The Korea Times

New FSC chief vows 'level playing field'

Shin Je-yoon, the nominee to head the Financial Services Commission, talks to reporters at the Banker’s Club in downtown Seoul, Saturday. / YonhapShin has no plans to ease rules on DTI, LTVBy Kim Jae-kyoungThe nominee to become the nation’s top financial regulator said Sunday he would seek to create a “level playing field” between domestic and foreign capital.“We live in a global era. My regulatory principle toward foreign capital or financial firms is equal treatment regardless of where they are from,” Shin Je-yoon, the nominee to become chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said in a phone interview Sunday.“Both domestic and foreign capital will have to compete under a fair regulatory environment.”The remark came a day after President Park Geun-hye nominated the first vice finance minister as the FSC’s new head, Saturday. His nomination needs to be confirmed by the National Assembly, after which he would replace Kim Seok-dong, who resigned a week ago.Given Shin’s rich experience and extensive networks in the

Mar 3, 2013By Kim Jae-kyoung

Companies

`Globalize talent, update ownership'

McKinsey’s Barton gives advice to Korea Inc.Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey & CompanyBy Kim Jae-kyoungA noted consultant has suggested that major Korean companies globalize their workforce and overhaul their leadership structure to become truly global players.He pointed out that some Korean companies are emerging as such by capitalizing on opportunities created by the ongoing economic crisis, but they aren’t yet truly global in the area of talent management and leadership.In an exclusive interview with The Korea Times at the Westin Chosun on Oct. 25, Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey & Company, said the most urgent task for Korea is to foster global leaders, regardless of nationality, to move themselves to the next level.“Some iconic global companies, such as Johnson & Johnson and Ford, are truly global in every dimension. The most important criteria is talent,” he said.“Korea Inc. still has a glass ceiling. If you are not Korean, at some level, you are not going to rise up. Japan is the most extreme at that. Ko

Oct 30, 2012By Kim Jae-kyoung

What happens next?

Companies

What happens next?

Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey & CompanyAgility, resilience, long-term capitalism will shape the coming decadeBy Kim Jae-kyoungWith just over a month to go before the presidential elections, Korean voters and the presidential candidates are busy talking about how Korea Inc. should change under the new administration. They discuss many pending issues, such as democratization of the economy, job creation and so on.The problem is that the elections and worsening economic situations have made the scope of the discussions somewhat shortsighted. Given that the global crisis has blurred barriers between countries and there has been accelerating global rebalancing, the ongoing talksseem too focused on domestic concerns.The strength of the latest economic indicators matters. But since Korea’s role and influence has been growing following the crisis, what matters more for the future of Asia’s fourth largest economy are the long-term implications of an ongoing shift in global economic power.Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey & Company, said that the

Oct 30, 2012By Kim Jae-kyoung

`Globalize talent, update ownership'

Companies

Pension fund sees crisis as opportunity

By Kim Jae-kyoung Now is the time to look beyond the crisis and try to find a new opportunity the head of the nation’s pension fund has said, by effectively managing the economic turmoil. At a speech to mark the opening of its office in London on June 21, National Pension Service (NPS) Chairman Jun Kwang- Woo called for global financial leaders to focus on addressing challenges. He said, “It (the ongoing crisis) is serious but not hopeless.” “During an opening ceremony attended by many global leaders, everyone discussed how serious the ongoing crisis was and how long it would last. They expressed concerns but few people raised a question on how to address it,” Jun told The Korea Times at a recent meeting. Among participants at the ceremony were former British Prime Minister John Major, HSBC Chairman Douglas Flint, Carlyle Group Chairman David Rubenstein, Societe Generale Chairman Didier Valet and Barclays Chairman Marcus Agius. “What is really important is not the challenge itself but how to address it,” he added. He believes that a mishandled opportunity can turn into

Jul 1, 2012By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Biz applications power enterprises

Firms advised to reinvent their IT function through outsourcing By Accenture A company’s business applications are the energy that powers the entire enterprise. Connecting all of its people, locations, customers and partners, housing its critical data and information, and enabling its essential business transactions and analyses, applications are the driving force behind the business. As one of the biggest line items in the IT budget, application development and maintenance has also been a central focus in the ongoing effort to drive cost out of an organization. Always under intense financial pressures, business executives have turned in recent years to offshoring their IT work in search of immediate relief. Labor arbitrage advantages delivered rapid results, to the accolades of shareholders and chief financial officers alike. Today, however, as those same executives survey their far-flung IT operations, the question weighing on their minds is: “Now what?” Accenture’s most recent High-Performance IT Research has found that pressures on the IT function, beyond cost

Apr 16, 2012By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Eight practices for high-performance business process outsourcing

By Han Chul Now beginning its third decade of existence, business process outsourcing (BPO) has become an accepted management practice across most companies and industries. At the same time, it is becoming a more complex endeavor, going deeper into the value chains of companies. That means the bar is being raised in terms of what companies are expecting from their BPO providers. Accenture’s recent study found that the full business value from BPO is being realized on a relatively limited scale due to antiquated behaviors and practices. The majority, about 60 percent, are trapped in an outdated mindset that views BPO primarily as a tactical cost-reduction tool. Just 20 percent of those surveyed are classified as high performers and are fully capturing business value from their relationships. These organizations are the practitioners of high performance BPO and they demonstrate best-in-class behaviors and practices across eight areas: • Taking a holistic approach to managing the scope of the BPO relationship. High performers consider the entire, end-to-end

Apr 15, 2012By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Case study: How to get high performance

How we get the high-performance through business process outsourcing? A company is a leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital consulting. With more than 30,000 employees worldwide, the company readily delivers distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions. Its annual revenues exceeded $11.29 billion in 2011. There are two business challenges for this outsourcing program. First, this global insurance brokerage had grown through acquisitions over the company’s first 20 years, but did little to push systems or process integration and so was having difficulty extracting economies of scale from its collective IT infrastructure. When synergies failed to materialize after a series of large acquisitions, the firm’s share price began to drop. Second, a new CEO decided that the company needed to reduce its IT budget by 40 to 50 percent ― without sacrificing its competitive position or its efforts to achieve high performance. The company decided to team with Accen

Apr 15, 2012By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Older Koreans value cyber space the most

By the Boston Consulting Group The South Korean Internet economy contributed 86 trillion won to the overall economy in 2010, representing 7.3 percent of the GDP, and is projected to rise to 132 trillion won by 2016, according to a new report of The Boston Consulting Group titled “The $4.2 Trillion Opportunity: The Internet Economy in the G-20.” The report found that by 2016 the total size of the G-20 Internet economy will be $4.2 trillion, equivalent to 5.3 percent of the GDP, up from $2.3 trillion or 4.1 percent in 2010. It also found that if the Internet were a sector, it would be the fifth largest in South Korea ― larger than finance, construction and agriculture. South Korea's Internet economy growth rate of 7.4 percent compares favorably to other developed nations in the G-20 which are growing at an average of 8.1 percent. Projected growth rates elsewhere are 10.9 percent in the U.K., 7.8 percent in Germany, 6.5 percent in the U.S. and 17.4 percent in China. In 2016, South Korea will remain in the number two position and its Internet economy contribution to the GDP w

Apr 8, 2012By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Internet economy

Small and medium enterprises should embrace Internet By Ethan Choi The impact of the Internet on the Korean economy is large and growing rapidly. The country's Internet economy in 2010 was valued at an estimated $75 billion, equivalent to 7.3 percent of GDP and its contribution in 2016 is projected to grow to 8 percent. Definitely, the Internet will become an even greater pillar, driving the country's growth and innovation. Moreover, 22 percent of Korean children aged five and under are Internet users. This is the highest percentage globally. Therefore, Korean companies should make more efforts to gain a deeper insight into consumers' and companies' online behavior before it is too late. Especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) need to build an "Internet advantage.” For SMEs often considered to be the "the growth engine of most economies,” the impact of the Internet will be huge. Companies that use the Internet are also deriving benefits in the form of revenue growth, job creation and contributions to economic prosperity. Over the last 18 months, BCG has surveyed wo

Apr 8, 2012By Kim Jae-kyoung

Economy

Game changer

M&As will pave the way for Korean firms to become truly global players By Kim Jae-kyoung Major Korean companies, such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, are emerging as true export giants following the global financial crisis. They are now rolling up their sleeves to speed up globalization to become a true global player. If you look into their revenue structure and overseas operations, they are already global players. However, few people believe that they are global ones because if you look at their leadership and corporate culture, they are truly Korean. This is not a typical case only for Korean players. Many big firms abroad call themselves global companies, but when you look at their leadership, it’s either only German or Japanese or American. This has a very important implication for Korean firms as they have to overcome this challenge to move to the next stage ― a true global player. In other words, leading Korean manufacturers have succeeded in internationalizing organizations but they are only at the very beginning of true globalization. “True globali

Apr 8, 2012By Kim Jae-kyoung

Kim Jae-kyoung

Read more

New FSC chief vows 'level playing field'

`Globalize talent, update ownership'

What happens next?

Pension fund sees crisis as opportunity

Biz applications power enterprises

Eight practices for high-performance business process outsourcing

Case study: How to get high performance

Older Koreans value cyber space the most

Internet economy

Game changer

Top 5 stories