Korea National Oil Corp. CEO Kang Young-won stepped down from his post on Friday prior to the expected completion of his tenure that ends on Aug. 18.It was not known why he resigned earlier than scheduled, but the move came after the Finance Ministry recently released its evaluation of public corporations’ performances last year. The outgoing CEO received a B, the third-highest rating on a scale of five while the company received a D rating. Kang had expressed his willingness to quit after news

The construction of a new international port in Saemangeum kicked off on Thursday with a groundbreaking ceremony in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, paving the way to a boost of the local economy, officials said. Planned to be built upon Saemangeum, a massive plot of reclaimed land along the southwest coast, the new port will induce the creation of 22,400 jobs, the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs said. The Land Ministry plans to pour 2.5 trillion won ($2.1 billion) into the p

Seo Kang-soo, former head of the Korean Overseas Information Service, took office on Tuesday as president of the Korea Database Agency, a state-run institution founded in 1993 to promote the nation’s active distribution of data. Speaking at an inauguration ceremony, Seo said he will push to raise more experts and pioneer wider territory in the global market. The state-run database agency head said that he will do his best to help Korean database companies exert their capacity with creativity and

POSCO said on Sunday that it has organized a committee to implement a series of commemorative works for its founder Park Tae-joon. The committee consists of 20 prominent figures including POSCO CEO Chung Joon-yang, chairwoman Lee Bae-yong of the Presidential Council on National Branding and Pohang-born author Lee Dae-hwan.  The panel plans to convene a quarterly meeting to direct the commemoration-related works from 2013, after the organization changes its official title to “The POSCO Cheongam F

German automaker dominates expanding import market in KoreaBMW grabbed 25.5 percent of the nation’s import automobile market in May, according to statistics provided by Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.BMW’s further growth in terms of market share is drawing wide interest now that the automaker has secured its long-standing No. 1 position in Korea with a large-scale sales volume.“Theoretically speaking, a 10 percent growth in the monthly sales for BMW and, say, Volvo is no

SK Group is striving to beef up its presence in Turkey and Thailand as one of Korea’s largest conglomerates seeks to cash in on growing business opportunities in the two fast-growing markets. The corporation said Wednesday that chairman Chey Tae-won recently visited the two countries to expand the group’s operations in the regions and reinforce business networks there.  On Monday, Chey signed a memorandum of understanding with Dogus Group, a major Turkish industrial group engaged in multiple sec

Korea International Trade Association said on Monday that its chairman and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has won the Van Fleet Award 2012 in New York. The Korea Society, an American non-profit organization to promote understanding and cooperation between Korea and the U.S., said that it chose Han for his contribution to strengthening economic ties and friendship between the two nations.  The award is named after General James A. Van Fleet, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army during the 1950-1

Officials from the Korea Elevator Safety Technology Institute and nine civil social organizations discussed children’s safety at a meeting in southern Seoul last week.In the event titled “Children’s Safety Network Construction Meeting,” on Friday, the participants focused on ways to work together to prevent children’s accidents while using elevators. A number of safety issues, including school bullying, child sexual abuse and prevention of traffic accidents, were also discussed.  KESI officials

Lee Kyong-il, former deputy head of Korea Insulation Co., took the reins of Eastar Jet Group as new chairman, the low-cost air carrier said on Friday. The group is one of KIC’s affiliates.Having built his career as the No. 2 man in KIC and CEO of Samyang Reduction Gear Co., Lee has extensive knowledge of the group, the company said. “Having become the company chairman is to face a series of new challenges, I will do my best,” Lee said. A Jeonju University graduate, Lee holds a bachelor’s degree

Kumho Asiana Group announced on Friday that its chairman Park Sam-koo was named honorary citizen of Weihai, China. Weihai presented Park a certificate of honorary citizenship in recognition of his contribution to enhancing the city’s economy and strengthening ties between Korea and Weihai as the head of Korea-China Friendship Association. Kumho Asiana Group runs a hotel and a golf resort in Weihai, helping attract tourists to the Chinese harbor city, the company said. Currently, Asiana Airlines

Backed up by its increasing national wealth and population, Korean investors could become major customers in the U.S. retail real estate market, a U.S. expert said in Seoul on Thursday.“Korea is in a great position with its wealth and population … and needs to invest overseas to diversify.” Joseph F. Coradino, president of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, told The Korea Herald. The U.S. market will likely continue to rise, as shown by the history of market change after recessions, Cora

S-Oil will be awarded a presidential citation in recognition of its preventive operations against oil tanker accidents and environmental damage, the company said on Wednesday. The award ceremony will be held at the 17th World Ocean Day festival to be held at the Yeosu Expo 2012 on Thursday, company officials said. The company will be the first refinery firm to be given a presidential citation. S-Oil said that it has abided by the agreement presented by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritim