[Management in Korea] Defusing the gender diversity time bomb

Management in Korea is a regular column written by the members of Egon Zhender Seoul touching on various aspects of Korean enterprises and business leaders and offering management tips.-- Ed.The persistent gender imbalance among Korea’s business leaders is well known. According to one recent study, only 2.4 percent of the executives of publicly listed Korean companies are women, compared with 12.4 percent for the Asia-Pacific region. And in Egon Zehnder’s 2016 Global Board Diversity Analysis, on

Sept. 1, 2017

Korea's Paris Baguette to open more stores in US

South Korea's food and beverage giant SPC Group said Tuesday it will sharply increase the number of stores of its bakery chain Paris Baguette in the United States as part of its global expansion drive."We will increase the number of Paris Baguette stores in operation in the US to 300 by 2020 and create up to 10,000 new jobs," SPC Group Chairman Hur Young-in said during a meeting with Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), the chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee.  The undated file photo provided by

Aug. 29, 2017

T'way Air to add route to Bangkok in Oct.

T'way Air Co., one of South Korea's six budget carriers, said Tuesday it will add a new route to Bangkok in October to strengthen services on non-Chinese routes.With the 189-seat B737-800 jet, T'way Air will begin services on the Daegu-Bangkok route beginning Oct. 29, the low-cost carrier said in a statement. From three airports -- Incheon International Airport, Gimpo International Airport and Daegu International Airport -- it currently operates one domestic route to Jeju Island and 11 internati

Aug. 29, 2017

LG to expand overseas release of premium home appliances

LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it will release its premium home appliances in more overseas markets, starting with the United Arab Emirates and Australia this month.The South Korean tech giant said the Signature home appliances will reach out to Russia in September and Italy in October as well, eventually to around 10 new countries by the end of this year. (Yonhap)In line with the move, LG said it hosted a showcase event in Dubai on Tuesday, inviting business partners to promote high-end fea

Aug. 23, 2017

Jeju Air to add new route to Japan in Nov.

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's leading budget carrier, said Monday it will add another route to Japan to offset falling demand on Chinese routes.Jeju Air plans to operate flights on the Incheon-Matsuyama route from Nov. 2, bring the total number of Japanese cities it serves to seven, the company said in a statement. The low-cost carrier currently serves routes to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Okinawa, it said. (Yonhap)In 2016, Jeju Air served 1.97 million passengers on 11 routes to the

Aug. 21, 2017

Air Busan adds A321-200 to fleet

Air Busan Co. has added an A321-200 jet to strengthen its services, bringing the number of its fleet to 21, the company said Friday. The 220-seat plane will be mainly operated on the domestic routes to Jeju Island, with two planes scheduled to be added within this year, Air Busan said in a statement.  (Yonhap)On domestic routes, nearly 60 percent of customers opt to use low-cost carriers in the January-May period due to improved safety control and competitive prices. In 2016, the country's six b

Aug. 18, 2017

Lotte founder loses last remaining board seat from affiliate

The founder of South Korean retail giant Lotte lost his last remaining board member seat at the affiliate of the conglomerate, effectively leaving the management scene, the business group said Wednesday.The board of directors of Lotte Aluminum Co., a packaging material firm, decided not to extend the term of Shin Kyuk-ho on the decision-making body. The move by the affiliate marks the complete departure of Shin from the running of the company that he started with the founding of Dongbang Alumi I

Aug. 9, 2017

Hanwha to turn 850 temporary workers into permanent employees

Hanwha Group said Tuesday it will turn 850 temporary workers into permanent employees by the first half of next year, a decision that will mostly benefit young workers at its services affiliates.Group officials said each affiliate will begin work evaluations of each temporary worker from next month for a phased transfer to permanent positions. About 660 of these workers are in the services sector of the group, including duty-free shop operator Hanwha Galleria and leisure affiliate Hanwha Hotels

Aug. 1, 2017

Lotte Duty Free withdraws from Jakarta airport

Lotte Duty Free, South Korea's top duty-free operator, said Tuesday it has pulled out of an airport in the capital city of Indonesia last month, after an unsuccessful bid to extend the contract.Lotte's duty-free store in Jakarta International Airport closed Monday after its contract expired, the company said. Opened in January 2012, it was the firm's first overseas store. The closure comes at a time when local duty-free stores are struggling to cope with the diplomatic row between Seoul and Beij

Aug. 1, 2017

Korean convenience store chain taps Vietnam

GS Retail Co., a major convenience store chain operator, said Monday it has signed an agreement with a Vietnamese company to make inroads into the Southeast Asian market.The Korean firm said it signed a deal with SonKim Group in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday to set up a joint venture with a plan to open the first GS25 store in the Vietnamese city within the year.The announcement came as the competition in South Korea's convenience store business, dominated by three chains -- CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven

July 31, 2017

T'way partners with Sky Angkor Airlines to develop routes

T'way Air Co., one of South Korea's six budget carriers, has formed business ties with Sky Angkor Airlines in Cambodia to develop new routes and cooperate in flight operations, the company said Monday. On Friday in Phnom Penh, the two airlines signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop new routes and operate their existing routes, T'way Air said in a statement.  (Yonhap)Through the partnership, T'way Air expects to strengthen its services on routes to Vietnam and Cambodia, popular d

July 31, 2017

LG Display to focus capital spending on OLED

LG Display Co. said Thursday it will suspend making investments in liquid-crystal display panels for TVs, and instead focus its efforts on developing the next-generation organic light-emitting diode panels."There will be no additional investment on LCD TVs," said Han Sang-beom, the head of LG Display. "There still will be investment for LCD products in the IT sector as there is demand for high-end monitors and laptops," Han said. LG Display said Tuesday it will invest 7.8 trillion won ($6.9 bill

July 27, 2017

SK Innovation to pay out 1st interim dividends

SK Innovation Co., South Korea's top oil refiner, said Wednesday that it has decided to pay out its first-ever interim dividends worth 149 billion won ($133 million) to boost shareholder value.In a regulatory filing, SK Innovation said it will pay out 1,600 won per one common and preferred share each.Last year, the refiner paid out 6,400 won per share following 4,800 won per stock each in 2015. (Yonhap)"After reviewing a variety of options for shareholder-friendly management, we decided to pay o

July 26, 2017

LG Display considering various options to raise fund for investment

LG Display Co. said Wednesday it is considering various options, including loans, to fund its major investment plan announced earlier this week aimed at beefing up its competitiveness in the organic light-emitting diode panels."While funds for investment, in principle, should be raised from businesses, they should also come in a timely manner," the company said during a conference call with investors.The remark came after LG Display said it will invest 7.8 trillion won ($6.9 billion) to build fa

July 26, 2017

CJ Cheiljedang to build production base in Vietnam

CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea's leading processed foods maker, said Tuesday it will spend 70 billion won ($63 million) on building a new production complex in Vietnam to expand its presence in the Southeast Asian market.The Korean firm said it held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for the 66,000 square meter base in Ho Chi Minh City.When the construction is complete by July next year, the new base is expected to produce up to 60,000 tons of foodstuffs, including both refrigerated and frozen

July 25, 2017

Jin Air adds B737-800 to strengthen fleet

Jin Air Co., the budget carrier unit of Korean Air Lines Co., said on Monday it added a B737-800 jet to its growing fleet to meet demand during the summer peak season. With the addition of the B737-800, Jin Air's fleet is now composed of 20 B737-800s and four long-range B777-200ERs, all leased from US aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the company said in a statement. The latest 189-seat plane was deployed on the Gimpo-Jeju Island route starting Saturday. It is also scheduled to serve on routes to Ba

July 24, 2017

SK Group plans joint growth with suppliers, contributes to domestic consumption

SK Group will take steps to boost domestic consumption, including encouraging its employees to take long vacations and facilitate growth of subcontractors, corporate sources said Thursday.CEOs of the group's key subsidiaries met in Seoul on Tuesday where they discussed enhancing work effectiveness and contributing to spurring local demand, according to insiders. Specifics included seeking shared growth with all tiers of the group's suppliers and "big break" vacations for employees, they said. (Y

July 20, 2017

Asiana to deploy 2nd A350 on long-haul routes

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's No. 2 full-service passenger carrier by sales, said Thursday it will deploy its second A350 jet on long-haul routes from next week.The second of four A350 jets scheduled to be delivered this year arrived at the Incheon International Airport later in the day after a day-long flight from Airbus, a Toulouse-based civil aircraft manufacturer, the company said in a statement.  (Yonhap)The second A350 will carry passengers on routes to Shanghai and Singapore from Tu

July 20, 2017

Lotte chief stresses investment for lucrative biz

The head of retail giant Lotte Group said Tuesday the conglomerate needs to expand investment targeting its lucrative businesses to further expand presence in the market, as it is suffering from a series of troubles at home and abroad. During a meeting with the group's senior executives, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin also stressed that his group needs to quickly adapt to the fast-changing market environment under the fourth industrial revolution. Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin arrives a

July 18, 2017

Lotte chief's brother against governance shakeup plan

The elder brother of the chief of retail giant Lotte Group said Tuesday he has raised an objection to the conglomerate's governance shakeup plan, demanding that a key unit be taken off the list of split-ups.In April, the board of directors of the group's four key affiliates passed a plan to split each of them into investment and business entities. Under the plan, which will be put up for approval at their respective shareholders meetings next month, the investment entities split from the four un

July 18, 2017