The Korea Times

BMW focuses more on customer service

The exterior of BMW Korea’s newly opened Opo Service Center in Gyeonggi Province. The two-story building opened last week and has 20 work bays that can repair up to 60 cars a day, as well as provide a fast-lane service that can exchange working parts in less than two hours. / Courtesy of BMW KoreaBy Park Jin-haiBMW Korea says it will prioritize improving customer services and cementing its place as Korea’s largest import car brand by sales.“We make a great deal of investment into customer services,” said BMW Korea CEO Kim Hyo-joon, during a recent interview.The German automaker sold more than 40,000 cars in Korea last year and already has the largest after-service networks of any foreign car brand with 59 auto shops and 793 work bays.  Now the company will increase that number to 78 auto shops and 1,183 work bays across the country by 2016.In particular, the number of fast-lane auto shops that provide speedy services for simple mechanical problems in cities will increase to five, while auto technicians will be nearly doubled to 2,246 from 1,500. To a

Jan 22, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Ssangyong Motor reopens dialogue with fired workers

By Park Jin-haiLee Yoo-ilSsangyong Motor CEOSsangyong Motor reopened dialogue with the union to discuss the reinstatement of fired workers during the company’s financial turmoil in 2009.Ssangyong Motor CEO Lee Yoo-il met with the company union leader Kim Kyu-han and Kim Deuk-joong, union head for dismissed workers Wednesday.“The meeting took place before the company CEO dropped by the Tivoli’s launch event. They agreed to initiate talks to discuss major labor issues,” said a company official.The main issues on the agenda include the reinstatement of the dismissed workers, support for the bereaved families of 26 workers who died from either suicides or disease after their dismissal, and stopping the 10 billion won compensation claim the company filed against ex-workers who staged a three-month strike at its Pyeongtaek plant in 2009.“We have upheld the stance that the company’s business should be normalized first to discuss the reinstatement issue. The initiation of working-level talks means that the company has made a concession for a cooperative fu

Jan 22, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Ssangyong Motor reopens dialogue with fired workers

Companies

EU to decide on Korea's illegal fishing status in Feb.

By Park Jin-haiThe European Union has said it will delay its final decision on Korea’s illegal fishing status to the end of February. This will allow Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries and Acting Minister Kim Young-suk to fly to Brussels in a last-ditch effort to explain the government’s progress.Kim will visit EU headquarters between Jan. 21 and 24 to inform of the progress Korea has made and drum up support to lift the imposition of the temporary illegal fishing status.“The delay was caused by a change in members of the EU’s Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE) executive committee,” said a ministry official. “For now, we are cautious about the EU’s final decision. Through Kim’s visit, we intend to show that we have a strong political will to clamp down on illegal fishing at all costs,” he added.Kim will meet MARE’s Director-General Lowri Evans and Karmenu Vella, commissioner for the environment, maritime affairs and fisheries, Thursday, and International Maritime Organization officials, Friday.   The EU

Jan 20, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyundai Motor to phase out CD players

By Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor will eventually remove CD players from its vehicles.Starting with new cars for 2016 in the United States, the old audio system will be replaced with a new infotainment unit, embracing smartphone connectivity, according to the automaker.“In the United States, people no longer listen to music with CD players. Thus, USB and Bluetooth functions will be placed in the company’s future cars, enabling drivers to listen to music on smartphones,” said a Hyundai Motor official.CD player use in vehicles has been declining ever since the emergence of Apple’s iPod in 2001.According to a 2011 Nielsen SoundScan survey, sales of digital music have exceeded those of CD albums.“As affordable car buyers are often younger, Hyundai aims to provide what they want most in their car ㅡ all the latest smartphone-enabled technologies at a lower price,” said Cason Grover, senior group manager of cross-carline planning of Hyundai Motor America.The new infotainment system will be optimized for use with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, software that ca

Jan 19, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyundai Motor seeks performance-based wage system

By Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor says it is seeking to introduce a performance-based wage system to reduce labor costs.The move, which comes after the company won its legal battle against the union over ordinary wages, is expected to bring protests from workers.Hyundai Motor vice chairman Yoon Yeo-chul said the company needed to replace the seniority-based system with one based on productivity.“Having a seniority-based wage system when global competition gets fiercer, it is almost impossible to catch up with our rivals such as Toyota,” he said.“As agreed with labor, we will come up with a new wage system that can replace the current one by March.”Seoul Central District Court ruled on Friday that only daily bonuses should be included in “ordinary wages,” the basis for fixing employees’ benefits, rejecting union claims for a broader application.The court said that a regularly paid daily-counted bonus to two of the 23 plaintiffs could be calculated into ordinary wages, but denied the others because the bonus payments were not regular enough.As the r

Jan 18, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Volvo, J Commerce accused of false advertising

J Commerce’s rose-printed knivesBy Park Jin-haiVolvo V40 sedanVolvo Car Korea, the local unit of Swedish carmaker Volvo Car, is under fire after the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) ruled that the company misled buyers with false advertisements.The FTC said Sunday that the carmaker’s 2013 compact hatchback V40 was falsely advertised as being equipped with adaptive cruise control (ACC) and queue-assist features that automatically adjust the speed to keep the car a safe distance behind the vehicle ahead.But dealer H Motors did not tell buyers that the ACC feature in the promotional brochure was not available for the Belgian-made car.“Volvo Korea misled potential customers, saying the car had better safety features than its rivals,” an FTC official said in a written statement. The carmaker received a correction order for the advertisement, which appeared between March and September, 2013.The V40 D2 model was Volvo Car Korea’s best-selling model last year, with 457 sold. The Swedish carmaker sold 3,000 cars in 2014, up 51.8 percent from a year earlier. 

Jan 18, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Volvo, J Commerce accused of false advertising

Companies

Hyundai Motor to reignite succession drive

Chung Mong-kooHyundai chairmanChung Eui-sunHyundai vice chairmanBy Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor Group is expected to resume the botched sale of the owner family’s Hyundai Glovis stakes, with the group’s succession scheme centering on Hyundai Mobis, analysts said Thursday.“If the block deal had been made, Hyundai Motor Group could have saved 10 billion won in tax annually as it could have resolved the anti-trust issue related to intra-group dealings,” said Meritz Securities analyst Kim Seung-chul. “Therefore, the group will most likely resume the block deal.”The country's revised anti-trust law bans business group owners and their family members from holding more than 30 percent stakes in affiliates that earn more than 20 billion won annually or 12 percent of annual sales through intra-group dealings.In 2013, Hyundai Glovis earned nearly 3 trillion won from doing business with its affiliates, accounting for about 30 percent of its 10.2 trillion won annual sales.HI Investment & Securities analyst Ko Tae-bong agrees.“Previously, regarding corpo

Jan 15, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Hyundai Motor to reignite succession drive

Companies

Mahindra meets fired workers

Anand Mahindra, third from left, chairman of Mahindra Group, looks at the production line for the company’s newly launched compact SUV Tivoli, at its Pyeongtaek plant, Wednesday. / Courtesy of SsangyongBy Park Jin-haiAnand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group, spoke Wednesday with the union leader representing dismissed workers who have been calling for their reinstatement.The surprise meeting between union head Kim Deuk-joong and Mahindra was arranged as the chairman was in Korea to celebrate the launching of its compact SUV Tivoli.During the meeting Mahindra reiterated his stance that Ssangyong still has many more challenges ahead and that the reinstatement of dismissed workers can happen only if the Tivoli is successful and the company’s turnaround is complete.The visiting chairman also exchanged Twitter messages with two union members who have been staging a protest atop a 70-meter chimney for more than a month at the company's plant in Pyeongtaek.When one of the two protesting workers sent a Twitter message saying:  “Let’s talk” to Mahindra

Jan 14, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Ssangyong aims to go global with Tivoli

Models pose next to Ssangyong Motor’s compact SUV Tivoli during a launch event at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, in Seoul, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Park Jin-haiSsangyong Motor, the local unit of India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, launched its first compact SUV, the Tivoli, Tuesday.The gasoline-powered compact SUV with a sharper looking exterior has been highly expected by many as a vehicle that has the potential to raise the financially ailing automaker and put it back on the growth track.Anand Mahindra, the chairman of Mahindra Group who visited Korea, said the Tivoli marks a significant new milestone in the growing partnership between Mahindra and Ssangyong.“This new SUV epitomizes the spirit of Korea Can Do and reflects Ssangyong’s rich legacy of innovation in product development. We are confident that the Tivoli is poised to drive Ssangyong’s growth in the future,” he said during a launch ceremony at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul.Ssangyong Motor’s CEO Lee Yoo-il said, “The Tivoli is a strategic global model we have developed with great devoti

Jan 13, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

DSME builds world's largest container vessel

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering CEO Ko Jae-ho, right, and other officials celebrate the christening of the world’s largest container vessel at the Okpo Shipyard in Geoje Island, Thursday. Other participants are Xiuzhi Fang, left, director of China’s Bank of Communications, MSC CEO DiegoAponte, and his son. / Courtesy of DSMEBy Park Jin-haiDaewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the nation’s second-largest shipbuilder, christened the world’s largest container vessel Thursday.The vessel, MSC Oscar, has a capacity of 19,224 containers, and is the equivalent of four football stadiums in length.It is the first vessel of the three that China’s Bank of Communications has ordered to charter to Swiss container shipping line Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).   “The vessel is equipped with pure dry system that can purify and recycle waste oil produced. It is the most eco-friendly and high-fuel efficient vessel,” said a company official.    Vessels operating costs heavily rely on fuel prices, whic

Jan 9, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

BMW focuses more on customer service

Ssangyong Motor reopens dialogue with fired workers

EU to decide on Korea's illegal fishing status in Feb.

Hyundai Motor to phase out CD players

Hyundai Motor seeks performance-based wage system

Volvo, J Commerce accused of false advertising

Hyundai Motor to reignite succession drive

Mahindra meets fired workers

Ssangyong aims to go global with Tivoli

DSME builds world's largest container vessel

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