The public disclosure of executive pay at Korean conglomerates is drawing both criticism and skepticism over whether those listed among high payrolls are truly worth what they earn.Some may feel envy toward executives or board members.But public criticism is mounting, especially against conglomerates whose owners or executives have been found guilty of wrongdoing.SK chairman Chey Tae-won, who was imprisoned for embezzlement, reportedly received an income of some 30 billion won last year, the hig

Industry April 1, 2014

Cheil Industries, Samsung’s chemicals and materials manufacturer will be no more.Samsung SDI, a display panel and battery maker of Samsung Group, said Monday that it would be merging with Cheil Industries.The merger, which will make Samsung SDI the surviving entity, comes as the group seeks to create a total materials and energy solutions company.Cheil Industries, which began as a textile maker, will dissolve 60 years after it began operations.Samsung SDI said in a statement that it expected the

Technology March 31, 2014

Korea will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the launch of the country’s mobile telecommunications service this week. Asia’s fourth-largest economy has come a long way to establish itself as the country with the world’s fastest Internet connection speed and highest number of smartphone users.It was able to adopt newer communication technology faster than other economies, moving from code division multiple access 3G to 4G Long Term Evolution.The country and its telecom service providers are

Technology March 26, 2014

It had been common in Korea to see those with money and power, such as owners and executives of conglomerates or even their relatives, acting above the law.Whenever they found themselves in trouble, chaebol would use their status, political connections and wealth to find a way out of the mess they caused.For instance, chaebol and their affiliates would immediately announce plans to contribute to society by investing and hiring more people, and also step up charity efforts to offset public outcry

Industry March 24, 2014

What does it take for both domestic and foreign consumers to log in and buy items on Korean e-commerce sites?The answer is “patience.” There are about a dozen steps to go through to download security programs, set up personal authentication functions and enter personal information, and on some low-end computers this can take ages. Furthermore, they need to agree to a long list of conditions and hand over sensitive data such as resident registration numbers before typing in their credit card numb

Technology March 23, 2014

LG CNS, a leading Korean IT services provider, will move to set up a joint venture or special purpose company with its strategic and financial partners for Greece’s automated public transportation payment system by September this year, the company said Wednesday.This comes after a consortium, consisting of LG CNS and Greek partners, won a bid to develop and operate the system that would be equivalent to Korea’s automated fare collection system for public transport, including the subway and buses

Technology March 19, 2014

LG Electronics said Wednesday that it was developing a smart watch with Google with the aim of introducing it to the global market in the second quarter of this year.The company is in talks with the search giant regarding features of the LG G Watch, using Google’s Android Wear operating platform. The product would directly compete with Samsung Electronics’ Tizen OS-based wearables.“We are also in discussions with Google about exactly when to release the LG G Watch,” said an LG Electronics spokes

Technology March 19, 2014

LG Group is using all of its key subsidiaries’ technical resources to gain an edge in solar power in an effort to secure a new growth business, the group said. Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate has mobilized its flagship companies including LG Electronics, LG Chem and LG Uplus for the development of efficient solar power modules and solutions.This move is similar to when the group, spearheaded by chairman Koo Bon-moo, aggressively started pooling resources from its key companies and suppliers

Technology March 18, 2014

Choi Young-il has been around in the character scene for three decades. Even before he became the inaugural head of Walt Disney Studios Korea in 1992, he had already had 10 years of experience in toy and gift lines at local and foreign companies. “Back then, the character business was quite unfamiliar to Koreans,” said the chief executive of Aurora World in an interview with The Korea Herald. At Walt Disney Studios Korea, he mainly handled licensing for Disney’s music and publications, and he wa

Industry March 7, 2014

Chey Tae-won will no longer be the chairman of SK Group, the company announced on Thursday.The announcement came after the group released a statement earlier this week, saying Chey would step down from the boards at SK Holdings, the holding unit of the country’s third-largest conglomerate, and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including SK Innovation, SK C&C and SK Hynix.Chey was recently sentenced to four years in jail for embezzling funds from SK companies to pay for losses incurred from his in

Industry March 6, 2014

At first glance, international agencies the Green Climate Fund and the Global Green Growth Institute, both of which are based in Korea, might seem like two different “animals,” despite both being based in the Seoul area.The GCF will be channeling finances from the public to the private sector while the GGGI stands ready to implement all available financial resources to promote a low-carbon green economy. Both need to consider the synergies of a partnership if their work is to reach maximum poten

March 6, 2014

South Korea’s financial markets are expected to face an increase in volatility and capital outflows as tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine escalate and geopolitical risks concerning North Korea grow, analysts said.Potential military confrontations in Ukraine have undermined investor sentiment and rattled global stocks and currencies, and spiked oil prices over the last couple of days, despite Ukraine accounting for less than 1 percent of the global economy.The benchmark KOSPI close

March 4, 2014