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Kang Seung-woo

Korea Times Business Reporter

Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.

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Sports

Change pays dividends in Daegu

By Kang Seung-woo Lesser-known U.S. middle-distance runner Jennifer Barringer Simpson’s record in the women’s 1,500 meters is the slowest winning time in track and field world championships history. However, the tally did not taint her glory at all, given that the 25-year-old Iowa native has recently converted from the 3,000-meter steeplechase to the half-distance race. The 13th World Championships in Athletics in Daegu has seen several converts, like Jennifer Barringer Simpson, outshining those who have focused on just one event. Simpson represented her country in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and finished fifth in the event at the Berlin worlds in 2009 after running an American record and a personal-best 9 minutes 12.50 seconds. Despite a burgeoning career in the steeplechase, her coach Juli Benson persuaded her to step down to 1,500 meters in a belief that she can be more competitive in the shorter race, which eventually paid off. Simpson, who was not seen as a contender before the final Thursday due to her poor season best

Sep 2, 2011By Kang Seung-woo
Sports

Jeter, Felix to square off in women’s 200m final

By Kang Seung-woo U.S. sprinters Carmelita Jeter and Allyson Felix head into the women’s 200 meters final Friday as favorites. Jeter, an unlikely winner in the 100, will try to again triumph in the longer event. Felix saw her ambitious dream of a double gold dashed in the 400 meters, looks to maintain her dominance in the 200. Jeter, a 31-year-old California native ran a personal best and this year’s second-fastest time of 22.20 seconds, in Monaco in July, placing herself in contention for the gold. Jeter’s victory over Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown in Monday’s 100 meters final is expected to boost her confidence ahead of Friday’s race. “All the pressure is pretty much over,” the American told the AP. For Felix, the 200 meters has been her signature event at the biennial world championships. Since the Helsinki worlds in 2005, the 25-year-old Californian has marked a three-peat in the 200, along with silver medals at the last two Olympics. However, Felix, whose personal best is 21.81 seconds set in 2007, has struggled to find her rhythm this season.

Sep 1, 2011By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

Upsets and upprodctivity vexing worlds

By Kang Seung-woo A string of upsets and no world record have made the headlines at the 13th World Championships in Athletics in Daegu. Midway through the biennial competition, favored high-profile athletes have flopped, while the event has seen just one tied championship record. The unexpected results started on the first day in the men’s pole vault. Australian pole vaulter Steve Hooker, the reigning Olympic and world champion, showed he had not fully recovered from a nagging knee injury, bowing out of the championships early in the competition. “I had no confidence in what I was doing out there,” said Hooker, who failed to clear a height of 5.50 meters in the qualifying round. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, hailed as the biggest draw in the championships, followed suit in the most-hyped event, the men’s 100 meters on Sunday. Bolt, who appeared to be in a league of his own en route to the final, was eliminated because of a false start, sending athletics circles into shock. Afterwards, the newly-introduced rule on false start that disqualifies any athlete who jump

Aug 31, 2011By Kang Seung-woo
Sports

Isinbayeva crashes out, finishes sixth

By Kang Seung-woo She was supposed to soar. But Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia on Tuesday crashed back to earth on her last attempt in the women’s pole vault final to finish sixth at the World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, Tuesday The 29-year-old two-time world champion finished the competition clearing just 4.65 meters. She was sent packing while five others were still competing. Instead Brazilian Fabiana Murer vaulted 4.85 meters for the gold medal. “I’m disappointed but I’m now focusing on next year’s Olympic Games,” said the two-time Olympic and double world champion. “The pole was really soft. You saw how high I went for again. It was just a mistake. “I’m trying to forget everything that happened here today and I’ll go to London with everything in my memory deleted.” Germany’s Martina Strutz and Russia’s Svetlana Feofanova rounded out the podium places after clearing 4.80 meters and 4.75 meters, respectively. Since the beginning of the 13th World Championships, the failure of favored athletes has been a daily occurrence, with Usain Bolt of Jamaica and

Aug 30, 2011By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

Fans question one false start rule

By Kang Seung-woo Following Usain Bolt’s bitterly disappointing disqualification at the World Championships in Athletics in Daegu Sunday, the world’s governing body of athletics’ tightened new rule on those who jump the gun is again a hot issue. In August 2009, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) came up with a new regulation stipulating that any athlete who commits a false start is immediately disqualified. The rule took effect Jan. 1, 2010. However, local fans who anticipated seeing the world’s fastest man competing here, complain that the rule blocks them from enjoying races. “It is ridiculous to exclude a competitive athlete from a race for just one mistake,” said Park Hyun-wook, who resides in Daegu and plans to visit Daegu Stadium to watch the championships. “I think that there should be one more chance at least. On the blocks, anyone can get nervous.” Bolt, the reigning Olympic and world champion, was eliminated from the final of the men’s 100 meters after moving too soon. Until the 2009 world championships in Berlin, a runner was

Aug 28, 2011By Kang Seung-woo
Sports

’Big 3’ set for 110m hurdles showdown tonight

The men’s 110-meter hurdles is expected to be the most anticipated and competitive race at the World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, featuring the three fastest hurdlers in history. Dayron Robles of Cuba has the world record, while China’s Liu Xiang, the former record holder, is a former Olympic and world champion. U.S. sprinter David Oliver, the oldest yet an emerging star, has the season’s best time. Although it’s forecast for one of them to clear the hurdles to take a gold medal, it is not clear which one will stand atop the podium. The three participated in the 2007 world championships in Osaka, Japan, but Liu won the title, while Robles had to settle for fourth. Oliver failed to qualify for the final. The Cuban sprinter, who set the all-time fastest record of 12.87 seconds in 2008, is confident of adding a world title to his resume that already includes a gold medal in Beijing. “I am better than in the last world championships,” he said at a press conference here on Friday. He failed to make the final at the Berlin worlds two years ago. “I expect a very good com

Aug 28, 2011By Kang Seung-woo
Sports

Star athletes looking for career renaissance

By Kang Seung-woo When China’s star hurdler Liu Xiang arrived in Daegu Thursday for the 2011 Daegu World Athletics Championships, the determined-looking runner left the airport without taking any questions from a large media horde, a telling sign that his focus is on resurrecting his career. Some of the top-tier athletes will not be competing in the world track and field meet in the southern Korean city. But like Liu, Daegu is now home to several athletes, who saw once flourishing resumes suddenly fade through injury, slump or scandal, with hopes to make the world championships the stepping stone for a career revival. The 28-year-old Shanghai native burst onto the

Aug 26, 2011By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

POSCO develops UV-coated steel

The left side of the steel plate shows a crisper reflection of a flower on POSCO's newly-developed POSCOTEUV in contrast to the right side which is part of a product already in market. / Courtesy of POSCOBy Kang Seung-woo POSCO has begun mass production of ultraviolet-coated steel after being the first in the world to develop it, the company said Wednesday. The newly devised steel is coated with special chemicals and then exposed to ultraviolet radiation in a process that hardens the steel. The world’s No. 3 steelmaker said that the steel, which is much stronger than others in terms of surface hardness, is less vulnerable to scratches and boasts remarkable gloss. Until recently the ultraviolet coating technology, which is used for high-end furniture, semiconductors and cell phones, has not been applied to steel due to its low process ability. POSCO, headed by Chairman Chung Joon-yang, started studying the technology for use by the steel industry in 2008. The Pohang-based company has named the landmark steel “POSCOTE-UV,” POSCO Smart Coating Technology-Ultravio

Aug 24, 2011By Kang Seung-woo
Opinion

Deutsche Bank should comply or leave game

By Kang Seung-woo Deutsche Bank is not cooperating with Korean prosecutors in their investigation into a stock-market manipulation that took place Nov. 11 last year. In response, the prosecutors have indicted four employees of Deutsche Bank’s branch in Hong Kong without physical detention, having confiscated 44.87 billion in illegal profits. The four repeatedly refused to comply with the summons. Now, with the prosecutors having established legal grounds for Deutsche’s culpability, stock investors who lost their money are following with their own legal action. Deutsche’s repeated rejection of summons only strengthens suspicions about the allegations, raising questions about its fitness as a player in the financial markets. Victims are filing a compensation suit to the tune of 56.7 billion won, separately from a 76-billion-won suit initiated by two institutional investors. The Germany-based lender ordered its Seoul unit to place massive sell orders of 2.4 trillion won during the closing minutes of trading to trigger the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) t

Aug 23, 2011By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

Shinhan Bank promotes fixed-rate housing loans

By Kang Seung-woo Amid growing concerns over increasing household debt, Shinhan Bank is bolstering the government’s efforts to tackle the mounting debt problem as the lender has focused on promoting a fixed-interest rate housing loan. Since April, Shinhan, headed by President Seo Jin-won, has offered a mortgage with low fixed-interest rates. The property-backed loans are subject to fixed-interest rates between 5 and 5.8 percent per year until maturity or for a certain period of time, either three years or five. The product is in line with the government’s plan to put a lid on the nation’s escalating household debt. According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), less than three years after surpassing 500 trillion won ($462.5 billion), the debt amassed by Korean households reached a new high of 801.4 trillion won as of the end of the first quarter of this year. Disturbed, Seoul stepped in to help curb soaring household debt on June 29, unveiling plans to encourage local financial firms to extend home-backed loans with fixed lending rates. The Financial Services Commission (FSC

Aug 22, 2011By Kang Seung-woo
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