my timesThe Korea Times
lkm

Lee Kyung-min

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr

Go to EmailGo to URL

Read more

Companies

Hankook Tire owners should pay $3.4 mil. tax for overseas income: court

Hankook Tire Chairman Cho Yang-rai / Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minOwners of Hankook Tire, Korea's top tire manufacturer, should pay 4.5 billion won ($3.4 million) in taxes from overseas capital gains income, Seoul Administrative Court ruled Thursday.The administrative suit was their second failed attempt to lower or altogether annul the tax, following a Tax Tribunal ruling that had dismissed a previous case filed by the owner family of the seventh-largest tiremaker in the global market. The administrative court ruled against Hankook Tire Chairman Cho Yang-rai and his son Hyun-sik, saying they deliberately hid income from a combined five bank accounts in Switzerland and Luxembourg from 1990 to 2014. The capital gains income from the five accounts remained unreported for over two decades. No plausible explanation was found to justify the two holding accounts in the European countries other than for tax evasion purposes, the court added.“The firm had little business presence in the European countries. Choosing overseas accounts over local ones is not explained by any other circ

Jul 14, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Hankook Tire owners should pay $3.4 mil. tax for overseas income: court
Companies

DSME strike developing into labor-to-labor feud

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's unionized regular employees hold a rally at the company's shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province. Korea Times file By Lee Kyung-minThe month-long strike by unionized subcontractors of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DMSE) has developed into a conflict between its unionized regular full-time regular workers and its subcontracted workers, as indicated by a request for a police investigation by the shipbuilder's regular unionized workers, according to industry watchers, Wednesday.Whether and how fast the collective move finds a breakthrough  will influence the pace of recovery in Korea's leading manufacturing sector. Korean shipbuilders are one of the country's growth drivers and a global top player, having secured a 45 percent of the global advance orders in the first half of this year, after years of an industry-wide slowdown.The operations of the shipbuilder remain halted temporarily due to a branch of the company's subcontractors occupying the firm's shipyard on Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Provi

Jul 13, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
DSME strike developing into labor-to-labor feud
Companies

Coupang, Naver hit by antitrust allegations

Naver headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minKorea's two IT giants, Coupang and Naver, are under investigation by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations that they falsely advertised membership benefits and deceived customers, according to industry watchers, Wednesday.A dozen investigators with the antitrust agency were dispatched to the headquarters of Coupang in Songpa District, southeastern Seoul, and Naver in Bundang District of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, from late Monday through Tuesday, to conduct on-site investigations.Coupang logoCoupang allegedly sold goods to non-member customers at a lower price than those who paid monthly fees of 4,990 won ($3.82) for Wow membership, a sales practice Wow members characterize as reverse discrimination.The allegation was first raised in May and amplified since then due to a large number of Coupang users filing complaints with a government website run by the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission.Many claimed that the prices shown to members and non-members alike indicate Wow members w

Jul 13, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Coupang, Naver hit by antitrust allegations
Companies

Reporter's notebook 'They do it because they think they can get away with it'

Korea Inc. grapples with growing embezzlement casesBy Lee Kyung-minWhat do steel manufacturers, electrical device makers, banks, savings banks, securities firms, community credit cooperatives, cosmetics firms and telecommunication service providers have in common?Do they even have anything in common at all ― many would ask ― other than that they are very profitable businesses and possess huge cash reserves? This probably makes it easier to understand how and why it happened ― a dozen alleged embezzlement and fraud cases totaling hundreds of billions of won ($1=1,310 won) over the course of the past few years. People are still having a hard time grasping how such acts went unnoticed for months, or years on end.Chief among the contextual factors is that many of the alleged perpetrators were saddled in debt after investing in stocks and cryptocurrencies, the two most volatile vehicles of investment that thrived over the past few years on cheap liquidity. The COVID-19 pandemic sparked an expansionary monetary policy and fiscal stimulus measures, defined by record-low borrowing rates.&ldq

Jul 13, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
[Reporter's notebook] 'They do it because they think they can get away with it'
Companies

Kakao's move to sell Kakao mobility shares draws protest

Unionized workers of Kakao Mobility hold a press conference in Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min IT giant Kakao is coming under intense criticism over its plan to sell off over 10 percent of its stake in its mobility affiliate to a private equity fund (PEF), according to industry and firm officials, Monday. Kakao owns a majority stake in Kakao Mobility, the operator of the ride-hailing service app Kakao T, which has an estimated total value of about 8.5 trillion won ($6.5 billion).Kakao characterizes the move as a business strategy to reorganize its corporate portfolio and financials, a much-needed breakthrough to navigate a bout of risks involving a sharp fall in the share prices of the firm and its key affiliates, amid allegations of business overreach at the expense of smaller market players.However, employees of the mobility affiliate call it an irresponsible tactic to altogether dodge accountability for the recent failures in corporate performances and rapidly souring public sentiment. Whether the escalating conflict will dial down remains to be seen, as it will be managed b

Jul 11, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Kakao's move to sell Kakao mobility shares draws protest
Companies

Car manufacturers fear summer labor walkouts

Unionized workers of Hyundai Motor stage a rally in front of the firm's manufacturing plant in Ulsan, Sept. 30, 2016. Korea Times file By Lee Kyung-min Major local car manufacturers are experiencing a sense of crisis, hobbled by the collective threat of a walkout by unionized workers demanding wage increases and expanded benefits, according to industry watchers, Monday. Tension is highest at Hyundai Motor, which has the largest and most militant group of unions in the manufacturing industry represented by the Korea Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU), one of two umbrella unions in the country. Hyundai's moves can lead to similar actions by its co-affiliate Kia, as well as Renault Korea Motors and GM Korea.Hyundai has managed to avoid labor conflicts for over four years. However, weeks of deadlocked negotiations between management and labor could trigger industry-wide production disruptions at the expense of economic growth, compounded further by years of bottleneck

Jul 11, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Car manufacturers fear summer labor walkouts
Companies

'Minimum wage increases replace cashiers with machines'

Customers shop at an unmanned convenience store. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minKim Hyeon-sik, a man in his 50s who runs an unmanned convenience store in the city of Sejong, south of Seoul, said the yearly increase in the hourly minimum wage stopped being a headache for him when he decided to operate an unmanned store.“I don't know why I didn't buy the machine to do the job sooner. The minimum wage increases will never be a concern for me for good,” he said.According to Kye Sang-hyeok, head of the Convenience Store Franchisees' Association, this is how about 200,000 part-time workers at the country's convenience stores could jobs to machines in the coming months. The government said on June 30 that the state-set minimum wage will be increased to 9,620 won ($7.41) per hour, up 5 percent, or 460 won, from a year earlier.Kye says that an increasing number of store operators have installed a kiosk to replace cashiers, and more will be inclined to operate unmanned stores to reduce labor costs in order to make ends meet.The number of unmanned convenience stores operated by the

Jul 11, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
'Minimum wage increases replace cashiers with machines'
Companies

Korea grapples with energy crisis fears

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang, third from left, visits Korea Midland Power in Mapo District, Seoul, Sunday. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and EnergyBy Lee Kyung-minThe energy minister visited Korea Midland Power (KMP), a state-run power company in Seoul, to ensure the stable supply of electricity and operation of power plants in the months to come, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Sunday. This was to help forestall a possible energy crisis this summer, as foreboded by record-breaking energy demand and falling reserve margins as of late. Korea's daily maximum electricity demand surged to an all-time high of 92,990 megawatts (MW), July 7, exceeding the previous record of 92,478 MW July 24, 2018.On the same day, the reserve capacity sank to 6,726MW and reserve margin dipped to 7.2 percent. These fell far short of the stable level of 10GW in reserve capacity and the margin of 10 percent. The 6,726 MW figure is close to dropping further to 5,500 MW, a level that triggers a nationwide power crunch alert.The ministry said electricity demand i

Jul 10, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Korea grapples with energy crisis fears
Companies

Korea to foster digital experts

Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT Park Yun-kyu, eighth from right, poses for a photo with officials of leading local IT firms at LG Sciencepark in Gangseo District, southwestern Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Science and ICTBy Lee Kyung-minA cooperative body comprised of the government, industry, academia and research institutes will be established in September to foster digital experts, the government said Thursday.Education and training of students will prioritize initiative-oriented self-learning, a process to be nurtured and fortified by private-public cooperation seeking early and full utilization of entry-level employees at high-tech firms.These objectives are policy directives of the Ministry of Science and ICT announced by Second Vice Minister Park Yun-kyu during a meeting at LG Sciencepark in Gangseo District, southwestern Seoul.“Science and ICT education will encourage students to learn not only from books but also practical experiences,” he said. “Universities will accordingly be elevated to research-intensive high-tech training facilities

Jul 8, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Korea to foster digital experts
Companies

Korea urged to revise K-taxonomy to bolster nuclear drive

President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with nuclear power industry officials during a meeting at Doosan Enerbility in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, June 22. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minKorea should embrace the recent decision by the European Commission (EC) recognizing nuclear and natural gas as green energy sources in its taxonomy, as a step toward expediting the country's nuclear-centered energy drive, according to some market watchers, Thursday. They say Korea should revise the K-taxonomy, the Korean version of the European Union taxonomy, a set of guidelines for economic activities that investors can label as “green” and “environmentally sustainable.” The EU taxonomy was designed to meet the objectives of the European Green New Deal, including reaching the EU's energy targets by 2030 and becoming a climate-neutral continent by 2050.The move will enable Czech Republic and Poland ― two European buyers of Korea's nuclear energy systems ― to seek more and cheaper financing, which Korean companies could capitalize on with similar guidance and regulator

Jul 7, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Korea urged to revise K-taxonomy to bolster nuclear drive
previous page
174175176177178
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.