The Korea Times

Foreign sailors shun Korean fishing vessels

By Park Jin-haiKorean fishing vessels are finding hard time in drawing Southeast Asian sailors because of their notoriety for severe human rights violations, diplomatic sources said Thursday.“Korea has emerged as one of the most shunned designations,” one diplomat said on condition of anonymity.He said that the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative (NFFC), Korea’s fishing industry lobby that also serves as to import foreign manpower, is now virtually “begging source countries to send more sailors.” Concerns over working conditions have been rampant since 2011, when a group of Indonesian sailors walked off the Sajo Oyang 75, a Korean-flagged vessel fishing in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone.Southeast Asians make up 30 percent of crews on boats, while more than 70 percent of crew on Korean trawlers in international waters are foreigners, according to the fisheries ministry data.Another diplomat said that while abuses occur near Korea, the greater concern are the vessels that fish in international waters, where monitoring is more dif

Sep 25, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Foreign sailors shun Korean fishing vessels

People & Events

Bentley designer stress global tastes

Lee Sang-yup, Bentley Motors’ head of exterior and advanced designBy Park Jin-haiLee Sang-yup, Bentley Motors’ head of exterior and advanced design, says a designer is like a good chef.“A great chef, before he cooks, figures out all the ingredients and their characteristics as well as the tastes of the diners,” he said during an interview held Thursday on the sidelines of the British luxury brand’s launch event for the Flying Spur V8 at the Banyan Tree Club and Spa in central Seoul. “A good designer, too, should study the market for every kind of car that he is designing.”For instance, the Continental GT’s sales are strong across the globe, he says. This means it is necessary to reflect global tastes as well as tradition.“So its body is lower and wider than a conventional Bentley’s,” he explains. “Bentley’s flagship sedan Mulsanne, however, is stricter on British style.”       Lee, better known as the man who designed the yellow Autobot Bumblebee ― a Chevrolet C

Sep 22, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyosung to financially support affiliates

Ro Jae-bong, right, executive vice president of Hyosung, and Chang Man-ik, executive director of Eximbank’s future industry finance department, pose after they signed a memorandum of understanding at the chemical company’s headquarters in Gongdeok, central Seoul, Monday, to provide low interest loans to Hyosung’s smaller business partners. / Courtesy of HyosungBy Park Jin-haiHyosung signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Eximbank, Monday, to provide financial support for the chemical company’s smaller business partners and subcontractors.The agreement calls for Hyosung and Eximbank to cooperate on financial programs in order to make it easier for Hyosung’s smaller business partners operating overseas to receive financial support.“We share the view that gathering the potential of a conglomerate and its smaller business partners as entities in the same boat is incremental to surviving harsh global competition,” said Ro Jae-bong, executive vice president of Hyosung. Under the agreement, Hyosung will help the firms obtain loans at in

Sep 22, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Taxies on road toward diversification

Taxi drivers ride in Renault Samsung Motors’ SM3 Z.E. electric taxies that the automaker provided to Seoul Metropolitan City for a test drive at Seoul Square, in central Seoul, Aug. 29. Starting this month and through April, the 10 electric taxies will run on the streets of the capital city. / YonhapFrom hybrid to diesel-powered, differnt types of cabs to hit the roadBy Park Jin-haiKang In-gi, a veteran taxi driver of 42 years, looks at a Toyota hybrid taxi Prius showcased on the first floor of the Seoul Transportation Center.“I’ve been mostly driving Hyundai cars, but now I’m considering buying a Prius,” he said.For the first time since Toyota launched its hybrid taxi model last month, more drivers have started to consider other options in the monotonous Hyundai-Kia Motors dominant taxi market.Another driver, Lim Heung-bin, said that if the Prius had no problems with after-sales service, he would be more than willing to make the switch.Following the Japanese carmaker’s lead, imported automakers also are considering entering the local taxi bus

Sep 19, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyundai Shaking off bid shock

By Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor’s surprisingly bigger-than-expected bid for Korea Electric Power Corp.’s land in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, is expected to have only a minor impact on its share prices, analysts said Friday.Hyundai Motor extended its fall for the second straight day, closing down 1.52 percent or 3,000 won, at 195,000. Its affiliate Kia Motors closed with a 0.92 percent increase, or 500 won, at 54,900 won. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed with a 0.30 percent increase or 6.08 points at 2,053.82.Most analysts said the market had already factored in the financial risk involving the bid to buy the state-run power company’s land.Hyundai Motor Group offered 10.6 trillion for the property in an apparent attempt to beat the Samsung Group. Given that the market value is in the range of 4.5-6.5 trillion won, the offer is three times the market value.Hyundai Motor stock fell 9.17 percent the previous day, hit by the news that its offer was far higher than the market expected and would add to its financial burden. The stock atte

Sep 19, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Bentley launches more affordable luxury sedan

Models pose next to the new Bentley Flying Spur V8 during a launch event at Banyan Tree in central Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Bentley MotorsBy Park Jin-hai“For Flying Spur model, Bentley Korea is the top selling dealer in the worldwide,” said Tim Mackinlay, Asia Pacific regional director at Bentley Motors.This year has been exceptionally good year for Bentley Korea as the company has sold 198 Bentleys, a 133 percent increase year-on-year, during the first eight months, he said.“This year with the launch of this new model, we hope to increase the sales to 290 units,” he added at the launching event for its luxury sedan Flying Spur V8 at Banyan Tree in Seoul, Thursday.The British luxury sedan is covered in silver and has a sculpted exterior. That what makes Bentley a Bentley: being “beautiful, exclusive and precise,” according to its chief designer Lee Sang-yup.The four-door sedan shares the same 4-liter V8 engine the Bentley Continental GT V8.Its twin-turbo engine delivers 507 horsepower and takes only 5.2 seconds to accelerate the Flying Spur V

Sep 18, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Kia Motors to develop second smartwatch

By Park Jin-haiKia Motors’ smartwatchKia Motors plans to develop a watch that can remotely open a car’s doors, start the engine and also switch on the air conditioning.The wristwatch is an upgraded version of the K3 Watch the company unveiled earlier this month in its promotion of K3 sedans, marking the second anniversary of its launch.  “Customer response to the watch was better than we expected. Now we are preparing to develop the next K3 Watch,” said a company official.With the watch, Kia became the first local automaker to roll out such a device.The company expects to receive about 1,500 orders from customers who purchase K3 sedans this month.As of Tuesday, 1,020 customers ordered the watches.The company initially expected that about 30 percent of the total offered would be sold to customers.Kia officials said that developing remote control watches for cars was not particularity challenging, since currently mobile applications can also start ignitions.For instance, Hyundai and Kia use telematics services or wireless Internet for vehicles, called Blue

Sep 17, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

LG Chem, Samsung SDI expected to pick up steam

By Park Jin-haiShare prices of LG Chem and Samsung SDI, two major vehicle battery suppliers, closed sharply higher Wednesday on expectations that they will provide more batteries to Nissan and other global automakers, according to analysts.LG Chem closed up 2.81 percent, or 7,500 won, at 274,000 won. Samsung SDI ended up 3.42 percent, or 5,000 won, at 151,000 won. The KOSPI closed up 0.96 percent, or 19.69 points, at 2,062.61.Their gains were boosted by the reports that Renault Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn said that the Japanese automaker is considering purchasing LG Chem’s batteries for Nissan’s future electric vehicles (EV).The firm already closed a deal to jointly develop next generation EV batteries with Renault in May.LG Chem supplies its car batteries to more than 20 global carmakers including Audi, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.  Ghosn was quoted as saying Nissan is preparing to cut in-house battery manufacturing and follow Renault in buying cheaper batteries from LG Chem for future vehicles, including models made in China.Samsung SDI shares were booste

Sep 17, 2014By Park Jin-hai

LG Chem, Samsung SDI expected to pick up steam

Companies

Halla Visteon opens fourth Mexican plant

By Park Jin-haiHalla Visteon Climate Control (HVCC), a leading auto parts manufacturer, started its production on its fourth Mexican plant.The new facility aims to support its growing business with global vehicle manufacturers in the region, announced the company on Monday.The new plant in Queretaro, in central Mexico will manufacture automotive heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units for automakers.“With the strategic location of the new plant, we will be able to supply parts more expediently as well as fully supporting our customers in the region,” said Park Yong-hwan, HVCC president.  Initially, it will have the capacity to produce 260,000 the HVAC system modules annually, but plants to expand it to more than 500,000 units a year.HVCC currently has three wholly owned manufacturing operations in Ciudad Juarez, located in northern Mexico, supplying parts to Ford and Nissan.Shin Chung-kwan, an analyst at KB Investment and Securities, said that its plant is expected to supply parts to Kia Motors, which will build a $1 billion production plant in Mexico

Sep 16, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Second sales boom for Compact SUVs

By Park Jin-haiCar dealers are enjoying another boom in sales of sports utility vehicles, similar to a peak of transactions seen in 2004.In the first eight months of this year, SUV sales by the country's five carmakers ― including Hyundai Motor, GM Korea and Renault Samsung Motors ― hit 213,144, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (KAMA). This accounts for 27 percent of all vehicle sales in the period.“That means nearly one out of three cars sold to customers turns out to be an SUV. At this pace, we might see their sales passing the 300,000 mark, or taking up 30 percent of all new car sales this year,” a KAMA official said.The total is larger than the market share of 17.9 percent reached by midsize sedans, and 15.7 percent by compacts in the same period.SUVs’ sales peaked in 2004, when they accounted for 30.6 percent of all cars sold in the country, but lost ground in subsequent years.“What is different this time is that the small-size SUVs are leading the sales, as did the classic SUVs like the Hyundai Motor Sorento, L

Sep 15, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Foreign sailors shun Korean fishing vessels

Bentley designer stress global tastes

Hyosung to financially support affiliates

Taxies on road toward diversification

Hyundai Shaking off bid shock

Bentley launches more affordable luxury sedan

Kia Motors to develop second smartwatch

LG Chem, Samsung SDI expected to pick up steam

Halla Visteon opens fourth Mexican plant

Second sales boom for Compact SUVs

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