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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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Companies

BJFEZ eyes becoming hub of logistics and business

The Busan Jinhae Free Economic Zone (BJFEZ) aims to become the center of the high-tech industry and international business world. It already has a well-built infrastructure including an airport and ports which are adjacent to the market with a workforce numbering 8 million. Furthermore, 90 percent of the shipbuilding industry and 41.9 percent of the domestic car manufacturing, including Hyundai Motors, are located in the vicinity. Transportation is not a concern as there are convenient links from ferry to train to plane. Its outreach is already regional by easily connecting with 60 ports in Japan, 45 in China and five in Russia. “We will evolve the BJFEZ to become the mainstay to make significant contributions to the national economy as well as for regional development,” Ha Myeong-keun, the newly appointed commissioner of BJFEZ, said. “By creating legal, systematic support infrastructure that meets global standards, we hope to cater to businesses and tailor our services to satisfy their needs.”

Aug 4, 2010By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

Bank credit rating scheme facing overhaul

By Kang Seung-woo A salaried worker, identified by his surname Jin, was recently denied a loan by his local bank due to his credit card history and cash advances. The bank said that although he did not fail to service loan payments, his low credit rating affected by those financial services prevented him from taking out loans. This sounds a very average case but Jin is only one of many individuals having difficulty in accessing bank loans due to his track record. “It does not make sense at all because I did not fail to repay previous debts. I wanted to know why I could not take out loans, but the bank did not give me a clear answer, just referring to my low rate,” Jin said. Local financial firms’ individual credit rating schemes have come under fire for their inconsistent and vague standards. Market experts said that the current system should go under a major overhaul, stressing it should be changed into a more borrower-friendly one. Currently, there are three credit bureaus in Korea – the National Information & Credit Evaluation (NICE), Korea Information Servic

Aug 4, 2010By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

Sales experts leading banks

By Kang Seung-woo The local banking industry is expected to face an uphill struggle in the retail segment, as sales-savvy Min Byong-duk, formerly vice president of the Kookmin Bank, took the helm of the nation’s largest lender Thursday. His appointment is reflecting KB Financial Group chairman Euh Yoon-dae’s strong will to transform the group’s flagship into a more competitive, efficient organization. Despite the most extensive network of branches and the largest customer base, Kookmin has suffered a setback both in profitability and growth during the past year. It has recently failed to stamp its authority on the industry in the wake of the global financial crisis. Its investment in Kazakhstan's Bank Center Credit (BCC) has incurred a huge loss and many loans extended for real estate projects are running a high risk of turning sour. Currently, the top posts of local banks are mostly dominated by sales experts. Woori Bank’s Lee Chong-hwi, Hana Bank’s Kim Jung-tae and Shinhan Bank’s Lee Baek-soon all climbed the corporate ladder to become president thanks to their remark

Aug 4, 2010By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

Yahoo! Korea renews itself as social media hub

By Kim Tong-hyung Yahoo! Korea, which struggles for popularity here, has redesigned itself as a gateway for popular social networking services such as Twitter (www.twitter.com) and Facebook (www.facebook.com) in attempting to attract more traffic. It bears further watching whether Yahoo’s strategy for establishing a social media hub will be enough to make it matter again, with industry watchers wondering whether the new platform will be anything more than a glorified bookmark. Yahoo’s patchwork of Internet services also include Google’s Gmail e-mail service, SK Communications’ Cyworld (www.cyworld.com) social networking service, eBay’s Gmarket (www.gmarket.co.kr) online shopping site, Zynga (www.zynga.com) computer games and the popular features of rival web portals like Naver (www.naver.com), Daum (www.daum.net) and Nate (www.nate.com). Yahoo aims to provide a seamless experience, implementing a single log-in process for a variety of its imported Internet services, which also enables users to check for updates on different social media services without opening a new Web

Aug 3, 2010By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

Has Sonata outstayed buyers welcome?

By Kim Tae-gyu Hyundai Motor, Korea’s foremost automaker, is emotional about the Sonata, its oldest brand under production, which launched back in 1985 and has chalked up cumulative sales of 5 million over the past quarter century. Since its debut, a total of six sequels have been released both at home and abroad with major facelifts as well as quality upgrades. The seventh-generation YF Sonata was an instant hit upon its release last September. After getting off to a solid start, however, sales of the mid-size sedan are showing clear signs of tailing off. The model surrendered the mantle of the country’s best-selling car to the K5 of Kia Motors in June for the first time. Last month, the Kia Morning even nudged past the YF Sonata putting it in the third spot with a mere 8,469 sales, which marked its worst-ever monthly performance. In this climate, some observers contend that Hyundai had better think of putting the Sonata, which is known as the i45 in some export markets, to rest for a few years or switch focus to other brands. ``The Sonata has generated the ma

Aug 3, 2010By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

Tax audit on Samsung Life underway

By Kang Seung-woo Staff reporter In the midst of a tide of government lashing and thrashing of big conglomerates, Samsung Life Insurance is facing a tax audit, a move that is seen as another Lee Myung-Bak hint so that they follow his policies of supporting smaller companies. According to the insurance industry, the National Tax Service (NTS) has conducted an intense audit of the nation’s largest insurance company since June. The tax agency’s investigation is a rare occasion in that the life insurer is being checked only three years since the previous audit in 2007. A general audit of large companies which have annual sales of 500 billion won ($422 million) is conducted every four years. The audit is raising speculation that the current administration has already started cracking its whip on big firms. Recently, President Lee expressed deep disappointment in conglomerates that are sluggish in investing and creating jobs and he called for more attention to small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs). In related moves, inspections of large corporations by the prosecution a

Jul 30, 2010By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

Seoul to privatize Woori Financial by mid-2011

By Kang Seung-woo Staff reporter The government said Friday it will complete the privatization of Woori Financial Group by the end of June 2011 by seeking to sell its stake or have the group merge with other financial organizations. The move is expected to encourage local and foreign lenders to join the M&A market, which many believe will expedite the reshaping of the local banking industry. The decision came as part of the government’s long-term roadmap for Woori’s privatization announced Friday by the Public Fund Oversight Committee. Under the plan, it will sell a certain amount of shares in the holding company or merge the nation’s second-largest financial services company with other financial groups with a shot at recouping taxpayer money. The government will seek to sell Woori Investment & Securities along with the financial group in order to maximize the sales value. But it has decided to separately sell at least a 50-percent stake plus a share in Woori’s two regional banks — Kyongnam Bank and Kwangju Bank. Currently, the state-run Korea Deposit Insuran

Jul 30, 2010By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

Current account surplus registers one-year high

By Kang Seung-woo Staff reporter The Bank of Korea (BOK) Wednesday announced that the current account registered a surplus of $5.04 billion last month, up from a revised $3.82 billion from the previous month. The current account is the broadest measure of trade that reflects the movement of goods and services. The surplus is the third biggest monthly amount. Korea logged the largest surplus of $6.64 billion in March 2009. In June last year, its surplus reached $5.38 billion. In addition, the Korean economy has extended its current account surplus streak to five months since February. The current account surplus in the first half was tallied at $11.61 billion, down about $10 billion from a year earlier. The BOK revised up its projection for this year’s current account surplus to $21 billion from $10.5 billion thanks to strong exports earlier this month. It expects next month’s current account to stay at a similar level to that of June. “The shortfall of the service account will likely widen on increased spending on overseas travel during the summer vacation, b

Jul 28, 2010By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

KoreaToday Life insurers turning to social contribution

By Kang Seung-woo Staff reporter Life insurance companies here have been in a cutthroat competition to garner more of a market share by using aggressive marketing strategies, now that the local insurance market is creeping closer to saturation. But behind the scenes, another competition is going on as many insurers are trying to attract customers by actively engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, giving back part of their earnings to the community. Each company is using social contribution as a stepping stone by engaging in various public services and volunteer works to achieve durable development. “Insurance is a business that provides a helping hand in times of difficulty. In this respect, insurers’ CSR activities, such as donating and volunteering, stays true to the definition of insurance,” said an official of a civic organization. “Social contribution has been an essential element, not a fad, en route to sustainable growth.” According to the Korea Life Insurance Association, life insurers here are running their own programs as well as pa

Jul 28, 2010By Kang Seung-woo
Companies

KoreaToday Korea Life taking lead in CSR activities

By Kang Seung-woo Staff reporter Korea Life Insurance became the nation’s first life insurer when it was founded in September 1946. And the 64-year-old life insurance company is seeking to add another brilliant billing in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) sector, as it fully commits to contributing to society. The insurance firm believes that not only do such activities offer noble opportunities to help those in need, but the volunteer work also helps the insurer build a greater sense of unity and allows a moment to reflect about the true meaning of love, charity and sharing. Its main effort to make social contributions started, when the Sarangmoa Volunteer Service Group was formed in July 2004 and became the cornerstone in bringing to light the neglected corners of the community. The group is made up of over 4,800 employees and 20,000 financial planners (FP) that serve local communities with over 140 smaller volunteer groups across the nation. According to its website, 8,966 volunteers from 41 teams in Seoul, 6,245 from 29 in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon

Jul 28, 2010By Kang Seung-woo
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