photo caption: Kang Ho-gap (right), chairman of the Association of High Potential Enterprises of Korea, speaks at a press conference on Friday. AHPEK　   The growth and success of medium-sized companies is critical not only for the nation’s sustainable growth, but also for high-quality job creation for the youth, a business leader said last week.　“In 2014, there were about 3,800 Korean companies categorized as midsized companies. They accounted for only 0.12 percent of registered Korean companies

     South Korean retail giant Lotte Group plans to enter the foreign car dealership business as part of efforts to strengthen its penetration into the automotive sector, industry sources said. 　“Lotte is nearing a deal to take over the dealership business license for Audi cars from Charmzone Motors,” an industry insider who is close to the matter told The Korea Herald under the condition of anonymity. 　If the deal is sealed as planned, sales of Lotte in car-related businesses (except car insura

Samsung C&T shareholders will go to the polls Friday to decide whether to approve a high-profile merger with Cheil Industries, the de facto holding company of Samsung Group.　Tension is running high, as neither of the two sides -- Samsung’s controlling family or opponent U.S. hedge fund Elliott -- has yet emerged as a clear winner.  　But analysts said Friday’s vote will be remembered as one of the most critical moments in Korea’s corporate history, in that minority shareholders can swing the vote

South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. plans to showcase its next phablet flagship, presumably the Galaxy Note 5, in earlier-than-expected August, industry sources said Wednesday, in an apparent bid to get a head start over Apple Inc.   Under the plan, Samsung will hold its launch ceremony around the globe, including Seoul and New York in late August, although no other details are given, the sources said.   Samsung had released its phablets, a cross between a smartphone and a table

    Campaigns, as political operatives and television pundits eagerly agree, are about the future. But as the recent bout of wrestling over the Civil War has made clear, they‘re also shaped by the past. Last week, former Texas Governor Rick Perry added a new perspective to the 2016 Republican presidential race -- by explicitly grappling with history.　　Perry’s address at the National Press Club about economic opportunity had a remarkable opening. He spent the first few paragraphs recounting the “

     In May, Pope Francis released his historic encyclical, Laudatio Si, or “Praise Be.” He chose his papal name, he explains in the text, because he considers St. Francis of Assisi to be “the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically.” His namesake showed that concern for nature is inseparable from justice for the poor, social commitment, and peace within oneself.　　The encyclical’s title refers to the Canticle of the Sun, S

Shashi Tharoor　After gaining independence from Britain in 1947, India was something of a poster child for the virtues of democracy -- in stark contrast with China, which became a Communist dictatorship in 1949. Until the 1970s, it was widely argued that, while both countries suffered from extreme poverty, underdevelopment, and disease, India’s model was superior, because its people were free to choose their own rulers.　　With China’s economic boom, however, the counterargument -- that a repressiv

    There have been no prominent success cases of investor activism in the modern history of corporate Japan. 　 Kim Ji-hyunIn recent years, a hedge fund with a 10 percent stake in industrial robot-maker Fanuc Corp. managed to get the firm’s reclusive management to agree to higher returns and dividends. Share prices shot up, handing shareholders some handsome gains. 　But that’s about as far the story goes. 　While Japan did suffer from a so-called “lost decade,” the positive corporate restructurin

　Ruling party leader Kim Moo-sung rekindled public attention in two important political agendas - revising the National Assembly Advancement Act that has often incapacitated the parliament and instituting open primaries for major elections. 　Kim mentioned the proposals in a news conference Monday, which marked a year since he took the helm of the Saenuri Party. It is not the first time that he has spoken about these issues, but the anniversary press meeting surely added political weight to his s

    President Park Geun-hye’s sudden about-face on special pardons raises concerns that she may repeat what she criticized her predecessors for – abusing the presidential clemency in favor of business tycoons and politicians.  　Park, in a meeting with her senior Blue House aides Monday, said that special pardons to be granted on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule would contribute to “national development and integration.”　It makes a sense that s

    Kia Motors launched the second generation of the K5, its best-selling mid-size sedan, in Seoul on Wednesday, five years after K5’s debut in 2010. 　“The all-new K5 returns with advanced product quality and driving performance, while maintaining the innovative design identity of the first generation,” Kia Motors CEO Park Han-woo said in a press conference at the Coex exhibition hall in southern Seoul.  Models pose next to the all-new K5 sedans at a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. Kia M

    With four days left until a crucial shareholder vote on its proposed merger with Cheil Industries, Samsung C&T has made all-out efforts to woo individual swing voters in a battle with opponent U.S. activist hedge fund Elliott. 　On Monday, the builder put an ad on the front page of newspapers, reading: “Dear Samsung C&T shareholders, we sincerely would like to ask for your support.” 　The three-paragraph, text-based print ad explained the purpose of the merger, blamed Elliott for its bid to bl

Samsung C&T, the construction and trading arm of Samsung Group, on Friday unveiled detailed new shareholder-friendly policies, including the establishment of a special committee of six experts that will oversee shareholders’ rights, as part of last-minute efforts to win a vote of shareholders on July 17 over the proposed merger with Cheil Industries. Samsung C&T CEO Choi Chi-hun (Yonhap)The committee will be composed of three outside directors and three experts. One of the three outside director

Porsche Korea on Friday debuts three variants to its full-size luxury sedan Panamera series -- the Panamera Edition, the Panamera 4 Edition, and the Panamera Diesel Edition. The basic price of the new models starts from 117,900,000 won ($104,500). Porsche Korea

    Hyundai Motor Group, the nation’s second-largest conglomerate, unveiled its plans to boost domestic consumption Tuesday. 　“The company has developed the measures to increase domestic demand at the group level and to help self-employed small businesses,” the automotive group said in a press release. 　Hyundai’s move came one day after the government sent an 11.8 trillion won ($10.5 billion) supplementary budget bill to the National Assembly to revitalize the sagging economy.　Amid falling expor

Ssangyong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, launched a diesel version of the Tivoli, its best-selling compact SUV, Monday, following the launch of the gasoline-powered model in January.  Diesel version of Tivoli on the road.　The company has sought to debut the diesel-powered Tivoli, armed with better fuel efficiency and performance than the gasoline model, within the year in its effort to continue the growth momentum of Tivoli. 　Backed by the success of gasoline-po

SK Global Chemical and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. announced Sunday that they had agreed to establish a 710 billion won ($631.9 million) joint venture to produce and market high-performance polyethylene products based on SK’s technology.  SK Global Chemical CEO Cha Hwa-youp (left) poses with Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, executive vice president of Polymers at SABIC, in Seoul, Friday, after signing an agreement to set up a polyethylene joint venture in Singapore. (SK Global Chemical)The new 50-50 join

Exterior of the New Mercedes-Maybach S600. Mercedes-Benz KoreaZeal for the new Mercedes-Maybach S600, with a local price tag of 294 million won ($262,000), is heating up among corporate executives in Korea.  According to Mercedes-Benz Korea, the model of its premium S-Class line neared its yearly target of 200 units in June, just three months since its April launch.“We introduced the two trims of S-Class cars with Maybach badges -- the Mercedes-Maybach S500 and S600 -- in April. The combined sal

A monthlong faceoff between Samsung and U.S. activist hedge fund Elliott over a proposed merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries is shedding light on the importance of corporations’ shareholder-friendly policies.This week, the two key Samsung units announced plans to boost shareholder value, including higher dividend payouts and the establishment of a corporate governance committee.But it seems too soon to predict that these policies will help soothe disgruntled Samsung C&T investors wit

GOOD TO GREAT -- World-renowned barista Paul Bassett (sixth from left) poses with staff members of the newly opened branch of the Paul Bassett coffee chain in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Thursday. The coffee chain and its local partner Maeil Dairies launched a “value management” initiative to raise the bar in specialty coffee chain management in Korea. Paul Bassett