S. Korea’s segmented labor market hampers labor mobility, creates less competition

Major local banks have been offering or plan to offer voluntary retirement programs to their workers as part of restructuring efforts amid a greater application of digital-driven technology, industry sources said Sunday.Nonghyup Bank announced a voluntary retirement program last month. A total of 610 employees applied for the program, though the company has yet to decide its exact size. Last year, it let 534 go workers via a similar program. (Yonhap)Nonghyup said the outgoing workers will receiv

On the Bar is a regular column written by attorneys at Yoon & Yang LLC on various laws and regulations that affect running a business in Korea. The content provided here is general legal information. -- Ed.The Code of Conduct for Public Officials was revised as of Jan. 16, 2018, and the revised Code of Conduct went into effect on April 17, 2018.Likewise, other codes of conduct for employees and executives of public institutions and government-related organizations have already been revised or ar

Despite continued protests from taxi unions, Korean information technology giant Kakao has begun providing a trial of its carpool services, with plans to formally roll out the service for all users here on Dec. 17. Kakao Mobility, the transportation service arm of Kakao, launched a beta version of its carpool service on Friday involving a number of randomly selected users on the Kakao T app. Users can input a destination and place a ride request for drivers registered with Kakao’s “carpool crew.

South Korea, the world’s fourth-largest gaming market, now has legal grounds to punish actors providing commercial video game “boosting” services. “Boosting” is a practice whereby businesses are paid to increase the rank of a gamer’s account, impeding the possibility of a fair and competitive ecosystem. 　The National Assembly recently passed a revision to the Game Industry Promotion Act, prohibiting entities from offering paid services to level up a gamer’s account using methods unauthorized by

South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Sunday that it has fined Volvo's local unit 20 million won($17,800) for not adhering to the country's technical data request guidelines when dealing with its subcontractors. An excavator made by Volvo Group (Yonhap)The Fair Trade Commission said that besides the fine, Volvo Group Korea, which produces and sells excavators and various types of construction equipment here, has been instructed to change its practices in regards to asking for blueprints for comp

A US casino resort complex equipped with a Paramount theme park will be built near Incheon Airport by 2022, airport officials said Sunday.Incheon International Airport Corp. will develop the Inspire Integrated Entertainment Resort at its international business zone, under an agreement signed Thursday with US casino resort operator Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment Partners and film producer and distributer Paramount Pictures Corp. From left: Kevin Brown, chairman of the Mohegan Tribe and the Mohe

Posco Daewoo, the trading unit of Posco, held a groundbreaking ceremony for a solar plant that it will build for free of charge on an island in Myanmar in hopes of boosting ties with the country, the company said SundayThe latest project, put together at the request of Myanmar’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy, will offer electricity to some 1,000 households on Manaung Island, the company said.“We are delighted to be able to provide practical help to Myanmar. We also hope to forge a cooperati

Samsung Electronics Co., the South Korean tech giant, was the world's largest advertiser last year, a global consulting firm has said.According to "The World's 100 Largest Advertisers" filed by Ad Age, Samsung pumped US$11.2 billion into its advertising and sales promotion in 2017, up 13 percent from the previous year. (Yonhap)The increased spending was to improve its image after the highly publicized recall in 2016 of its Galaxy Note 7 phones due to battery explosions, according to industry wat

The operating profits of South Korea's listed companies belonging to the largest conglomerates contracted in the January-September period of this year if the numbers for Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix are excluded, a local business tracker said Sunday.The total for the 94 companies, not counting the two semiconductor manufacturers, declined by 3.3 trillion won ($2.94 billion) to 25.54 trillion won in the three quarters from 28.84 trillion won last year, Chaebul.com said. (Yonhap)The combin

Daijin Bed Co., a South Korean mattress maker, has refused to accept the local consumer agency's call for it to compensate victims of products that contained a harmful radioactive substance, officials of the agency said Sunday.Late last month, the company told the Korea Consumer Agency that it could not follow the KCA's order to replace each victim's radon-containing mattress with a new one and offer 300,000 won ($265.7) in extra compensation for their emotional distress. (Yonhap)A total of 6,38

South Korea's major shipyards have shown decent performances this year on the back of a surge in orders to build LNG carriers, industry data showed Sunday.For the year up to Thursday, 52 orders for LNG carriers were received by local entities, with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. bagging the largest figure, or 25 orders, followed by 14 orders for Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. and 13 for Samsung Heavy Industries Co. (Yonhap)This is nearly five times larger than the figure for last y

Sales of eco-friendly cars made by Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. jumped 2.1-fold in the first 11 months of this year, on strong domestic and overseas demand, industry data showed Sunday.The two flagship companies of Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth largest automotive conglomerate in terms of sales, reported selling 257,861 conventional hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, pure electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles. The Hyundai

South Korea is expected to import less coffee for the first time in six years in 2018 as demand for the beverage has been hit by sluggish economic growth, market watchers here said Sunday.In the January-October period, total imports of coffee stood at 121,019 tons, down 1,103 tons from a year earlier. This is the first on-year decrease since 2012. (Yonhap)Asia's fourth largest economy imported 82,446 tons of coffee in 2012, with this number rising to 115,837 tons in 2016.Observers said that tank

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae’s discount store chain E-mart said Friday that it is acquiring US food retailer Good Food Holdings for $270 million, the company’s first acquisition of an overseas company. E-mart said the acquisition is aimed at stabilizing its business operation in the US and expanding its presence in the country. Good Food Holdings runs three fresh food and beverage brands: Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres and Metropolitan Market. It has 24 stores across the western region of the