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Park Jae-hyuk

Korea Times Business Reporter

Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.

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Companies

Business leaders to skip Assembly audit as Lee highlights APEC event

The upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Korea has provided business leaders with what appears to be a reprieve, as the event has been cited as a reason for them to skip the annual National Assembly audit. With a growing consensus between rival parties on the need to avoid summoning businesspeople before the global gathering, lawmakers have pulled back on plans to call chairs and CEOs from major conglomerates to testify at this year's audit. On Friday, Rep. Park Jeong-hyeon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) canceled her plan to question Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun regarding company security guards who disrupted a protest by subcontracted workers in front of the company's headquarters in Seoul earlier this year. Park's decision has largely been attributed to repeated advice from party leadership to avoid summoning business leaders for political reasons, although she also pointed to the carmaker's commitment to supporting subcontracted workers. President Lee Jae Myung also reportedly questioned lawmakers' intentions to summon so m

Oct 13, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Business leaders to skip Assembly audit as Lee highlights APEC event
Companies

Korean firms capitalize on absence of Chinese rivals in US solar market

Korean companies are rapidly expanding their presence in the U.S. solar market as their Chinese competitors are virtually banned from sales under the Donald Trump administration. Amid a decade of dominance by low-priced Chinese solar products in Korea, Hanwha Solutions and OCI Holdings have gradually decreased reliance on the domestic market and shifted their focus to the U.S. OCI Holdings announced Monday it will invest $78 million to acquire a 65 percent stake in Elite Solar Power Wafer’s plant in Vietnam, which is scheduled for completion by the end of this month. The Korean firm said the acquisition aims to produce wafers that are free from “prohibited foreign entities.” Under the U.S. One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which took effect in July, solar products that contain materials and components sourced from prohibited foreign entities, including China, are excluded from qualifying for tax incentives. OCI Holdings emphasized the Vietnamese plant will source all of its polysilicon from OCI Terrasus, its wholly owned subsidiary, to create complete vertical integration and boost both

Oct 13, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Korean firms capitalize on absence of Chinese rivals in US solar market
Companies

Retired US rear admiral joins Hanwha

Retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Tom Anderson has become yet another former U.S. Navy officer to join Hanwha Group. Earlier this month, Hanwha Defense USA, a subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, announced that the former program executive officer for ships, who had a 34-year career with the U.S. Navy, has been appointed as the president of U.S. shipbuilding at the company. The defense firm said he will be responsible for executing Hanwha's U.S. shipbuilding programs and shipyard operations, as well as developing future programs, infrastructure and associated workforce to accommodate future growth. "Tom has had a distinguished and impactful naval career, and we are delighted to bring his deep industry expertise, creative thinking and demonstrated leadership to Hanwha," Hanwha Defense USA CEO Mike Smith said. "Tom brings a wealth of experience and unique perspectives that will accelerate the delivery of novel solutions to our customers' most elusive industrial base challenges." Between 2023 and 2024, Anderson frequently visited Korea in his capacity as a U.S. admiral to learn about the latest shipbui

Oct 13, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Retired US rear admiral joins Hanwha
Companies

Korean firms fall victim to US-China trade war

Korean companies have borne the brunt of the renewed trade conflict between the United States and China. As the world's top two economies have recently engaged in tit-for-tat economic retaliations — moves widely seen as attempts to bolster bargaining power ahead of a possible summit in Korea later this month — concerns are mounting that Korean chipmakers, electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers and shipping firms could suffer from the escalating tensions. On Thursday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced tighter export controls on rare earth metals including samarium, dysprosium and terbium, which are essential for manufacturing semiconductor equipment, EV motors and batteries. Although Korean manufacturers have highlighted their stockpiles of rare earth elements in order to dismiss concerns, they could still face long-term production setbacks if Chinese authorities delay export approvals. "The government will continue negotiations with China to prevent the latest measures from harming domestic companies," said an official from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. A day after the Chi

Oct 12, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Korean firms fall victim to US-China trade war
Law & Crime

No thanksgiving food offered to ex-first couple in jail

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, spent their first Chuseok in jail without any special meal, according to the Ministry of Justice, Monday. Until last year, the ministry's Korea Correctional Service provided inmates with special meals during the mid-autumn harvest festival that falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, as well as during the Lunar New Year, in accordance with the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Execution of Sentences and Treatment of Inmates. Due to budget cuts for special meals in prisons this year, however, the agency stopped offering special food during Chuseok and the Lunar New Year. As a result, Yoon again missed a special meal during a traditional festival. He spent this year's Lunar New Year in a detention center in January, before he was temporarily released in March before being detained again in July. On Thursday, however, the Seoul Detention Center, where Yoon is held, provided inmates with rice cakes donated by a non-governmental organization. The Southern Detention Center of Seoul, where Kim is imprisoned, plan

Oct 6, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
No thanksgiving food offered to ex-first couple in jail
Companies

Seoul grapples with stalled US tariff talks even during Chuseok holiday

Seoul has continued with efforts to break the deadlock in stalled tariff negotiations with Washington throughout the extended Chuseok holiday. Aiming to finalize details about the tariff negotiations ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting scheduled for later this month in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, the government dispatched senior officials to the United States and held an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, who returned Monday from an unannounced trip to meet U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in New York, said Washington understands Seoul's concern that Korea's foreign exchange market could be destabilized if the country accepts U.S. President Donald Trump's request to provide the proposed $350 billion investment fund in cash. Expressing optimism about additional meetings with the U.S. before the APEC summit, Kim said he expects to meet with Lutnick again soon. "Both sides have narrowed the gap concerning the foreign exchange market," Kim told reporters at Incheon International Airport. Sin

Oct 6, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Seoul grapples with stalled US tariff talks even during Chuseok holiday
Companies

PHOTO Partnership for intellectual property protection

Kolmar Group Vice Chairman Yoon Sang-hyun, seventh from left, and Daren Tang, sixth from left, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, pose with officials from the Ministry of Intellectual Property at Kolmar Korea's R&D facility in Seoul, Wednesday. The cosmetics product manufacturer said Thursday that the specialized agency of the United Nations agreed to organize a dedicated team to boost cooperation with Kolmar and raise awareness about intellectual property protection among small cosmetics brands. Courtesy of Kolmar Holdings

Oct 2, 2025By Park Jae-hyukphoto
[PHOTO] Partnership for intellectual property protection
Tech & Science

Korean petrochemical firms to showcase advanced materials in Germany

Major Korean petrochemical firms will flock to the German city of Düsseldorf next week to showcase their latest material technologies at the triennial K 2025 trade fair for plastics and rubber, scheduled for Oct. 8-15. SK Chemicals plans to exhibit more than 70 end products and industrial goods commercialized with the company's proprietary materials. Under the theme "Recyclable, Recycled and Bio Solutions," the firm will present items made with its recyclable and recycled materials used across various industries, including cosmetics, automotive, fashion and food and beverage. “As circularity is becoming a core requirement in global markets, SK Chemicals provides readily deployable recycling and bio solutions, and is recognized for competitive quality and commercial readiness,” SK Chemicals CEO Ahn Jae-hyun said. “We will continue expanding collaborations with global companies and further strengthen SK Chemicals’ technological and brand leadership as the market shifts toward recycled plastics.” LG Chem will display 65 types of products at its 286-square-meter booth, the largest

Oct 2, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Korean petrochemical firms to showcase advanced materials in Germany
Companies

India becomes land of opportunity for Korean shipbuilders

Korea's top three shipbuilders are accelerating efforts to expand their presence in India, seeking to benefit from the world's most populous country's plan to become a global maritime industry powerhouse. Samsung Heavy Industries recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India's Swan Defence and Heavy Industries to collaborate on shipbuilding and offshore engineering. With Swan operating India's largest dry dock, which enables the construction of very large crude oil carriers and offshore engineering facilities, the Korean firm plans to work with the Indian company on ship design as well as engineering, procurement and management. "Combining technology with the market, this collaboration is the best partnership model for a win-win outcome for both companies," Samsung Heavy Industries Executive Vice President Namgoong Geum-sung said. "We will continue to look for new opportunities for future growth." In 2023, the Indian government launched the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, a long-term blueprint to transform the country into a global maritime leader by 2047, the 100th ann

Oct 2, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
India becomes land of opportunity for Korean shipbuilders
Companies

National Assembly audit awaits business leaders after Chuseok holiday

A large number of conglomerate leaders have been called to testify at the National Assembly audit again this year, after ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmakers refused to follow party leadership's recommendation to refrain from summoning businesspeople to the annual event. Despite the pressing need to brace for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit and U.S. tariffs, business leaders have been required to spend time on the first Assembly audit under the Lee Jae Myung administration. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won was put on the list of witnesses for the National Policy Committee's audit sessions over an allegation he unfairly financed a group affiliate. Also leading the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry that chairs the APEC CEO Summit, Chey was asked to appear at the National Assembly on Oct. 28, the opening day of the international gathering in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, who supported the government's talks with the United States over tariffs, is among the witnesses to testify at the Public Admi

Oct 2, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
National Assembly audit awaits business leaders after Chuseok holiday
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