The Korea Times

Volkswagen Korea to offer apology to local customers

By Park Jin-haiVolkswagen Korea said Wednesday it will offer a belated apology to its customers in Korea.The official apology, scheduled to be announced on early Thursday, came 21 days after the German carmaker was found to have rigged software to falsify data during emission tests of its diesel vehicles.Volkswagen Korea will post a letter of apology on its website and send it to 92,000 customers who purchased the models thought to have been used during the scam. It will also recall those vehicles, although the details will be arranged after consultation with the Environment Ministry and its parent group.The company acknowledged that in its Oct. 1 website posting, saying that it is doing its best to find a way to resolve the issue, when revealing the number of EA189 engine models thought to have rigged software. However, this was short of offering an official apology.People still question whether Volkswagen has the will to correct its wrongdoings in earnest.Lee In-young, a lawmaker of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, said that the company’s service on it

Oct 7, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Economy

Fintech makes insurance planning smarter

A Hanwha Life financial planner, left, talks about an insurance policy with a client, holding a tablet PC, at the company’s headquarters in Seoul. / Courtesy of Hanwha LifeBy Park Jin-haiPark Young-suk, 51, a Hanwha Life financial planner, received a call from a client asking to upgrade his insurance policy on the weekend. Unlike the old days, where she had to drop by her office to print a document, the process is as easy as taking out a tablet PC and sending the form to the client’s e-mail.The insurance industry is fast adopting fintech, the convergence of finance and technology. Hanwha Life is one of the first movers.“With the adoption of fintech, the workplace has become paperless,” she said. “As many as 100 sheets of paper needed for clients are gone. Now I can meet clients anytime anywhere.”  Since the company first started the electronic insurance policy subscription system in 2012 for the first time in the industry, the system has been upgraded and its application expanded.Park says she currently handles nearly 70 percent of insurance p

Oct 7, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyundai tops Indian SUV market for 3rd month

Hyundai Motor’s Creta SUVBy Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor’s has been the top-selling SUV for three consecutive months in India since its July launch, the company said Tuesday.Hyundai Motor sold 7,256 Cretas in India last month.It sold 6,783 Cretas in July and 7,437 in August. Its accumulated sales, including this month, reached 23,117.Hyundai reportedly has received over 54,000 advanced sales requests for the car, meaning customers have to wait for over three months.Although September sales for all SUVs in Indian automotive market have not been collected yet, the industry forecasts that the Creta would have surpassed sales of its rivaling Mahindra’s Bolero and Toyota’s Innova SUVs by around 2,000.“At a time when Hyundai holds already second place in market share, the latest Creta’s popularity is helping its stronger presence there,” said a Hyundai official.Hyundai Motor aims to sell 100,000 Cretas annually in India.Boosted by its sales, Hyundai sold record 42,505 cars, up 21.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the company.Since the carmak

Oct 6, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Citizens protest against Incheon City 'backtracking'

Songdo citizens stage a protest against the Incheon Metropolitan City’s move to scale down a waterfront project, a major development plan for Songdo, in front of Incheon City Hall west of Seoul, Monday./ Courtesy of Songdo International City Citizens CoalitionBy Park Jin-haiSongdo International Business District residents staged a protest against Incheon Metropolitan City, Monday, claiming the politically motivated city government is backtracking from an original water front project that they see as key to development of the area.   “Although the budget needed for the development comes from the Sondo district, not from city coffers, Incheon is trying to nullify the original plan, ditching the Incheon Free Economic Zone’s (IFEZ) key development plan,” said Songdo International City Citizens Coalition head Cho Hyung-kyu during the protest in front of Incheon City Hall.Incheon is pushing to be the business hub of Northeast Asia, with international business headquarters and convention centers. The Songdo Water Front Project is a major development plan to

Oct 5, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyundai Motor brand value ranked 39th

By Park Jin-haiHyundai’s brand value was ranked in the top 40 again this year, up one spot from last year.The global brand consulting agency Interbrand said Hyundai has been ranked 39th, with 13.4 trillion won worth of brand value ($1.13 million) among the Best Global Brands 2015.  Its brand value increased 8.5 percent compared with last year, when it was ranked 40th.Hyundai has been on the top 100 list since 2005.“In terms of brand value growth over the past 11 years, we have the fastest growth rate of any company on the list,” said a company spokesman.Hyundai’s brand value tripled over those years, from 2005 when it had 3.5 million won worth of brand value, while the company’s place on the list has jumped 45 spots.Among the automakers, Hyundai’s brand value ranked seventh, a spot ahead of Audi, for the past four years. Toyota topped the list, followed by BMW, Mercedes and Honda.Hyundai, since taking the new direction of “modern premium” in 2011, has been exerting all-out efforts to elevate its brand image, opening up communicatio

Oct 5, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Doosan freezes paychecks on employees

By Park Jin-haiFaced with a prolonged slump in the manufacturing sector, Doosan Group froze wages for its affiliates this year.As a pre-emptive measure to take on challenges amid a drop in confidence among its chief international competitors, the country’s mid-sized conglomerate has chosen to cut wages as a short-term solution.Except for the group’s advertising arm of Oricom, the group’s other affiliates will be affected by the freeze, said sources directly involved with the issue, Sunday.“The market growth in businesses that Doosan operates has flattened due to fierce competition and increasing uncertainties. This situation is forcing the group to save expenditures in operations and to cut other fixed costs,” said one source.Doosan Group’s major affiliates have an annual wage system whereby employees’ salaries are negotiated after performance evaluations in June.This year, the conglomerate carried out the consultation sessions with the workers, but it didn’t lead to wage hikes.Such moves are intended to prepare for the worst because th

Oct 4, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyundai Motor heir's share purchase boost succession

By Park Jin-haiChung Eui-sunHyundai Motor Vice ChairmanThe Hyundai Motor heir apparent’s recent move to purchase Hyundai Motor shares owned by its affiliate Hyundai Heavy Industries could be a signal of corporate governance restructuring linked to its succession plan, experts said.“It is highly likely that the move can be read in the context of corporate governance. As it followed the Hyundai Mobis purchase of its own shares a day earlier, the timing signals that the corporate governance restructuring may have kicked off,” said Lim Eun-young, an analyst at Samsung Securities.Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun spent nearly 500 billion won ($419.3 million) to purchase 3.16 million Hyundai Motor shares from Hyundai Heavy in after-hour trading on Wednesday.With the purchase this time, Chung’s stake in Hyundai Motor has been jacked up to 1.44 percent, from almost nothing.Chung previously had only a 1.75 percent stake in Kia Motors and 31.88 percent of Hyundai Glovis shares, which has little influence on the corporate governance structure.His father, Cha

Sep 25, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Hyundai Motor heir's share purchase boost succession

Companies

Volkswagen scandal probe may lead to other diesel cars here

By Park Jin-haiVolkswagen BeetleVolkswagen JettaAudi A3GolfThe government probe of Volkswagen cars, found to have manipulated software to pass emissions tests in the U.S., may expand to other diesel cars in Korea.The Environment Ministry has selected the Volkswagen cars, which arrived at the port at Pyeongtaek, and secured them for full-scale inspection on Thursday, the day after it held a meeting with Volkswagen Korea and said it began inspections of its four diesel cars. It also said the full-scale inspection may expand to other diesel cars here.When the carmaker was found to have manipulated data to pass the emissions test here, the Environment Ministry said it may issue a recall, the revocation of its certificate and a fine of 1 billion won for each model, which is the maximum fine under Korean law.“We are carrying out the test on the defeat device in the same manner as it was done in the United States. If the result turns out to prove the device was adjusted to give a false reading, it may lead to a recall here,” said an Environment Ministry official.Until now, the g

Sep 24, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Volkswagen scandal probe may lead to other diesel cars here

Companies

One Dongwha Camp boosts understanding, communication

By Park Jin-hai NAMYANGJU, Gyeonggi Province ― At the One Dongwha Camp, 37 foreign workers from Dongwha’s five overseas offices in Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong shouted “Daebak!” a Korean word meaning super cool, in unison.On the first evening of the annual event, participants wearing different colors cheered for their teams in a game where people passed a ping-pong ball to each other using chopsticks.The One Dongwha Camp is Dongwha Group’s cultural initiative aimed at better communication and as a reward for its hardworking overseas employees.The leading building and decorative materials manufacturer says communication is an important issue for a multinational company, and the camp helps foster better communication among employees living across different borders.  “Prior to the event, we had our own worries, because there was an emotional barrier separating one group of people from another,” said a company spokeswoman during the event at the Dongwha Culture Village in Whado, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Provinc

Sep 22, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

About Dongwha Group

Dongwha Group’s headquarters in SeoulDongwha Group, founded in 1948 as a wood manufacturer, has evolved into a building and decorative materials company, producing wood boards, chemicals, construction and home building materials. It extended its business area to second-hand automobiles with Dongwha M Park in 2011 and most recently to media through the acquisition of Korean daily newspaper Hankook Ilbo and The Korea Times.The company has five affiliates including Dongwha Enterprise and Daesung Wood. It has overseas production bases in Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand.In the domestic wood materials market, Dongwha is the No.1 supplier, with nearly 70 percent share of the local particle board market and 24 percent for medium density fiberboard.Last year, it posted 565.2 billion won in sales. 

Sep 22, 2015By Park Jin-hai

One Dongwha Camp boosts understanding, communication

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Volkswagen Korea to offer apology to local customers

Fintech makes insurance planning smarter

Hyundai tops Indian SUV market for 3rd month

Citizens protest against Incheon City 'backtracking'

Hyundai Motor brand value ranked 39th

Doosan freezes paychecks on employees

Hyundai Motor heir's share purchase boost succession

Volkswagen scandal probe may lead to other diesel cars here

One Dongwha Camp boosts understanding, communication

About Dongwha Group

Top 5 stories