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Lee Hyo-sik

Korea Times Finance Reporter

Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.

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South Korea

Police declare war against gangsters

By Lee Hyo-sik Police launched an extensive crackdown on organized crime rings across the country Monday, which will continue through the end of December. The National Police Agency (NPA) announced that it will set up special teams at 16 regional police agencies nationwide to arrest gangsters in a war against criminal gangs. The move follows a series of recent corruption scandals and a lukewarm police response to violent crimes. “Gangsters’ activities should not heighten public fears. We will step up the mobilization of police force to ensure public security,” an NPA official said. He said the NPA also launched a full-scale in-house cleanup campaign to root out corrupt officers and those who neglect their duties. In the past, only those directly responsible for wrongdoings and their supervisors were reprimanded. But this time, heads of district police stations and senior officers at municipal agencies have become the target of a full-fledged internal inspection. The NPA has decided to start a probe into the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency (IMPA), which it

Oct 24, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Korean Air flight bound for Gimpo delayed for 3 hours

A Korean Air flight bound for Gimpo International Airport from Jeju late Sunday night was delayed for nearly three hours, causing a great deal of inconvenience to passengers. Korean Air said Monday that when flight KE1254, which was scheduled to take off at 9:15 p.m. Sunday from Jeju International Airport, was taxiing on the runway for takeoff, an alarm signal sounded. As a result, the plane aborted the takeoff and returned to the passenger terminal. The country’s largest flagship carrier then had about 250 passengers transfer to another plane, which took off at 11:45 p.m. An hour and 10 minutes later, the airplane landed at Incheon International Airport, instead of Gimpo International Airport, which stops operating at 11 p.m. “The plane had to land at Incheon airport because Gimpo airport is not in operation from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. We secured seven shuttle buses and made other arrangements to minimize passenger inconvenience,” a Korean Air official said. The official said company engineers are currently examining the airplane to discover what caused the alarm to

Oct 24, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

2 Supreme Court justices designated

By Lee Hyo-sik A 50-year-old former female judge who has raised three children on her own after a divorce has been designated a new justice of the Supreme Court. If her nomination is confirmed by the National Assembly, Park Bo-young will become the nation’s third female justice after Kim Young-ran who retired in August 2010 and the incumbent Jeon Soo-ahn. Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae Friday also nominated Kim Yong-duck, vice minister of the national court administration. The two will replace outgoing Justices Park Si-hwan and Kim Ji-hyung whose six-year terms end on Nov. 20. President Lee Myung-bak is expected to accept Yang’s recommendation and forward it to the Assembly for approval. If lawmakers approve their nominations after a confirmation hearing, the two will join the Supreme Court. Born in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, Park has served as head of the National Association for Female Lawyers with 1,400 members from January. After graduating from Jeonju Women’s High School and Hanyang University, she passed the bar exam in 1984. But Park quit her positi

Oct 23, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
  • The strength of poverty
  • Boy with the long arms
South Korea

LG washing machine explodes

By LeeHyo-sik A housewife in Haman, South Gyeognsang Province, was seriously injured Friday after her washing machine — manufactured by LG Electronics — exploded. Police said Sunday that the woman, surnamed Park, sustained severe burns over 50 percent of her body. Park and her husband surnamed Hwang moved into a new apartment and installed the washing machine on their balcony, Thursday. According to police, when Park tried to use it the next day, it suddenly blew up and she suffered burns after her clothes caught fire. Hwang immediately took his wife to a nearby hospital and reported the incident. He told police officers that balcony windows and other household items were damaged in the explosion. Officers collected debris from the washing machine and kept the scene intact. They plan to launch a joint probe into the incident with investigators from the National Forensic Service today to discover exactly what caused the machine to blow up. Separately, LG Electronics has begun its own probe. The company said the washing machine was power

Oct 23, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Second `Occupy’ protests held in Seoul

By Lee Hyo-sik Hundreds of civic group members and labor activists, inspired by anti-Wall Street demonstrations, held rallies across Seoul for a second time Saturday to protest what they call the greed of financial firms and a widening income gap. Under the slogan of “99 percent of ordinary Koreans who stand up against the super-wealthy 1 percent,” organizers staged the “Occupy Seoul” rally at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall. There were no violent clashes with police. A week earlier, members of civic organizations and labor groups held similar protests throughout the capital city, protesting against financial companies and foreign investment capital. Organizers demanded the government and the governing Grand National Party improve the livelihoods of middle- and low-income families by stabilizing housing prices and expanding welfare-related expenditure. They also urged policymakers to crack down on what they called “greedy” financial firms and scrap the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA). “The Korea-U.S. FTA is aimed at removing regulations that have kept busin

Oct 23, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Korean Air pilot under investigation for pro-N. Korean activities

By Lee Hyo-sik A Korean Air pilot has been under police investigation for allegedly posting dozens of pro-North Korean messages and other material on his website in breach of the country’s National Security Law. The National Police Agency said Wednesday that a 45-year-old captain surnamed Kim started a website (www.scintoy.com) in August 2006 and had posted more than 60 articles and video clips that criticized the South Korean government and instead promoted the North’s propaganda. Some of pro-North Korean material was found to have been produced in the communist state. Under relevant laws, South Koreans cannot view pro-North Korea information either on- or offline. Those who distribute and promote pro-North material are subject to prosecution. Police banned the pilot from leaving the country and asked the nation’s largest flagship carrier to prevent him from working as he may defect to the Stalinist state. ``We received a tip in January that Kim was engaged in spreading propaganda online. On Tuesday, investigators raided and searched his home, confiscating about 10 p

Oct 19, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

3 arrested for scam involving Indonesian embassy site

By Lee Hyo-sik Police have arrested three fraudsters on charges of swindling investors out of billions of won by lying that they earned rights to build high-rise commercial and residential buildings on the site of the Indonesian Embassy. An international crime unit at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Wednesday that a 57-year-old man surnamed Kwon and his 48-year-old nephew, both of whom hold permanent residency in Indonesia, colluded with a 38-year-old man surnamed Jung in an investment scam to steal money from financiers. According to the police, the three told investors that the Indonesian Embassy here would soon move to another location from the current place in Yeouido and instead, four 36-story buildings would be constructed on the site. The scammers lied that they obtained construction rights from the Indonesian government, deceiving financiers that they would reap huge gains if they invest in the construction project. Police said the three took a total of 2 billion won ($1.9 million) from seven investors. They were found to have forged Indonesian

Oct 19, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
Society

Sogang aims at top business school in Asia

By Na Jeong-ju MBA schools say applicants should change their approach in selecting business schools as the world has changed over the past decade, calling for different elements and requirements in business than in the past. In a rapidly globalizing society, they are urged to look for programs that can help them learn about the new global environment in class, paving the way to a global career and develop international business expertise. In that sense, good business schools in the global environment should not only ensure good salaries after graduation but also help their students get diverse global perspectives through their programs. And Sogang Business School is one of the good. The school with strong Jesuit tradition is becoming more enthusiastic about offering learning opportunities to talented Asian students under its ambitious globalization plan, school officials say. The school plans to initiate the Sogang Global Brain Program for Asian Top Talented Program next year to give at least five students from Asian countries chances to take the school’s two-year MBA

Oct 19, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Korean Air offers voluntary retirement

By Lee Hyo-sik Korean Air, the country’s flagship carrier, has decided to cut the size of its manpower through a voluntary retirement program amid surging international oil prices, the weakening of the Korean won and other unfavorable global economic conditions. Airline industry experts say that the airline has turned more pessimistic about its business outlook, adding the introduction of the voluntary retirement scheme, the first since 2006, is a preemptive step to better deal with an expected slump. They also say Korean Air is trying to cut labor costs by dismissing senior employees, while hiring thousands of entry-level workers. In response, the airline refuted such claims, saying the retirement program had been planned for quite some time. It said the scheme aims to provide long-time workers with opportunities to retire with handsome financial compensation and pursue other goals in life. Severance pay Korean Air said Tuesday that it began receiving early retirement applications from employees who are aged over 40 and have been on its payroll for more than 15 ye

Oct 18, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Campaign launched for law banning racial discrimination

By Lee Hyo-sik A state-funded regional center for immigrants has launched a campaign to call for the establishment of a special law banning racial discrimination. The move came days after an ethnic Uzbekistan woman, who became a naturalized Korean in 2009, held a press briefing to disclose that she was denied entry to a sauna by an employee because she was a foreigner by appearance. She also claimed that the sauna worker said foreigners may “make water in bathtub dirty” and “pass on AIDS.” The Gyeongnam Migrant Community Service Center in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, said Tuesday that it has been collecting signatures across the country from migrant wives and workers, as well as from their family members and friends who support the legislation of the law prohibiting racial discrimination. “Nearly 1.3 million immigrants reside in the country. They are our neighbors and friends. Discriminating against them just because they look different or they came from other countries that are less developed than Korea is something that we have to renounce,” said Jung Moon-s

Oct 18, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
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