The Korea Times

'Big-three scandal' speeds up Shinhan Bank's transformation

'Big three scandal' speeds up Shinhan Bank’s transformation By Kim Jae-kyoung The year 2010 was a milestone for Shinhan Financial Group, the nation’s third largest financial holding company by assets, as the group entered a new chapter in its history, with an internal feud reshuffling top management and rebuilding its chairmanship structure. The so-called “big-three scandal,” the internal strife caused by the power game among the top three executives, exposed hidden problems associated with top management but the fiasco was also seen as an incident that illustrated the strength of the group’s internal control system and its rich pool of executives. Prior to the mishap, Shinhan was regarded as one of the most competitive and well-established financial services companies here. The only weakness cited by investors was the so-called CEO risks created by twin leadership spearheaded by former Chairman Ra Eung-chan and CEO Shin Sang-hoon. Many then argued that if Ra and Shin leave the group, it could face challenges in leadership. Against this backdrop,

Sep 16, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

G20 to plot response to debt hangover

Trade rebalancing, more capital control tools on agenda of this year’s summit By Cho Jin-seo In November last year, leaders of Group of 20 (G20) countries gathered in Seoul to seek policy cooperation for reducing global imbalances and ensuring sustainable economic growth, a move that was ultimately aimed at preventing another crisis. Nearly one year has passed and the situation seems no better as there are growing fears that another crisis will take place again but this time in a different form ― “a sovereign debt crisis.” With last year’s agreement failing to fix the financial mess in the global economy, the G20 initiative is highly expected to be re-ignited when finance ministers and central bankers meet in Washington on Sept. 23, after months of secret negotiations by national deputies. “Now the vacation months are over, and the G20 season restarts,” said Bahk Jae-wan, the finance minister, when he met reporters on his 100th day in office earlier this month. Bahk and his fellow G20 ministers will explore broad options of coordination ahead of the November Summi

Sep 16, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Greed, fear and crisis

Transparency, strict discipline keys to preventing financial disaster By Kim Jae-kyoung History repeats itself. So do financial crises The 2008-2009 global financial crisis triggered by the U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown was not the first crisis although it was quite severe. Since the Great Depression, many crises have occurred on a regular basis, offering painful lessons to the world. Unfortunately, the lessons have failed to teach much. Only two years after the Wall Street crisis, there are renewed fears that another crisis will take place but this time in a different form a “sovereign debt crisis.” Policymakers and investors cite as key culprits many factors, such as lax monetary policy and excessive deregulation. But they are not sufficient to explain the recurrence of crises. The root cause of every crisis, many argue, is always the twin evils of greed and fear. In the financial market, greed disenables investors from seeing risks, resulting in overconfidence and overtrading. Financial innovation is the epitome of human greed. It made market participants belie

Sep 4, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Shining the light

Economy

Korean firms should embrace mature workforce

By Kim Jae-kyoung South Korea is emerging as one of the fastest-aging societies in the world. Due to a fall in working population there are growing concerns that Korean firms will face big challenges in the near future, ultimately undermining the nation’s economic growth potential. Such concerns seem plausible but one global HR expert points out that the country can turn this challenge into an opportunity if Korean companies develop and improve their human capital management program in a more sophisticated way. In an interview with Business Focus, Cecil Hemingway, a global retirement practice leader for Aon Hewitt, said that an aging population is not necessarily bad news for open economies like Korea. “In an increasingly knowledge based world economy, experience and maturity can be a big plus as long as companies have the flexibility to manage performance and locate labor intensive operations in countries with labor surpluses,” he said. Hemingway, who is a consultant to multinational clients on retirement issues, stressed that in an aging population, the most importan

Sep 2, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

People managment in hard times

How to turn crisis into opporutnity by avoiding restructuring By Simon Ferry So here we are again — with the recent credit downgrade of the U.S. federal government, austerity programs being introduced by many western governments and huge volatility global equity markets, we could well be heading for part two of the 2008 global economic slowdown. So if companies are planning for further hard times ahead, what can be done from a people perspective to help control costs over the coming months? Managing wage increases This is an obvious way to control people costs, but is typically easier said than done. Although salary increases have been generally lower in 2009 and 2010 than historically, rates in 2011 had begun to rise again. Having conversations with employees and unions over granting lower increases again based on longer term financial uncertainties would be hard in the face of recent times. However this short term pain may be necessary to prepare for the times to come. Having clear open communication between companies and employees will be key to a successfu

Sep 2, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Shining the light

AIA Group sees growth opportunity in Korea’s insurance market - Aiming to expand local presence by removing protection gap By Kim Jae-kyoung Over the past few years, Korea’s major life insurance companies, such as Samsung, Daehan and Kyobo, have set their eyes on overseas markets, believing that the domestic market is close to saturation. Even some foreign insurance companies are scaling back their operations here or some of them have even left the country entirely concluding that there is little room for the local market to grow amid the heated completion among local and foreign players. In contrast, in the eyes of Gordon Watson, executive vice president of AIA Group, Korea is a market of opportunity. “Many people think the Korean market is saturated as penetration is high. But I think that the market is still underpenetrated compared to Western markets,” said Watson, who is regional managing director in charge of Korea, Hong Kong, Philippines and Taiwan. “I see more chances particularly in the protection area — life and medical. The focus has been on ret

Sep 2, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Growing together with Apple

_ Reading customers’ minds key to becoming innovative leader By Kim Jae-kyoung For most big Korean companies, the biggest issue now is how to turn into innovative leaders from fast followers. Korea’s global manufacturers such as LG and Samsung are emerging as world-class companies by adopting fast follower strategy over the past decades. However, with Apple becoming one of the world’s most powerful companies with its smart products, local players are feeling the urgency to revamp their strategies toward innovators. Steve Jobs, who suddenly resigned as Apple CEO on Thursday, has become an iconic figure of innovation as his iPhone and iPad products have entirely changed lifestyles in the 21st century. Many business leaders have become enthusiastic about learning about Apple’s success. Particularly, they want to know how Apple instills innovative spirit into their products. Kwon Young-soo, CEO and president of LG Display, the world’s second-biggest manufacturer of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), is one of the few CEOs who have some clues to the secret of the Apple’s succ

Aug 27, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Era of cloud computing

What kind of rules should apply to using and sharing of data? By Accenture These days, it’s all about cloud computing. We hear about cloud computing services for almost everything, everywhere. Global companies like Citigroup, Time Warner and Starbucks have already incorporated the cloud computing system into many usages such as data analysis, process re-engineering and to provide applications for their employees. Furthermore, global IT companies and mobile communication companies including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, Accenture, Fujitsu, China Mobile and SingTel are making the competition tougher everyday by providing new developments of diverse cloud computing services to the cloud market. Indeed, it is of no surprise that corporate managers have their eyes locked on this new appealing IT service. Now, no CEO can overlook the importance of cloud computing. The potential benefits of cloud computing, which include promoting economic growth, creating employment and enabling innovation and collaboration, are quite well known. Furthermore, just the pure numbers behind c

Aug 27, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Cloud services call for bigger accountability

By Robert Kim With ever-growing concerns regarding cloud computing, there is an increased need for collaboration among industry, regulatory bodies and third parties to create and implement more consistent and comprehensive approaches for accountability related to cloud services. Greater clarity on accountability would accelerate the adoption of cloud computing among potential users who are currently reluctant to entrust mission-critical services to cloud services. Users want to know who is accountable if service levels are unsatisfactory, if they are unable to access data they put in the cloud provider or if it is accessed by unauthorized persons or government agencies. Particularly, users want clarity on accountability for service delivery in situations where providers leverage subcontractors, get acquired or go out of business. Efforts to clarify accountability for legal compliance ― such as the development of data privacy and security compliance programs by cloud users or providers ― are hindered by unclear and sometimes inconsistent regulations. It is therefore import

Aug 27, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

GMAT Exercise - 9

CR (Critical Reasoning) Brochure: Help conserve our city’s water supply. By converting the landscaping in your yard to a water-conserving landscape, you can greatly reduce your outdoor water use. A water-conserving landscape is natural and attractive, and it also saves you money. Criticism: For most people with yards, the savings from converting to a water-conserving landscape cannot justify the expense of new landscaping, since typically the conversion would save less than twenty dollars on a homeowner’s yearly water bills. Which of the following, if true, provides the best basis for a rebuttal of the criticism? A. Even homeowners whose yards do not have water-conserving landscapes can conserve water by installing water-saving devices in their homes. B. A conventional landscape generally requires a much greater expenditure on fertilizer and herbicide than does a water-conserving landscape. C. A significant proportion of the residents of the city live in buildings that do not have yards.。 D. It costs no more to put in water-conserving landscaping

Aug 21, 2011By Kim Jae-kyoung

Kim Jae-kyoung

Read more

'Big-three scandal' speeds up Shinhan Bank's transformation

G20 to plot response to debt hangover

Greed, fear and crisis

Korean firms should embrace mature workforce

People managment in hard times

Shining the light

Growing together with Apple

Era of cloud computing

Cloud services call for bigger accountability

GMAT Exercise - 9

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