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Lee Kyung-min

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Builders desperately need financial aid, tax breaks

Construction of an apartment complex remains suspended in Gwangju in this photo taken on Nov. 30. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minHeads of local construction associations urged the government to extend tax breaks and other financial aid in a desperate call to limit mounting industry uncertainties concerning plunging market demand and a liquidity crunch, according to industry officials, Monday.“The housing and construction market is in need of immediate government assistance,” Construction Association of Korea Chairman Kim Sang-soo said in a New Year message. Behind the urgency lies extreme difficulties in the construction industry in the last year, including a significant reduction in government spending on social overhead capital (SOC), a slowdown in housing and construction industries and project financing failures.“We will make greater private-led investments, a task equally critical as the government's increasing SOC spending to create more jobs and reinvigorate slumping regional economies,” Kim said.Similarly, International Contractors Association of Kore

Jan 2, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
Builders desperately need financial aid, tax breaks
Companies

INTERVIEW Korea able to help Saudi Arabia succeed in NEOM project: land minister

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and TransportInfrastructure ministry says mega project will lay foundation for long-term bilateral cooperationBy Lee Kyung-minKorea will be able to provide key know-how to help Saudi Arabia elevate its profile via the NEOM project, underpinned by trust in the Asian country's capabilities in city planning and infrastructure construction in the Middle Eastern nation dating back to the 1970s, according to Korea's top land, infrastructure and transport policymaker. In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong said the $500 billion (630 trillion won) NEOM project will be the first in a slew of joint Korea-Saudi Arabia projects encompassing transport system building, culture, defense, energy and ICT.Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the prime minister of Saudi Arabia, initiated the five-stage project in 2017 to build the 26,500 square-kilometer mega city in Tabuk Province along the country's northwestern coastline on the

Dec 31, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
[INTERVIEW] Korea able to help Saudi Arabia succeed in NEOM project: land minister
Companies

Samsung Electronics chairman returns after Southeast Asia trip

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong speaks to reporters as he arrives at Gimpo International Airport, Friday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-minSamsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong returned to Korea after a 10-day visit to Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia, its key partner countries in Southeast Asia, according to the firm and market watchers, Friday. He left Korea, Dec. 21.This was his fourth overseas trip after visits to Europe in June, Central and South America as well as the United Kingdom in September and the Middle East in early December of 2022. The purpose of the latest trip was to pinpoint the next sustainable growth drivers of the firm in the decades to come.Upon arriving at Gimpo International Airport early Friday, Lee declined to elaborate when reporters asked him about his business outlook for 2023, and only said, “I will try my best. I appreciate your hard work.”Lee attended a ceremony to celebrate the opening of Samsung's research and development (R&D) center in Hanoi, Vietnam, Dec. 23.“The research center in Vietnam will fortify not only the competi

Dec 30, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Samsung Electronics chairman returns after Southeast Asia trip
Companies

Nongshim introduces limited edition Shin Ramyun Zepeto

Shinramyun Zepeto. Courtesy of NongshimBy Lee Kyung-minNongshim, a local food and beverage manufacturer, has introduced Shin Ramyun Zepeto, an instant noodle pack that drew strong consumer responses on the Zepeto metaverse platform, according to the firm, Wednesday.The limited edition offers thicker noodles and is three times spicier than its Shin Ramyun flagship product, as measured on the Scoville scale, a measurement of the pungency, spiciness and heat of chili peppers. The scale heat unit (SHU) is based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, the constituents in pepper that are responsible for its pungency. The limited edition has an SHU of 6,000, much higher than Shin Ramyun's SHU score of 2,700.Nongshim said it will launch a new event, reflecting consumer opinions in the entire process of manufacturing.“The new limited edition will be a fun experience for our consumers of Shin Ramyun,” a firm official said.The new product will be released for sale on Jan. 9.

Dec 28, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Nongshim introduces limited edition Shin Ramyun Zepeto
Companies

Korea aims to export nuclear reactors to Poland, Czech Republic

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang / Korea Times fileEnergy security, IRA and carbon neutrality top priorities By Lee Kyung-minThe government will facilitate the exports of Korea-developed APR1400 nuclear reactors to Poland and the Czech Republic, as part of a broader policy drive to advance and normalize the often-demonized source of energy, the energy ministry said Tuesday.Korea will maintain close high-level intergovernmental communication channels with the Philippines, the U.K. and Turkey as well as other countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, with tailored strategies for meeting their energy demands, as outlined by the nuclear export initiative under President Yoon Suk-yeol.The politically stalled construction of nuclear reactors will resume promptly, fueling much-needed growth for the industry set to be revitalized by up to 3.5 trillion won ($2.7 billion) in business deals next year, up 1.1 trillion won from this year. Starting next year until 2025, one reactor will be built each year.The reserves for natural gas and crude oil will be increased, in a preemptiv

Dec 27, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Korea aims to export nuclear reactors to Poland, Czech Republic
Companies

Nuclear power exceeds 30% of Korea's energy mix

Shin Hanul nuclear reactors in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minNuclear power accounted for over 30 percent of the country's energy this year, in a marked elevation of the once-demonized power generation method that is increasingly appreciated for its affordability, stability and exportability, according to market watchers, Monday. The seven-year high of 30.7 percent registered in the first 11 months of this year is the highest since 31.7 percent in 2015. The figure hit a 17-year low of 23.7 percent in 2018 and had long remained below 30 percent under the nuclear phase-out policy spearheaded by the previous Moon Jae-in administration.However, the figure is expected to inch up further in the years to come, as anchored by the fostering of the nuclear energy industry. It is a policy priority of President Yoon Suk-yeol, who wants the country to export 10 domestically developed APR1400 nuclear reactors before his term ends in 2027. The energy directive will be underpinned by over 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in government support for the industry next yea

Dec 26, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Nuclear power exceeds 30% of Korea's energy mix
Companies

Korea's spatial information industry surpasses $7.8 bil. in sales on digitization

An employee of Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corp. (LX) looks at a digital spatial information map. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minKorea's spatial information industry surpassed 10 trillion won ($7.8 billion) in sales last year, in a feat underpinned by robust demand for the digitization of work processes at state-run organizations and their private peers, powered further by the COVID-19 pandemic, the land ministry said Monday. Also buttressing the average annual increase of a solid 7.8 percent over the past decade was the metaverse, an online platform where young individuals express their identities through the use of avatars.The industry provides services whereby three-dimensional maps contain information related to geometric and geographical properties. Geometric properties concern space, including distance, shape, size and relative position of figures. Geography refers to the study of the land, features, inhabitants and phenomena of the Earth.Last year's 10 trillion won in sales amounted to an increase of 9.9 percent, or 969 billion won, from the year before. The industry

Dec 26, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Korea's spatial information industry surpasses $7.8 bil. in sales on digitization
Companies

Record-high winter energy demand bolsters case for electricity rate hike

Electricity meters in Seoul. Korea times file By Lee Kyung-minRecord-high energy demand this winter sparked by the recent cold snap is further strengthening the case for electricity rate hikes in the coming weeks, market watchers said Sunday.The gradual yet certain energy price hikes will add to the woes of many households in the form of increased living expenses in the broader context of accelerating inflation. The finance ministry said consumer prices will register a year-on-year increase of 3.5 percent next year, up 0.5 percentage point from projections announced in June. This year's electricity rate was raised by a combined 19.3 won per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in three separate hikes in April, July and October, up 20 percent from the year before.The unwelcome circumstances are not in any way mitigated by the passage of a bill that will enable Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), the debt-ridden state-run energy firm, to issue corporate debt as much as five times the

Dec 26, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Record-high winter energy demand bolsters case for electricity rate hike
Companies

Credit crunch crisis looming for builders

Legoland, an amusement park in Gangwon Province, remains closed, Nov. 15. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minThe local construction industry is bracing for a series of bankruptcies at builders in a much-dreaded chain reaction prompted and exacerbated by widespread project financing (PF) failures over the past few months, industry watchers said Sunday. PF is the financing of long-term infrastructure, industrial projects and public services using limited recourse financing schemes. The debt and equity used to finance the relatively high-risk projects are paid back from the cash flow generated by the project, rather than from collaterals put up before the projects.At the center of the concern is the October default of a local developer of Legoland, guaranteed and operated by the municipal government of Gangwon Province. The unexpected failure to refinance the maturing debt of about 205 billion won ($159 million) led to a rapid tightening of borrowing conditions for mid- to small-sized construction firms, already devastated by post-pandemic, inflation-countering sharp key rate hikes.Further

Dec 25, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Credit crunch crisis looming for builders
Companies

LS Group founder's grandson receives commendation

Lee Sang-hyunBy Lee Kyung-min Electronics component manufacturer Taein CEO Lee Sang-hyun won a presidential commendation, Wednesday, for his contribution to fostering exchanges of cultural and sports activities between South and North Korea, the firm said Thursday. Lee is the grandson of the late LS Group founder and honorary chairman of LS Cable & System Koo Tai-hwoi.The commendation was awarded by the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, an advisory to the president. The constitutional entity makes policy recommendations for peaceful unification. “I am grateful that I was given the commendation. I will continue to make contributions to the country in any way I can,” he said, according to the firm. Lee is widely known as the author of the Korea Donation Guide, through which he shared his experience and philosophy about donations. Also included in the guide are a list of institutions and their contact information. These institutions accept donations as well as tax benefits during the year-end tax settlement.He is a member of the Honor Society, part of Community Ches

Dec 22, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
LS Group founder's grandson receives commendation
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