Stanton Chase International picks ‘diversity’ as top skill global executives must haveTop officials from a leading global executive search firm said the senior executive consultant market is still in high demand around the world despite the global economic slowdown.Speaking in an interview with The Korea Herald this week, the board members of Stanton Chase International stressed that the senior executive search business has become more competitive to satisfy the clients’ needs. “The trend in the

July 26, 2012

Asiana Airlines said Sunday that it has launched a new type of first-class service, OZ First Suite, which is based on the concept of “hotel suites transplanted in an air carrier.” Limited to three routes ― Incheon-Chicago, Incheon-Narita and Incheon-Ho Chi Minh ― the new premium service is offered only on the B777-200ER aircraft at present. The Incheon-Chicago flight runs four times a week, the Incheon-Narita flight four times a day, and the Incheon-Ho Chi Minh flight two times a day. The most e

Industry July 22, 2012

SK Group’s academic institute opened a two-day forum in Seoul to mark the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and China.The Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, a private non-profit educational organization founded by the conglomerate, organized the forum titled “International Academic Symposium in Commemoration of the Korea-China 20th Diplomatic Anniversary.” About 42 prominent Chinese scholars with at least a one-year stay in Korea since 2000 attended the academic conventi

July 19, 2012

Budget carrier CEO says route diversification boosted profits by 256%JEJU ― Jin Air, a low-cost carrier, said Tuesday that its operating profit in the first half of this year had more than doubled, dismissing initial concerns that Korea is a deathbed for discount airlines. The subsidiary of Korean Air increased its year-on-year sales by 65 percent, to 119.5 billion won ($110 million). The carrier’s operating profit in the same period also increased by 256 percent, to about 7.8 billion won. The f

Industry July 17, 2012

Hyundai Motor Co., headed for its first annual decline in U.S. market share since 1998, plans to address production constraints and invest in trucks and crossovers, the automaker’s sales chief for the country said. The Hyundai brand passed Ford Motor Co.’s namesake brand in car sales to retail buyers during the first six months of the year, John Krafcik, chief executive officer of the South Korean company’s U.S. sales unit, told reporters yesterday at an event in Brooklyn, Michigan. The company

Mobility July 15, 2012

Imported car brands with large deficits aim to hit back with lower prices and model revampsJapanese carmakers have seen gradual recoveries in the global market, but their Korean businesses are still posting large operating losses. The automakers attributed their large deficits to external factors such as last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan, floods in Thailand and the strong yen. “Last year was doomed to deficit. The earthquake and other natural disasters basically blocked the automobile

Mobility July 15, 2012

Philip Morris International Korea added a new menthol-scented product, Parliament Hybrid 2 in 1, to its line-up of on Thursday. The new product has a special capsule inserted within each filter which, once broken, releases a taste of menthol. Smokers can twist-and-break the inserted menthol filter for stronger menthol taste, whereas those who prefer classic cigarettes can leave the capsule unbroken, the company said. Parliament Hybrid 2 in 1 is “rich both in the classical taste of cigarette and

July 12, 2012

Hanbul Motors, the official importer and distributor of Citroen vehicles, unveiled the DS4, the second of its DS line, on Thursday in Seoul. The winner of “the Most Beautiful Car of the Year” by Eurosport Magazine in 2011, Citroen DS4 combines a coupe style with two-plus-two door practicality, and offers three full-sized rear seats, accessed by rear doors with hidden handles that are seamlessly integrated into its design.  The new DS model also provides a capacious 370-liter boot and a host of c

Mobility July 12, 2012

The government will offer full support for multinational companies in Korea to attract more foreign investment, Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Seok-woo said Monday.The minister made the remarks during a government-multinational companies conference in Seoul, attended by about 20 members of the Korean CEO’s Association of Multinational Corporation Organization.The participants in the forum discussed foreign investment policies, labor-management issues, tax-cuts and other incentives.The minister

July 9, 2012