Business - The Korea Times

Corporate execs restless over keeping jobs

Drastic personal reshuffles set to hit Hyundai Motor, SK, LG By Jun Ji-hyeConcerns are mounting among senior executives at Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG, SK and other large business groups as the companies are poised to carry out drastic personnel reshuffles later this year than in previous years, industry officials said Tuesday. They said the companies are expected to seek generational changes while reducing the number of executives in their upcoming reshuffles to cut costs and increase efficiency, amid unfavorable factors at home and abroad such as the prolonged U.S.-China trade war and Japan's export restrictions on Korea, in addition to stagnant domestic consumption.What adds weight to the possibility for the generational shift is the fact that young and new leaders, including LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun, have come forward over the past year. Large businesses here have also appeared to have reduced the number of their executives every year. Acco

Nov 8, 2019

Corporate execs restless over keeping jobs

LG Chem sets up new petrochemical tech center in Osan

LG Chem's new petrochemical tech center in Osan, Gyeonggi Province. / Courtesy of LG ChemBy Jun Ji-hyeLG Chem has built a new tech center specializing in petrochemicals in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, to enhance research and development capabilities and boost its competitiveness, the company said Thursday. The nation's leading electric vehicle battery maker and chemical firm has invested 110 billion won ($95 million) in building the facility.The company has moved its existing tech center in Daejeon to the new location. In 1995, LG Chem established the tech center dedicated to technical service and development for its clients and partners in the petrochemical sector. The new five-story tech center was built on a 43,000-square-meter site and is the largest in the nation. The latest facility has more than 60 laboratories and 200 researchers to test and develop petrochemical products such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyolefin (PO), super-absorbent polymer (SAP) and solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR). Employees in related sales departments have been moved to the new facil

Nov 7, 2019

LG Chem sets up new petrochemical tech center in Osan

Kakao expanding taxi services amid Tada's crisis

Kakao T Blue taxi service operated by Kakao Mobility / Courtesy of Kakao MobilityBy Jun Ji-hyeKakao has been aggressively expanding its taxi-related business and becoming the sole leader among new platform companies at a time when rental van-hailing service Tada is facing a crisis following the prosecution's indictment of the heads of its operator.Kakao Mobility has acquired five taxi companies and is close to taking over a sixth in a bid to develop and expand its new mobility services. Through the acquisition, Kakao Mobility, a Kakao subsidiary set up last year to expand and monetize transportation services, has secured about 500 taxi-driving licenses, with the number expected to increase to about 600 when the takeover of the sixth company is completed. Kakao's takeover of the taxi companies followed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's announcement of new regulations designed to settle the conflict between conventional taxi services and new platform companies.The current situation shows that the IT company's work to develop its new mobility services while resolving

Nov 7, 2019By Jun Ji-hye

Kakao expanding taxi services amid Tada's crisis

TSI launches K-fashion online store in Japan based on Cafe24 platform

By Jun Ji-hyeJapanese fashion conglomerate TSI Holdings has launched its “K-fashion” online store called MORUGI based on Cafe24 Japan's platform, enabling Korean fashion brands to easily expand their reach to the Japanese market via a stable sales channel, Seoul-based online shopping platform provider Cafe24 said Thursday. Cafe24 Japan was launched in October last year.MORUGI, an e-commerce store specializing in Korean fashion, targets Japanese women in their 20s to 40s with a variety of offerings.Popular Korean brands such as AIN and OPEN THE DOOR have already joined the store, with more brands expected later. MORUGI will also publish information on Korea's latest fashion trends, travel spots and must-try restaurants on its site to provide a more unique experience for Japanese shoppers. “MORUGI will play a vital role in meeting the growing demand for K-fashion in Japan,” TSI Holdings Chief Digital Officer Matahiro Kashiwagi said. “The easy integration between Cafe24's e-commerce stores and MORUGI will allow more Korean brands to sell in Japan.” Ca

Nov 7, 2019

TSI launches K-fashion online store in Japan based on Cafe24 platform

Naver all out to promote own web browser

Naver's Whale web browser for PCs. / Courtesy of NaverBy Baek Byung-yeulNaver's Whale browser for mobile devices. / Korea Times fileNaver has gone all-out to improve the market share of its own web browser Whale as it has become an important tool for the company to drive users to other services, the portal operator said Thursday.The company said Whale, which was launched in 2017, is gaining popularity from users with its refined design, fast browsing speed and various features that can seamlessly integrate into other Naver services.“The web browser is a gateway that connects users to other applications. This is why we are trying to boost the Whale market share because the web browser market is something that we cannot give up,” a Naver official said.To boost its market share, Naver has been offering free giveaway events for users who download the Whale browser and write reviews. The company also recently introduced an updated version of Whale, enabling developers to develop add-on contents more easily.Data showed the Whale browser has seen a significant rise in the domest

Nov 7, 2019By Baek Byung-yeul

Naver all out to promote own web browser

'Public cloud will raise Korea's GDP by $45 bil., create 15,000 jobs'

Lee Ji-young, head of Google Cloud Korea, speaks during a press conference at COEX in southern Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Google Cloud KoreaBy Baek Byung-yeulGoogle is bolstering its efforts to improve its market share in Korean cloud computing as the U.S. tech giant has been increasing its investments here, with its Seoul data center region to be established in early 2020, Lee Ji-young, head of Google Cloud Korea, said Wednesday. The company hosted its annual Google Cloud Summit conference in Seoul to share the latest trends in cloud computing and introduce updates for its cloud service.Declaring that the company has secured major conglomerates here such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, SK Telecom and Korean Air as customers, Lee said Google expects more companies will adopt its cloud service once its cloud region ― a set of data centers ― will open in Seoul next year.“Korea is one of the most important markets for us. We will open our cloud region in early 2020. With the opening of the region, we expect there will be more opportunities for us to meet with more cus

Nov 6, 2019By Baek Byung-yeul

Who will replace KT Chairman Hwang?

A pedestrian passes KT headquarters in central Seoul in this file photo. / Korea Times file.By Jun Ji-hyeKT's plan to select a new chairman has gotten off the ground as it completed receiving applications from candidates outside the company, Monday.Incumbent Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu's term will expire in March next year. KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyuThe nation's largest broadband service provider and second-largest mobile carrier said Tuesday that 30 external figures are in the running for the chairmanship, including 21 who submitted applications and nine who were recommended by professional organizations. The firm's committee, dedicated to examining the qualifications of candidates and narrowing the number, had been receiving applications for the past two weeks. It will not disclose the names of candidates to promote fairness.The committee, composed of four outside directors and one inside director, has already selected seven candidates for the chairmanship among in-house figures through individual interviews. The chairmanship at KT has frequently become an object of controversy as mo

Nov 6, 2019

Communications regulator vows to eradicate 'fake news'

Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Chairman Han Sang-hyuk speaks during a luncheon with journalists at the government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Korea Communications CommissionBy Jun Ji-hyeKorea Communications Commission (KCC) Chairman Han Sang-hyuk called for the creation of more institutions dedicated to checking whether or not certain information is based on fact, in a bid to stop the spread of “fake news” in the nation.Han, who took the office in September, made the remarks during his first luncheon with journalists as KCC chairman, Wednesday. “Both ruling and opposition parties, as well as members of the public, are all aware of the problem of fake news, thus it is surely necessary to come up with proper countermeasures,” he said. “I believe that boosting fact-checking institutions trusted by the public could be one measure.”Han said, however, that it would be improper to establish such an institution within the KCC as it could provoke concerns over government infringement of freedom of speech. He said

Nov 6, 2019

Communications regulator vows to eradicate 'fake news'

BlackBerry expands presence in automotive software market

BlackBerry Technology Solution Senior Vice President of Sales Kaivan Karimi speaks during a press briefing to discuss “The Essential Role Safety and Security Play in Korea's Automated Future” at Le Meridien Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of BlackBerryBy Kwak Yeon-sooBlackBerry vowed to expand its presence in the automotive software market by deploying infrastructure for electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles, the company said Wednesday. Under the topic “The Essential Role Safety and Security Play in Korea's Automated Future,” BlackBerry Technology Solution Senior Vice President of Sales Kaivan Karimi shared some of the mega trends for 2050 and stressed the importance of software and its security. Future mega trends include demographic change, accelerating urbanization and technological breakthroughs including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous transportation and advances in electric vehicle technology.“As everything becomes software, the safety, security and real-time deterministic performa

Nov 6, 2019By Kwak Yeon-soo

BlackBerry expands presence in automotive software market

Samsung to solidify lead in hyper-connected with 5G, AI, IoT

Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung Electronics, speaks during the 2019 Samsung AI Forum at the company's R&D center in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Samsung ElectronicsBy Baek Byung-yeulSamsung Electronics is seeking to take the lead in the “hyper-connected world” where everything is connected via internet and mobile apps, by enhancing its fifth-generation (5G) networks, artificial intelligence (AI) capability and internet of things (IoT) technologies, the head of the company's smartphone unit said Tuesday.“In the era of a hyper-connected world, where everything is connected through 5G, AI and IoT technologies, a company that can provide a distinctive user experience will become the global business winner,” Koh Dong-jin said during the second day of the 2019 Samsung AI Forum at the firm's R&D campus in Seoul.Stating that “5G and AI technologies are backbones for smartphones, wearable, speakers, IoT, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), and provide a turning point for our everyday lives,” the president said, “Samsung will t

Nov 5, 2019By Baek Byung-yeul

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