The Korea Herald

안녕하세요 Chung Joo-won 기자입니다.

Articles by Chung Joo-won

Ministry poised to tax religious groups

Jul 8, 2012

Religious leaders prefer voluntary payment to binding income taxesThe Ministry of Strategy and Finance is poised to propose a bill on the taxation of religious groups as part of the 2012 Tax Law amendment to be made on Aug. 8. Aimed at ensuring the equal application of income taxes, the bill would impose income tax on Korean religious societies that have been exempt since the nation’s foundation. According to ministry officials, the bill will be included either in this year’s revision of the Tax
Gasoline to fall below W1,900 per liter

IndustryJul 5, 2012

The 1,900-won gas price is expected to slide even lower soon, due to the “stable international oil price,” industry sources said on Thursday.The sources said the 1,900 won-per-liter mark is expected to go down at any moment as the dip is likely to continue for a while.Thursday’s price of regular gasoline fell to its lowest since March 6, 2011, according to data. Opinet, an online service provider of oil prices under the state-run Korea National Oil Corp., reported Thursday that the nation’s ave
KT&G launches coffee RAISON

Jul 4, 2012

The nation’s largest tobacco maker KT&G Corp. added RAISON Cafe, its new hazelnut coffee-scented cigarette, to the lineup of RAISON.RAISON Cafe, which goes on sale Friday, contains 6.0 milligrams of tar and 0.6 milligram of nicotine. The tobacco maker’s first coffee-scented product delivers the rich scent of hazelnut coffee with ground coffee beans in the filter.“We spent four years of research and development coming up with a technology that can directly insert ground coffee beans into the filt
Siemens Korea aims to double its sales by 2016

Jul 3, 2012

Siemens Korea chairman and CEO Kim Jong-kap said that the company aims to double its sales to about 3.6 trillion won (about $3.26 billion) in five years, stressing that its high rate of growth will continue.“The goal is not so ambitious for Siemens,” Kim said in a press conference on Tuesday organized to review his first year as the CEO. “Achieving 15 percent of sales growth over five years will suffice to double the sales.”The automatic solution company is gearing up to increase investment in s
Dawn of Korean nuclear energy industry

IndustryJul 2, 2012

The nation’s first nuclear plant Kori-1 Nuclear Plant went under construction on March 19, 1971, in Gori, a small village that borders Ulsan and northern area of Busan. With the Kori-1 plant, Korea became Asia’s second and the world’s 21st country to possess a nuclear power plant. After almost seven years of construction that involved about 1.87 million labor units, the nuclear plant began operation from April 20, 1978. Since then Korea has constructed 20 more nuclear plants, and now generates e
European automakers see no drastic sales increase after FTA

TransportJul 1, 2012

Additional tariff cut applied from July 1, but effect may be limitedEuropean carmakers expect no drastic increase in sales here despite tariff cuts on their cars exported to Korea in the wake of the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement.The automakers said that the tariff cuts will only have a “psychologically” positive effect on its sales of cars in Korea.July 1 marked the first anniversary of the Korea-EU FTA in action. The tariff imposed on imported European cars fell for the second time, from 5.6 pe
Kia’s 3rd China plant to produce tailored cars

IndustryJun 29, 2012

Hyundai-Kia chief Chung vows to gain confidence via vehicle quality-oriented salesKia Motors broke ground at its new third plant in an eastern coastal province of China on Friday, aiming at doubling the company’s production capacity in the world’s largest automotive market.On the extension of Kia’s localization strategy, the new factory will be in charge of manufacturing Chinese consumer-oriented sedans to fully reflect customers’ needs, company spokespeople said Friday. Korea’s second-largest a
Chinese vice premier vows support for Hyundai Motor operations

Jun 28, 2012

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan promised to provide support to Hyundai Motor when he met with group chairman Chung Mong-koo on Thursday, company officials said. The Chinese leader had a meeting with chairman Chung at the Hyundai Pavilion at the Expo 2012 Yeosu. The Chinese official visited the Expo site to celebrate the Chinese national day, 48 days after the exposition opened.“As this year marks the 20th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between China and Korea, we expect Hyundai Motor G
Renault to expand car lineup in Korea

TransportJun 27, 2012

A top Renault Group executive unveiled a plan to launch a new lineup of small crossover compact utility vehicles in its Korean unit despite shrinking sales here.“The market in Korea is changing, and the fragmentation of the market is increasing, therefore we have set to introduce by late 2013 a brand-new model which is going to be a small crossover that will strongly enhance the competitiveness after four years,” Renault Group chief operating officer Carlos Tavares said in a news conference in S
GS E&C shifts gear to strengthen overseas operation substantially

IndustryJun 26, 2012

GS Engineering & Construction, one of Korea’s leading builders, has vowed to boost its overseas sales to 70 percent of its total sales by 2020. Earlier the company announced its “Vision 2020,” including mid-and-long term growth strategies, and declared its goal of growing into a “sustainable global company.”The company said it would attain the goal by developing and investing in new growth engines.One of the nation’s top three construction firms, GS E&C said its objective for 2012 is to increase
Hyundai Motor chief calls for measures against euro crisis

Jun 25, 2012

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo called for its affiliates on Monday to devise measures to defend against the deepening eurozone crisis.The chairman gave the instruction during a meeting of heads of overseas branches of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, which was convened to check on the global production and marketing strategy for the second half of this year. Company officials said the chairman is trying to find solutions to protect its sales growth amid the European economic crisis, wh
Asan to hold national youth competition on entrepreneurship

IndustryJun 24, 2012

The Asan Nanum Foundation announced on Friday that it will launch a “Chung Ju-yung Entrepreneurship Competition for Youths,” a nationwide entrepreneurship competition in commemoration of the late Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung. Established in 2011, the contest aims to discover ambitious young talent interested in business ventures, the social foundation said. Twenty-two teams will make the regional competitions, among which 10 teams will survive the group-camping assessment to compete in th
Asiana names first female head of overseas branch

IndustryJun 24, 2012

Asiana Airlines welcomed its first female foreign operations chief 24 years after its foundation in 1988.The nation’s second-largest air carrier announced on Sunday that it named Jang Yoon-heui, a deputy general director in charge of airport services and contracts, head of the Hiroshima branch in Japan.“Going out to head an overseas branch involves the whole family moving out. Real-life issues have been holding back female staff from taking up posts overseas,” a company spokesman said. A mother
FTAs increase competition among foreign brands: FTC

IndustryJun 21, 2012

Free trade agreements with the European Union and the U.S. have contributed to lowering the product prices of their consumer brands, the nation’s antitrust watchdog said in a report Thursday. The Fair Trade Commission conducted a price survey on 22 bestselling import items following the FTAs with the EU and the U.S., that took effect here from July last year and March this year, respectively. Of the surveyed products, 15 items were found to have seen a moderate price cut, the FTC said. Dutch ele
SK Group chief seeks to create network of social enterprises

Jun 19, 2012

SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won said he will establish “Global Action Hub,” a private, international network of social enterprises, as part of his efforts to reinvigorate those companies.The business tycoon revealed the plan during his speech at the Rio Plus 20 Corporate Sustainability Forum in Brazil on Monday.The establishment is aimed at enabling social enterprises to become self-sustainable. “Social enterprise is the most efficient model for conglomerates like SK to support social values,” Ch