Shinhan Bank, the banking unit of Shinhan Financial Group, adopted an independently developed credit rating model to assess loan applications of low-credit customers, the bank said Sunday. The “Hope Credit Assessment Model” is the country’s first attempt to invent and apply a separate barometer to rate the credit of low-income customers, the bank stated.The Hope Credit Assessment Model is expected to benefit many low incomers who had been marginalized in the general credit assessment system, und

Aug. 25, 2013

Hanwha Life Insurance Co. is celebrating the rise in popularity of its new lifelong insurance that is selling at record speed.Launched in April, Hanwha sold about 25,000 “Mom to Mom Child Insurance” plans in the first two months, which is an unusually high sales record for child insurance here. “Typical child insurance expires before kids reach 30, and they must extend the contract or get new health insurance as adults,” a Hanwha Life Insurance official said.“But it can be difficult for people w

July 30, 2013

FEROOF, a company specializing in manufacturing steel roof tiles for office buildings and private homes, has been recognized for producing high-quality steel roof tiles with its Korean traditional know-how and cutting-edge building technologies. FEROOF has gained the upper hand in the market with its steel tiles, which are six times bigger but weigh one-sixth the weight of clay tiles. Lightweight and durable Feroof tiles are helpful in several ways, as they are easy to install effective cut down

July 24, 2013

Tracking the history of Korea Exchange Bank is much like scavenging through Korea’s modern economic history following the 1950-1953 Korean War. Established in 1967, KEB has contributed to the nation’s banking industry as one of the oldest banks. The bank, well known for its specialized foreign exchange marketing and corporate banking, started its second takeoff in 2012 after it was acquired by Hana Financial Group to become a sister bank of Hana Bank. Entering the 1960s, the Korean government wa

July 11, 2013

Autoelex has become the producer of the world’s largest number of small and medium-sized digital incubator models, the Korean manufacturer of poultry hatchers and brooders said. Launched in 1991, Autoelex rolled out its first digital hatcher and brooder “RCOM” in 2004. Currently the flagship RCOM series is exported to 40 countries including the U.S., Britain, Germany, Denmark and China, and distributed by about 70 local companies. The hatcher is exclusively distributed by major brooder companies

June 25, 2013

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., the state-run nuclear power plant operator, recently announced a plan to accelerate sustainable growth. The move is in line with the government’s ongoing efforts to promote shared growth with small-and medium-sized enterprises.KHNP said it had started with reorganizing and expanding related departments and was working to enhance technical competence and reform its purchasing methods.The company has come up with several measures to improve small firms’ cashflow. L

May 7, 2013

The secret to Korean-style beauty will be unlocked next month when the curtain is raised on the 2013 Cosmetics & Beauty Expo in Osong, North Chungcheong Province. Up to 2,000 buyers from 300 companies are to participate during the 24-day exhibition from May 3-26, with 1 million people expected to attend, the event organizers said.The event, the first of its kind, is designed to showcase how much Korean cosmetics makers have advanced, along with offering a stage for other global cosmetics manufac

April 11, 2013

SK Hynix is going overseas with its social contribution activities, launching global campaigns with a matching grant as well as employees’ donations.The world’s No. 2 memory chipmaker said that it has been gearing up efforts to increase its social contribution abroad in a bid to create a favorable workplace that emphasizes social welfare projects as well as employees’ happiness.The company has been launched a number of projects that include the word “happiness” in its operations since it was acq

April 11, 2013

Juergen Koenig, CEO of Merck Korea, was appointed as adviser for promoting investment in Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday. The advisory panel, to serve until April 11, 2015, consists of 25 people such as executives in global high-tech companies, and experts in emerging capital markets and the service industry. “Attracting businesses to Gyeonggi Province is a key to creating more jobs; it is challenging, but at the same time very rewarding and contributes a lot to society,” said Gyeonggi Gov. Kim M

April 11, 2013

When Han Dong-woo took office as chairman of Shinhan Financial Group two years ago, his main concern was how to turn the company into one with sustainable growth in the global financial industry characterized by firms’ fast rises and falls.He found the answer by setting humanitarian finance as its core business philosophy and “planting the DNA of compassionate finance” into Shinhan employees.He created the slogan “compassionate finance,” meaning warm, customer-based professionalism in finance, t

March 29, 2013

Shinhan Bank said Thursday that its “matrix operation,” or business coordination between banks and brokerages, has yielded considerable gains since it introduced the system last year. As a fresh business concept, the matrix was adopted by the country’s major banks with an affiliate brokerage firm, such as Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank and Woori Bank, as early as the beginning of 2012. Shinhan Bank is historically the first bank in Korea, originally established under the name Hanseong Bank in 1897. The

March 28, 2013

Among countless corporate social sharing programs, KB Kookmin Card’s social contributions specifically aim to bolster the nation as a whole. Embracing the core needs of all age groups and ethnicities is the essential part of the ambitious sharing project. KB Kookmin Card has been one of the “big 4” credit finance card companies, wielding power in the credit card and check card sectors in particular, since its launch in 2011.Applied to the sharing project is the company’s extensive experience dat

March 26, 2013

Companies’ social contributions are important in helping society stay healthy. Among different corporate management philosophies that abound in Korean society, British American Tobacco Korea has held on steadfastly to social responsibility.The company has over 1,000 employees and operates a manufacturing facility in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province.“Some people believe tobacco and social responsibility do not mix,” a BAT Korea spokesperson said. “Tobacco can involve risks, but those risks are

March 5, 2013

in response to rising uncertainties in the global steel industry, POSCO’s top management unveiled its strategy for future growth at the beginning of 2012. According to the blueprint titled as the “POSCO Family Vision 2020,” POSCO will seek core business expansion from steel to energy and material. In the course of developing the renewed growth vision, POSCO acquired independent power provider Kyungin Energy, now POSCO Energy, in 2005, plant builder Sung Jin Geotec in 2010 and Daewoo Internationa

Feb. 4, 2013

When asked which corporate brands represent Korea, Koreans are likely to pick Samsung, Hyundai Motor or LG without hesitation. In a survey in 2012 on what company Koreans loved, however, POSCO, the nation’s top steelmaker, came ahead of other conglomerates. Despite its privatization in 2000, POSCO has been considered a company for the citizens since its foundation in 1968 because of its history attributing to the nation’s economic miracle starting from scratch. Beyond Korea, POSCO has also grown

Feb. 4, 2013

Canadian smartphone pioneer Research In Motion said it was changing its name as it launched its new BlackBerry 10 smartphone Wednesday.RIM, as it was sometimes called, produced the first wildly popular cell phone, called the BlackBerry, which has struggled to get out from under a wave of rivals that followed, most notably Apple with its iconic iPhone and a host of phones that use Google‘s Android operating system.The Canadian company Wednesday said it would adopt the name of its most familiar pr

Jan. 31, 2013