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Ex-Samsung executive emerges as savior of troubled firms

Chin Dae-jeBy Kim Yoo-chulA former Samsung Electronics president has emerged as a savior for troubled local handset manufacturer, Pantech, as he has a proven track record in helping financially troubled companies turn things around.Chin Dae-je, who served as the information and communication minister from 2003 to 2006 after serving as the CEO of Samsung Electronics’ digital media unit, is set to help Pantech.Optis, a manufacturer of optical disk drives, recently signed an agreement with Pantech creditors to acquire all Pantech’s debts, stressing that it will help the smallest mobile carrier expand its business territories focusing on countries in the Southeast Asian region.Optis was established by former Samsung Electronics executives. Its biggest shareholder is Skylake Investment, a private equity fund (PEF) which was created by Chin in 2006.“Pantech has patents and competitive technology. Skylake will try its best to help Pantech normalize its business and find new growth engines,” Chin said.The PEF is currently conducting due diligence on the reeling handse

Jun 29, 2015By Kim Yoo-chul
Ex-Samsung executive emerges as savior of troubled firms

Korean-American lawyer becomes Harvard Alumni Association head

Incoming Harvard Alumni Association President Paul L. Choi / Courtesy of Harvard UniversityBy Jhoo Dong-chanKorea-born American lawyer Paul L. Choi, 51, has been elected president of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA), according to The Harvard Crimson, the university’s student newspaper.Choi is a partner at Sidley Austin Corp., a Chicago-based law firm that specializes in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), corporate finance transactions and securities, and corporate governance matters.He has participated in several M&A deals between global corporations, including representing First Data Corp. on its $29 billion acquisition by an investor group controlled by KKR, an American multinational private equity firm.For the university, Choi has been an active member of Harvard Law School alumni organizations. He was president of the Harvard Club of Chicago and also a former editor of The Harvard Crimson.Choi served as the HAA’s vice president last year and will succeed incumbent Cynthia A. Torres for a one-year term from the coming semester.Choi said he is looking forw

Jun 26, 2015By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korean-American lawyer becomes Harvard Alumni Association head

'Lab safety is still elusive'

Professor Moon Aree at her lab in Duksung Women’s University in Seoul. She was designated early this week as a grand prize recipient of the 2015 L’Oreal Korea-UNSECO Awards for Women in Life Science. / Courtesy of L’Oreal KoreaDuksung professor receives L’Oreal-UNESCO awardBy Lee Hyo-sik and Park Si-sooMoon Aree, a pharmacology professor at Duksung Women’s University in Seoul, has a “humble” dream which she believes would get the nation’s scientific prowess reinforced significantly ― lab safety.Lay people may believe the issue to be something of a done deal in a country boasting Asia’s fifth-largest economy and numerous innovative scientific achievements.Yet she said that is not the case and, furthermore, there are a number of things working against it.“To ensure the lab safety of scientists is a very basic task that should be done at any cost. Unfortunately, however, this is an issue that has yet to be addressed completely in Korea,” Moon said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. Moon serves as v

Jun 25, 2015
'Lab safety is still elusive'

Korean students win prestigious scholarship

By Lee Jun-youbAlthough Korean students have become ubiquitous at elite universities around the world, they had been precluded from the creme de la creme of academic accomplishment．With the establishment of the Yenching Scholarship at Peking University, however, Korean students have gained an opportunity to win a prestigious scholarship.Sitting on a cool billion yuan ($160 million) endowment, the Yenching Scholarship has selected its first 100-student class hailing from 35 nations. These inaugural cohorts will live together in what used to be the Imperial Gardens at the heart of China’s first modern national university. The Korea Times spoke to the two Korean winners before they embark on their masters of Chinese studies in September.Kim Eun-seo Kim Eun-seoBorn in Daejeon, Kim grew up in Seoul, Wisconsin, and London before reading philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University. She remembers Wisconsin as having “a great atmosphere to grow up as a child thanks to its lush parks.”She joined the International Relations Society and the Debate Club in colle

Jun 24, 2015
Korean students win prestigious scholarship

Opportunity knocks for animal inspired artist

Kim Yeon-seok, a specialist in animal portraits, poses with his oil paint works at his studio in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province in this undated file photo. / Courtesy of Kim Yeon-seokBy Yi Whan-wooWith an increasing number of pet lovers in Korea, Kim Yeon-seok’s talent and passion for his job as an animal portrait artist is paying off, even in this age of digital reproduction.Since 2011, Kim, 54, works as a professional artist dedicated to drawing pets on canvas using oil paints. Before this, he worked as an artist part-time, usually drawing pine trees and bulls.The decision to go full time was not easy, considering that people are now used to photos and video clips that are copied, pasted, and shared online in the blink of an eye, Kim recalled during a telephone interview with The Korea Times this month.But at the same time, people’s desire to capture unique memories with their pets is becoming more and more commonplace. As a result, animal portraits using conventional forms of painting are growing in popularity, he explained.“I think this is only the beginning,&rdq

Jun 24, 2015By Yi Whan-woo
Opportunity knocks for animal inspired artist

Boston marathon winner recalls glorious days

Ham Kee-yongBy Nam Hyun-wooFormer marathon runner Ham Kee-yong, 85, best known for winning the 1950 Boston Marathon, is recalling his success as he participates in a Korea Olympic Committee (KOC) project archiving the history of Korean sports.April 19, 1950, was a glorious day for Koreans. Ham, then 18 years old, finished in 2:32:39, coming in first in the event with his compatriots Song Gil-yun and Choe Yun-chil following him onto the podium.“I was the first Korean to win an international competition with the Korean national flag printed on my bib,” Ham said.Coached by marathon great Sohn Kee-chung, winner of 1936 Berlin Olympic marathon, the Korean victory not only surprised the world but helped the country, which had gained independence from Japanese colonial rule only five years beforehand, to regain its pride.On returning home, President Rhee Syng-man held a parade to celebrate their victory.“Rhee shed tears saying we (Ham, Song and Choe) did a greater job than hundreds of diplomats could do,” he recalled.But their celebration did not last long as the Kor

Jun 23, 2015
Boston marathon winner recalls glorious days

'Beauty entertainer' leads new trend

Park Su-hyeBy Bahk Eun-jiPark Su-hye, 24, describes herself as a “beauty entertainer,” who uploads cosmetic and make-up tutorials on YouTube. She started uploading videos on the website four years ago.“At that time, I ran a blog usually about costume-play makeup as a hobby. But I was interested in media content because I studied visual design in college,” she said.Park, now better known as “Ssin,” is one of the first generation of YouTube stars in Korea. Her page has more than 460,000 subscribers and has had around 56 million views.Unlike other beauty gurus, beauty and lifestyle vloggers make up some of the highest view counts on YouTube.  Park’s style is wild. She doesn’t make an extra effort to be pretty, but tries to be honest even when she introduces products that have sponsored her.“In the beauty industry, people, I mean mostly my viewers in this case, are very sensitive if the product review is sponsored or not, as they are already accustomed to commercial content,” Park said.“I’m not saying I don&rsqu

Jun 22, 2015By Bahk Eun-ji

Collegian challenges 'silver' industry

 Lee Hwan-hee / Yonhap  By Jhoo Dong-chan A sophomore at Konkuk University has jumped into a “silver” business related to senior citizens.Majoring in business administration, Lee Hwan-hee, 20, has always been interested in inventing things to make life easier for the elderly. He has invented several kitchen and stationary items since he was a middle-school student.He decided to invent a walker when he was a high school student after seeing an elderly woman struggling up a steep hill.At first, Lee surveyed the existing products in the market, looking for their shortcomings. He even interviewed several old people in his neighborhood.Lee found that the elderly were dissatisfied with their walkers because most required significant upper-body strength.For his new walker, Lee applied a rest rack on which users can rest their elbows, dispersing the amount of required body strength. The walker also offers a height adjustment so the elderly can lean onto it more easily.By folding the rest rack, the walker also transforms into a wheelchair.Before he entered univ

Jun 19, 2015
Collegian challenges 'silver' industry

Model-actress Jung In-ah dies in skydiving accident Saturday

Jung In-ahBy Lee Min-hyungModel-actress Jung In-ah has died in a skydiving accident.Jung, 35, went missing after jumping from a plane on Saturday afternoon in Goheung, South Jeolla Province.She had been practicing skydiving for a year for a role in a new movie.Her body was found tangled with her parachute near a seawall in Goheung Bay.“She died from drowning,” news media quoted a Goheung police official as saying. “The parachute opened completely. But it appears she failed to land on the ground, falling into the sea. It has yet to be confirmed whether rough weather contributed to the accident.”The actress appeared in MBC TV sitcom “The Secret of Keu Keu Island” in 2008, but had not been on TV since. She was also a yoga instructor.She debuted as a garment company model when she was 16.Her funeral will be held in Incheon on Friday morning. 

Jun 18, 2015
Model-actress Jung In-ah dies in skydiving accident Saturday
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