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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

Starbucks releases 2016 planners

By Lee Hyo-sikStarbucks Coffee Korea plans to release its 2016 planners Friday at its 800 stores.The Korean unit of the Seattle-based coffee franchise said Thursday that under the theme of “Meet me at Starbucks,” it will introduce four types of 2016 diaries. Since 2004, when the company launched its yearly planners, they have become a must-have item for many Starbucks fans.Customers who hold a Starbucks membership card and buy a total of 17 coffee-based beverages, including three Christmas-season drinks, from Oct. 30 to Dec. 31, can get free planners. For others, the cost is 27,500 won.“We are grateful for the great deal of attention from our customers every year,” a Starbucks Korea spokeswoman said. “Everyone at Starbucks Korea wishes that they fill our planners with only happy events in 2016.”

Oct 29, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Companies

Booyoung chairman publishes history book on Japanese colonial rule

Booyoung Group Chairman Lee Joong-keun speaks during a press conference at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, downtown Seoul, Thursday. He published his third history book, detailing what happened on the Korean Peninsula during the 1910-1945 Japanese colonial occupation. / Courtesy of Booyoung GroupBy Lee Hyo-sikBooyoung Group Chairman Lee Joong-keun has published his third history book, detailing what happened on the Korean Peninsula during the 1910-1945 Japanese colonial occupation.Marking the publication of the book, titled “Before Dawn, 36 Years, 12,768 Days,” Lee held a press conference in downtown Seoul, Thursday.The chairman said he decided to publish the book to help inform young people of exactly what happened during the most turbulent period of modern Korea and help them form an accurate historical understanding of the era.The book chronicles crucial historical events during the 36-year Japanese colonial rule, including Japan’s annexation of Korea on Aug. 29, 1910 and National Liberation Day on Aug. 15, 1945.“I decided to publish the book to

Oct 29, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Companies

KEPCO wins smart grid deal in UAE

By Lee Hyo-sikThe state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has signed a $3 million contract with its United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart to build a smart grid system there.KEPCO expects to win more deals in the UAE and other Arab countries which seek to more effectively manage their power supply systems.At a signing ceremony in Dubai, Wednesday, KEPCO CEO Cho Hwan-eik met with his UAE counterpart Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, CEO of the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), and discussed ways to further boost bilateral cooperation.“The Dubai smart grid project marks our first inroad of this kind into the Middle East,” Cho said. “This shows that the world has begun recognizing KEPCO’s knowhow and expertise in the smart energy sector. The latest deal will further accelerate our entry into the global smart grid market.”The company said it will install solar panels at DEWA headquarters’ parking lots, as well as build energy storage systems and an integrated smart grid station in Dubai.If the project goes smoothly, KEPCO will likely assume a

Oct 29, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Companies

RDA spreads agricultural know-how on three continents

A researcher at the Rural Development Administration (RDA) shows how to operate a machine to process harvested crops in Zimbabwe on May 13, 2015. / Courtesy of RDABy Lee Hyo-sikThe Rural Development Administration (RDA), the state-run agricultural research institute, has been operating three consultative groups for Asia, Africa and South America to offer more tailored, field-oriented help to farmers there.The agency, which has been sharing its agricultural know-how and expertise with developing nations for years, established the Asian Food & Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI) in November 2009 as a consultative body with 11 Asian nations. It now has 12 members after Kyrgyzstan joined in April last year.In July 2010, RDA launched the Korea-Africa Food & Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (KAFACI) with 19 countries across the continent.In September last year, it also formed the Korea-Latin America Food & Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (KoLFACI) with its counterparts in 13 South American nations.“We have set up technical consultative groups for each of the t

Oct 29, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Companies

Shipbuilders' abnormal bidding practices come under scrutiny

By Lee Hyo-sikState-run banks plan to stop extending credits to shipbuilders and construction firms that submit bids well below market prices in order to win orders, government officials said Wednesday.The officials view such bidding practices driven by hectic competition as the main culprit behind the deteriorating bottom line of Korea’s shipbuilding, construction, chemical and steel industries over the past few years.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) ordered the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and other state financial firms to check those firms from engaging in excessive competition in order to win orders at the sacrifice of financial soundness.This is the latest in a series of government-led initiatives aimed at overhauling struggling industries.“The government is running a taskforce to prevent excessive competition among domestic firms, many of whom have secured contracts at lower than their production costs,” said a government official, who declined to be named. “Businesses should not engage in undue competiti

Oct 28, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Companies

SK vows to open duty free shop in Dongdaemun

SK Networks CEO Moon Jong-hoon speaks during a press conference at company headquarters in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. Moon pledged to win a license to open a duty free shop in Dongdaemun, central Seoul, while retaining a license for its shop at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel, eastern Seoul. / Courtesy of SK NetworksThird-largest chaebol on collision course with Doosan for ‘golden goose’ in retailBy Lee Hyo-sikSK Networks, a trading and hotel unit of SK Group, has vowed to win a license to open a new duty free shop in Dongdaemun, central Seoul, while retaining the right to continue to operate a store at the Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel in eastern Seoul.SK’s plan to run the duty free store in Dongdaemun, a shopping district frequently visited by Chinese and other Asian tourists, puts itself on a collision course with Doosan Group, which also seeks to open such a store in the area.SK Networks CEO Moon Jong-hoon said Tuesday that the company is the most suitable entity to transform Dongdaemun into Seoul’s most-visited shopping and leisure district, pledging to sp

Oct 27, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Companies

POSCO Chairman donates to youth job fund

By Lee Hyo-sikKwon Oh-joonPOSCO ChairmanPOSCO Chairman Kwon Oh-joon will donate 20 percent of his salary to a government-initiated fund that finances various programs for young jobseekers, the steelmaker said Tuesday.Company executives have also pledged to set aside 10 percent of their wages for the “Youth Hope Fund,” which was set up in September under President Park Geun-hye’s initiative to help create jobs for young people. POSCO said the donations by its chairman and executives will amount to 4 billion won ($3.5 million) annually.The envisioned state-run Youth Hope Foundation will use donations from businesses and individuals to implement a wide range of programs to support young people in finding jobs at home and abroad.“Chairman Kwon and other executives have decided to contribute to the fund to help alleviate the worsening employment conditions for young people. They will donate part of their salaries in November,” a POSCO spokesman said.Since July, Kwon and other senior company officials have been returning 20 percent and 10 percent of their wage

Oct 27, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
POSCO Chairman donates to youth job fund
Companies

Doosan Group struggles to revive

Doosan Heavy Industries’ main plant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang ProvinceGlobal economic slump weighs down on 12th-largest groupBy Lee Hyo-sikDoosan Group Chairman Park Yong-maan, one of Korea’s most influential business tycoons, has been in the hot seat lately for the group’s deteriorating performance.This is because the country’s 12th largest family-controlled conglomerate, which focuses on construction and making heavy equipment, has been hit by credit downgrades and a worsening cash flow amid the prolonged global economic downturn.According to some industry analysts, Doosan’s deteriorating bottom line could adversely affect the group’s bid to win a license to operate a duty free shop in Seoul as the authorities may question its financial ability to raise funds, amounting to hundreds of billions of won, to open and run the store.“Companies like Doosan are more prone to the global economic downturn as it depends heavily on overseas businesses,” said the head of research at a Seoul-based securities firm, who declined to be named. &ldq

Oct 22, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Companies

RDA to build 'Saemaeul' village in Southeast Asia

A researcher at a Korea Project in International Agriculture (KOPIA) center in Sri Lanka talks to workers on a strawberry farm. The Rural Development Administration (RDA) operates KOPIA centers in 20 developing countries to share its agricultural knowhow and knowledge. / Courtesy of RDABy Lee Hyo-sikThe Rural Development Administration (RDA), the state-run agricultural research institute, is creating sustainable rural villages in Southeast Asia by introducing the Saemaeul Movement, or New Village Movement, which was operated in Korea in the 1960s and ‘70s.The project, which began in January this year, will build Saemaeul villages in Cambodia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka over the next three years. This is the RDA’s latest efforts to share its agricultural knowhow and knowledge with developing nations, and improve the living conditions for rural villagers there.The administration also seeks to nurture talented farmers and help boost their incomes, making rural villages in these countries more sustainable and self-reliant.Korea Project on International Agriculture (KOPIA)

Oct 22, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Companies

Bottle shortage hits Hite-Jinro, OB, Lotte

Frederico FreireOB CEOKim In-kyuHite-Jinro CEOLee Jae-hyuk, Lotte Chilsung BeverageCEOBy Lee Hyo-sikA shortage of recycled glass bottles has hit Hite-Jinro, Oriental Brewery (OB) and other alcohol companies, forcing them to cut production ahead of the year-end party season, according to industry officials Wednesday.The officials blame the government for its plan to hike bottle deposits in January, which they say has encouraged consumers and retailers to hoard empty glass bottles to receive higher deposits from alcohol companies next year.Makers of soju, beer and other alcoholic beverages are expected to further slash production in November and December, because of the worsening bottle shortage, when alcohol demand is at its peak.According to the Korea Alcohol & Liquor Industry Association (KALIA), the average recovery rate of glass bottles at liquor companies stood at 78.9 percent in September, down sharply from 96.8 percent a year earlier.The association projects that the recycling rate will further decline in the fourth quarter, saying more consumers, junk shops and retail

Oct 21, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik
Bottle shortage hits Hite-Jinro, OB, Lotte
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