my timesThe Korea Times
leehs

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.

Go to Email

Read more

South Korea

Korea promotes 2012 Yeosu Expo in Shanghai

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff reporter Korea is holding a wide range of promotional events during the ongoing 2010 Shanghai World Expo to publicize its second hosting of the international trade fair two years later in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. The Organizing Committee for EXPO 2012 Yeosu Korea held a celebration at the Shanghai Expo's main venue Wednesday to promote the next trade show in Korea. The Yeosu Expo will open its door to visitors on May 12, 2012. The nation hosted its first Expo in Daejon in 1993. The Wednesday celebration lasted for about an hour, featuring a series of Korea's traditional and modern performances, which attracted thousands of spectators. A group of promoters dressed in the Yeosu Expo mascot costumes toured exhibition halls and other Expo sites to advertize the 2012 trade fair. After the opening of the Shanghai World Expo in May 1, the organizing committee set up a 300 square-meter public relations space on the second floor of Korea's exhibition hall in a bid to inform visitors, mostly Chinese, of the 2012 Yeosu Expo. The committee also prepare

May 12, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Airport envisioned in Ulleung

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff reporter Korea has been seeking to bolster its sovereignty over the Dokdo islets in the East Sea for years against Japan’s repeated attempts to challenge its control of them. But besides issuing a series of diplomatic statements condemning Japan’s claims over Dokdo, the Korean government has not done much to solidify its ownership of the disputed island. However, an envisioned airport to be built on the nearby Ulleung Island may do the trick as it will help attract more visitors to Dokdo and improve logistics conditions there. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs unveiled a plan last December to construct an airport on Ulleung Island for light-weight aircraft carrying up to 60 passengers. Its runway will be 1.2 kilometers-long and 60 meters-wide, costing about 640 billion won ($590 million) to build. The ministry said once completed, it will take little more than an hour for a small passenger plane to fly to Ulleung from Gimpo Airport, west of Seoul. “The construction plan has already been determined economically f

May 11, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Conscientious military service objectors will appeal to UN

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff reporter A group of Korean men resisting mandatory military duty has decided to file a petition with the United Nations, calling on the international organization to stop the Korean government from punishing those who refuse to serve in the armed forces on the basis of self-conscience. The move comes five months after the U.N. Human Rights Committee asked Korea to release two men in their 20s who have been imprisoned for refusing to go to the military because of their religious beliefs. The Criminal Korea Solidarity for Conscientious Objection (KSCO), a civic group advocating the rights of objectors to military duty, said Thursday that it will file an appeal to the U.N. on May 15 on behalf of 11 Korean men who are currently in jail for declining to serve in the military. ``On behalf of Oh Tae-yang and 10 other individuals, we will appeal to the U.N. against the Korean law that penalizes those who reject Korea's military conscription. The Korean government's criminal punishments against military objectors violates Article 18 of the U.N. Charter, whic

May 6, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

KBS forced to drop news on presidential secretary

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff reporter Cheong Wa Dae is suspected of pressuring KBS to drop a negative report on one of its presidential secretaries early this week, renewing a year-long controversy that the Lee Myung-bak administration has been gagging its critics and exerting undue influence over media outlets to sway public opinion in its favor. According to the KBS Media Workers Union Thursday, the summary of a news report, titled "35 percent of government officials who were former university professors suspected of publishing same academic papers more than twice," was initially scheduled to air on the KBS 9 o'clock evening news on May 4. But the news clip was not aired after a KBS production managing director ordered a reporter who prepared the clip to drop it several hours before the broadcast. Those who were suspected of publishing academic papers multiple times in different journals include senior presidential secretary for state affairs planning Park Jae-wan, National Human Rights Commission Chairman Hyun Byung-chul and Statistics Korea Commissioner Yi In-shill. The

May 6, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Number of missing kids doubles

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff reporter A growing number of children here are going missing and falling victim to sexual assault and other crimes, the state-run Korean Institute of Criminology said Tuesday. There were 9,470 reported cases of missing children across the country in 2008, up 2.3 times from 4,066 cases in 2004. In 2005, the number dropped to 2,695 from the previous year but rose sharply to 7,064 in 2006 and 8,602 in 2007. But more than 99 percent of children reported unaccounted for returned home during the 2004 to 2008 period, the institute said. But a total of 7,760 missing children aged 9-14 were not found in 2008, up sharply from 4,774 in 2006, indicating crimes against them have been on the rise. Nearly 28 percent of all missing children resided in Seoul, followed by Gyeonggi Province at 23 percent and Busan at 8 percent. Boys accounted for 51 percent of the total missing in June 2009, down from 63 percent in December 2006, with the portion of girls increasing to 49 percent from 37 percent. The institute said the number of missing kids has been increasing over

May 4, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Securing air tickets a mission impossible

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff reporter Lee Kyung-soo, 35, plans to marry his girlfriend of three years in early July. Lee and his soon-to-be-wife have already arranged a wedding hall and a place to live without much difficulty. But when it comes to buying airplane tickets to Hawaii for their honeymoon, it is a totally different story. ``I have been trying to purchase tickets through Web sites of local airlines. But summer tickets for one of Koreans' favorite honeymoon destinations have already been sold out because of a surge in outbound travel," Lee said. "Now I am trying to secure tickets through travel agencies. But they only tell me they can put me on a long waiting list.'' He suggested that soon-to-be-married couples put buying airplane tickets for a honeymoon overseas at the top of their wedding preparation list. Like Lee, a growing number of Koreans are facing increasing difficulty in buying airplane tickets for Southeast Asian nations and other popular travel destinations. Additionally, a record number of local travelers are heading to Jeju Island, Korea's south

May 4, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Magnetic levitation train to debut

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff Reporter Korea will operate unmanned magnetic levitation trains in Incheon International Airport from 2013, becoming the latest country after Japan to commercialize the next generation transportation system. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Monday that it will finish constructing a 6.1 kilometer railway by 2012 within the country's main airport and begin running unmanned magnetic levitation trains that will travel at 110 kilometers per hour. The ministry also unveiled a prototype of the train. As one of Korea's state-funded research and development (R&D) projects, the government decided in 2006 to invest 450 billion won ($400 million) into developing the magnetic trains and railway tracks by 2012. Countries like Japan and Germany have been active in maglev research as an alternative to today's wheeled mass transit systems. All the technologies have been developed by local entities, including the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials and Rotem. The institute and Rotem, a local subway train producer, have been jointly dev

May 3, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Korean Air loses lucrative marketing chance in Shanghai

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff Reporter The 2010 Shanghai World Expo, which opened its doors to visitors last Friday, is seen by many as a once in a lifetime marketing blitz for multinational companies seeking to increase their presence in the world's fastest growing economy. From Korea, Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG and nine other leading business groups have set up a joint exhibition hall at the Expo to promote their corporate image and products among hundreds of thousands of Chinese visitors. But Korean Air, the nation's largest air carrier is nowhere to be seen, while its rival, Asiana Airlines is taking full advantage of the trade fair to boost its brand image and flight services between Korea and China. Kumho Asiana Group, the parent of the nation's second largest airline, is one of the 12 domestic business groups that opened the joint pavilion at the Shanghai Expo. Last year, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) came out with an idea of setting up a collective promotion hall for local companies at the Expo. It made the offer to a number of domestic companies a

May 3, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Festival saboteurs ordered to pay Seoul City W200 mil.

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff Reporter Demonstrators who forced Seoul City to abruptly cancel the opening ceremony of the Hi Seoul Festival in May last year have been ordered to pay a combined 200 million won in compensation for holding an illegal rally and causing damage. The Seoul Central District Court ruled that a man, identified only by his surname Min, and seven others must pay 204 million won in compensation to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Seoul Foundation Arts and Culture. "Min and five others disrupted the festival proceedings by force. As a result, the opening ceremony and other events were canceled. The other two also joined in the illegal occupation of the stage," the court said, adding they should be held accountable for their actions. The court then said it is not always the case that only organizers of unlawful activities are responsible for the damage. "Mere participants should also be responsible for financial losses. The compensation lawsuit filed by Seoul city against Min and seven other protestors does not infringe on their freedom of assembly," it

Apr 30, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Safety Rules Toughened on Budget Airlines

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff Reporter Safety rules on low-cost airlines will be strengthened next month in line with a growing number of air travelers here who fly on airplanes operated by budget air carriers. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Thursday that both local and foreign budget airlines carrying Korean passengers will be subject to a set of beefed-up safety checks in May. It said airplanes operated by domestic air carriers will be thoroughly inspected before carrying passengers on international routes. A month after they launched new air services, safety inspectors will be onboard to check whether crew members adequately follow safety rules and procedures. The ministry also plans to look into operation policies and safety-related facilities of foreign budget airlines. Six months after the flight launch, they will be again comprehensively examined for their compliance with safety rules. The move comes after budget airlines at home and overseas have begun expanding flight services. Domestic low-cost air carriers have recently started launching

Apr 29, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik
previous page
200201202203204
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.