my timesThe Korea Times

Kim Yoo-chul

Korea Times Business Reporter

Go to Email

Read more

Tech & Science

LG Electronics vows to better help suppliers

By Kim Yoo-chul LG Electronics is considering more ways to improve its support for its suppliers, subcontractors and other smaller business partners, by offering them more generously-constructed deals and also technological support. The Korean technology giant, among the world's leading makers of flat-screen televisions and mobile phones, said Sunday it will double the number of its employees dispatched to about 1,300 of its most important suppliers over the next two years to improve interaction and collaborative business activities. The plans, announced by LG Electronics chief executive Nam Yong, also promise various incentives for suppliers in improving productivity and quality and reducing inventory. The LG Group of companies recently said that it will spend 740 billion won (about $625 million) to help its smaller business partners this year, including the creation of a 250 billion won mutual development fund. It hasn't been determined how the fund will be divided across the key LG affiliates, including LG Electronics, for management. In a public relations (P

Aug 22, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Wi-Fi on subway trains, buses

By Kim Yoo-chul Telecommunications giant KT is promising to flex a larger Wi-Fi muscle by providing wireless Internet access on commuter trains and buses, as it looks further to exploit the boom in data-enabled mobile devices triggered by smartphones. KT, the country's second-largest mobile-phone operator and the biggest telephone and Internet service provider, will install Seoul subway trains and buses with the company's portable gateway devices, dubbed "Egg," which converts WiBro portable Internet signals into Wi-Fi signals, starting next month. The wireless Internet services on the vehicles will be available during November, KT said, and will also be provided in airport limousine and inter-city buses. WiBro is the local variation of mobile WiMAX, which competes with Long Term Evolution (LTE) in the 4G standard wars, and offers broadband access on the move. The Egg-based Wi-Fi services are already being tested on a number of Seoul taxis. After completing the Wi-Fi zones in Subway Line Nos. 2, 5 and 8 by the end of November, KT plans to eventually expand wireless a

Aug 22, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

SKT goes toe to toe Wi-Fi with KT

By Kim Yoo-chul The gloves are coming off in the smartphone fight between SK Telecom and KT, and the focus of contention is not limited only to which has the better device but also the better wireless network. Although SK Telecom's overall status as the country's top mobile-phone operator remains undisputed, as it has more than half of the country’s wireless consumers, KT has managed to force parity in the booming smartphone segment after presenting the Apple iPhones, which Koreans have been crazy about. SK Telecom is also struggling to compete with KT's vast Wi-Fi wireless Internet network, a disparity that is beginning to be manifested more clearly as the Web moves increasingly toward mobile devices. Apparently, SK Telecom can't afford to admit that its wireless network is less equipped to support mobile Internet users than that of its rival's, and is considering more ways to improve the systems of its third-generation (3G) cellular network to allow users a larger freedom in data usage. In a news conference at its Seoul headquarters on Thursday, SK Telecom announced

Aug 20, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Are LG Group’s cash cows changing for good?

Chemicals affiliates overtaking electronics units By Kim Yoo-chul LG Group's cash cows are changing, although it is still a tossup whether the change will be permanent or a temporary blip. LG Electronics, the erstwhile flagship, is on a decline, while LG Chem is moving up. The combined operating profit of listed LG Group affiliates was 2.06 trillion won for the second quarter of 2010 ― a decrease by 16.7 percent from a year earlier. The result was mostly due to poor quarterly performances at LG Electronics. The operating profit for the group's electronics-making unit in the second quarter was

Aug 19, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Companies

GS Shop to invest $8 million in Thailand

By Kim Yoo-chul GS Shop, Korea's biggest home shopping channel, is planning to create a joint venture with Thailand's top media group Truevision and The Mall, its biggest offline distributor. GS said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the two to launch the venture, named "True GS Shopping," which will open before the end of the year. The official signing of a contract is scheduled for later this year, GS said. "The joint venture is tentatively named 'True GS Shopping' and it will begin broadcasting in the fourth quarter via Truevision to some 2 million paying viewers," GS spokesman Shin Jin-ho said. GS Shop will invest $8 million in the venture and is expected to become the second-biggest shareholder in the entity. Truevision will be the largest shareholder. Home shopping is quite new in Thailand. "Shopping Network" by Truevision is the only 24-hour TV home shopping channel. "True GS Shopping is expected to serve as bridge to link Korea with China, Southeast Asia and India on an Asian home shopping belt," Shin said.

Aug 19, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Companies

STX chairman to lead KEF

Lee Hee-beom, 61, the chairman of South Korea's STX Energy and STX Heavy Industries, will lead the Korea Employers Federation (KEF), the business lobby group said, Tuesday. The former commerce minister and the chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) had previously refused the offer in May. "Lee has finally accepted the two-year term offer. His term will be effective after a general meeting on September 6," said a KEF spokesman. He will replace Lee Soo-young, who offered to step down from the position in February. The STX executive is facing challenges to better coordinate between stiffer labor union regulations and management, officials say. Lee earned a bachelors degree in electronics engineering at Seoul National University and an MBA at George Washington University in Washington D.C.

Aug 18, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Doosan E&C to take over Mecatec

By Kim Yoo-chul Doosan Engineering and Construction (E&C) said Tuesday that it has decided to acquire Doosan Mecatec through a share swap, a move that many believe will ease its cash shortage and pave the way to diversify its business portfolio. The construction firm said that its board of directors (BOD) has approved the plan to merge with Doosan Mecatec, a leading global chemical process equipment manufacturer and a subsidiary of Doosan Heavy Industries. In the merger, one Mecatec share will be swapped for 4.13 Doosan E&C shares. "We will hold a shareholders' meeting sometime in September and finalize the deal in November," said a spokesman at Doosan E&C. "We expect the acquisition to enhance corporate value, improve profitability and maximize shareholder value," he added. The market welcomed the news, with Doosan Engineering shares soaring to the daily limit of 15 percent. "Doosan Mecatec has a stable cash flow structure as it specializes in the profitable plant-related fields, which will help Doosan E&C, whose business depends heavily on business cycle due t

Aug 17, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Companies

Samsung to launch W1 tril. fund for small firms

By Kim Yoo-chul In reply to the government's call for big businesses to help subcontractors, Samsung Electronics, Korea's largest conglomerate, said Monday that it will set up a 1 trillion won ($835 million) fund together with state run Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), which is responsible for helping small businesses. The so-called "mutual survival" fund is devoted to helping troubled suppliers normalize operations and healthy subcontractors expand, Samsung representatives said. "The fund is aimed at enhancing the mutual partnership with our small- and medium-sized (SME) suppliers," Park Jong-suh, chief of Samsung's mutual development and cooperation center, said at a news conference held at its headquarters in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul. It was the second fund created by Samsung for the same purpose. Since 2004, Samsung has been running a 1 trillion won cooperative fund to help its suppliers develop technologies. Park said Samsung spent 1.2 trillion won from 2004 to the end of July. "The new fund with 200 billion won from Samsung and 800 billion won from IBK will

Aug 16, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

LG Innotek to join top 5 in component manufacturing

By Kim Yoo-chul LG Innotek, LG Group's component-making affiliate, is aiming to join the world's top five parts suppliers by 2015 ― a goal viewed positively by market analysts given the steady improvement in sales and profit. Innotek, now the ninth-biggest component producer globally, is aiming for 10 trillion won in annual sales and a 10 percent profit margin by 2015, spokesman Jung Jae-wook, said Monday. Last year, Innotek reported 3.5 trillion won in sales on a consolidated basis. In the same context, Innotek aims to raise the number of "global best-selling" products to 10 from the current four. The firm leads in manufacturing photomasks, tuners, and substrates used in flat-screens, among others. For the second quarter of 2010, it posted explosive growth in profit to 86.1 billion won ― a jump of 103.1 percent year-on-year. Sales during the April-June period soared 104.4 percent to 1.03 trillion won, beating market expectations of 980 billion won. The price of its stocks rose over 80 percent as of the end of July from January, according to data from the Ko

Aug 16, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung mulls response after Lee’s aides pardoned

By Kim Yoo-chul With President Lee Myung-bak pardoning two former Samsung bosses, who were Lee Kun-hee's most trusted enforcers, one has to wonder what the country's largest conglomerate will offer in return as a gesture of appreciation. Lee Hak-soo, Lee Kun-hee's long-time right-hand man, and Kim In-joo, another former senior executive of the group, were among the high-profile list of politicians and businessmen to be handed out the pardons. It remains to be seen whether Samsung would give both an opportunity to redeem their reputations tarnished by corporate scandals involving the group’s founding family. Lee Hak-soo formerly headed Samsung's strategic planning office during most of the 2000s, which was a management vehicle for Lee Kun-hee during his days as group chairman. Lee Hak-soo later resigned from the position in 2008, just before he was charged with tax evasion along with his boss and Kim. Lee Hak-soo received a suspended prison sentence of five years for his role in a slush fund scandal that was exposed in detail by corporate lawyer-turned-whistleblower

Aug 13, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
previous page
277278279280281
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.