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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

New visa for foreign spouses to be issued

By Lee Hyo-sik The government will issue a visa exclusively for foreigners marrying Koreans, from as early as the latter half of this year, as part of efforts to boost its immigration efficiency and help foreign spouses better settle down here. The plan comes as the Ministry of Justice Friday unveiled changes in the nation’s immigration law, saying it will submit a revised bill to the National Assembly for approval in the near future with an aim of making the changes take effect in the second half of this year. A new F-6 visa will be issued to foreigners who come here to marry Koreans in a bid to better help a growing number of migrant wives, mostly from China and Southeast Asian countries, adapt to the new living environment and deal with legal and other issues here. Currently, they receive an F-2 visa just as other foreigners who wish to stay here for longer than 90 days. The country has seen a rapid increase in the number of foreigners coming to marry Koreans over the past few years. The number was estimated to exceed 140,000 nationwide as of the end of 2010. “It i

Apr 29, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Lee Young-ae to file suit over her portrait rights

By Lee Hyo-sik Popular actress Lee Young-ae will file a compensation suit against a company managing her portrait rights for allowing a local kimchi maker to use her photo without her consent. Lee’s legal representative, Kim & Jung, said Thursday that the actress never agreed to the use of her photo as a model for a kimchi product to be introduced by Ilchung-Myeongga. It will soon file a lawsuit against the company managing her portrait rights, identified only as “C,” for compensation. Lee has a broad fan base in Asia for her 2003 TV series “Jewel in the Palace (Dae Jang Geum).” On April 26, the kimchi manufacturer said it will launch a new product featuring Lee in a traditional Korean costume, which she wore in the popular TV drama, on its package. It will market the item to consumers in Japan, China and Southeast Asian countries where Korean dramas and movies are popular. Kim & Jung affirmed Lee never consented to the use of her photo by the kimchi maker. “It is true that Lee had a contract with company C, giving it rights to exercise her portraits on several pr

Apr 28, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Unlock secrets of foreign languages at HUFS

School president asks students to learn from challenging spirit of Don Quixote By Han Sang-hee Mastering a foreign language is never an easy endeavor. Without earnest effort and true determination to speak the words and phrases of that second language one may be trapped with just bilingual dreams. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) aims to break the barriers of learning another language by encouraging the eager that they don’t have to be gifted in order to do so. Since taking the helm of the school in 2006, HUFS President Park Chul has spearheaded various campaigns for improvement. The most evident development is taking place at the school itself, with construction of a new underground stadium and school gate under way. Reelected to the school president post in November, 2009, Park has more up his sleeve than upgrading the facilities of the school. More than basic ABCs Park himself is fluent in Spanish: he studied Spanish literature and is an avid fan and scholar of Cervantes’ works, especially the famous tale of Don Quixote. Through the warm smile ye

Apr 27, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Kumho chief under probe over slush fund

By Lee Hyo-sik Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo is under investigation for allegedly creating a slush fund worth 10 billion won ($9 million) in borrowed-name bank accounts, according to the prosecution. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said its investigators found at least 10 borrowed-name bank accounts set up by Park’s close aides during a probe into his younger brother Chan-Koo’s alleged creation of a slush fund. Chan-koo is the chairman of the petrochemical unit of Kumho Asiana Group, Kumho Petrochemical. On April 12, prosecutors raided the headquarters of Kumho Petrochemical in downtown Seoul over allegations that Park Chan-koo had created a slush fund, confiscating accounting documents and computer disks. He is suspected of having amassed the slush fund by paying more money than actual costs to subcontractors and retrieving the difference. The prosecution estimates that as much as 10 billion won has been amassed in over 10 borrowed-name accounts for Park Sam-koo, adding it will soon summon group executives and his family members for questioning

Apr 27, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Korean Air upgrades in-flight service

By Lee Hyo-sik Korean Air, the nation’s largest flagship carrier, will offer its first- and business-class passengers on long-distance routes a high-end skincare kit manufactured by a global luxury cosmetic brand DAVI, beginning in May. From June, the airline will also provide a range of low-calorie in-flight meals for its economy-class passengers heading to and from destinations in North America and Europe. In a press briefing held at Hyatt Regency Incheon Wednesday, Heather Cho, senior vice president of Korean Air, and DAVI Chairman Carlo Mondavi unveiled the luxury skincare amenity kit. The cosmetic product is made from grape extracts. “We are delighted to provide our customers with DAVI’s revolutionary cosmetic product. The provision of the world-class amenity skincare kit will further improve our image as one of the world’s premier airlines. Korean Air will continue to make every effort to innovate and upgrade customer services,” Cho said. Carlo Mondavi said DAVI’s products are made from fermented grape extracts, packed with the incredibly rich aging-preventing a

Apr 27, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Airlines in war to recruit pilots

Domestic carriers are desperate to secure trained pilots in order to meet surging air travel demand By Lee Hyo-sik Airlines here are engaged in a fierce “recruitment war” for pilots as they face difficulty in finding qualified people to operate their growing number of aircraft. Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and budget carriers have added dozens of planes to their fleets over the past few years to meet surging air travel demand, with more Koreans heading overseas for leisure and other purposes. Additionally, the country has emerged as a popular tourism destination for Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asians on the back of its pop culture or “hallyu,” encouraging domestic airlines to increase the number of flights connecting Korea with other Asian countries. Lack of experienced pilots Aviation experts say that a shortage of experienced pilots here will likely persist for the foreseeable future as both flagship carriers and budget airlines are scheduled to put more aircraft into operation over the next few years in anticipation of continued growing travel demand, both

Apr 26, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Gimpo-Beijing air route to open in July

By Lee Hyo-sik South Korea and China have agreed to launch a new air route linking Gimpo International Airport, west of Seoul, with Beijing International Airport in July, which will make it easier for those traveling to and from China’s capital. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Tuesday that the two countries recently signed a memorandum of understanding to allow both Korean and Chinese airlines combined to offer four daily flights between the two airports, totaling 28 a week. Currently, travelers can fly to Beijing only from Incheon International Airport. The nation’s two flagship carriers ― Korean Air and Asiana Airlines ㅡ operate 42 weekly flights combined between Incheon and Beijing airports, with the two Chinese airlines offering 35 weekly flights. Under the agreement, Korean Air and Asiana together will offer 14 weekly flights between Gimpo and Beijing, while the remaining 14 flights will be operated by Chinese airlines. But the firms will be required to slash the number of Incheon-Beijing flights by 28 to operate the same number of flig

Apr 26, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

New traffic signal system causing confusion

By Lee Hyo-sik A new traffic signal system currently undergoing tests is causing a great deal of confusion among many motorists who say they had not been made aware of it, with some saying they had close calls because of it. On April 20, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency replaced existing traffic lights with new ones at 11 major intersections in downtown Seoul on a trial basis, saying the new system will help speed up the flow of traffic. However, many drivers complained that police hardly publicized the new traffic lights scheme to the public, stressing that they were caught off guard. Among other complaints, they said they have a hard time understanding what the red left-turn signal means. The left-turn signal in red indicates drivers must not make a left-turn. But many confused drivers attempt to make turn at the signal, putting their vehicles on a near collision course with other cars. Kim Man-soo, a 56-year-old taxi driver, said there was no red-colored left-turn signal in the current traffic lights system. “When I first saw the signal, I did not know whether I

Apr 25, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Chinese voice phishing ring busted

By Lee Hyo-sik A Chinese criminal ring suspected of having stolen billions of won from Koreans through a “voice phishing” scam over the years has been busted, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office (SPO) said Sunday. The prosecution said its Chinese counterpart, the Ministry of Public Security, arrested the mastermind of the voice phishing syndicate, identified only by his surname Kim, and 22 other members, adding Chinese investigators are pursuing the remaining suspects. This is the first roundup of voice phishing scammers in China after law enforcement authorities from Seoul and Beijing agreed to join forces to root out the increasingly sophisticated and lucrative criminal activity. In January, Prosecutor General Kim Joon-gyu reached an agreement with Meng Jianzu, China’s public security minister, during his trip to the world’s second largest economy, to cooperate in cracking down on voice phishing operators. Under the agreement, if a China-based network is suspected, South Korean investigators will seek help from the Chinese authorities in tracking down the server locati

Apr 24, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Women work 3.6 years in same firm

By Lee Hyo-sik Female employees here work at a company for 3.6 years on average without quitting or changing job, nearly half the period of an average male worker, the labor ministry said Sunday. Korean females worked in the same job for an average of 3.6 years in 2010, shorter than 6.2 years for their male counterparts, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The ministry said many women in their late 20s and early 30s tend to quit their job after marriage and childbirth. When women return to the job market years later, many are hired in low-paying positions on a temporary basis, making it more difficult for female employees to continue at the same job. Under a law revised in August 2007, employers are required to turn non-permanent workers into regular ones after two years, prompting employers to lay off temporary staff as companies find it costly to upgrade their status. Permanent female employees stayed in the same workplace for an average of 4.5 years, with only 1.4 years for non-regular ones. An average full-time male employee worked the same job fo

Apr 24, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
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