The Korea Times

KoreaToday SK Energy Sets Eyes on Expanding Global Market

By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter While most local enterprises cowered in investments and curtailed expenses last year, SK Energy has not turned away from its goal to expand in overseas markets. South Korea's No. 1 refiner continues to evolve as a comprehensive energy provider, reaping results: resource development, growth in exports and rising global activities. Currently, SK Energy is exploring resources in 33 areas across 16 countries and has secured reserves of 520 million barrels of petroleum situated in Peru, Brazil and Vietnam, equivalent to the amount to supply Korea for eight months. In addition, the company produces 42,000 barrels of petroleum per day and plans to increase its reserve amount to 1 billion barrels, which would last 16 months in Korea. The total sales and business profits in resource development have grown from 0.6 percent and 4.7, respectively, in 1999 to 1.17 percent and 16 percent in 2008. In 2009, it gained 335.1 billion won in annual operating profits, surpassing the 300 billion won-mark for the first time. SK Energy forecasts that a

Apr 28, 2010By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Finance Mavens in Lee’s Inner Circle

By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter It is notable that financial experts have been brought into Cheong Wa Dae as presidential aides, inviting extra attention how this will affect President Lee Myung-bak's overall economic policy. Choo Kyung-ho, director general of the finance policy bureau at the Financial Services Commission (FSC), was the latest as he was appointed secretary for economic and financial affairs Tuesday. The Daegu native, 49, known for expertise in economic policy and international finance, is a veteran finance official, serving as counselor at the Korean mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) from 2006 to 2009 after working at the finance ministry for about 20 years. ``Given that Choo has worked in the area of finance for a long time, he has earned respect,'' said an official of the FSC. ``He is not only familiar with macroeconomic policy, but also has expertise in financial policies under his belt,'' an official of Cheong Wa Dae said of Choo's appointment. Yoon Jin-sik, President Lee's top policy advisor, also st

Apr 28, 2010By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Top Regulator Hints at Woori Sale Delay

By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter The nation's top financial regulator said that privatization of Woori Financial Group, the nation's largest financial holding company, will come later than expected. ``Privatization of Woori may be postponed until the end of the year,'' Chin Dong-soo, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, told reporters in a meeting Wednesday. ``We have been preparing to sell it off by June, but it seems that we need more time.'' Since the government decided to sell Woori last year, the financial regulator has been looking to find a new owner. As a result of an infusion of public funds during the Asian financial crisis, the government came to be the primary investor in Woori through the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC). The KDIC currently has a 56.97-percent stake in Woori. Regarding a mega bank idea, Chin said that the size should not be prioritized, citing the nation's global manufacturers Samsung and LG. ``Samsung and LG were successful in globalization not because of their size but because of their competitiveness. I value

Apr 28, 2010By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Private Lenders’ TV Ads to Be Banned

By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter The widely recognized, personified radish in advertisements of the nation's No. 1 private moneylender Rush and Cash could soon disappear, as the government is pushing to ban loan firms from advertising on TV and in daily newspapers. A total of 30 lawmakers, headed by Park Jun-seon of the ruling Grand National Party, presented a revised bill to the National Assembly Tuesday. The bill says that loan companies should be only allowed to post advertisements and use bulletin boards at all times inside their office buildings. According to the bill, they would also be allowed to advertise in weekly magazines 60 times a year, and they would also be permitted to do so in periodical publications issued more than once a year. In addition, if loan firms choose to sponsor cultural, music or sporting events, they can only use their names in event titles, but are not permitted to advertise in any other way. Other than these cases, promotions are forbidden. The radical move came as private moneylenders are emerging as a social problem with many

Apr 27, 2010By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Mirae’s Park Takes on Wall Street

By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter Park Hyeon-joo, chairman of Mirae Asset Group, has mounted a challenge to Wall Street. The 51-year-old said that the biggest asset management firm in the nation would sell emerging market funds in New York this summer. ``We are in negotiations with partners who will sell our fund here,'' he told reporters during his visit to the United States. He gave a lecture on the company's success story at Harvard Business School Saturday (KST) and it was the first time for the school to focus on any South Korean financial firm. ``There are a lot of U.S. companies interested in Mirae Asset.'' Despite his challenge to the center of the world economy, he was optimistic. ``I would not come here if I did not have confidence," he said. ``I do not think we are not far behind Fidelity and Schroder, and we are strong in dealing with risk management. ``But we will find a small or medium company for our partner to prevent us from being handled by big budgets." Park said it is the right time to do business with emerging market funds in the Un

Apr 26, 2010By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Jobs Among 20-Somethings Plummet to 30-Year Low

By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter Jobless growth has been one of the biggest concerns for President Lee Myung-bak and his administration, with the economy failing to churn out new jobs despite a faster-than-expected rebound. The latest data on youth employment has added to the concern that this has become a structural problem for Asia's fourth-largest economy. The working population in their 20s has fallen to the lowest level in 30 years due to the sluggish job market and aging population. According to Statistic Korea, Monday, the number of employed between 20 and 29 reached 3.7 million in the first three months of this year, the lowest tally since the fourth quarter of 1981, when 3.5 million were working. The number of jobs available to the youth in the first quarter was even lower than those of 1998 and 1999, right after the currency crisis shook the country. The number of jobs during the crisis hovered around 4.4 million in 1998 and 4.34 million in 1999. The proportion of 20-somethings among the population over 15 years old has suffered a drop-off for 19 straight y

Apr 26, 2010By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Personality Differences No. 1 Cause for Divorce

By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter With nuclear-family households growing year after year, the divorce pattern has been undergoing a major change, and differences in character emerged as the top reason for it. According to Statistics Korea Friday, a total of 123,999 couples cut their ties last year and personality issues were given as the most popular cause for their split, accounting for 46.6 percent (57,801 cases). Financial issues ranked second with 17,871 (14.4 percent), followed by cheating spouses (8.3 percent), domestic trouble (7.4 percent) and physical and mental abuse (5.0 percent). Health problems were rarely cited, with just six thousandths of those separating quoting this as a reason. The outcome is in stark contrast to the report in 2000, which showed that family trouble was the main cause of the divorce. Over the past decade, the number of domestic problems causing divorces has reduced, while personality differences and financial problems have become major factors of late. The ratio of family issues dropped by 14.2 percentage points to 7.4 percent i

Apr 23, 2010By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Fees on Credit Card-Tied Firms at World’s High

By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter South Korea's credit card affiliates pay higher fees than other developed nations, the central bank said Thursday. According to a Bank of Korea (BOK) report on fees charged by credit card firms in 13 countries Wednesday, Switzerland topped the list with 2.8 percent and South Korea was second highest at 2.2 percent. The United States and Canada tied to round out the top three, both charging a 2 percent commission. The rates for the rest of the group - Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain, and Australia - were below 2 percent. However, taking into account debit cards that are widely used in the other countries, Koreans are seen as paying the most. In Switzerland, debit card usage accounts for 62 percent of all card payments and its commission rate is just 0.2 percent. On the other hand, commission rates on debit cards here are 1.9 percent despite their low popularity. The BOK report also said that card companies encourage people to use credit cards, which causes inefficiency in the

Apr 22, 2010By Kang Seung-woo

Companies

Korea 8th Most Competitive in G-20

By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter South Korea ranked eighth among the G-20 countries in terms of national competitiveness, according to a report by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) Wednesday. The United States topped the list, followed by Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, China and Britain. The report is based not only on economic activity but also other categories covering competitiveness in science, infrastructure, business and government efficiency. The IMD said that Korea, the host for the G-20 summit in November, was strong in science and infrastructure, but had poor showings in government efficiency and economic activity. The G-20 rankings are compiled from IMD's global survey with Saudi Arabia and the European Union excluded. Korea drew a high grade in basic research activities, a subcategory of the science environment field, sitting second to Germany. Japan and Britain were tied for third. In overall infrastructure, Korea placed eighth with the United States at the top of the list, and fourth in infrastructure competitiveness in s

Apr 21, 2010By Kang Seung-woo

Sports

Olympians to Visit Korea for Ice Show

By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter The local ice show ``Hyundai Card Super Match X ― Medalists on Ice'' will bring a slew of Vancouver Olympic medalists in figure skating to Korea in June, Hyundai Card announced Tuesday. Mao Asada of Japan and Joannie Rochette of Canada, who won silver and bronze medals in the women's singles in February, respectively, will perform in front of the fast-growing number of local figure skating fans. Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu-na will not appear due to her training schedule. On the men's side, Olympic champion Evan Lysacek of the United States and runner-up Evgeny Plushenko of Russia will be in the show for the second straight year. The roster of the pair skating also includes two medal-winning duos from China ― Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, and Pang Qing and Tong Jian ― who finished first and second, respectively. The show will also feature former world champions Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland and Jeffrey Buttle of Canada. The two-day event will take place on June 5 and 6 at Jamsil Gymnasium in Seoul.

Apr 20, 2010By Kang Seung-woo

Kang Seung-woo

Read more

KoreaToday SK Energy Sets Eyes on Expanding Global Market

Finance Mavens in Lee’s Inner Circle

Top Regulator Hints at Woori Sale Delay

Private Lenders’ TV Ads to Be Banned

Mirae’s Park Takes on Wall Street

Jobs Among 20-Somethings Plummet to 30-Year Low

Personality Differences No. 1 Cause for Divorce

Fees on Credit Card-Tied Firms at World’s High

Korea 8th Most Competitive in G-20

Olympians to Visit Korea for Ice Show

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