Erik StoelErik Stoel, marketing director of British American Tobacco Korea, has been appointed its new chief executive, the company announced Tuesday.Stoel will take office on Jan. 1, replacing the incumbent CEO Guy Meldrum who has been transferred as head of BAT Australasia. “Over the past three years, in his role as marketing director of BAT Korea, Mr. Stoel has made a substantial contribution to the company by strengthening the company’s flagship brand Dunhill to establish BAT Korea’s stronge

Dec. 29, 2015

Engineers at a plating unit check the quality of steel sheeting produced at POSCO’s Gwangyang plant in South Jeolla Province. POSCOFor lighter, stronger auto body frames, Korea’s top steelmaker POSCO has been producing advanced high-strength steel, the latest steel sheet production technology, with growing market demand.Advanced high-strength steel is one of the fastest-growing material markets in the automotive industry in and out of the country, as it offers enhanced formability and is lighter

Dec. 29, 2015

Citibank Korea CEO Park Jin-hei operates the bank’s interactive touch screen kiosk. Citibank KoreaCitibank Korea has opened a wealth management center that features digital innovation and a wide array of services in downtown Seoul, the bank said Tuesday. The Citigold Banpo Center is equipped with intuitive touch screens and high-definition media walls to promote customer engagement with its products and services.The bank also expanded its asset management system by launching a new service called

Dec. 29, 2015

Staff Sgt. Hah Jae-hun. YonhapAn Army staff sergeant who lost both legs in the North Korean landmine attack in early August was discharged from the hospital Tuesday after five months of treatment and rehabilitation that has enabled him to use prosthetic limbs.Twenty-one-year-old Staff Sgt. Hah Jae-hun was conducting a patrol mission on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone when landmines buried by North Korea exploded and maimed him and another soldier on Aug. 4. The landmine attack, f

Dec. 29, 2015

Lee Geun-myeon, minister of personnel management.The work performance evaluation of high-ranking public servants will be tightened, possibly even leading to their dismissal, officials said Tuesday.The Ministry of Personnel Management said starting next year the evaluation criteria and penalties will be strengthened to raise the work efficiency of civil servants who had thus far enjoyed great job security.The move came after public pressure to enhance the “superficial” performance evaluation.Unde

Dec. 29, 2015

Samsung’s all-in-one bioprocessorSamsung Electronics said Tuesday it has started mass-producing the world’s first all-in-one bioprocessor that collects and analyzes biological information such as heart rate and body fat in a single chip. In recent years, global device-makers have been piling into the soaring health care device market, but most of their fitness trackers have not gone much beyond heart rate or sleep quality monitors. With the unprecedented one chip solution, Samsung said it aims t

Dec. 29, 2015

Yim Jong-yongFinancial Services Commission Chairman Yim Jong-yong pinpointed household and corporate debt as the biggest potential problems for the Korean economy, calling for “fierce reforms” to guard against them. “The debt problem, (particularly) of households and corporates, is the biggest risk to our economy,” the chief financial regulator said in his year-end press meeting in central Seoul, Tuesday. Korea’s economy faces multiple challenges, including an uncertain global economic outlook,

Dec. 29, 2015

Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam meets victims of Japan’s wartime sex slavery in Seoul on Tuesday. YonhapThe Seoul government on Tuesday set the ball rolling to execute Monday’s bilateral agreement with Tokyo to settle the issue of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery, despite escalating controversy over the ambiguity of the clauses and objections from the victims and civic groups.Seoul’s Foreign Ministry began its internal preparatory work for the establishment of a fund to support the Korean victi

Dec. 29, 2015

Hangwha E&C manager Kim Dong-sun. YonhapKim Dong-sun, the third son of Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn, showed up at the media briefing Dec. 21 to showcase the Galleria Duty Free 63, the company’s duty-free store in Yeouido, southwest Seoul. Unlike the usual hierarchical introduction, Dong-sun came forward right after Hanwha Gelleria Time World CEO Hwang Yong-deuk, outranking four other vice presidents of the company. He also stood at the center when posing for photos at the opening of the

Dec. 29, 2015

Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo (third from right) and pianist Cho Seong-jin (third from left) pose in November in Japan. Cho, the winner of the 2015 International Chopin Competition, participated in Kumho Foundation’s training program. Kumho Asiana Cultural FoundationOn Christmas Eve at the Kumho Art Hall in central Seoul, an old man approached a little boy sitting at the back row of the front bloc during the intermission of the Kumho Soloists’ recital.“Why don’t you come and sit with

Dec. 29, 2015

A day after Seoul and Tokyo pulled off a compromise in their sex slavery row, the U.S., the U.N. and other actors in the international community churned out praise and support, displaying hopes for an end to the decades-old historical animosity. While acknowledging the need for Japan to follow through on its promises, they stressed the significance of what is supposed to be a “final and irreversible” closure of the dispute that has long plagued relations between the two neighbors and staunch U.S

Dec. 29, 2015

Despite a much-touted breakthrough with Japan on sex slavery, criticism is simmering over Seoul’s apparently rushed negotiations that led to its failure to consult beforehand with the victims, leaving room for potential diplomatic blunders and political backlash at home. Monday’s announcement came as a surprise to many because the bilateral director-general-level talks had made little headway during the 11 rounds since April 2014. Even early this month, diplomatic sources remained skeptical of t

Dec. 29, 2015

Shortly after President Park Geun-hye took office in early 2013, her administration announced a plan to collect an additional 27.2 trillion won ($23.3 billion) in tax revenue over the next five years by shedding light on underground business activities. The envisioned tax revenue was part of a scheme for financing Park’s welfare programs without raising tax rates as she promised during her election campaign.In a parliamentary audit of the National Tax Service in September, taxation officials sai

Dec. 28, 2015

Hyundai Motor Group on Monday promoted 368 staff at the executive level of 25 affiliates, highlighting the company’s globalization strategy as well as its new standalone premium sedan brand, the Genesis. Luc Donckerwolke and Manfred Fitzgerald“The promotion is designed to beef up our core competitiveness in future technologies, quality and brands, to become the global market leader,” a Hyundai spokesman said. The company appointed Luc Donckerwolke as the head of Hyundai Design Center, and Manfre

Dec. 28, 2015