Crisis, challenge and renovation key terms in business moguls’ messages

Korea unveiled a new promotional video on Dokdo on Wednesday, countering Tokyo’s increasing territorial assertions and lambasting Japanese politicians’ visits to a controversial war shrine. The 260-second clip was released at midnight on YouTube and the Foreign Ministry’s website (dokdo.mofa.go.kr). It was an update to a previous piece that was uploaded in late October but taken down shortly due to its unauthorized use of clips from Japanese broadcaster NHK.The latest version is much shorter tha

President Park Geun-hye enters her second year in office with a mass of tricky domestic issues unresolved and increasingly volatile dynamics in Northeast Asia. Disputes over the National Intelligence Service’s alleged election meddling still haunt her government despite the political parties spending much of 2013 on the matter at the cost of state affairs being delayed. With key elections slated for June and July, political wrangling is expected to further escalate in the New Year hampering her

Japanese leader Shinzo Abe is struggling to contain a backlash over his recent visit to a controversial war shrine that has sparked a barrage of criticism even from domestic supporters and international allies, notably the U.S.The prime minister’s visit on Thursday to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo honoring war criminals has further aggravated diplomatic tension with South Korea and China, two major victims of Japan’s past militarism, and frustrated peace advocates in the island country.The visit

The country’s largest Buddhist order Jogye on Thursday took the side of railway workers in their ongoing strike, putting the government in a dilemma after last week’s botched police raid on the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. “(The Jogye Order) cannot look away when laborers have come in to the folds of the Buddha in desperation,” the order said in a statement on Thursday. The statement also said that helping and protecting those who are seeking refuge was the only right thing to do. “(The

Thousands of South Sudanese have been killed in over a week of violence, according to the United Nations, with reports of bodies piled in mass graves fueling fears of a worsening of ethnic bloodletting in the world’s newest state.The U.N. Security Council approved plans on Tuesday to almost double the number of peacekeepers in the country in an effort to protect civilians. The top U.N. humanitarian chief in the country Toby Lanzer said Tuesday there was “absolutely no doubt in my mind that we’re

Besides the first female president, Korea has seen another woman break through a glass ceiling, this time in the banking industry. Kwon Seon-joo, the senior executive vice president of the Industrial Bank of Korea, was named the next CEO of the state-run IBK on the approval of the Financial Services Commission on Monday. Before Kwon, no woman had been named CEO of a Korean bank. “We believe that Kwon is well qualified as the country’s first female bank CEO, which she has demonstrated through her

Choo Shin-soo of South Korea has agreed to the biggest-ever contract for an Asian player in the U.S. professional baseball free agent market.A report on the Major League Baseball website said Sunday that outfielder Choo agreed to a seven-year, $130 million contract with the Texas Rangers.The deal will be finalized if Choo passes a physical test, which is expected to be done by Christmas. Any formal introduction in Texas would likely wait until after the holiday.Once signed, it will be the highes

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman made his third visit to North Korea on Thursday, drawing keen attention as he is the first high-profile American allowed to stay in the reclusive country in the aftermath of the chilling execution of Kim Jong-un’s uncle. Rodman is trotting into the secretive society thanks largely to his special relationship with Kim, who recently surprised the international community by staging a harsh political purge involving his uncle Jang Song-thaek. South Korean and U.S. spy a

Ahn Hee-jung, South Chungcheong Province governor and late President Roh Moo-hyun’s right-hand man, entered the fray in the power-struggle within the opposition Democratic Party on Tuesday. The 49-year-old liberal-minded politician was one of Roh’s closest aides, from 1994 onward. In the years leading up to Roh’s election in 2002, Ahn played the role of top strategist, earning himself the moniker “Little Roh Moo-hyun.” However, Ahn remained on the fringes of power during the Roh administration a

There’s a new man in the house at KT: Hwang Chang-gyu, a former Samsung executive who, if Cheong Wa Dae has nothing more to say about it, will become the next chairman and CEO of the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier.While the company seemed to have initially hoped for someone with a KT background, most are ready to welcome Hwang and his expertise, according to those close to KT. Hwang served as president of Samsung’s memory business division from 2001 to 2004. He currently teaches at Sungk

Chile welcomed the return of its first female president, Michelle Bachelet, in a landslide run-off election victory Sunday. The Socialist Party candidate is the region’s first reelected female leader. The widely popular 34th president, who served from 2006 to 2010 and was barred by constitution from running for a second straight term, is to succeed the increasingly unpopular Sebastian Pinera in March after sweeping some 62 percent of second-round votes over her former childhood playmate, Evelyn

Following the demise of Jang Song-thaek, the once-powerful uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the whereabouts of the two’s respective wives, Kim Kyoung-hui and Ri Sol-ju, have come under the spotlight.Kim, the leader’s only aunt, and his wife Ri have been out of the public eye for several months, sparking media speculation about their health and relationships with the increasingly coercive ruler.Attention is now being drawn to whether both would appear in public on Tuesday, when Pyongyang

In a move both groundbreaking yet also very traditional, General Motors Company CEO Dan Akerson will be replaced by GM “lifer” and global product chief Mary Barra. But GM Korea chief Sergio Rocha has probably just shrugged his shoulders. Though the ranks of top women executives at top global brands gets a bump with Barra’s appointment, not much has changed for GM in South Korea. Barra will surely follow through with the expected downsizing of GM Korea’s presence in South Korea. GM gets about 20

Choi Yeon-hye, CEO of the state-run rail operator KORAIL, is taking a chance on her leadership by adopting a zero-tolerance policy on the hard-line unionized rail workers’ strike.“I shall deal (with the walkout) with a mother’s heart,” Choi said through an official statement on Monday, apologizing for the inconveniences caused by the KORAIL labor union’s nationwide strike.Despite her seemingly soft-hearted words, the rail operator’s first-ever female chief has largely been stern and forthright s