Kumho Asiana chief meets with daughter of former Chinese premier

Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo met with a high-profile Chinese woman in charge of promoting friendship with foreign countries and they discussed ways to boost exchanges between the two sides, a Kumho Asiana official said Thursday.The meeting between Park and Li Xiaolin, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, took place in eastern Seoul, the official said, without elaborating. (Kumho Asiana Group)Li, the daughter of former Chinese Premier Li

June 9, 2016

Asiana Airlines, Kumho Industrial sell off landmark building in Vietnam

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's No. 2 flag carrier, said Thursday it has sold a 50 percent stake in Kumho Asiana Plaza, a Vietnamese landmark building, to Saigon Boulevard Holdings Pte. Ltd as part of its efforts to improve its financial health.The $107.5 million deal was completed between the carrier and the affiliate of Singaporean property developer Mapletree Investments Pte earlier in the day, an official of Asiana Airlines said.Kumho Asiana Plaza built by Kumho Industrial Co., the const

June 9, 2016

Hyundai Glovis chief rated as top local CEO

The president of Hyundai Glovis Co., a logistics unit of South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Group, has been rated as the best performer among CEOs of the country's top 500 companies, data showed Thursday.According to the data by market researcher CEO Score, Kim Kyung-bae received 64.5 points out of a possible 100 in an assessment of CEOs' management performances in 2015. The Hyundai Glovis CEO placed second last year.Cho Hwan-eik, president of state-run Korean Electric Power Corp., and Park S

June 9, 2016

Samsung SDS mulls split of logistics biz

Samsung SDS Co., a key IT unit of the Samsung Group, said Tuesday that it is considering splitting its logistics business in a bid to foster competitiveness."The company is reviewing a plan to split off the Samsung SDS logistics division to strengthen competitiveness in global logistics and focus on management capacity," the company stated in a regulatory filing.Samsung SDS said it will "seek further ways to strengthen sectors other than logistics amid rapid market changes (in the industry) such

June 7, 2016

Secucen to build e-signature platform for hospitals

On May 25, Secucen (CEO Kim Je-ho), a fintech security company, announced that it is currently conducting a project with large domestic hospitals to build an electronic signature platform. This e-signature solution will replace handwritten signatures with biometric information for the purpose of executing operation permissions, among others. The purpose of the platform is to prevent potential factors that could lead to medical disputes among medical institutions, patients, and patients’ families

June 2, 2016

Family-controlled firms show higher profitability: report

Family-run companies were found to generate higher profitability compared to rivals, a report said on Thursday, claiming that involvement by "owner" families leads to good business results.According to the report compiled by the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI), 4,683 family-controlled firms here posted a return on asset (ROA) ratio of 3.7 percent between 2000 and 2014.A family-controlled firm in the report is defined as family members having a stake of 20 percent or more, or two or more

March 31, 2016

Former KORAIL chief summoned over corruption in urban development project

Prosecutors summoned a former chief of Korea's rail operator Thursday on suspicions of bribery in connection to a now-scrapped urban development plan in Seoul.Huh Joon-young, who led the Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) from 2009 to 2011, appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul. Huh Joon-young, former president of the Korea Railroad Corp. (Yonhap)The 63-year-old is accused of receiving illegal political funds from his aide, identified only by his surname Soh

March 31, 2016

[Super Rich] Hyundai Corp. latest Chung family group

Leading Korean trading company Hyundai Corp. has become the latest member of the so-called Chung Ju-yung family conglomerate groups -- which include Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Group, Hyundai Department and Hyundai Heavy Industries -- with the Fair Trade Commission approving its separation from HHI last week. The late business tycoon Chung founded Hyundai in 1947.The move was expected as Hyundai Corp. chairman Chung Mong-hyuck secured controlling stake in the company and Hyundai C&F, a wholesal

March 29, 2016

Hyundai E&C bolsters CSR activities in Vietnam

Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the construction arm of Hyundai Motor Group, is strengthening its corporate social responsibility activities as part of efforts to cement its status as a global builder in Vietnam. “After a half-century since the entry to Vietnam back in 1966, the company is evolving into a global infrastructure builder there,” the nation’s top builder said in a press release on Monday. A group of students from the Hanoi Industrial Vocational College take part in the construct

March 21, 2016

[Photo News] Posco Daewoo marks new name

POSCO DAEWOO MARKS NEW NAME -- POSCO Daewoo CEO Kim Young-Sang (right) waves the firm’s flag to mark its new name while POSCO chairman Kwon Oh-joon applauds during a ceremony at Incheon Songdo Convensia on Monday. (POSCO Daewoo)

March 21, 2016

KHNP completes 90% safety measures against nuclear accidents

State-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corp., operator of the nation’s 25 nuclear reactors, said Tuesday that the company has completed 87.5 percent of its planned safety measures against accidents that it developed as a follow-up after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011.“The company has been proceeding with the completion of safety-related tasks by 2020 under its safety management roadmap for the past five years,’’ a KHNP official said. The Kori nuclear power complex located in Busan

March 15, 2016

[Newsmaker] Will SK chairman retake board membership?

  With the season for annual shareholders meetings of the nation’s conglomerates approaching, the limelight is on SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won once again. 　Two months ago, the business tycoon suffered a public backlash with his confession about an extramarital affair and a love child. This time, attention is being paid not to his personal life but to his return to the executive board of key affiliates of the nation’s third-largest conglomerate. 　One reason why the chairman’s move is drawing pu

Feb. 22, 2016

Attocube to participate in Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2016

On February 16, Attocube (CEO: Sangtaek Han) announced that it will be participating in the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on February 22 through the sponsorship of the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation and KT. A startup company that develops smart toys, Attocube will be displaying the “Attocube,” an educational product for children that features wooden blocks that can be used in conjunction with a mobile application, at this year’s congress.Children playing with differ

Feb. 19, 2016

Economic uncertainty spurs real estate investment

Despite growing global fears over economic uncertainty, cross-border direct real estate investments in major cities around the world are expected to increase this year, drawing a comparison with shaky stock and bond markets, according to experts.Explaining the attractive nature of direct real estate investment, Alistair Meadows, Asia-Pacific head of International Capital Group within global real estate service firm Jones Lang LaSalle, and David Green-Morgan, director of Global Capital Markets Re

Feb. 15, 2016

Lotte founder names 1st son as legitimate heir through video

Lotte Group founder's first son released a video earlier this week in which his father named him as the legitimate heir of the conglomerate, industry sources said Wednesday, amid the prolonged dispute over which son will inherit the company.  (Yonhap)"Dong-joo, the first son, is the heir in both Japan and South Korea. This is a common sense. There will be no reliability if someone else takes the post," the founder said in the video in Japanese. Last year, Shin's second son, Dong-bin, took contro

Feb. 10, 2016

21 Korean firms incorporated into DJSI World

A total of 21 domestic companies were incorporated into the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, according to the Korea Productivity Center. The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices ― a group of 14 indices covering different regions ― are maintained collaboratively by S&P Dow Jones Indices, one of the largest global resources that produces stock market indices, and RobecoSAM, a Swiss-based investment company that concentrates on sustainability investments.They measure the performance of the world’s

Jan. 21, 2016

Debt-ridden Hyundai Merchant to sell bulk shipping business

   A bulk cargo ship run by Hyundai Merchant Marine HMM   Hyundai Merchant Marine, facing a liquidity crisis, is reportedly in negotiations with local private equity firm Hahn & Company for the sale of its bulk cargo shipping business. 　The target for sale is the company’s business on shipping fuel sources like iron ore and coal used for power generation.　The deal amount is forecast to reach about 600 billion won ($495 million) as the private equity firm reportedly offered a cash payment of 100

Jan. 21, 2016

SK creates advisory team for M&A deals

SK Group headquarters building in Seoul. SK GroupSK Group, the nation’s third largest conglomerate, said Wednesday it has set up an independent team to offer a variety of advisory services to its affiliates seeking mergers and acquisitions. The group has recently created the “integrated financial solution team’’ under the roof of the Supex Council, the group‘s highest decision-making body, and appointed Jim Eun, the former head of Intel Korea, as the IFST leader. Eun, who has been appointed vice

Jan. 13, 2016

Hanjin Group heir apparent takes bigger role in Korean Air

Korean Air executive vice president Cho Won-tae   Hanjin Group, a leading South Korean transportation conglomerate, is expected to accelerate the generational power shift in management as Cho won-tae, the only son of group chairman Cho Yang-ho, will take a bigger role in its flagship affiliate Korean Air. 　Korean Air, the nation’s flag carrier, accounts for half of the groups’s entire revenue. 　According to the 2016 executive reshuffle announced late Monday evening, junior Cho, the executive vic

Jan. 12, 2016