The Korea Times

Hyundai Motor launches committee to overhaul wage system

By Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor has organized a joint committee with its labor union to overhaul its wage system.The committee, comprised of Hyundai Motor President Yoon Gap-han and   union leader Lee Kyung-hoon as co-chairs, will deal with a broad range of wage issues including the thorny issue of inclusion of regular bonuses in ordinary wages.It is part of the wage agreement reached last month.Under the agreement, they will overhaul the company’s wage system by March next year.They will discuss how to change the wage system after the Seoul Central District Court will hand out a ruling on a case pitting 23 union members against Hyundai Motor over ordinary wages on Nov. 7. To press management to offer more concessions, unionized workers have staged six sporadic partial walkouts, costing the carmaker 910 billion won in lost output.

Nov 3, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Born to ride, ride to be free

Harley-Davidson riders cruise down a road in Hannam-dong, Seoul, in this file photo taken in August.By Park Jin-haiKim Ji-won, 45, is anything but what people would regard as a Harley lover.She wears no leather jacket or studded boots.  The insurance company worker and mother of a collegian says her bike makes her otherwise boring life exiting.“The engine roars like a jet airplane taking off. It enlivens my spirit,” she said.“It is a totally different fun from driving. When you are on a Harley, you are not just on transport that takes you to one destination or another. You and your bike move on the road as one, feeling the rough country road and fresh autumn wind.”Kim, a Harley-lover for five years who also owns a sports car, added that what she loves about her Harley is the lifestyle it gives.Members of the “Harley Owners Group” participate in a group ride inthis file photo. Courtesy of Harley-Davidson“Almost every weekend, we hit the road. Side by side we mount on the bikes and travel. We camp and often hold family events. Harley

Oct 30, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Peugeot launches compact SUV

A model stands next to the new Peugeot 2008 compact SUV during a launch event at the French carmaker’s showroom in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, Wednesday. The vehicle will come in three versions — Active, Allure and Feline. The vehicles are priced at 26.5 million won for the Active, 29.5 million won for the Allure and 3.15 million won for the Feline. / YonhapBy Park Jin-haiFrench carmaker Peugeot launched its compact SUV, the new Peugeot 2008, on Wednesday.“The model has been highly successful in Europe. People wait three or four months there to receive their cars,” said Dong Keun-tae, marketing director of Hanbul Motors during a launch event at its showroom in southern Seoul.  “This car is customized for a family of three, targeting couples in their late 20s and early 30s with a small child.”The sports utility vehicle mounts a 1.6-liter HDi diesel engine and has fuel efficiency of 19.2 kilometer per hour in the city and 16.2 kilometers per hour on the highway.Some 1,000 people ordered the vehicle in the week prior to Wednesday’s launch e

Oct 29, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyundai Avante's global sales hit 10 million

Hyundai Motor employees and members of an Avante fan club celebrate the car’s global sales hitting 10 million at its head office in Seoul, Monday./ Courtesy of Hyundai MotorBy Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor’s flagship Avante compact’s cumulated global sales have topped 10 million, the company said Tuesday.It is the first local brand to achieve such commercial success.Since the Avante (then the Elantra) was launched in October 1990, it has sold the equivalent of 420,000 cars each year and 1,100 cars each day for the past 24 years.It sold 2.6 million on the local market, and another 7.4 million in 177 countries. A total of 6.4 million Avantes have been domestically manufactured, while some 3.6 million were produced in Hyundai Motor’s American, Chinese and Indian factories.From the first-generation model Elantra in 1990 to the fifth-generation Avante MD in 2010, the brand has been popular at home and abroad.It was crowned North American Car of the Year at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show over the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Passat. It also earned the title of South Afric

Oct 28, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Hyundai Avante's global sales hit 10 million

Companies

Rolls-Royce launches Ghost II

Models showcase Rolls-Royce’s face-lifted Ghost II during a launch event in Dongdaemun Design Plaza, in Seoul, Monday. The British luxury carmaker also kicked off a two-day exhibition, The Icon Tour, at the venue to celebrate its 110th anniversary on the same day. / YonhapBy Park Jin-haiCelebrating its 110th anniversary this year, Rolls-Royce held the Korean launch of the hotly anticipated Ghost II series in Seoul, Monday.“The Ghost series is the modern version of the Silver Ghost, which paved the way for Rolls-Royce to become a top luxury brand over its 110 year history,” said Lee Chul-seung, principal dealer of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Seoul, during its launching event at Dongdaemun Design Plaza.Paul Harris, Asia Pacific Regional Director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, says the company concentrates on the bespoke nature of Rolls-Royce, giving every one of its cars a unique individuality.“Korea is so discerning and conservative. We see a variety of ways we can represent Rolls-Royce, with unique bespoke cars that people can make individual and private to themselves,

Oct 27, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Civic groups campaign for Renault Samsung

By Park Jin-haiRegional civic groups in Busan have launched a campaign to support Renault Samsung Motors which is based in the nation’s largest port city.A total of 146 civic groups, led by the Citizens’ Alliance for Pusan Economy and Korea Sobija, have united for a “Ride Renault Samsung Motors” campaign to help boost sales for the company.They will take part in a campaign through coordinated through regional communities such as alumni associations, the Lions Club and the Rotary Club.“It was Busan citizens who saved the moribund automaker in the past. By loving the home-based automaker, we would like to help it contribute more to the regional economy,” said Park In-ho, head of the Citizens' Alliance for Pusan Economy.   Those organizations have sent e-mails to some 1,000 people, titled “Let’s love and take care of Renault Samsung Motors.”Renault Samsung is the nation’s fifth largest automaker and has a market share of 5 percent.Its local sales fell by more than 40 percent in 2012 to 59,926 vehicles from 1

Oct 26, 2014By Park Jin-hai

People & Events

'Time to expand civil engineering into space'

Lee Tai-sikBy Park Jin-haiLee Tai-sik, 61, president of the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), is a scientist with many interests.He said that now is the time to expand the territory of civil engineering into space.“When we talk about a space development project, you may well think of rockets or satellite. But, space is another place that human can pioneer and live. Thus, having a technology to build space stations will gain more importance in the future,” Lee said in an interview with The Korea Times.He has been conducting a joint research with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S. He also has been developing space drilling robot and waterless concrete, for seven years.“When I first mentioned the co-project with NASA, people laughed at the idea. But, I made up my mind to study the civil engineering that can work in the most extreme environment _ space. At first it was hard even to get an enough fund from government, but now many people support the study,” he added.The space, with zero gravity an

Oct 23, 2014By Park Jin-hai

'Time to expand civil engineering into space'

Companies

US commerce secretary says TPP is at final stage

By Park Jin-haiPenny PritzkerVisiting US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is in its final stage.During her first visit to Korea since she took office in June last year, Pritzker said that that they are in “eighth or ninth inning of the process.”“There is a real belief that the U.S. and Japan can get over the last remaining issues to weed out. There is a real focus on that effort,” she said, during the press meeting, organized by AMCHAM, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Dongdaemun, Thursday.Korea has worked hard for the last few years to be the FTA hub and expressed interest in joining the TPP. The TPP is a proposed regional free-trade agreement and twelve countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region have participated in negotiations on the TPP including Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Malaysia, Mexico, the United States and Vietnam.“We make a conscious effort to ensure the Korean government officials are aware of the status of what’s happening in the TPP, so that they don’t feel there is something ha

Oct 23, 2014By Park Jin-hai

US commerce secretary says TPP is at final stage

Companies

Lim to head KEPCO KDN

By Park Jin-haiLim Soo-kyungLim Soo-kyung, 42, has been appointed as the new CEO to lead KEPCO’s information and communication affiliate KEPCO KDN, the company announced Wednesday.She is the first female to become CEO of a KEPCO affiliate.“Through the convergence of power, energy and ICT (information and communication technology), I will make a new paradigm and future at KDN,” Lim said in a statement.  A graduate of Korea University, she holds a master’s and doctorate degree in industrial engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.The ICT expert was working as a senior executive at KT’s global and enterprise division prior to her new appointment.Previously, Lim served for the National Information Society Agency, LG CNS and National Tax Agency as a senior official.  Her inauguration ceremony will take place today at its office in Seocho, southern Seoul.

Oct 22, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Mercedes tops survey

By Park Jin-haiMercedes-Benz topped a customer satisfaction survey, according to Marketing Insight.The annual survey by the automotive research firm polled 7,383 drivers who purchased cars less than a year ago and released their satisfaction indices on quality related stress levels and overall brand satisfaction in areas of marketing and after-service Tuesday.In the category of quality stress, Mercedes ranked top with 1.73 cases of stress on average over the period. Volkswagen came second with 2.42 cases, followed by BMW with 2.51 cases. GM, Audi and Renault Samsung all scored higher than average with 2.81, 3.02 and 3.03 cases, respectively.The industrial average was 3.14 cases and Hyundai-Kia Motors and Ssangyong Motor has been below the average, but no further details have been reported.Japanese brands Lexus, Honda and Toyota were among the highest scored brands.By nationality, Japanese cars topped the list with 1.98 cases, followed by Europe with 2.56 and America with 3.15. Korea scored 3.24 cases.“The survey shows that sales and customer satisfaction don’t always go s

Oct 22, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Hyundai Motor launches committee to overhaul wage system

Born to ride, ride to be free

Peugeot launches compact SUV

Hyundai Avante's global sales hit 10 million

Rolls-Royce launches Ghost II

Civic groups campaign for Renault Samsung

'Time to expand civil engineering into space'

US commerce secretary says TPP is at final stage

Lim to head KEPCO KDN

Mercedes tops survey

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