HDC Shilla Duty Free eyes young, independent travelers

HDC Shilla Duty Free, currently preparing a bid for a new duty-free license in Seoul next month, said it plans to build a “millennial duty-free shop” aimed at young travelers coming independently by introducing high-tech services. Millennials refer to those born from the 1980s to early 2000s.This age group is considered to be independent with high consuming power, opting to travel alone rather than through tour agencies’ group itineraries. They are considered to be friendly towards South Korea’s

Nov. 25, 2016

Hyundai aims to sell 100,000 units of new Grandeur

South Korea’s largest carmaker Hyundai Motor aims to sell 100,000 units of its new Grandeur, a company executive said at the official launch event Tuesday. “Before we began receiving preorders three weeks ago, I was worried because of the prolonged economic recession and end of benefits for the individual consumption tax and competition,” Lee Kwang-guk, an executive vice president of Hyundai Motor, told the media. ”But the record-breaking preorders have made me confiden

Nov. 22, 2016

5 LG units get top mark in carbon sharing index

Five affiliates of LG Group have received the highest mark in measuring and sharing global information on climate and water resource change, the company said Monday.The list of LG units include LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Innotek, LG Chem and LG Uplus.They were named “Leadership A” companies by a London-based Carbon Disclosure Project, for facilitating the use of renewable energy and sharing information on how much greenhouse gas they emitted during their operations.CDP is an independent and

Oct. 31, 2016

[ADVERTORIAL] KDB spreads hope to communities

Grey walls at a small neighborhood in Yeongdeungpo, western Seoul, were reborn with a combination of bright colors, by a group of Korea Development Bank employees, on Oct. 22, as part of a corporate social responsibility program by the state-run bank. The wall painting project initiated by the members of the KDB arts club, is one of the state-run financier‘s many CSR programs, aimed at spreading warmth to parts of the society through sharing.Members of the KDB arts club paint a concrete wall in

Oct. 30, 2016

SKT, Hana launch joint venture Finnq

SK Telecom and Hana Financial Group launched a joint venture focusing on mobile financial services, the companies said in a press release Sunday. The joint venture, Finnq, was established with a starting capital of 50 billion won ($43 million) with SK Telecom holding a 49 percent stake while Hana owns the remaining 51 percent.  The new venture will be backed by SK Telecom’s advance mobile platform technology and big data analysis capability, as well as Hana’s vario

Oct. 30, 2016

3rd generation making their moves

South Korea’s leading companies such as Samsung and Hyundai have more than 60 years of history under their belt and these family-run enterprises now face leadership transitions as the third generation begins to take over. These conglomerates face the daunting task of balancing their multinational status with family control over management that now spans multiple generations. Their challenges are further complicated by the slowing economy, low growth and spreading protectionism in major

Oct. 25, 2016

Hankook Tire unveils high-tech R&D center

DAEJEON -- Hankook Tire on Tuesday unveiled its new research and development facility in Daejoen, signaling the launch of the company’s drive to boost technological leadership in the industry. “Hankook Tire plans to focus on securing original technology, delivering products optimized for various consumers’ needs in this rapidly-changing business environment,” Suh Seung-hwa, vice chairman and CEO of Hankook Tire said during the opening ceremony of its new R&D center, Hankook Technodome.At Technod

Oct. 18, 2016

LG Innotek unveils faster wireless charger

Smartphone accessory manufacturer LG Innotek has unveiled a 15-watt wireless charging pad for commercial use, the company said Wednesday. The 15-watt wireless charging transmitter pad can charge a completely depleted battery to the level of 50 percent within 30 minutes, as fast as a wired one, according to the company. It is also three times faster than most wireless charging modules in the market with 5-watt charging capability. An employee of LG Innotek displays the firm’s 15-watt wireless cha

Oct. 12, 2016

Samsung BioLogics wins approval for IPO

Samsung BioLogics Co., a medicine-producing subsidiary of South Korea's Samsung Group, on Thursday won preliminary approval from the nation's bourse for its listing plan.It allows the firm to start the formal process for the initial public offering estimated to value at around 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion). Wrapping up more than a month-long review, a related committee of the Korea Exchange concluded that the company is qualified to be listed on the KOSPI market.The exchange plans to make its fi

Sept. 29, 2016

[Super Rich] Superrich doctors take scalpel to old management

“The reluctant executive” was how Forbes magazine described Shin Chang-jae, the chairman of Kyobo Life Insurance, in a cover story in 2010. Despite being the firstborn son of Kyobo Life founder Shin Yong-ho, he never wanted to be a businessman. He chose to be a doctor, until one day, his father called. This week, The Super Rich team introduces the life and success stories of three doctor-turned-entrepreneurs from the medical school of the nation’s top Seoul National University. We start with Shi

Sept. 29, 2016

[DECODED] SK runs on harmonious kinship, so far

At key SK companies, men surnamed Choi or Chey hold prominent management positions. Most of them are the offspring of the late SK Group founder Choi Jong-kun and relatives of current Chairman Chey Tae-won. Choi and Chey are the same Korean surname written differently in English, a deviation that stems from Choi’s US-educated brother Chey Jong-hyun choosing to spell his family name differently. Jong-hyun later inherited the group and became the second SK chairman. The oldest of the SK kin partici

Sept. 27, 2016

[DECODED] Chey's control tightens at SK

The way SK Group reorganized its whopping 88 affiliates and subsidiaries into a holding company structure -- billed as an advanced model of multi-company governance -- is a subject of fervent study by Korea’s other family-run conglomerates often criticized for opaque governance. Through a series of carefully devised steps spanning well over a decade, Chairman Chey Tae-won simplified the group’s tangled ownership and eliminated highly controversial cross-shareholdings. He also secured greater con

Sept. 27, 2016

[DECODED] Chey leads SK’s global search for growth

The chief executives of key SK companies have been busy doing homework lately. In front of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and his fellow CEOs, they have to make a presentation next month on ways to fundamentally challenge the way they make money, work and use assets. The task is an assignment given by Chairman Chey after his TED-style lecture-cum-speech in July on the changing business environment and SK’s future. “Companies that do not change in a changing environment don’t just risk perishing

Sept. 26, 2016

[DECODED] Who is Chey Tae-won?

If the life story of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is ever to be made into a film or TV drama, it would be a mash-up of genres -- romance, corporate and even courtroom drama. A 20-something Chey has a campus romance with the president’s daughter and marries her at the Blue House. At 38 years of age, he is crowned successor of Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate owning the country’s biggest firms in oil refining and telecommunications. In his 40s, he scores a dramatic victory against a hostile ta

Sept. 26, 2016

[Super Rich] Chaebol modelling for own business

Instead of hiring glamorous TV stars, some Korean superrich have opted to model for their own business in print or on TV. Commercials featuring big bosses tend to give audience a sense of trustworthiness, not to mention the cost saved. This week, The Superrich Team introduces business chiefs who were featured on the advertisement of their own company.Tam Chul-kon, Orion Group Confectionary-focused Orion Group’s chairman Tam Chul-kon is one of the first business tycoons to appear in company comme

Sept. 22, 2016

[Super Rich] Hur Young-in, Korea’s undisputed bread king

A mega hit Korean television drama “Bread, Love and Dreams” in 2010 features a Korean bakery chaebol’s illegitimate child overcoming all varieties of hardships with passion to make quality bread. Although the main character Kim Tak-gu’s complicated family background is fictitious, his unyielding passion for bread and pastry originates from the real life story of Hur Young-in, chairman of SPC, the country’s largest confectionary group. Hur is undisputed “bread king” in Korea, running a number of

Sept. 22, 2016

Ottogi vows to enhance social responsibility

Ottogi Co., a leading food company in South Korea, vowed to continue being devoted to its corporate social responsibility programs. “CSR is one of the most important roles of a company,” a spokesman from the company said. “We will commit more in social responsibility to become trustworthy and responsible to customers.”  Children pose during a ceremony to celebrate 4,000 successful cardiac surgeries funded by Ottogi in November 2015 (Ottogi)Seoul-based Ottogi has been running several CSR programs

Sept. 22, 2016