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Lee Kyung-min

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

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Weakening COVID-19 set to boost cosmetics, travel industries

gettyimagesbankBy Sah Dong-seokIt might be too early to say that the COVID-19 pandemic will end soon.But the Korea Productivity Center (KPC), a local consultancy, says some industries will get a big boost this year as the pandemic is set to become endemic around the world. The KPC publishes the National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) rankings every year. Among the industries to benefit from the receding COVID-19 are cosmetics manufacturing. Cosmetics for women will be in greater demand and customer satisfaction will grow, according to the KPC, as the indoor mask mandate is lifted in phases across the nation. Sales of cosmetics for women had plunged as people were obliged to wear masks during the pandemic. But they bounced back amid the overall growth of sales from offline stores. Consumer sentiment related to color cosmetics is showing a marked rise.Domestic flight travelers have been rising, in response to restrictions on overseas travel amid the fallout from COVID-19. This led to remarkable customer service improvements by domestic carriers, including introduction of conta

Jan 10, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
Weakening COVID-19 set to boost cosmetics, travel industries
Companies

Severance Hospital tops NCSI ranking for two straight years

Severance Hospital employees hold cards that wish wellness and happiness. The hospital topped the industry-wide National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) rankings for two years in a row in 2022. Courtesy of Korea Productivity Center8 hospitals among top 11; Lotte Duty Free ranks 8thBy Sah Dong-seokSeverance Hospital took the top place in the industry-wide National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) rankings for the second year in a row in 2022, according to the Korea Productivity Center (KPC), a local consultancy, Monday. The hospital's score for this year was 85 points, up one point from 2021. The hospital was followed by Samsung Medical Center, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital and Asan Medical Center. The KPC, which publishes the index, said the notable feature of the 2022 NCSI rankings was that there were as many as eight hospitals among the top 11 entities.The KPC conducted a survey of 335 companies, including universities and state-run organizations, in 82 industries. Their customer satisfaction index averaged 78.4 points in 2022, the highest since the NCSI survey began in 1998. Desp

Jan 9, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
Severance Hospital tops NCSI ranking for two straight years
Companies

ANALYSIS Will gov't deregulation measures lead to soft landing of housing market?

Apartment complexes in Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minYears of heavy demand-control real estate regulations have all but come to an end, scrapped by last week's government measures put in place to engineer a soft landing of the housing market that experienced extreme overheating under the Moon Jae-in administration and has been plummeting during the past months. Borrowing limits and other requirements were all lifted except in four districts of Seoul ― Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa and Yongsan. This together with lower taxes on owners of expensive homes and multiple homes is intended to limit further sharp falls in housing prices. The policy seeks to help manage the readjusting of market expectations on housing price trajectories.Doubt remains, however, over whether the current administration will be able to bring fully under control the consequences of ill-conceived and poorly executed housing policies under the previous Moon Jae-in administration. The grim outlook is not in any way mitigated by recent rapid increases in borrowing rates, a major risk for both households and build

Jan 8, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
[ANALYSIS] Will gov't deregulation measures lead to soft landing of housing market?
Companies

Transport minister to attend CES

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minMinister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong will attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 held in Las Vegas from Jan. 5 to Jan. 8, to enhance understanding of global technology trends, including urban air mobility (UAM), autonomous driving, smart city planning, digital healthcare and the metaverse, the ministry said Thursday.The four-day trip accompanied by working-level junior ministry officials will, it added, help outline policy directives reflective of growing needs to integrate smart, IT-mediated services closely with the everyday life of the public, a sector the ministry considers the next growth driver of the IT powerhouse.The annual event is the world's largest IT exhibition organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) held every January since 1967. The ministry has participated in the event since 2018. Around 3,000 exhibitors from 170 countries will join this year. Included are top local industry players Samsung, SK and LG.The top transport policyma

Jan 5, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
Transport minister to attend CES
Companies

Korea to fortify marine foods biz for export

Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Cho Seung-hwan / Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minThe government will establish six clusters of privately -invested sea farming facilities by 2026, in a move to speed up exports of locally-grown, globally popular marine products, the fisheries ministry said Wednesday. Included are Busan and Jeju Island as well as port cities in Gangwon, South Jeolla and South and North Gyeongsang provinces. Cooperation with academic institutes will be strengthened in the regions to foster the development of genetic engineering technology for greater commercial success and industrial sustainability. At least 114 local firms that produce what the government has termed “blue food” will be able to identify overseas market demand, as assisted by brand development, marketing, target analysis and obtaining global certification ― all costly and research-intensive activities to be managed and guided by the government. Behind the full policy backing of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries lies stronger-than-expected exports of Korea's marine products last year. The a

Jan 4, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
Korea to fortify marine foods biz for export
Companies

Korea to establish 'K-rice belt' in Africa

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Chung Hwang-keun. Korea Times file By Lee Kyung-minThe government will establish what it calls a “K-rice belt” across seven countries in Africa, in order to advance current official development assistance (ODA) programs to countries that are struggling with a lack of agricultural infrastructure, compounded by geographical and other limitations unfavorable to growing crops, the food ministry said Wednesday. Those countries are Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon, Uganda and Kenya. The ministry will sign memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with those countries this year to help them identify ways to more effectively nurture the traditional industry, enabled in part by renting out used Korean agricultural equipment.These are among the key policy directives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for 2023.Global cooperation with key grain-producing countries will be strengthened through efforts to diversif

Jan 4, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
Korea to establish 'K-rice belt' in Africa
Companies

Fostering bio industry

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang, left, is on a guided tour of a manufacturing plant of LG Chem, the chemicals affiliate of LG Group, in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, as part of his first official schedule for this year, Tuesday. Yonhap

Jan 3, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
Fostering bio industry
Companies

Lotte Bio completes acquisition of Syracuse plant in US

A manufacturing plant of Lotte Biologics in Syracuse, New York / Courtesy of Lotte BiologicsBy Lee Kyung-minLotte Biologics, a biopharmaceutical affiliate of Lotte Group, said Tuesday that on Dec. 31 it acquired a manufacturing plant of its New York Stock Exchange-listed peer, Bristol Myers Squibb in East Syracuse, New York.This is a follow-up to an earlier contract signed last May whereby Lotte agreed to buy the facility for $160 million (203 billion won).Lotte will be able to generate a profit this year due to the immediate manufacturing and sales of key products at the U.S. facility, which it says will be the hub for Lotte's North America operations concerning its contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business.The acquisition has moved up the timeline in profit generation by five years, the minimum period that would have been needed if it had built the facilities from scratch. Over 92 percent of the employees at the U.S. facility, including core technology experts with at least 15 years of experience, will continue working there. The firm will make further inv

Jan 3, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
Lotte Bio completes acquisition of Syracuse plant in US
Companies

Gov't seeks ICT, nuclear, defense exports in all-in-one package

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, sixth from left in the front, and officials of key economy-related ministries, financial authorities, state-run organizations and private firms raise their fist at an event celebrating the launch of One Team Korea, established to help the country win overseas construction orders at President Hotel in Seoul, Dec. 28. Korea Times fileKorea to become global top 4 construction powerhouseBy Lee Kyung-minThe government will outline a strategy to facilitate the export of a package of strong local industries encompassing Information Communications Technology (ICT), nuclear energy and defense under the overarching goal of securing overseas construction and infrastructure projects, the ministry said Tuesday.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the policy initiative will generate overseas construction orders of at least $35 billion (44 trillion won) this year, thereby advancing the country in becoming the fourth-largest global construction market player. Korea is currently the fifth-largest market player with a tot

Jan 3, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
Gov't seeks ICT, nuclear, defense exports in all-in-one package
Companies

LG Uplus offers benefits to employees who choose not to marry

A worker installs a 5G base station in Seoul. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minAn unmarried male employee of LG Uplus Corp., the country's third-largest telecommunications service provider by market cap, has received benefits similar in design to what his married coworkers receive, the firm said Monday.LG Uplus introduced the new benefit in line with demands from the firm's unionized workers seeking to dispel what they consider an outdated notion of how a major life choice should be celebrated.“I am happy to say that I have become the first to seek the new benefit, which I have always wanted,” the man posted on the firm's intranet, Monday. “Me declining to marry is nothing more than a description of me in the context of marital status, and it doesn't mean in any way that I live alone. Everybody has different life choices and different circumstances,” he said. The online post had over 50 comments congratulating him.He has become the first LG Uplus employee to be granted the one month's base wage and five days of paid leave, since the LG Group affiliate introduce

Jan 2, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
LG Uplus offers benefits to employees who choose not to marry
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