[Ask a Lawyer] Can I dissmiss poor performers?

Q: Can I fire employees who constantly show poor performance? What steps should I take? A: Article 23 of the Labor Standards Act stipulates that an employer shall not, without justifiable cause, dismiss or suspend a worker, reduce wages, or take other disciplinary action against a worker. It goes without saying that dismissal of a poor performer should also be based on a justifiable cause. Yet, no consistent legal principle has been established in regard to what constitutes justifiable cause for

Aug. 9, 2017

Kuraray to add PVB film production facility to Ulsan plant

Japanese chemical company Kuraray held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday to build a production facility for polyvinyl butyral film at a plant of its South Korean unit in the southeastern city of Ulsan.PVB is a glass interlayer used in creating safety glass in the automotive and architectural industries. The company plans to complete the construction of the PVB production facility by the end of next year with an investment of $50 million.Kuraray's expansion of the local plant is part of its e

June 16, 2016

U.S. biz community to help Korean startups go global

Major U.S. firms operating here on Tuesday joined the South Korean government's efforts to help local startups globalize.Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea held a ceremony in Seoul to launch the "Global Leading Companies Mentoring Startups" campaign in partnership with the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.Nineteen American companies participated in the event, including Facebook, IBM, Microsoft and Boeing.They agreed to provide 14 selected South Korean startups with

June 14, 2016

‘Work efficiency, time management key for female business leaders’

Park Hyun-nam, the first female branch head of a foreign investment bank in Korea, does not believe women should be confined to “gentle leadership.” In an interview with The Korea Herald, Park said she was given the job based on her superior work efficiency and also time management skills ― both essential for her as she juggles the multiple roles of a parent and businesswoman. Park took on the job as the co-branch manager of Deutsche Bank Korea in September 2013.She’s the first woman to fill the

Jan. 6, 2014

Korea, a fascinating place to live: SC Bank Korea chief

It was no surprise to those who know him when Richard Hill, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Korea, was presented with Seoul Honorary Citizenship by the city government in October. He has made active social contributions to Korean society, and has helped enhance the city’s business environment and attract foreign investment.His six years in Korea with his family has been full of wonderful and unique experiences. Besides maintaining a strong work ethic, Hill said he has also made the most of the pa

Dec. 16, 2013

Homeplus tops foreign donations in Korea

Homeplus Co. was the largest donor to charity among foreign businesses operating in Korea in 2012 for the second consecutive year, according to an online corporate research firm on Monday.Data from Korea CXO Institute showed that Homeplus, a discount chain run by U.K.-based Tesco, donated 5.53 billion won ($5.26 million) in 2012 and 6.32 billion won in 2011 to charity, topping the research firm’s list of 50 companies with over 30 billion won in annual sales.These 50 foreign firms belong to vario

Dec. 16, 2013

Foreign firms call for higher expat employment quotas

Under Korean immigration regulations, companies are allowed to employ a workforce with up to 20 percent of their employees being foreign semi-professionals or skilled laborers on an E-7 visa.This regulation is one of the complaints from foreign companies doing business in Korea, and some foreign CEOs called for easing the rule when they attended a government-organized forum in Seoul last week. “We sit at the same size because of the immigration law,” said a representative from a Canadian company

Dec. 2, 2013

Visa Korea names new country head

Visa Korea has named Iain Jamieson, former Philippine and Guam branch manager, as its country manager, the company announced last week.The new chief’s term that is to begin in January will also include the role of establishing the Visa brand in Mongolia and expanding its business there as the country’s branch manager.Jamieson joined the company in 1995 and held various major positions in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East, including the overall supervision of international affairs for the Asia-Pac

Dec. 2, 2013

Hankook Shell appoints new CEO

Hankook Shell Oil Co. announced Monday that it had appointed Kang Gin-won, former vice president of the company, as its new CEO.He will replace Ha Jong-hwan, who left the position after reaching retirement age.Born 1961 in Seoul, the newly appointed CEO studied mechanical engineering in Switzerland and earned both his master’s degree and doctorate in the field of management, according to the company.He has over 25 years of experience in construction equipment and parts manufacturing and was the

Dec. 2, 2013

Toyota Korea replaces country chief

Toyota Motor Korea said Monday that it had named Akihisa Yoshida, former vice president at the Japanese carmaker’s Asia-Pacific sales unit, as its new country chief. Yoshida, 52, studied economics at Hokkaido University and joined Toyota Motor in 1984. He has held a number of sales positions in Japan, Australia and other Asia Pacific regions. Since 2011, he was vice president at Toyota Motor Asia-Pacific, a regional sales unit based in Singapore. Yoshida is set to start his term on Jan. 1.His pr

Dec. 2, 2013

KRX seeks to list more foreign companies

SAN JOSE, California ― The Korea Exchange, the country’s main bourse, is pushing to list more foreign companies in the Korean stock market, it stressed during an investor relations session in the United States last week. “The global IPO market is picking up after staying down for the past couple of years,” said Choi Hong-sik, president of the tech-heavy KOSDAQ division at the Korea Exchange. He was speaking on the sidelines of KRX’s “2013 U.S. Companies Listing in Korea Forum,” held at the Fairm

Nov. 18, 2013

‘Competition could help Korea’s power market’

The time may soon come for Korea, whose electricity market is monopolized by a state-run company, to introduce competitive arrangements, according to the chief of a global research firm specializing in the energy business.“Throughout history, it has always made sense to have one, often state-run, company to keep control over the nation’s electricity industry,” Clint Wheelock, managing director of Navigant Research, told The Korea Herald in an interview. As the primary intention of the business i

Nov. 18, 2013

A CEO’s first impressions of Korea

Since my recent arrival, I have been often asked of my first impressions of Korea by my Korean colleagues, customers and other people. Well, I have not seen much as I have worked most of the time, as one often does upon taking a new job in a new country. But because I am persuaded that a fresh perception does not last long, let me try to complete this with candor. First of all, I would like to say that I love the idea of being in Korea. It is the fifth country I have lived in after France, Egypt

Nov. 4, 2013

Siemens Korea names new vice president

Siemens Korea on Monday named Christoph M. Aebischer as the company’s vice president and head of the building technologies division. Aebischer formerly served as regional head of fire safety and security solutions for the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, after heading the building automation division of the Hong Kong and Macau operations of Siemens. He joined Siemens Switzerland as a service engineer and accumulated extensive experience in various sectors, including product management, sales market

Oct. 7, 2013

‘Era of electric cars will come slowly’

This is the seventh in a series of articles about promising foreign-invested companies. ― Ed.ICHEON, Gyeonggi Province ― Electric cars and automated driving were the two hot trends of the Frankfurt Motor Show 2013, according to Sunwoo Hyun, the chief executive of Continental Automotive Systems Korea, the Korean unit of German auto part maker Continental AG.Founded in 1871, Continental AG is headquartered in Hanover, Germany, with annual sales of 32.7 billion euros ($44.4 billion) and about 170,0

Oct. 7, 2013