The Korea Times

Seoul City Hall to crack down on Uber's new service

By Park Jin-haiThe government Friday told the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) to crack down on Uber’s latest service.The order comes at a time when the app firm is under scrutiny from prosecutors.In response, Uber said that UberX, the service in question, is being run as a pilot program with no transactions being made, meaning that technically no law has been broken.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, however, claims that the service violates the nation’s Passenger Transport Services Act.“The service solicits rides and receives payment through the use of a private or rented car, so it is not legal,” the ministry said.The existing Uber Black service hires professional drivers, while UberX can potentially enable anybody to provide taxi services.“UberX drivers give call-taxi-like services. We also feel that Uber breaks the law since it works as mediator for the illegal act,” said a ministry official said.Article 81 of the Passenger Transport Services Act stipulates that people who provide a ride with their private or rented cars, a

Aug 29, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Seoul City Hall to crack down on Uber's new service

People & Events

'Underwater cables can prevent tragic accidents'

Choi Bok-kyoungBy Park Jin-haiChoi Bok-kyoung, 50, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), who recently test-ran underwater cable off Ulleung Island, says underwater cables can prevent tragic accidents like the Sewol ferry sinking.“If one studies ultrasonic sounds through the underwater cable, he can learn virtually all the things happening in the ocean,” he said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.Currently used are sensors, dropped from connected buoys, which detect underwater activities. “But, those sensors are prone to damages from the outside, such as passing vessels, currents or hail,” he said.On the contrary, underwater cables, once installed, are virtually unaffected by outside conditions, providing lots of critical information.“If we had those cables at the time of Sewol ferry sinking, we wouldn’t have had a hard time tracking the location of the vessel which moved according to the currents,” he added.Choi, who has a doctorate in physical acoustics at Sungkyunkwan University, is an underwat

Aug 28, 2014By Park Jin-hai

'Underwater cables can prevent tragic accidents'

Companies

POSCO backs clients with 'solution marketing'

The heated slab rolls out of a furnace at POSCO’s No. 4 hot strip mill that will open in October in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province. / Courtesy of POSCOBy Park Jin-haiPOSCO is putting top priority on providing comprehensive support to its clients as a means of continuing to achieve success in the current adverse global market environment along with its partners.Under the leadership of POSCO Chairman Kwon Oh-joon, the nation’s largest steelmaker is making greater efforts to identify the needs of customers and sell customized steel products.Kwon has emphasized the importance of “solution marketing,” which refers to a strategy to provide solutions to problems facing its clients.Solution marketing is about going further and doing everything that increases customers’ competitiveness by providing technology, marketing support and solutions all at once.“Like IBM, that hired software into the hardware and successfully turned into an integrated solution provider, we need to go one step further and create more values for our customers,” Kwon

Aug 28, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyundai Mobis' CSR centers on children

Students at an elementary school participate in a science class.By Park Jin-haiStudents at an elementary school blow hard into a model windmill.When the spinning wheel rights up LED lamp connected to it, they let out small scream of joy. Through the experiments, they learn how electricity is generated from wind.  Hyundai Mobis, the parts manufacturing unit of Hyundai Motor, has chosen “Junior Engineering Class” as its core corporate social responsibility activities, kindling children’s interest in science across the nation.Since the company first started out the class at an elementary school in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, where its research center is located, it has expanded to all near schools where the company’s office is.“It was first started out to foster the science gifted. But, now it serves as a program to enforce the connection between the company and the local society. In the long run, it also has an effect of changing the current trend phenomenon where young students take science as their career,” said an official of the company.For t

Aug 27, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyosung aims to be IT based energy solution company

Hyosung Group President Cho Hyun-jun, right, talks about a power transmission system using big data with an official of French utility company Alstom, at Conseil International des Grands Reseaux Elecrtiques(GIGRE), in Paris, France, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Hyosung GroupBy Park Jin-haiHyosung Group President Cho Hyun-jun came on the fore, marketing its IT-based energy solution at a global energy fair in France.Cho is on a five-day visit to the Conseil International des Grands Reseaux Elecrtiques(GIGRE) that opened on Aug 25.“Hyosung has earned global recognition in electricity and Internet of Things (IoT) areas. By converging the two, we have improved energy efficiency and reliability of smart grids,” he said.He made the remarks when he met Frederic Salon, regional commercial vice president East Asia Pacific at Alstom, and an executive of  Algeri’s state-run utility firm Sonelgazduring the conference.“By utilizing big data, we aim to be a global-leading energy solution provider in the power transmission and distribution sector,” he added.  Hyosun

Aug 27, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Ssangyong Motor sets example for workplace harmony

Employees report for work at Ssangyong Motor’s Pyeongtaek plant,in Gyeonggi Province. The union and management have maintained a cooperative relationship, helping the company post stronger sales this year./ Courtesy of Ssangyong MotorRebound gains momentum on cooperative relationship between company, workersBy Park Jin-haiPYEONGTAEK, Gyeonggi Province ― An Du-hean, who has worked on an assembly line in Ssangyong Motor's plant here for 16 years, says that he learned more about the importance of his job and family the hard way."when unionists waged a 77-day strike in 2009, I doubted that I might lose my job," he said. "Only after the company was put into court receivership and made massive layoffs, did I learn the painful lesson that I can only make a living when the company is in good shape."Hyundai Motor and Renault Samsung Motors' unions have long locked horns with management over wages and other labor issues, but Ssangyong Motor's labor-management relationship is quite different.The union says its primary interest is to ensure the production of top-quality vehicles,

Aug 27, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Ssangyong Motor sets example for workplace harmony

Companies

Diesels lead Busan Motor Show

GM Korea CEO Sergio Rocha stands beside the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Concept, which was featured as the character Bumblebee in the upcoming Hollywood movie Transformers 4, at the Busan International Motor Show, Thursday. / Courtesy of GM KoreaBy Park Jin-haiThe 2014 Busan International Motor Show (BIMOS 2014) kicked off its 11-day run Thursday, showcasing a record number of new production and concept cars.The seventh biennial motor show, under the theme “Ocean of Vehicles, Feeding the World,” will showcase a record 211 cars from 22 manufacturers at the newly furbished BEXCO venue until June 8. Instant eye-catchers are various concept cars such as the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro, which “plays” the role of Bumblebee in the upcoming Hollywood movie “Transformers 4: Age of Extinction.”Based on demand from the domestic auto market, this year’s motor show can be summed up as a passion for “diesel” and “fuel economy.”Two cars were unveiled to the public for the first time globally, while five had their Asian premieres and 20 their deb

May 29, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

POSCO E&C uses Vietnam as springboard for its Southeast Asian business

POSCO E&C’s Hanoi construction master plan will develop and expand the boundaries of the overpopulated capital by 2050. / Courtesy of POSCO E&CBy Park Jin-haiHwang Tae-hyunCEO of POSCO E&C.POSCO E&C, an affiliate of the country’s No. 1 steel maker POSCO, which specializes in plant building and urban development, has marked two decades of business in Vietnam. The construction firm has built two landmark structures there since 1995  the Diamond Plaza complex, its first luxury shopping center in Ho Chi Minh city, and the Poslilama Steel Plant in Long Than, 60 kilometers from the capital. “Over the last five years, Vietnam has emerged as one of the most attractive destinations in Southeast Asia. The country was bustling with fresh construction projects in the civil sector, infrastructure, roads and bridges, urban development, and industry and energy,” said a spokesman for the company.As the builder of POSCO steel plants, with accumulated expertise and experience, it has clinched successive construction contracts in the Southeast Asian cou

May 28, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Daewoo Shipbuilding, SKT agree to develop 'smart ship'

Eom Hang-seop, left, managing director of Strategic Planning at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, poses with Lee Myung-geun, head of SK Telecom’s corporate business division, at SK Telecom’s headquarters in Euljiro, Seoul, Tuesday, after signing a memorandum of understanding to build ‘smart ships.’ / Courtesy of Daewoo ShipbuildingBy Park Jin-haiDaewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), the world’s second-largest shipbuilder, and Korea’s top mobile carrier, SK Telecom (SKT), have teamed up to develop ICT-based “smart ships.”In a statement Tuesday, SKT said it signed a memorandum of understanding with DSME to cooperate in a research and development (R&D) venture to build the high-tech, next-generation ships. The vessel will be equipped with a global telecommunication network based on navigation and monitoring systems, while all the on-board services will be converged onto a single network. Under the alliance, SKT will provide ICT guidelines, optimized blueprints and R&D resources, while DSME will share the

May 28, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

GM Korea needs segment upgrade

By Park Jin-haiGM Korea may use the ongoing recall crisis hitting its parent firm to reposition itself for better profits, an analyst said Tuesday.“It would be a make-or-break moment for GM Korea. The Korean plant, which mainly manufactures small cars like the Chevrolet Aveo, should upgrade the segment to Impala-level,” said Shin Chung-kwan, equity analyst for automotive industries at KB Investment & Securities.He reasons that increasing labor costs make the Korean plant less attractive than its Chinese or Thailand rivals in the small-car segment.Currently the U.S. automaker is in the process of overhauling the company from top down and expanding safety-related staff.But upgrading the segment will not be easy for GM Korea.“The same thing happened to Hyundai Motor, which over time shifted its focus from the Accent to Genesis. Unlike its rival, however, GM Korea doesn’t have that flexibility, as it doesn’t have the authority to make those kinds of decisions on its own,” he added.The bright side of GM’s Korean affiliate is that its productio

May 28, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Seoul City Hall to crack down on Uber's new service

'Underwater cables can prevent tragic accidents'

POSCO backs clients with 'solution marketing'

Hyundai Mobis' CSR centers on children

Hyosung aims to be IT based energy solution company

Ssangyong Motor sets example for workplace harmony

Diesels lead Busan Motor Show

POSCO E&C uses Vietnam as springboard for its Southeast Asian business

Daewoo Shipbuilding, SKT agree to develop 'smart ship'

GM Korea needs segment upgrade

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