[THE INVESTOR] Major local air carriers are expanding their services to Tokyo and Sapporo in Japan and Da Nang in Vietnam, in response to the growing number of tourists to the area, Incheon International Airport Corporation said on July 1. Asiana Airlines has launched a new direct route to Sapporo, capital of Hokkaido prefecture, on the date. The new flights are scheduled to operate daily on its Boeing 767 aircraft, which carries 250 people. Jin Air, Korean Air’s budget flight, has added two dai

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s legal consultation market is now open to European Union-based law firms, but those based in Britain are now likely to face severe limitations. Under the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement, EU law firms are allowed to set up joint ventures with Korean law firms. Without a join venture, however, the EU-base law firms are limited to consultations on EU laws. But once Britain leaves the EU, law fims base in Britain would not be able to operate joint ventures.  Lawyers offices

[THE INVESTOR] Asiana Airlines expanded its services to Japan by launching a flight to Sapporo, capital of Hokkaido prefecture, the flag-carrier announced on July 1. The flights are scheduled to operate daily, with the Incheon-Sapporo flight taking-off at 2:20 p.m. and Sapporo-Incheon flight leaving at 6:10 p.m. An aircraft that can seat 250 passengers has been selected for the route. Asiana launched its flights to Japan on the Incheon-Tokyo route 26 years ago. With the new route it now operates

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s legal consultation market is now fully open to European law firms, with the third stage of related clauses of the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement taking effect on July 1. As such, European law firms are now able to set up joint ventures with Korean law firms. A JV law firm can hire Korean lawyers and provide consultations on Korean law. Lawyers offices in southern Seoul. The Investor (Park Hyun-koo)In anticipation of the changes, the National Assembly passed the revise

[THE INVESTOR] The main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea is seeking ways to reinforce the role of outside directors on corporate boards. Rep. Byun Jae-il, chief of the party’s policy committee, said on June 30 that he will propose revisions to the Commercial Act to toughen rules regarding outside directors. Saying that the outside directors are failing to serve their purpose, Byun said that tougher rules will be stipulated in the proposal. “There has been criticism that the system introduced

[THE INVESTOR] Hanwha Group on June 30 denied a news report that the the company was seeking to acquire a global aircraft engine manufacturer in the latter half of this year. Earlier in the day, the Maeil Business News reported that the nation's No. 1 defense manufacturer is contacting with five companies  with 500 billion won to 1 trillion won (US$430 million to US$870 million) in sales that are supplying parts to top defense companies. Hanwha Group chairman  Kim Seung-younThe nation’s 10th lar

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean refineries are expected to post healthy results for the second quarter of the year, buoyed by improving market conditions. Local refiners and securities firms are in agreement that good second quarter results are likely for the industry. Analysts’ consensus on SK Innovation, the industry leader, stands at 10.41 trillion won (US$9 billion) for second quarter sales, and operating profit of 829.7 billion won. The figures fall short of those posted for the same period las

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean construction firms’ overseas contracts won in the first half of the year plunged 40 percent from a year earlier, industry data showed on June 30.According to the International Contractors Association of Korea, the value of overseas contracts awarded to local builders during the first half of the year came in at US$15.2 billion. By region, Middle Eastern contracts dropped 32 percent to come in at about US$4.7 billion, while the figure for Asia was US$6.9 billion, down

[THE INVESTOR] SsangYong Cement Industrial’s largest shareholder Hahn & company has acquired the entire stake owned by the second largest stakeholder Taiheiyo Cement, it announced on June 29. 　The investment company established by a private equity fund manager purchased 25,989,010 shares from the holding company of the Japanese cement company for 450 billion won ($388.6 million), increasing its stake to 79.2 percent from 46.8 percent. 　This transaction will prevent any possibility of conflict ov