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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.

SK Telecom draws backlash for ‘partially accepting’ sales suspension order

SK Telecom has come under continued public backlash for “partially accepting” a sales suspension order regarding its customer data leak. The company said Friday it will stop attracting new subscribers for its T world stores starting no later than Monday, following an administrative guidance issued by the Ministry of Science and ICT on Thursday. The telecom firm is facing its worst-ever crisis after it reported a leak discovered April 18 of its customers’ universal subscriber identity module (USIM) information. The incident tarnished the firm’s image as the most influential mobile carrier here. The company is taking flak for deciding not to block sales activities on other retail and online sales channels not controlled by its headquarters, despite doing so for some 2,600 T world stores nationwide. Any losses from T world stores will be compensated by SK Telecom, the company said. “We reached an internal conclusion not to demand stores, which have not signed any direct contract with SK Telecom, to stop their sales activities,” SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang told reporters during

May 2, 2025By Lee Min-hyung
SK Telecom draws backlash for ‘partially accepting’ sales suspension order

Woori Financial gets conditional approval to take over 2 life insurers

Woori Financial Group got regulatory approval on Friday for the takeovers of two life insurance companies, on condition that the group faithfully implements its planned measures aimed at strengthening its internal control. The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country's financial regulator, approved Woori Financial's takeovers of Tongyang Life Insurance and ABL Life Insurance, for a combined 1.54 trillion won ($1.07 billion), paving the way for the financial holding firm to expand its business portfolio. In August, Woori Financial inked deals to take over a 75.34 percent in Tongyang Life for 1.28 trillion won and wholly acquire ABL Life for 265 billion won. Tongyang Life was the country's sixth-largest life insurer with 33 trillion won worth of assets in 2023. ABL Life ranked ninth with 17 trillion won in assets. The FSC said its evaluation showed Woori Financial's management failed to meet regulatory requirements, but conditioned that the takeover be subject to the banking group's steps to improve its internal control as planned. Woori Financial is required to carry out its commit

May 2, 2025By Yonhap
Woori Financial gets conditional approval to take over 2 life insurers

ExclusiveKyiv urges Seoul to tighten controls on DN Solutions' CNC equipment reaching Russian military

DN Solutions, Korea's leading machine tools manufacturer, has drawn criticism from the Ukrainian government for alleged negligence in preventing Chinese distributors from re-exporting its computer numerical control (CNC) equipment to Russia for military use. Describing Korea as a partner in preventing sanctions circumvention, Ukraine also called for cooperation between the two governments on the matter. "In the field of high-tech exports, responsibility is increasingly defined not only by direct contractual relationships but also by the strength of a company's internal oversight of its distribution channels," Vladyslav Vlasiuk, sanctions commissioner for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told The Korea Times in a recent written interview. "When equipment repeatedly ends up in a sanctioned jurisdiction — even indirectly — this reasonably warrants an internal review," he said. His remarks followed a recent investigation by the Economic Security Council of Ukraine (ESCU) into Russia's imports of Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese CNC machines via China. ESCU, established in 2021 to co

May 2, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Kyiv urges Seoul to tighten controls on DN Solutions' CNC equipment reaching Russian military

Grand Korea Leisure holds strategy meeting amid rising cyber threats

Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) said Friday it held a strategy meeting on information security in response to increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, including a recent large-scale data breach involving SK Telecom. The meeting, attended by GKL President Yoon Doo-hyun and key personnel from company headquarters and its three business sites, focused on strengthening the company's cybersecurity posture. The agenda included improving procedures for preventing and responding to cyber incidents, enhancing the management of access records to personal information, restructuring the authority management system for storage devices such as USB hardware and reviewing collaboration systems between the headquarters and branch offices. “Information security is not merely a technical issue, but the last line of defense in maintaining public trust,” Yoon said. “Even a single incident can damage the organization’s reputation, so all employees must remain security-conscious and respond collectively.” Looking ahead, GKL plans to not only upgrade its systems, but also to strengthen internal security tr

May 2, 2025By Kang Seung-woo
Grand Korea Leisure holds strategy meeting amid rising cyber threats

Sales of Hyundai, Kia in US rise 16% in April

Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia said Friday their combined vehicle sales in the United States surged 16 percent in April from a year earlier, driven by strong demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 162,615 vehicles in the U.S. last month, up from 139,865 units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. Hyundai's vehicle sales jumped 19 percent to 81,503 units from 74,111 over the cited period, while those of Kia advanced 14 percent to 74,805 from 65,754. Hyundai's sales figures include those of its independent luxury brand, Genesis. Strong sales of Hyundai's Palisade and Santa Fe, as well as Kia's Telluride and Sportage SUV models contributed to the robust monthly performance. "Reporting sales records for seven consecutive months has bolstered the Kia brand even more and we remain dedicated to further strengthening our product lineup and enhancing customer satisfaction through ongoing innovation," Eric Watson, vice president in charge of sales operations at Kia America, said in a press release. To that end, Kia has officially begun pr

May 2, 2025By Yonhap
Sales of Hyundai, Kia in US rise 16% in April

Daemyung Sono's holding firm to sell stake in budget carrier amid reorganization efforts

Daemyung Sono Group, a major Korean condominium and resort company, said Friday its holding company will sell its stake in a local low-cost carrier (LCC) as part of a business reorganization. Under a 50:50 joint venture, the group's holding firm, Sono International, and local private equity fund JC Partners currently each hold an 11 percent stake in Air Premia. Sono International and JC Partners will sell their combined 22 percent stake in the budget carrier to local tire distributor Tirebank for 119.4 billion won ($83.2 million) by the end of September, the holding company said in a press release. "The planned sale of the Air Premia stake is aimed at focusing on operations of T'way Air and enhancing synergies between the low-cost carrier and the group's hotel and resort services," the release said. Sono International had considered acquiring a larger stake in Air Premia, as it was the only local budget carrier offering long-haul routes to the United States, a company spokesperson said. Air Premia does not operate domestic flights. However, the company decided to sell its Air Premia stake

May 2, 2025By Yonhap
Daemyung Sono's holding firm to sell stake in budget carrier amid reorganization efforts

SKT instructed to stop new sign-ups until USIM shortage resolved

The Ministry of Science and ICT on Thursday instructed SK Telecom to suspend new subscriber sign-ups until it resolves the ongoing universal subscriber identity module (USIM) shortage related to the company’s recent data breach. According to the ministry, it issued administrative guidance on the mobile carrier to prevent customer damages stemming from the data breach. The ministry also demanded SK Telecom submit a detailed implementation plan for its pledge to automatically apply USIM protection services to vulnerable users, as well as coming up with plans to compensate damages related to the incident. On April 22, SK Telecom announced that it had detected a breach in its internal system on April 18, and the company has been replacing USIM for its 23 million subscribers for free since Monday as a preventive measure. The USIM replacement program, however, triggered a nationwide disruption and consumer uproars as the company’s USIM inventory fell far short of demands. SK Telecom currently has 1 million in stock, and its CEO Ryu Young-sang said Wednesday that the company will be able to

May 1, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
SKT instructed to stop new sign-ups until USIM shortage resolved

Gov't to 'swiftly' implement $17.5 billion financing scheme for export firms

The government will work to "swiftly" implement 25 trillion won ($17.5 billion) of policy financing for export companies following the planned passage of an extra budget bill by the National Assembly, the finance ministry said Thursday. In a pan-government meeting on trade issues, the Ministry of Economy and Finance asked related agencies to thoroughly prepare for the execution of the extra budget bill, expected to be endorsed by the Assembly later in the day. Earlier in the day, the rival parties agreed to pass a 13.8 trillion-won extra budget aimed at revitalizing the economy and helping disaster response. With the envisioned budget, the government plans to provide some 25 trillion won worth of liquidity support to local companies hit by U.S. tariffs. Under the plan, the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea will offer 10 trillion won in trade financing to local exporters, and the Korea Trade Insurance Corp. will provide 2.4 trillion won worth of special trade insurance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to the ministry. The ministry said the government will continu

May 1, 2025By Yonhap
Gov't to 'swiftly' implement $17.5 billion financing scheme for export firms

Convenience store launches on-site visa assistance service for foreign residents

CU has launched on-site visa assistance services for foreign residents, becoming the first convenience store chain to do so, the company said Thursday. In partnership with K-VISA, the country's leading visa service provider, customers can now scan a QR code displayed at CU stores and fill out a short form to be immediately connected with a licensed immigration specialist for personalized support. The service supports four languages — English, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese — and allows users to track their application status in real time, from submission to final approval. A wide range of visa categories, including marriage, employment, investment, immigration and permanent residency, will be covered. CU distinguishes itself with competitive pricing, offering fees approximately 50 percent lower than the industry average. For instance, its visa extension services are available at the country's lowest rate of just 20,000 won ($13.96). The company said it aims to ease the administrative burden foreign nationals face. According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of foreign residents

May 1, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo
Convenience store launches on-site visa assistance service for foreign residents

Profitability concerns persist over Czech nuclear deal

The Czech Republic's final decision to sign a nuclear reactor construction deal with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) next week has drawn renewed attention to how much Korean participants stand to earn from the project. Questions have arisen as Prague did not disclose the contract terms when it announced Wednesday that it will sign the final agreement with Seoul on May 7. Valued at 400 billion Czech koruna ($18 billion), the project is aimed at building two new reactors in the European country's Dukovany power plant. Prague only confirmed that it will finance the construction and acquire an 80 percent stake in a Czech state-owned company managing the project. Industry officials see the size of the technology royalty KHNP will pay to the United States' Westinghouse and the extent of Czech industry's participation as key factors determining the deal's profitability. KHNP is alleged to have agreed to guarantee Westinghouse a significant share of the profits whenever the Korean state-run nuclear operator exports reactors. The allegation surfaced after Westinghouse agreed in January to end

May 1, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Profitability concerns persist over Czech nuclear deal
  • Korea wins $18 bil. deal to build Czech nuclear power plant
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