It is a widely known fact that the retail sector is one of the least transparent segments in Korea.Kickbacks are ― or at least were ― rampant, mostly because there are simply too many vendors vying to get their products on the shelves. Lotte appears to have been no exception, as seen in the recent case involving Shin Heon, CEO of Lotte Shopping, who will soon be summoned for questioning over allegations he received cash kickbacks from a local subcontactor.  The Seoul Central District Prosecutors

Industry April 3, 2014

Korea Electric Power Corp., the nation’s sole power supplier, signed a letter of intent with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Power and Energy in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, on April 1 to strengthen bilateral cooperation, KEPCO said Wednesday.On the same day, the state-run company also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ceylon Electricity Board under the Energy Ministry, which carries out government power projects, to develop projects in areas such as thermal power plants, renewables and

Industry April 2, 2014

Baek Joon-ho, a former director of the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, was named as the planning and management director of the Korea Elevator Safety Institute, the institute said Tuesday. KESI is a partially governmental institution founded in 1992 to systematically manage elevator safety. The agency is responsible for safety regulations for elevators. “Based on his past experiences in the public sector, he will play a key role in planning the organization’s main activit

Industry April 1, 2014

GE Korea said Tuesday that Park Jang-won, the GE Korea executive in charge of the company’s growth strategy, had been concurrently named as country executive for GE Oil & Gas Korea. In Korea, GE Oil & Gas provides solutions and services for all segments of the oil and gas industry to clients in the offshore and marine, engineering-procurement-construction, steel, and petrochemical sectors.Visal Leng, regional general manager of GE Oil & Gas Asia Pacific & ANZ said, “Based on Park’s past experien

Industry April 1, 2014

HONG KONG ― In Korea, where adultery could be prosecuted, an online website arranging extramarital affairs started operating on March 18 to gratify the urge of “some” married people to find happiness in the arms of people other than their spouses. Noel Biderman, founder of online dating site Ashelymadison.com ― and a rather erratic sex liberalist ― believes that his website, notorious for matchmaking married people, could change Korean society, while, of course, bringing him profit. “I have look

Industry March 31, 2014

TOULOUSE, France ― Airbus, the European aircraft maker, looks to the Asia Pacific region for the success of its new mid-size wide-body jet, the A350.The A350, which is expected to see its first delivery to Qatar Airlines by the year end, is Airbus’ latest large passenger jet model offering up to 350 passenger seats. It competes with the Boeing 777 or 787 Dreamliner in the lucrative long-haul passenger flight market. Airbus beats its arch rival Boeing in the super jumbo jet sector with the A380 o

Industry March 30, 2014

Hanwha Group will be hosting its annual musical event, the “2014 Symphonic Festival with Hanwha,” at Seoul Arts Center from April 1-18, the company said on Sunday.This marks the 15th year that Hanwha has hosted the event. Up to 20 national orchestras will gather, along with world-class performers invited exclusively for the festival. This way, Hanwha hopes to give back to society and break down the barriers between different regions with music. “Today, it’s not unusual to see companies host arti

Industry March 30, 2014

HAMBURG, Germany ― Asiana Airlines, the nation’s second-largest carrier, unveiled its first Airbus 380 to the Korean press on March 26 at an Airbus facility in Hamburg.According to Airbus, a France-based commercial jet manufacturer, about 24 employees at Airbus’ Hamburg paint shop spent 12 days painting the first A380 plane for Asiana Airlines in the carrier’s colors.Painting a giant airplane is intensive work, as the painters must apply three separate coats of paint ― the primer, customer color

Industry March 27, 2014

The Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone is stretching out to achieve its ultimate goal of encouraging investment of $25 billion, creating 240,000 jobs and drawing 120,000 residents to the area by 2020. According to the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone Authority, its commissioner Lee Hee-bong and a group of Korean-American business groups signed a deal on March 7 to invest $200 million in the area. The Bizpost Group Consortium composed of the Los Angeles-based Korean-American group Bizpost

Industry March 16, 2014