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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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Companies

Lotte Confectionary recalls popular snacks for foul smell

By Lee Hyo-sikLotte Confectionary, Korea’s largest snack maker has recalled two of its best selling snacks following numerous consumer complaints about a foul odor emanating from them. The products at issue are White Cookie Pepero and Ghana Choco Bar Almond.The company said Thursday that it has retrieved 290,000 boxes of White Cookie Pepero worth 6.7 billion won since Nov. 12. The snacks were manufactured at its plant in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, from June through October.In addition, 500 boxes of Ghana Choco Bar Almond produced at the plant on Oct. 30 are on the company’s recall list as consumers who bought them also complained about a bad smell.“We decided to voluntarily recall all the products at issue even though they are perfectly safe to be consumed,” a Lotte Confectionary spokesman said. “The bad odor resulted from wet ink on the product packages. However, after considering growing consumer complaints, we decided to remove them from store shelves.”He said Lotte completed the withdrawal of all remaining snacks from the market, stres

Nov 27, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Lotte Confectionary recalls popular snacks for foul smell
Companies

Refiners cautious about 2016 outlook

By Lee Hyo-sikDespite raking in record earnings this year, oil refiners here remain cautious about their business outlook for 2016 as they grapple with low international crude prices, China’s growing refining capacity and other unfavorable conditions.Korea’s four refiners ― SK Innovation, GS Caltex, S-Oil and Hyundai Oilbank ― say they will continue to upgrade production facilities, produce more high value-added products and take other steps to improve profitability.According to the refiners, Thursday, their combined operating profit reached 4.05 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in the first nine months of the year.SK Innovation, Korea’s largest oil refiner, had a 1.67 trillion won operating profit, followed by GS Caltex (1.1 trillion won), S-Oil (860 billion won) and Hyundai Oilbank (421 billion won).Industry analysts estimate the companies will likely generate over 1 trillion won operating profit in the fourth quarter, pushing their total this year to over 5 trillion won, the highest since 2011.In 2011, the refiners posted record operating profit of 7.2 trill

Nov 26, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Refiners cautious about 2016 outlook
Companies

SK gets aggressive on M&As after chairman's return

SK Group chairman Chey Tae-wonBy Lee Hyo-sikSK Group is revealing a growing appetite for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in recent months, after its chairman Chey Tae-won returned to the helm in August.Korea’s third-largest family-controlled conglomerate spent more than $1 billion over the past month to acquire a cable TV operator and a semiconductor materials firm, among other entities.SK is widely expected to take over more companies in the coming months to bolster its existing units and find new growth engines, according to industry analysts.SK’s aggressive M&A stance is in stark contrast to how the group behaved during the 24 months when its chairman Chey was behind bars on embezzlement and breach-of-trust charges.On Nov. 2, the group acquired a 30 percent stake in CJ HelloVision, Korea’s top pay TV operator, for 500 billion won to prop up SK Telecom whose wireless telecommunications business has stagnated in the face of increasing competition with KT, LG Uplus and budget telecom service providers.The acquisition is largely designed to help SK Telec

Nov 25, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
SK gets aggressive on M&As after chairman's return
Companies

Nongshim's Zha Wang surges in ramyeon ranking

By Lee Hyo-sikNongshim's Zha WangNongshim's premium instant jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) product Zha Wang has changed Korea’s ramyeon industry by altering consumers’ perception of the noodles.According to Nielsen Korea market research data released Wednesday, Zha Wang was the second-highest selling instant noodles in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province in the first 10 months of this year. In Busan, it was the third-most popular ramyeon.Nongshim’s flagship product, Shin Ramyeon, was the most popular instant noodles in all regions, according to the 2015 ramyeon map drawn by Korea’s largest maker of instant noodles.Since its launch on April 20, Zha Wang has been receiving acclaim thanks to its thick noodles and rich jjajang sauce, with sales increasing across the board -- from mega retail outlets to convenience stores and supermarkets.Nongshim said it focused on the traditional taste of jjajangmyeon rather than creating a new taste for the product. It received five stars in an evaluation by the company's top management before the launch.The product has

Nov 25, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Nongshim's Zha Wang surges in ramyeon ranking
Companies

Cosmetics firms eye Middle East, Latin America

The Face Shop outlet in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates / Courtesy of LG Household and Health CareBy Lee Hyo-sikAmore Pacific and other cosmetics firms here are moving beyond China and Southeast Asia to find new business opportunities in the Middle East, Central Asia and South America, the companies said Tuesday.Concerned about a China slowdown and the intensifying competition there, Korean cosmetics producers have begun setting their eyes on increasingly wealthy middle-class consumers in other emerging markets where “hallyu,” or the Korean cultural wave, commands a huge fan base.Amore Pacific, Korea’s largest cosmetics maker, plans to open shops in Dubai and other Middle Eastern cities next year to boost their sales abroad. The company is also considering establishing a presence in Brazil, Mexico, Columbia and other South American cities in 2017.“We believe that Korean beauty products have huge growth potential in areas beyond China and Southeast Asia,” an Amore Pacific spokeswoman said. “We are planning to open shops in large cities in South Amer

Nov 24, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Companies

Ottogi hits big with sea food-flavored ramyeon

By Lee Hyo-sikOttogi’s Jin Jjambbong RamenOttogi, one of Korea’s leading food producers, has hit the jackpot with its latest seafood-flavored spicy instant noodles, outpacing rivals in the increasingly competitive domestic ramyeon market.The company said it has sold more than 4 million Jin Jjambbong Ramen, the spicy instant noodle soup that has the flavor of jjambbong ― a popular seafood-based noodle dish at local Chinese restaurants ― since its launch on Oct. 15.“We are surprised how well Jin Jjambbong Ramen has been received by local consumers,” an Ottogi spokesman said. “They are premium instant noodles that taste exactly like jjambbong, one of the Chinese restaurant dishes loved most by Koreans.”He said the instant noodles have a liquid soup, rather than the powdered one in most conventional ramyeon products, adding that this is the recipe for its success.“The liquid soup mixed with spicy oil helps make Jin Jjambbong Ramen taste close to the real jjambbong,” he said. “In addition to it, the product also has eight dri

Nov 24, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Ottogi hits big with sea food-flavored ramyeon
People & Events

Daesang awards Hallym food science professor

Professor Yoon Jung-hanBy Lee Hyo-sikProfessor Yoon Jung-han has been selected as the first Daesang Hallym Food Science Award recipient according to an announcement Monday from Daesang, Korea’s leading food company.Yoon, a professor at the Chuncheon-based Hallym University’s Department of Food Science and Nutrition, received a 20 million won prize for her research on the correlation between obesity and cancer.She has been conducting extensive studies to discover foods that help prevent obesity, various inflammations and cancers in humans.Yoon, who received a bachelor’s degree in Food Science from Ewha Womans University in 1972, has served numerous academic and administrative posts throughout her 30-year career. Among other posts, she chaired the Korea Nutrition Society in 2013.The professor earned a master’s degree and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota in the United States in 1980 and 1982. She returned to Korea in 1994 and became a professor at Hallym.“The Daesang Hallym Food Science Award is offered to boost the morale of food scientists and

Nov 23, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Daesang awards Hallym food science professor
Companies

Lawmaker seeks to extend duty free license period to 10 years

Doosan and other store operators welcome the moveBy Lee Hyo-sikA ruling party lawmaker is seeking to extend the licensing period for duty free stores to 10 years from the current five, saying this will strengthen the competitiveness of this growing sector in the country.The planned dismissal of hundreds of workers at the soon-to-be closed Lotte and SK duty free stores is also prompting the move to guarantee operators a longer period of time to run the stores.The office for Rep. Shim Jae-chul of the ruling Saenuri Party said Monday that it will submit a revised bill regarding the nation’s Customs Act to permit duty free license holders to run their stores for 10 years before renewal is required.In 2012, the law was revised to allow retailers to operate duty free stores for five-year terms. Prior to this, the period was 10 years.“It normally takes one or two years for duty free store operators to introduce luxury brands. It takes even longer to generate profits,” Rep. Shim said. “With the current five-year license, it is hard for domestic duty free shops to gain

Nov 23, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Companies

Hyundai Motor sponsors art-tech collaboration in LA

 Rain Room, an immersive artwork created by the London-based artist collective Random International, is on exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in California. Rain room is the first exhibition sponsored by Hyundai Motor under the Hyundai Project: Art + Technology at LACMA./ Courtesy of Random International By Lee Hyo-sik LOS ANGELES ― Many people do not know that Hyundai Motor, widely known for its “no retreat, only forward” corporate mentality, is the biggest sponsor of one of the world’s largest contemporary art museums.Under the Hyundai Project: Art and Technology, Korea’s largest automaker has made a 10-year commitment to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), pledging to sponsor the museum’s art and technology initiatives in the areas of exhibitions, acquisitions and programming through 2024.The 10-year partnership, dedicated to exploring the convergence of art and technology, is the longest and the largest programmatic commitment from a corporate sponsor in LACMA’s history, according to mu

Nov 22, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Hyundai Motor sponsors art-tech collaboration in LA
Companies

Hyundai's new Elantra debuts at LA auto show

Journalists and spectators photograph the new Sportage compact SUV during a launch event at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Wednesday (local time). / Courtesy of Kia MotorsKia’s new Sportage draws crowdBy Lee Hyo-sikLOS ANGELES ― Hyundai Motor launched the new Elantra compact sedan in the United States, Wednesday (local time), to solidify its position as a leader in that market segment. Also known in Korea as the Avante, the Elantra, launched back in 1990, is one of Hyundai’s best-selling models globally.With the introduction of the all-new 2017 Elantra, Hyundai expects to gain an edge in the increasingly intensifying competition with the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla for the world’s largest automobile market. The passenger sedan with upgraded performance and safety features will be available for U.S. consumers in January next year.“More than 10 million Elantra sedans were sold globally since the car’s launch in 1990. We are glad to introduce the sixth-generation new Elantra today at the Los Angeles Auto Show,” said Dave Zuchowski, president and C

Nov 19, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
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