The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp., the nation’s monopoly power grid company, is making all-out efforts to reduce its 55 trillion won ($52 billion) in debt. “The efforts include sales of not only non-core but also core assets at home and abroad,’’ a KEPCO official said Monday. The move came after the Ministry of Strategy and Finance in early December called on companies including KEPCO to take bold measures to reduce their debt. The ministry is responsible for the structural reform of stat

Polarization will continue to become a key feature of not only Korean society but also the landscape of industries this year, the Hana Institute of Finance said in its recent industries outlook report for 2014.“The export-driven Korean economy will be on a gradual recovery track in line with a pick-up of the global economy, but the polarization by industry and by corporate ranking within industries will intensify,” the report pointed out. By industry, the information technology sector, led by Sa

Concerns over a possible increase in consumer prices are rising as producers of some food items pushed up their key product prices at the end of the year. Orion Confectionery, the nation’s No. 1 snack maker, increased the price of its flagship snack brand “Choco Pie” by 20 percent on Thursday. The surprise move pushed up the price of a box containing 12 Choco Pies to 4,000 won ($3.79) from 3,200 won. It is the second price hike of the snack in 15 months, with the company raising prices 25 percen

The nation’s shipbuilding industry, which has struggled for years since its peak in 2007, is on track for a recovery next year, boosted by a rebound in new orders, a report by the Woori Investment & Securities said. “The top three shipbuilders ― Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries ― are expected to raise their annual order target by 12 percent on average next year, compared with that of 2013,’’ the report said. Growing demand for liquef

Nongwoo Bio, the nation’s No.1 vegetable seed breeder, will be put on sale early next year as three local bidders submitted letters of intent for a takeover deal, according to industry sources. The three local bidders are STIC Investments, IMM Private Equity and the state-run National Agricultural Cooperative Federation Economics Group. Foreign seed giants like Monsanto, once aggressive bidders on local seed companies, did not jump into the race, sources said.Nongwoo Bio, which is listed on the

KORAIL, the nation’s state-run rail operator, said Monday that it would hire contract-based employees and seek to outsource railway maintenance in a countermeasure against the labor union’s prolonged strike.Speaking at a news conference, KORAIL President and CEO Choi Yeon-hye said, “With the strike entering day 15, the railroad operation rate fell to 70 percent and concern over safe operation of railroads is growing. If the strike continues, the operation rate is expected to drop to the 60 perce

Two state-run export credit agencies ― K-sure and Korea Eximbank ― will offer $2.2 billion to finance the Roy Hill project, a $12 billion iron ore mine and related-infrastructure development scheme in the Pilbara region of western Australia, K-sure announced on Sunday. The project attracted $4.55 billion from five export credit agencies from Korea, Japan and the U.S. Among these agencies, K-sure led with $1.2 billion in financing, followed by Korea Eximbank with $1 billion. “The decision was mad

The state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corp., the nation’s nuclear power plant operator, said Thursday that it had implemented the most drastic personnel reshuffle in its 12-year history, filling five executive posts with figures from outside the company. “The top priority of the personnel reform was to break deep-rooted ‘pure-bloodism’ in the organization, a root-cause of serial scandals involving KHNP and its nuclear power plants,” CEO Cho Seok said. With the hiring of five new executives o

The process to pick the next chairman and CEO of POSCO, the nation’s top steelmaker, will kick off this week with a CEO nomination panel to be launched soon.Attention is being paid to whether the successor of the outgoing chairman Chung Joon-yang will come from inside or outside the company. The CEO nomination committee will be composed of the steelmaker’s six outside directors.“When the committee is formed, it will review a pool of internal and external CEO candidates and the final entry will t

With a shift in the nation’s energy policy from supply-driven to demand management, the energy management market in Korea will be bullish within the next five years, said the head of the Korean unit of Schneider Electric.“Interest in saving energy and improving energy efficiency is growing among all types of energy consumers ― from companies to home owners ― as the power rate continues to rise,” CEO Kim Kyung-rog told The Korea Herald. Schneider Electric is a France-based energy management solut

Overseas energy development functions held by state-run energy companies will likely be scaled down or merged in the first half of next year, government sources said Monday.State-run energy firms including Korea National Oil Corp., Korea Gas Corp. and Korea Resources Corp. are expected to go through massive restructuring in their overseas businesses as the government has vowed to reduce the huge debt incurred by public companies, sources said.The Ministry of Finance and Strategy, which is respon

Seo Jang-seok, a director of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is having a different winter this year. He is preparing to move alone to Sejong City when his workplace, now in the government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, relocates to the new administrative city by year-end. “I have no choice but to leave my family for the time being. My wife is working in Seoul, and my 18-year-old daughter, who is taking the university entrance exam next year, doesn’t want to change her living

Commuting between Seoul and the new administrative city of Sejong is turning out to be a much more difficult task for Prime Minister Chung Hong-won than initially expected.The prime minister, who took office in February, was given an official residence in Sejong as a means of reducing the amount of time spent in long commutes.However, one cannot say that he has led a “dual life” of managing national affairs and policies both in Seoul and Sejong, as he has rarely stayed in the new city since his

Home-owners in the new city of Sejong are among the few groups of real estate purchasers enjoying high returns on their investments this year.“Despite the prolonged slump in the nation’s real estate market, winter has never come to the housing market in Sejong City,” Kwon Il, the research team manager of Dr. APT, a local real estate market information provider, said by phone. According to a recent survey released on Dec. 3 by Dr. APT on price increases of newly built apartments nationwide this y

Park Jin-young, an administrator at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, has been experiencing some difficulties in her love life ever since her workplace was scheduled for relocation to Sejong City by the end of this year. For the 30-year-old public servant, finding love and getting married remain important goals. But relocating to Sejong, 120 kilometers south of Seoul, has become a deal breaker in the eyes of single men she meets in the capital city.“Guys hesitate to get to know me better whe

The controversial Sejong City is neither a needless extension of Seoul nor a dispersion of its administrative functions, but rather a golden opportunity to strategically create an ideal future-oriented city, according to the chief conductor of the project.Lee Choong-jae is the chairman of the Multifunctional Administrative City Construction Agency, the special organization in charge of mapping out the development of the new Sejong government complex and its surrounding area.“Sejong City, with se

The world’s first project to build a large-scale power generation ship was launched on Tuesday in Seoul as three Korean industrial giants and German-based Siemens signed a memorandum of understanding at Coex InterContinental Hotel, companies said. Three Korean the companies joining the project are Korea Midland Power Co., Hyundai Heavy Industries and Polaris Shipping.The four companies formed the consortium to install an 880-megawatt power-generating facility on a floating storage regasification

The state-run Korea Energy Management Corp. will step up cooperation with Peru, as it signed a memorandum of understanding with Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines on partnership for energy efficiency in Lima on Saturday, the company said. Based on the MOU, KEMCO will help Peru strengthen its energy efficiency capabilities, while helping Korean companies to develop projects in the Peruvian energy market. “KEMCO gained a foothold in South America with its partnership with Peru,” KEMCO CEO Byun Jo

By Seo Jee-yeon, news reports The long-stalled multilateral global trade talks known as the Doha Development Agenda talks, or Doha Round, gained historic momentum for reinstatement as the 159 member nations of the World Trade Organization approved the first deal to boost global trade at their latest summit in Bali, Indonesia, over the weekend.The breakthrough was made after two decades of talks on Saturday, the last day of the ninth ministerial conference, which was held from Dec. 2-7 on the isl

MANILA ― The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. is developing a project to build a 300-megawatt coal-fueled power plant with Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction, Korea’s oldest shipbuilder, in the Philippines, KEPCO officials said. “The Hanjin Group affiliate will make an equity investment in the project based on the build-operate-own contract, while it will be responsible for the plant construction,” said Hwang Kyu-byeng, president and CEO of KEPCO Philippines. Industry sources expect th