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Lee Kyung-min

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Tech & Science

Transition committee prepares measures to nurture semiconductor experts

A Samsung Electronics semiconductor manufacturing plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration will create education and training courses to help foster highly skilled professionals in the semiconductor industry, a key growth driver feared to experience a shortage of about 30,000 workers over the next decade, according to the presidential transition committee, Tuesday.The measure is part of efforts to increase government support to help sharpen the competitiveness of the high-tech industry, the global strength of which is increasingly being linked to national security amid the intensifying hegemony war between the U.S. and China. Also advancing the drive is the shared concern that Korea, the global leader in memory chip manufacturing, could fall behind in the logic chip industry, trailing Taiwan's TSMC by a wide margin. Under the envisioned plan, graduate school programs will be set up to expedite integrated undergrad learning courses at universities to be designated by the government as high education institutions s

Apr 13, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Transition committee prepares measures to nurture semiconductor experts
Companies

Will LG Display, SK hynix benefit from industry minister nominee?

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's nominee for minister of trade, industry and energy, Lee Chang-yang. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min LG Display, the display panel unit of LG Group, and SK hynix, the semiconductor unit of SK Group, are attracting keen attention as to whether they will benefit from the nomination of Lee Chang-yang as minister of trade, industry and energy in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, according to market watchers Tuesday.Underpinning expectations for closer cooperation and communication is Lee having served as an outside director at the two firms for a combined nine years: six years at SK hynix and three years at LG Display. Other than the LG and SK affiliates, Lee also served as an outside director for five years at Tokai Carbon Korea, the Korean subsidiary of Japanese carbon and graphite product manufacturer Tokai Carbon.Lee received a combined 800 million won ($647,500) from the three firms over the past 13 years, during which time he passed 284 of 285 motions put up for vote. The overwhelming number of yes votes by Lee have brought to the fore the longstand

Apr 12, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Will LG Display, SK hynix benefit from industry minister nominee?
Companies

Land minister nominee criticized for lacking expertise

Won Hee-ryong, nominated to lead the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, speaks to reporters at the entrance to Gwacheon Government Complex, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min Former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong is coming under fire after being nominated to lead the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport despite lacking relevant expertise, according to critics, Monday. The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said the nomination is an apparent reward for spearheading a smear campaign for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party, mostly by raising corruption allegations against the ruling party's defeated presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. Won accused Lee, a former Gyeonggi governor and Seongnam mayor, of being deeply involved in a land and commercial district development project to the amount of over 1 trillion won ($810 million) in Daejang-dong in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, saying that Lee helped a construction firm and six key figures related to the firm to net 404.4 billion won, or 68.4 percent of 590 billion won, in dividends from the project. &ldquo

Apr 11, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Land minister nominee criticized for lacking expertise
  • Yoon's selection of Cabinet members faces mixed outlook
Companies

Corporate governance expert to help Samsung Electronics' Lee gain chairmanship

Daniel Oh By Lee Kyung-min Daniel Oh, a corporate governance and shareholder strategies expert with 20 years of experience, has recently joined Samsung Electronics, in what market watchers said Monday was a move to help Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong become chairman.Oh is expected to map out a strategy to help Lee regain his status as a registered director of the firm, a position he lost in 2019, due to his conviction in a bribery trial caused by a scandal involving disgraced former President Park Geun-hye. Lee has since been serving as an unregistered director without remuneration. An unregistered director means he is not a member of the company board but can play a role in the executive decision-making process. Chief among Oh's strategies will be winning the support and cooperation of institutional investors, while reorganizing the firm's cross-shareholding governance structure, a process likely to be delayed due to activist investors seeking greater shareholder ret

Apr 11, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Corporate governance expert to help Samsung Electronics' Lee gain chairmanship
Economy

Contribution Strong policies help Korea navigate uncertain times

Krishna Srinivasan, the Deputy Director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the IMF By Krishna Srinivasan and Martin KaufmanKorea has been recovering well from the pandemic ― a testament to its strong economic fundamentals and appropriate policy responses. Economic output has surpassed pre-crisis levels despite multiple waves of infection. The recovery was supported by the effective containment of the pandemic, including rapid vaccinations last year and pursuing proactive economic policy support, which helped minimize economic scarring, sustain income growth and maintain financial stability. Given Korea's high degree of global integration, strong external demand has also provided support to the recovery. Before the war in Ukraine, Korea's growth had been expected to remain robust this year and next, absorbing any remaining economic slack. Inflation had been projected to return gradually to target by next year, as reflected in the recent IMF report. But significant

Apr 10, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
[Contribution] Strong policies help Korea navigate uncertain times
Banking & Finance

Eximbank, BOK face mounting pressure to move out of Seoul

Rep. Suh Byung-soo speaks during a parliamentary committee meeting, Feb.9, at the National Assembly in Seoul. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min The Bank of Korea (BOK) and state-run lenders including the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) are facing increasing pressure to relocate out of Seoul following legislative moves to transfer them to other cities.Rep. Suh Byung-soo of the People Power Party (PPP) said Friday that he has proposed a bill that will enable the relocation of Eximbank from Seoul to Busan.This is the latest in a recent series of similar bipartisan legislative moves to relocate Seoul-based state-run lenders including the Korea Development Bank (KDB) to the southern port city, as well as the country's central bank.Behind the unified efforts for the relocations is President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, whose campaign pledge included moving the KDB to Busan, a decision he said would help elevate the status of the nation's second-largest city, transforming it into a global financial hub, housing major financial institutions. Eximbank was added to the list, April 4, when Yoon m

Apr 9, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Eximbank, BOK face mounting pressure to move out of Seoul
Companies

Samsung, Doosan speed up nuclear energy businesses

Samsung Heavy Industries CEO Jung Jin-taek, right, and his counterpart from Seaborg, hold a copy of a signed memorandum of understanding, Thursday. Courtesy of Samsung Heavy IndustriesBy Lee Kyung-min Samsung Heavy Industries and Doosan Enerbility, the plant building and energy affiliates of Samsung Group and Doosan Group, respectively, are accelerating their nuclear energy businesses, buoyed by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's pledge to elevate the much criticized energy source as a new national growth driver, according to industry watchers, Friday.The move toward rapid business expansion abroad is the latest in the incoming administration's energy policy directives, defined by the early and full scrapping of the nuclear phase-out policy spearheaded by President Moon Jae-in.President-elect Yoon said that Korea should embrace nuclear energy for a stable supply of power to lower production costs for businesses and to meet the short-term energy demands of households for heating and air-conditioning.Samsung Heavy signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Seaborg, a Danish next-gene

Apr 8, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Samsung, Doosan speed up nuclear energy businesses
Companies

Kakao Mobility to spend W50 bil. for mutual growth

Kakao Mobility CEO Ryu Gung-sun speaks during an online press conference, Thursday. Courtesy of Kakao MobilityBy Lee Kyung-min Kakao Mobility will spend 50 billion won ($41 million) over the next five years to create a healthy mobility market ecosystem, defined by inclusive growth with the service providers ― taxi drivers.The plan announced Thursday is part of efforts to offset brewing criticism that the mobility affiliate of Korean IT giant Kakao Corp has built its bulky business portfolio as a comprehensive mobility platform over the past few years at the expense of other smaller market players including low-income workers in the industry.An investigation is currently underway by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), Korea's antitrust regulator, into Kakao Mobility, after a group of the country's taxi drivers filed a complaint over the suspected manipulation of a platform algorithm to put through a far greater number of ride-hailing calls to drivers who paid a membership fee over those who did not. The firm has since denied the allegation.“I am aware of the criticism and concerns

Apr 7, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Kakao Mobility to spend W50 bil. for mutual growth
Companies

President-elect to extend lifespan of 10 nuclear reactors

Kori Nuclear Power Plant in Busan Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration will likely extend the lifespan of 10 aging nuclear reactors to realize the president-elect's campaign pledge to make nuclear power account for up to 35 percent of the country's energy source, up from the current 29.4 percent, according to the presidential transition committee Wednesday. The extension of the old reactors is essentially the only viable option, since the construction of new ones will take a considerable amount of time due to identifying suitable locations, which almost always should be preceded by government feasibility studies. This is also evidenced by periodic safety reviews conducted by the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) with the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, a nuclear safety regulatory and policy-making body, Monday, concerning the planned closure of Kori 2, a 40-year-old nuclear reactor in Busan. Had the state-run energy firm not submitted its request, Kori 2 would have been closed April 8, 2023. Ten old nuclear reactors are sch

Apr 6, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
President-elect to extend lifespan of 10 nuclear reactors
Companies

China lockdown poses risks to Nongshim, AmorePacific

Tesla's China-made Model 3 vehicles are seen during a delivery event at the carmaker's factory in Shanghai, China. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The recent COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai has emerged as a possible risk to the distribution networks of Korean firms that operate manufacturing plants in the world's second-largest economy, according to industry watchers Tuesday.Nongshim, a food company, and AmorePacific, a cosmetics firm, said they are closely monitoring developments in the city, although their operations have not been as heavily affected as those of Tesla. The U.S. electric vehicle maker's Shanghai factory has remained shut for eight days, Monday, following a two-stage lockdown that started near the Huangpu River. The prolonged shutdown of factories in Shanghai may pose a major threat to partner firms and their employees, leading to the closures of businesses and job losses. “We are closely monitoring the situation,” an AmorePacific spokesperson said.The citywide lockdown has led to a temporary shutdown of AmorePacific's manufacturing facilities, but has yet to cause

Apr 5, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
China lockdown poses risks to Nongshim, AmorePacific
  • Shanghai lockdown deepens after new surge in asymptomatic cases
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