my timesThe Korea Times
jinhai

Park Jin-hai

Korea Times K-Culture Reporter

Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.

Go to Email

Read more

Companies

Hanwha Advanced Materials to relocate to Sejong

By Park Jin-hai Hanwha Advanced Materials, a unit of Hanwha Group, will relocate its headquarters to Sejong City from Seoul.The company has two local factories in Sejong City and Eumseong-gun, North Chungcheong Province, where it produces materials for vehicles and solar panels. “By having our headquarters near factories, we will be able to eliminate the time and physical distances,” said Kim Chang-bum, CEO of Hanwha Advanced Materials. “It will fasten policy making and create synergic effects. We could better cope with the fast changing demands of advanced materials and cut costs.”By moving to a local Chungcheong Province, the home for its parent group, the company aims to revive the regional economy as well, he added.Kim, who has been working there since last month, said that teams responsible for project planning and personnel will move to the city from December.By the time the construction of the four-story headquarters is completed in the latter half of next year, all employees except for automotive and solar material marketing divisions will be relo

Nov 9, 2014By Park Jin-hai
Companies

POSCO E&C turns to Latin America

A Kallpa 830MW combined cycle power plant that POSCO E&C constructed in Peru/ Courtesy of POSCO E&CBy Park Jin-haiPOSCO Engineering and Construction (E&C) says it will continue to expand its operations in Latin America, which it said is the next gold mine for the construction industry.“We have diversified our overseas market from early on. When all our rivals focused solely on the Middle East, we ventured to the then-untapped Latin American market,” said a company spokesman.Since it has established a control tower to oversee its overseas construction projects in December 2006, the company has actively sought business opportunities in Chile, Peru and varying Central American countries.Starting from winning the construction contract for Chile’s Ventanas coal-fired power plants, it has successively bagged the Campiche and Angamous projects in that country.In 2009, it also entered the Peruvian energy market for the first time after it secured coal-fired power plant projects for two consecutive years.The Pohang-based builder has won $4.74 billion worth of dea

Nov 6, 2014By Park Jin-hai
POSCO E&C turns to Latin America
Companies

Peugeot tops in fuel efficiency satisfaction

By Park Jin-haiFrench carmaker Peugeot is the brand that customers are most satisfied with when it comes to fuel efficiency, according to Marketing Insight.The automotive research firm polled 22,819 drivers who purchased vehicles less than three years ago and released its index on brand satisfaction in the area of fuel economy Tuesday.  Peugeot ranked top, scoring 86 points out of 100, followed by Volkswagen with 85.5 points and BMW with 78.8 points.Among local automakers, Renault Samsung and GM Korea shared the honors, scoring 60.7 points.  However, customer satisfaction with fuel efficiency between imported and local brands showed a wide gap.Imported brands had an average of 74.5 points, while local brands scored only 57.2 points on average, below the industry average of 59 points.“Customers have shown a clear difference in satisfaction between foreign cars and local ones. That difference was even wider in the diesel car category,” said a researcher at the firm.“It signifies that if the local diesel cars don’t catch up with the imported cars’

Nov 5, 2014By Park Jin-hai
Companies

Hyundai to pay big fine in US

By Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor and Kia Motors have agreed to pay a combined $300 million in penalties in the United States for overstating gas-mileage figures, the automaker said Tuesday.It is the largest penalty to be slapped on an automaker in U.S. history.“This is the last procedure that closes the 2012 case. Although there have been some discrepancies in interpreting the EPA fuel economy testing’s standards, we chose to end the dispute and focus our corporate potential more on product marketing and technology development,” said a company official.Under the agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Justice Department, the Korean auto group will pay $100 million in civil penalties as well as forfeiting $200 million in greenhouse-gas emission credits.The deal comes on the heels of the firm’s $400 million settlement of a U.S. class-action suit over its mileage claims in December, through which it paid each affected vehicle owners about $353 each.The adjustment affects 1.2 million vehicles, or a quarter of Hyundai-Kia 2011-2013 vehicle

Nov 4, 2014By Park Jin-hai
Companies

GM Korea to compensate for mileage overstatement

Chevrolet CruzeFuel economy of Cruze adjusted downwardBy Park Jin-haiGM Korea, the Korean unit of U.S. auto giant General Motors, lowered its Cruze compact’s promised fuel efficiency and announced it would provide cash compensation to owners.Through its voluntary readjustment announcement released Monday, the company admitted that the previously claimed mileage for the 1.8-liter Chevrolet Cruze, model years 2010-2014, did not comply with the more updated government mileage testing rules.The vehicle has been subject to fuel efficiency testing this year, along with 13 others, by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT).It has downgraded the Cruze sedan’s mileage from 12.4 kilometers per liter of fuel to 11.3, while its hatchback’s mileage was lowered to 11.1 kilometers per liter from 12.4.“Following internal test results, we decided to immediately make the necessary rating changes,” said GM Korea President and CEO Sergio Rocha, offering an apology to all impacted customers.The regulation on automobiles’ fuel efficiency and grade sys

Nov 3, 2014By Park Jin-hai
Companies

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
Born to ride, ride to be free
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
previous page
9394959697
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.