A Korean Air plane wrapped with children’s drawing depicting the country’s cultural heritage began service Saturday to promote the 2010-2012 Visit Korea Year, the flag carrier said.Two elementary school students who won first place in Korean Air’s third drawing contest had their painting wrapped around a Boeing 747-400 that operates between Gimpo and Busan.Starting with the Gimpo-Busan route, the specially decorated aircraft will promote Korean culture abroad in international routes, Korean Air

Korean automaker’s move aimed at staging aggressive marketing and tackling the eurozone problemThe Hyundai Motor Group promoted division chiefs of the U.K and Middle East to country and regional head, in an HR strategy aimed at countering declining demand amid economic uncertainty in Europe. Hyundai U.K.’s managing director Tony Whitehorn on Friday was made the president and CEO of Hyundai Motor U.K., making him the first chief of the country to advance to a head-position in the history of Hyund

MTU Aero Engines said it has opened a new sales office in Seoul and appointed Chae Kyoo-joo as representative for the unit. As chief of the MTU Aero Engines Seoul Representative Office, Chae will market the leading German engine manufacturer’s high-tech repair procedures. “We are excited to have attracted someone of Chae Kyoo-joo’s background and in-depth knowledge of the industry to this position. He worked as head of engineering for Korean Airlines for many years,” said Stefan Weingartner, pre

Estimated profits for local companies pushed down with deepening fiscal crises in Europe Major Korean companies’ earnings forecasts for next year are falling on rising economic uncertainties as fiscal crises deepen in Europe, with lowered credit ratings for Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium.France may be next as its debt ratio and government bond yields have reached alerting levels. The combined operating profit estimates of 132 listed companies dropped 8.89 percent from 134.8 trillion won ($11

Speculation mounts over promotions of Lee’s childrenEyes are turning to Samsung Group’s new management lineup as the announcement is expected to take place as early as this Friday.A number of Samsung officials said the company’s reshuffling is most likely to be conducted this week, considering that the country’s top conglomerate unveiled its new lineup on Dec. 3 following its annual award ceremony last year.This year, the group plans to hold an event to name the honorary Samsung fellows on Thurs

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il faces challenges in handing over power to his youngest son, Seoul’s top official in charge of relations with Pyongyang said.Kim named Jong-un vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party and a four-star general last year in the clearest sign yet of his intentions to make his son the country’s next leader.The 69-year-old leader is believed to have accelerated the succession plan since he suffered a stroke in 2008.The plan, if realiz

Nexon says hacker accessed  13.2 million online game users’ informationThe police are investigating the hacking of 13.2 million users of Nexon’s massively multiplayer online role-playing game Maple Story.On Thursday, Nexon found that Maple Story’s backup server had been hacked, and personal information of 13.2 million of the 18 million registered users stolen.The company reported the incident to the Korea Communications Commission at about 5 p.m. on Friday and requested the police to investigate

The world’s largest forum on development aid will kick off in Busan on Tuesday for a three-day run in which minister-level government and private-sector officials from 160 countries will take part.The Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, or HLF-4, will follow on from the first High-Level Forum on Harmonization meeting in Rome in 2003, the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in 2005 and the 2008 meeting in Accra, Ghana. About 2,500 delegates will assess how much progress has been made