Macquarie, an Australia-based global financial service group, puts a priority on building public trust for sustainable growth in Korea, the top management of the group’s Korean arm said. “It’s obvious and we know that our reputation is everything to us. Without a reputation we have nothing,” Macquarie Group of Companies Korea chairman John Walker said in an interview with The Korea Herald last Friday. Since its entry into the Korean market in 2000 as a foreign investor in infrastructure projects

Sept. 11, 2014

Cheil Industries’ family-themed promotional video for Everland attracted 800,000 viewers within one day of being posted online Tuesday. (YouTube)Cheil Industries’ viral video to advertise its theme park Everland hit 800,000 views on YouTube a day after its release.The 90-second-long clip featuring a father and a teenage daughter was posted on the firm’s Facebook page and YouTube on Tuesday, raking in more than 300,000 viewers in less than 12 hours.The viral video starts off showing the father sa

Industry Sept. 4, 2014

The National Tax Service has launched a thorough investigation into several Korean celebrities for possible tax evasion, a local paper said Wednesday.The NTS’ Gangnam office is looking over at least seven wealthy celebrities’ income reports for tax loophole exploitation, the report said. Speculations rose that the large-scale probe was targeting stars who own properties in Seoul’s posh Gangnam district. (JTBC Twitter)“Tax investigation into celebrities is nothing new. It’s part of a bigger probe

Sept. 3, 2014

South Korea’s state-owned enterprises are increasingly relying on nonregular workers hired through subcontractors, according to Alio, a state-run statistics website on public companies.Some 360 state-run agencies hired a total of 62,962 outsourced nonregular workers last year, up about 18.2 percent from 53,280 people in 2009.The rising trend is damaging to the Park Geun-hye administration’s pledge to reinforce job security and raise the country’s employment rate to 70 percent by the end of her t

Industry Sept. 2, 2014

KT&G’s Davidoff Classic and BlueKT&G, the country’s largest tobacco manufacturer, has launched new packaging for Davidoff’s popular Classic and Blue cigarettes, KT&G officials said Monday.The new debossed, leather-like cover is the British multinational company Imperial Tobacco Group’s renewed design of the two brands, which are sold in 160 countries, the officials said. The manufacturer also changed the cover of Blue, formerly known as Rich Blue, to light blue to appeal as a luxurious cigarette

Industry Sept. 2, 2014

KB Kookmin Card CEO Kim Duk-soo is reaching out to employees in a bid to more closely communicate with employees.Refraining from the command-and-control approach to management, Kim has been touring the firm’s branches and taking part in various events with his colleagues to help strengthen the partnership. “The ideas and opinions that employees express during their conversations with the CEO are often reflected in our business projects,” a Kookmin Card official said. He added that executives who

Aug. 28, 2014

The new package of Philip Morris’ Virginia S. Superslim variants. (Philip Morris)Philip Morris Korea, an affiliate of the global tobacco firm Philip Morris International, has launched new packaging for its popular Virginia S. Superslim cigarettes, company officials said Wednesday.The new packaging is simpler and more modern, centering on the tobacco leaf icon that has been the design base for the Virginia Superslim series. The new cigarette packaging also has curved edges for a better grip ― the

Industry Aug. 27, 2014

Caffe Bene on Sunday opened its first Vietnam outlet on Dong Khoi Street in Ho Chi Minh City, company officials said Monday. The Korean coffee chain has plans to launch up to 300 outlets in Vietnam by 2018, starting with the first in Ho Chi Minh. By the end of this year, it plans to open at least three outlets in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. “We look forward to spreading South Korea’s coffee culture in Vietnam through thorough market research and analyzing customers’ taste,” Caffe Bene said

Industry Aug. 25, 2014

Lim Young-rokThe nation’s financial watchdog on Friday imposed light punishments on the chairman of KB Financial Group and the head of its flagship Kookmin Bank over managerial errors. The Financial Supervisory Service’s disciplinary committee gave warnings to KB financial chairman Lim Young-rok and Kookmin Bank president Lee Kun-ho, backing off from its initial stance that it could impose heavy penalties. Lee Kun-ho In June, the authority launched an investigation into misconduct committed by L

Aug. 22, 2014

Shinhan Bank, South Korea’s third-largest bank by assets, is taking the lead in backing small and medium-sized enterprises and low-income groups.Shinhan extended loans worth 58.4 trillion won ($57 billion) to SMEs as of July, up 3.2 trillion won from last year’s 55.1 trillion won, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The increase was the largest among local banks, and almost double that of No. 2 lender Woori Bank’s 1.6 trillion won. “Our goal for this year is to allot 90 percent of ou

Aug. 21, 2014

South Korea’s service industry has witnessed rapid growth in many aspects, including scale of economy and employment, over the past five years, outperforming the manufacturing sector.The number of employees working for 330 listed companies in the country’s seven major service industries like tourism, education, medical service, finance, and software, surpassed 274,760 last year, up 46.5 percent from 197,500 in 2009, according to corporate researcher chaebul.com.The income of service industry wor

Industry Aug. 18, 2014