good position for future state projects."The (agreement) is an important starting point for future sustainable energy cooperation between Korea and Maryland,"

Oct 16, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyundai, U.S. Energy Department cooperate in selling more cars with fuel cells

Hyundai Motor President Chung Jin-haeng, right, and U.S. Department of Energy officials exchange ideas about the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell during a consultation it held on the sidelines of President Park Geun-hye’s state visit to Washington, D.C. Thursday. From left are: Cho Sung-hwan, president of Hyundai America Technical Center Inc.(HATCI); David Danielson, assistant secretary for energy efficiency & renewable energy; John Juriga, director at HATCI, and Chung.By Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor and the U.S. Department of Energy sought cooperation in expanding the customer base for cars with fuel cells, the company said Friday.Hyundai executives, led by company president Chung Jin-haeng, accompanying President Park Geun-hye’s state visit, had a consultation session in Washington Thursday with U.S. officials including David Danielson, assistant secretary for energy efficiency & renewable energy, and Reuben Sarkar, deputy assistant secretary for transportation,“We discussed measures to sell more fuel cell cars, including expanding infrastructure and the Fuel Cell Ve

Oct 16, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Audi Volkswagen Korea to recall two years after gov't order

By Park Jin-haiAudi Volkswagen Korea, criticized over its late apology for an on-going emissions scandal here, will belatedly recall some 2,200 vehicles for defects in emissions-related parts, the company said Thursday.Two years ago, the company was ordered to replace the defective parts by the Ministry of the Environment.The cars on the recall list are 1,653 Audi A6 2.0 TFSIs sold between 2009 and 2010, and 534 Tiguan 2.0 TDI models sold in 2009.The A6 was found to have a faulty positive crankcase ventilation valve, which recycles crankcase gases back into the engine to burn. The damaged valve may bring engine oil into the combustion chamber, producing white smoke in the exhaust.The Tiguan was said to have a defective sensor in a diesel particulate filter.The company didn’t recall the vehicles, although it knew of the defects in 2013 after a ministry inspection. For this, it was fined 31 million won.Rep. Han Jeong-ae of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy said postponing the recall for two years was deceiving Korean customers.Han also criticized the environment ministry. &

Oct 15, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

POSCO E&C breaks ground for nation's tallest apartment complex

An aerial view of the 101-story Landmark Tower and two 85-story residential towers POSCO E&C is to complete by 2019 at the Haeundae Tourist Resort LCT Development Project at Haeundae Beach, Busan. / Courtesy of POSCO E&CBy Park Jin-haiPOSCO E&C began construction of the nation’s tallest apartment complex, LCT, in Busan Thursday.Some 300 guests, including company executives and politicians, participated in a ceremony to celebrate the start of construction.The Haeundae Tourist Resort LCT Development Project will include construction of one 101-story building, the 411-meter tall Landmark Tower, and two 85-story residential towers (339 meters/333 meters) in the second largest city of Korea.With a total investment of 1.5 trillion won, POSCO E&C will build the tower, the second-tallest landmark in Korea, and the tallest apartment complex here.The construction is slated to be completed by November 2019.“The LCT project will lift the city’s competitiveness by a notch and become an icon of innovation, making Busan a truly global city,” said company CEO

Oct 15, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

JTI Korea to recruit young talent

By Park Jin-haiJTI Korea said Wednesday it is participating in the Job Fair for Foreign-Invested Companies 2015, which will be Oct. 15-16 in Seoul.During the fair, organized by the Korea Trade-investment Promotion Agency at the COEX, the company will hire trainees and interns for each department through interviews on the spot.Trainees will be given opportunities to sharpen their global competitiveness through assignments to three Asian countries, including Korea for eight months. After hands-on work experience, they will be groomed to be core managers for JTI Korea.JTI Korea, manufacturer of Mevius and Camel tobaccos, plans to provide useful information for job seekers and will offer free counseling."Since 2011, we have participated in many job fairs and workshops held in Korea to secure a talented workforce and raise public awareness of the company," says Kim Jong-bok, managing director of JTI Korea HR Department. "Through this job fair, we plan to recruit candidates with great potential as well as provide them with opportunities to grow and become global talents."Founded in Korea i

Oct 14, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Merrill Lynch accused of pocketing $3.3 million from insider trading

MPARK EASYAUCTION makes used car sales easy, convenient

Hyundai Motor strengthens communication with customers

Super car sales continue in top gear

OCI bags 50 megawatt solar power supply deal in U.S.

KEPCO, Maryland agree to cooperate on new energy sector

Hyundai, U.S. Energy Department cooperate in selling more cars with fuel cells

Audi Volkswagen Korea to recall two years after gov't order

POSCO E&C breaks ground for nation's tallest apartment complex

JTI Korea to recruit young talent

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