South Korea’s food and entertainment giant CJ Group is set to expand investments and speed up its delayed plans to tap more markets around the world by carrying out a personnel reshuffle in March, the group said Sunday, hinting at chairman Lee Jay-hyun’s return to management. “Sales grew slightly last year but the group’s sales remained at 20-something trillion won for the last three or four years,” an official at CJ Group said. “We need to spur growth in or

Companies Feb. 26, 2017

The labor union of Hyundai Heavy Industries has launched a full-scale strike, calling on the company to finish wage negotiations and scrap its plan to spin off non-shipbuilding units. The labor union has staged partial strikes several times but Thursday’s strike was the first full-fledged strike in 23 years.  The labor union carried out an eight-hour strike from 8 a.m. and said it planned to continue with it Friday and also Monday when the company shareholders will meet to decide a

Companies Feb. 23, 2017

KEB Hana Bank was selected the best private bank in Korea in the Private Banking & Wealth Management Survey 2017 by Euromoney, a business and finance magazine based in London, the bank announced Thursday. This is the 10th time the bank was recognized by the Euromoney survey, which has been conducted for 14 years.  KEB Hana Bank CEO Ham Young-joo (center) poses after receiving the best private bank in Korea award Tuesday. (KEB Hana Bank)“As a new bank combines strengths in asset management and fo

Companies Feb. 23, 2017

South Korea and China are speeding up efforts to boost cooperation on project management to seize opportunities, according to the International Project Management Association Korea on Wednesday. Kim Soo-hong, CEO of Incheon Bridge Corp., the operator of the 21-kilometer Incheon Bridge, and vice president of IPMA Korea, met with Ding Ronggui, a professor at Shandong University, and discussed plans to strengthen bilateral cooperation in project management from Monday to Wednesday. In June l

Industry Feb. 22, 2017

South Korea’s exports, the backbone of the country’s economy, seem on course to end their two-year losing streak this year. If they do, it will be a relief for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, whose exports plunged 5.9 percent on-year in 2016 and 7.9 percent in 2015, the country’s first two straight years of decline.  Export data for the first several weeks of the year suggested a rosy start. In the first 20 days of February, exports soared 26.2 percent from a year

Feb. 21, 2017

South Korea’s Shinhan Bank said it is increasing efforts to better assist the growing population of foreigners here and Koreans heading abroad. The bank said Tuesday it will expand its existing channels to better assist foreigners who face difficulties here because of the language barrier and cultural difference.  (Yonhap)“Even if they can communicate in Korea, the financial jargon and financial system in South Korea could be difficult for them to understand,” the bank said. Shinhan has opened a

Feb. 21, 2017

Shares of a luxury hotel led by Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s younger sister were on the rise amid rumors that she might fill the group’s leadership vacuum. Shares in Hotel Shilla, led by Lee Boo-jin, the eldest daughter of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, soared Friday as market watchers speculated the 46-year-old female tycoon may succeed her brother in managing South Korea’s most powerful conglomerate. Shares in Hotel Shilla soared more than 5 percent

Companies Feb. 17, 2017

A court in South Korea has declared the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping, after two weeks of appeals that ended Friday, bringing to a close 40 years of the company’s history as a leading shipping line and leaving challenges for the industry. The demise of the company -- once the largest shipping company here and the world’s seventh biggest -- began in 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis.  Hanjin and other local shippers suffered from falling freight rates caused by an over

Companies Feb. 17, 2017

The Cayman Islands may be little known to ordinary Koreans, but inward and outward investments between South Korea and the British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea have been on the rise, according to government data. As of the end of January, the amount of investment from the island reached 9.96 trillion won ($8.72 billion), up from 8.22 trillion won in January 2015. The figure in 2008 was 3.67 trillion won.  With a population of less than 60,000, the Caribbean isl

Feb. 16, 2017

South Korea’s jobless rate inched up in January, as job conditions in the manufacturing sector continued to deteriorate and more young people stopped looking for work, government data showed Wednesday. The jobless rate in January stood at 3.8 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, data from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance showed. It marks the highest since April 2016, when the tally was 3.9 percent.  The number of jobless people exceeded the 1 million mark in Ja

Feb. 15, 2017

Import prices rose for the fifth consecutive month in January to reach the highest level in 25 months, putting upward pressure on consumer prices, data from the central bank showed Tuesday. (123RF)The import price index climbed 2.1 percent from the previous month to 84.91 in terms of local currency, the Bank of Korea said Tuesday. The import price index has been moving upward since September, with January’s figure marking the highest since December 2014 at 83.14. The increase was led by hikes in

Feb. 14, 2017

North Korea’s missile launch Sunday had little impact on South Korea’s financial markets Monday. North Korea on Sunday morning launched the Pukguksong-2 missile, which North Korea’s state news agency described as a “surface-to-surface medium- to-long-range ballistic missile.”  Despite the heightened tension, South Korea’s bourses remained stable Monday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index opened 0.01 percent lower but closed up 0.17 perce

Feb. 13, 2017

Moon Jae-in speaks during the launching ceremony of a regional forum in the southeastern city of Daegu on Feb. 11, 2017. (Yonhap) Moon Jae-in, the current frontrunner in the race for the presidency, will this week register his candidacy for his party's primaries, an aide said Sunday.Moon, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, will sign up for the primaries through his spokesman Rep. Kim Kyung-soo at 11 a.m. Monday, the aide said on the condition of anonymity. A formal declarat

Politics Feb. 12, 2017

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Sunday voiced optimism for US economic growth under President Donald Trump but warned it could herald trouble for the rest of the world."From the little we know, and I will insist on the little we know, because this is really work in progress... but from the little we hear, we have reasons to be optimistic about economic growth in the United States," Lagarde said at the annual World Government Summit in Dubai. International Monetary Fund (IM

World Business Feb. 12, 2017

The South Korean economy has been facing heightened internal and external uncertainties on par with those in 2011, when the world was hit hard by the European fiscal crisis, a report said Sunday."Along with the local political turmoil, South Korea will likely struggle with intensified uncertainties that may surpass the 2011 level, stemming from the murky policies of the new US government and growing trade disputes," said the report by the Hyundai Research Institute. (123RF)The HRI-invented uncer

Feb. 12, 2017