Samsung Heavy to reduce workforce

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. is seeking to cut its workforce and have employees return part of their salaries in order to cut costs, industry sources said Tuesday.Last year, the major South Korean shipyard unveiled a self-restructuring program that centers on cutting the workforce and having executives return part of their salaries, in order to tide over a protracted slump in the shipbuilding sector.Samsung Heavy was forced to reduce its workforce by 1,500 in 2016 through an early retirement sch

July 18, 2017

Jeju Air gets China approval to fly 2 chartered flights

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's leading budget carrier, said Monday it has obtained approval from the Chinese authorities to fly two chartered flights to the neighboring country next week. "Jeju Air is the first Korean passenger carrier, which has received such an approval since January when China stopped allowing Korean chartered planes to fly between the two countries," a company spokeswoman said.Two chartered flights are scheduled to deliver a combined 360 passengers to the famous tourism site of

July 17, 2017

Citibank Korea offers to slightly scale down branch closures

Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc., has proposed slightly reducing the number of branches it plans to shut down, an industry source said Tuesday, in a bid to avoid a backlash from its labor union. If the labor union of Citibank Korea agrees on the proposal, the number of branches facing closure will be cut to 90 from 101 in South Korea. Last Friday, five branches of Citibank Korea were shut down and 30 more branches will be closed by the end of this month. (Yonhap)The move h

July 11, 2017

Lotte chief vows transparent management structure

The head of South Korean retail giant Lotte vowed on Monday to boost the group's transparent management as it attempts to tide over a string of troubles through a governance shakeup. During an IR session held in Tokyo, Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin said his group will be able to better adapt to changing market circumstances with transparent management once the revamp plan for its management structure is completed this year. "Lotte Group will continue with its growth as a trusted company by

July 10, 2017

KDB begins preparatory work to sell Daewoo Engineering

State-run Korea Development Bank said Monday it has begun preparatory work to sell its controlling stake at Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co.KDB plans to pick an investment bank, a law firm and an accounting firm during next month to arrange the planned sale of its 50.75-percent stake in Daewoo Engineering that has been valued at 1.65 trillion won ($1.42 billion) as of Monday closing price.  (Yonhap)KDB will announce the sale of the Daewoo Engineering stake by the end of this year after cond

July 10, 2017

Jin Air opens new domestic route to Jeju Island

Jin Air Co., one of South Korea's biggest budget carriers, on Friday opened a new route to Jeju Island to capitalize on growing low-cost travel demand during the peak summer season.The low-cost carrier has allocated a 189-seat B737-800 jet to serve the Gwangju-Jeju route two times a day, the airline said in a statement.  A Jin Air B737-800 passenger jet takes off from a runway in this undated photo. (Photo courtesy of Jin Air)It currently operates three flights between the resort island and thre

June 30, 2017

Financial firms on guard for cyberattack threats

Banks and other financial institutions in South Korea have been on guard over threats of cyberattacks by alleged financial blackmailers, according to the banks and financial institutions on Tuesday. No damage has been reported so far, but about 20 banks, brokerages and the Korea Exchange received threats by hacking groups about paralyzing their Web sites.They received e-mails that set a deadline to transfer funds to the blackmailers to avoid the attacks.  (Yonhap)On Monday, four financial instit

June 27, 2017

Hyundai Heavy affiliate sells stake in parent firm's spin-off unit

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., an affiliate of shipbuilding conglomerate Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., sold its stakes in the affiliate recently spun off from its parent firm, a move seen to accelerate the conglomerate's drive for a holding company structure.In March, shareholders of Hyundai Heavy approved the company's plan to hive off its noncore businesses, aimed at what it claims will boost each business unit's competitiveness.Under the plan, the shipyard split into four independent entities: sh

June 21, 2017

Jeju Air to open route to Taiwan's Kaohsiung next month

Jeju Air Co., a South Korean budget carrier, said Wednesday it will open a route to Taiwan's Kaohsiung next month, the first such service offered by a local airline. The move is part of local budget carriers' efforts to expand routes to Southeast Asia and Japan not only to absorb growing low-budget travel demand but also to offset sharp declines in travel demand from China amid a diplomatic row over the deployment of a US anti-missile system in Korea. (Yonhap)Beijing banned the sale of travel pa

June 21, 2017

Kookmin Card signs partnership with US bank

KB Kookmin Card Co., a unit of South Korea's banking giant KB Financial Group Inc., said Tuesday it has inked a partnership with Bank of Hope in the United States in a move to make inroads into the large North American market.The card company said it will set up a joint venture with the Los Angeles-based lender with the aim of pursuing joint projects. (Yonhap)KB Kookmin Card said it expects the partnership to help it make inroads into the world's No. 1 economy.Bank of Hope, which has more than $

June 20, 2017

Hotel Shilla attends tourism expo in Hong Kong

Hotel Shilla Co., set to open its duty-free shops at an airport in Hong Kong later this year, said Tuesday it has participated in an international travel expo to expand its overseas foothold in the business.One of the major duty-free shop operators in South Korea, Hotel Shilla said it introduced its know-how about the duty-free and hotel business to local industry officials and tourists at the International Travel Expo Hong Kong which ran from Thursday to Sunday.In April, the operator of Shilla

June 20, 2017

LG Electronics launches AI division

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics Inc. said Sunday it has reorganized its structure and established two research centers devoted to the development of technologies related to artificial intelligence.The new centers -- AI and robotics -- will be directly under control of the Chief Technology Officer's office, and will focus on the development and implementation of AI-related services, the company said. (Yonhap)The move is part of the company's efforts to revamp research and development, and

June 11, 2017

Top court confirms guardianship over Lotte founder

The nation's top court has confirmed the designation of a nonprofit subsidiary of a law firm as the guardian of the founder of the country's retail giant Lotte Group, legal sources said Friday.The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal filed by Shin Kyuk-ho against a family court's decision that put him under the Sun's legal supervision. It is a subsidiary of law firm One Law Partners that handles matters of public interest. In this file photo taken on March 20, 2017, Shin Kyuk-ho, founde

June 2, 2017

Lotte likely to unveil governance shakeup plan next week: sources

South Korean retail conglomerate Lotte Group is likely to unveil a series of steps next week to simplify its complicated governance structure, which may include split-ups or mergers of key affiliates, industry sources said Friday.The group's two key affiliates -- Lotte Shopping Co. and Lotte Confectionery Co. -- are rumored to be rolling out the plan at their respective shareholders meeting next week to split themselves into an investment unit and a business arm, according to industry sources fa

April 21, 2017

GS to prepare for the future amid growing uncertainties

GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo, who is also the chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, participated in the group’s quarterly board meeting on Wednesday and emphasized on the need to prepare for the uncertain future. GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo (GS)Encouraging on the group’s latest achievements, including the implementation of LNG terminal in Boryeong and GS Retail’s investment in K bank, Huh urged the board members to keep improving the overall competitiveness of GS and to prepare

April 19, 2017

[Superich] Samsung’s first lady steps down from public posts

The lady of the Samsung family Hong Ra-hee, 72, resigned last week from her position as the director of Leeum Samsung Museum of Art for personal reasons. The decision astounded the business and art communities as the “super collector” had the discerning eyes and financial capabilities to purchase valuable art works.As of March 7, Hong ranks 10th on The Superich Team’s “Korea’s Richest 100,” and is the richest female within the country.  Director of Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Hong Ra-hee (Yonha

March 16, 2017

[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