The chief of the Korea Fair Trade Commission said Thursday that a recent demand made by US activist hedge fund Elliott to Hyundai Motor Group to create a holding company by merging Hyundai Motor and its parts making affiliate Hyundai Mobis would be in violation of Korea’s fair trade law.“Elliott’s call to create a holding firm could violate the law that separates industrial and financial capital,” Kim Sang-jo told reporters before his opening speech at a local business conference. “I explained t

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of features and interviews on South Korea’s business environment for foreign companies and investors. This is the sixth installment. -- Ed.South Korea should get rid of “too many pure Korea regulations” that hamper trade, and fully utilize the benefits of its free trade deals, according to the president of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea. “Sometimes, European companies hesitate to launch their new products here because there are too many ‘pure Ko

The scandal at the embattled Korean Air has spread into an investigation by the nation’s antitrust watchdog into the group’s alleged unfair business practices. It is the latest line of investigations by the authorities sparked by allegations that Cho Hyun-min, a senior vice president at the airline, threw water in an advertising agency employee’s face at a business meeting. “We started an investigation (into Korean Air) on Friday,” the Fair Trade Commission said Tuesday. “A total of 30 investiga

The long-awaited Asian Forest Cooperation Organization will be officially launched on Friday as an intergovernmental regional organization with the aim of strengthening regional forest cooperation to address the impact of climate change, according to ASEAN-Korea Forest Cooperation Secretariat on Monday. The AFoCO will be established to strengthen regional forest cooperation in Asia which is vulnerable to forest degradation and climate change and to contribute to achieving the sustainable develop

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Friday it had signed a partnership agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank for establishing new energy infrastructure in Central and South America. The Minister Paik Un-gyu met with Luis Alberto Moreno, President of IADB, in Washington DC on Thursday and they agreed to cooperate on the areas of smart buildings, energy storage systems and energy efficiency in the region. Industry Minister Paik Un-gyu (right) shakes hands with Luis Alberto

BMW Korea chief Kim Hyo-joon was elected as the new chairman of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, according to the organization on Thursday. Kim Hyo-joon, new chairman of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI)He is succeeding Kim Jong-kap, former CEO of Siemens, who was recently elected as President of Korea Electric Power Corporation.The KGCCI is now run by two co-chairmen, Ingrid Drechsel, president of Bayer Korea, for the German side and newly elected Kim

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of features and interviews on South Korea’s business environment for foreign companies and investors. This is the fifth installment. -- Ed.While operating in the volatile market of South Korea comes with many challenges, the trendsetting consumer base highly responsive and loyal to global brands have also created a different kind of phenomenon – “gapjil” of multinational firms.Gapjil is a Korean term which refers to the abuse of power by someone against a

GS Chairman Huh Chang-soo urged the firm’s executives to create an environment where new challenges and innovation are encouraged at a management meeting held on Wednesday. For the future growth of GS, Huh encouraged the affiliates’ new businesses, including GS Caltex‘s new investment in olefin business, GS Retail’s move into Vietnam with its convenient store GS25 and GS Power‘s building additional power plant and adoption of liquefied natural gas.GS Chairman Huh Chang-sooGS Caltex invested arou

Companies will face harsher punishment if they are found to have stolen ideas from smaller companies, according to the government on Tuesday, amid growing calls from startups to protect their ideas and technologies. The Korean Intellectual Property Office announced Tuesday the revised law to prohibit unfair competition practices and to protect confidential business information. It is to take effect on July 18. Unfair competition practices include using without permission ideas shared in business

A business delegation led by the chief of the Korea International Trade Association met with the deputy US trade representative in Washington on Monday to convey the concerns of Korean steel exporters amid growing uncertainty over the export landscape in the US. The delegation included representatives of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motors, Posco, Mando, Hyundai Steel, Hanwha Q Cells and SK Gas. “An amicable settlement in the trade deal between Korea and the US allows companies from both nations

Hanwha Systems said it has unveiled its shipboard combat system and integrated surveillance patrol solution at the Defence Services Asia 2018 that kicked off in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Monday. More than 1,000 companies from 60 nations, including Korea’s 24 firms, have participated in the Asia’s largest defense procurement exhibition this year. Hanwha Systems said it would focus on the marketing activities of its shipboard combat system that was mounted on Korean navy’s key vessels for 30 years

Petroleum and refinery company Hyundai Oilbank will go public in the fall of this year, according to chief of Hyundai Heavy Industries on Monday. “We plan to float Hyundai Oilbank on the stock market this year and we are in the process of selecting a lead underwriter. The firm will go public around September and October,” said Kwon Oh-Gap, CEO of Hyundai Heavy Industries, in a press briefing. Hyundai Oilbank is a key affiliate of Hyundai Heavy Industries that holds 91.1 percent of stake.Analysts

The Korea International Trade Association said Friday it has held an inauguration ceremony to launch its 30th chairman’s group. The group consists of Chairman Kim Young-ju, Vice Chairman Han Jin-hyun and 29 nonstanding vice chairmen. Seven members, including KG Group chief Kwak Jae-sun and Hanyoung Nux head Han Young-soo, are new to the group. The chairman’s group serves to participate in key decision-making in terms of operating the association, deliberating on business and speaking for the tra

Leaders from the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea are slated to visit Washington from Sunday to meet with key figures of the Trump Administration, according to AMCHAM on Friday. (Yonhap)Through these visits, the delegation will reaffirm Korea’s status as a strong and reliable ally to the US as well as a close economic partner, said the chamber of commerce. The delegation, including Chairman James Kim and Chairman of the Board of Governors Jeffrey Jones, has secured more than 50 senior-level

General Motors is preparing to put its Korean arm GM Korea under court receivership after the government expressed negative feedback in designating the automaker’s two plants in Korea as foreign investment zones, according to local news reports Friday. The automaker’s headquarters has reportedly completed its review on moving its production of GM Korea’s key export model Chevrolet Trax to China. It will also gradually remove its production lines in Korea, leaving only research, design and sales

The South Korean government will set aside 15.4 billion won ($14 million) to help protect the intellectual property of small and midsized exporters, the Korean Intellectual Property Office said Thursday. The patent office said it has selected 205 promising companies from a total of 845 companies that had applied for the program this year. Among them, 51 companies are developing next-generation technologies, such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, precision medicine and the internet of

The Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea signed a memorandum of understanding with the Incheon Port Authority early this month to cooperate in connecting businesses of Korea and India, according to the ICCK on Thursday. The ICCK said the two organizations would act as a bridge between the two countries in terms of investments and national projects. They will share information, such as newsletters, press releases and bulletins, and promote their activities with their members and associated organiz

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of features and interviews on South Korea’s business environment for foreign companies and investors. This is the fourth installment. -- Ed.Foreign direct investment has significantly contributed to the Korean economy over the decades. It has nearly doubled in the last 10 years to reach $22.8 billion last year, creating around 700,000 jobs and contributing to 20 percent of the nation’s total exports last year. Now, Korea should be wiser in attracting such

The fate of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding remained dim Tuesday, even though a self-rescue plan was delivered to creditors after its labor and the management reached an agreement on a restructuring plan.A self-help plan and a letter of confirmation both by the labor and the management was delivered to its creditor, the Korea Development Bank, in the evening, nearly a day after the deadline of 12 a.m.The details of the plan were not revealed. But the final version of the proposal was “not so much di

LS Cable & System said Tuesday it would invest around 14 billion won ($13 million) in its plant in Poland to build a new production line for optical cables. The company has two optical cable production facilities in Korea and Vietnam. The one planned for Poland will be its third.LS Cable & System CEO Myung Roe-hyun (right)Upon its completion, the South Korean cable maker will be able to produce optical cables of around 3 million fiber kilometers a year, which would account for 7 percent of the E