Boosting youth hiring
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Korea usually wrestle with chronic labor shortages. It’s not strange, therefore, even if it’s hard to find young workers at small factories. By contrast, many young college graduates are out of work ― the employment rate among youths aged 15-29 remained at 39.7 percent in March, compared with the […]
Housing rentals for expats now thriving business
Renting housing to expatriates has turned into a booming business thanks to a rise in the number of long-term residents. Many multi-home owners have entered the market because they are exempted from paying lease tax when their properties are rented out to foreigners under a revised government measure. The demography of the expats show their […]
Solid S5 sales to bolster Samsung
Samsung Electronics is expected to see a better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter as its flagship smartphone ― the Galaxy S5 ― has beaten market expectations. Analysts and fund managers said they are impressed by the initial sales of the phone, adding that the Korean electronics giant is doing well enough to reduce investor concerns […]
Chaebol’s undue gains
The entrenched business malpractice of chaebol owners and their family members receiving huge dividends through unlisted companies remains intact despite an avalanche of criticism. Rather, such “dividend parties’’ are becoming more conspicuous amid slack public scrutiny. Some of the unlisted companies made hefty dividend payouts while in the red, which often serves as an illicit […]
Samsung may merge building units
Samsung C&T and Samsung Engineering are likely to be merged in Samsung’s group-wide reorganization, experts said Monday. The group’s two major construction affiliates do not have overlapping functions; and Samsung Engineering suffered losses last year due to rising costs. Samsung Engineering shifted to a net loss of 708.66 billion won ($684 million) in 2013 from […]
Salary gap deepening amid slump
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun took 6.77 billion won ($6.5 million) in salary last year, according to the company. He topped the paycheck rankings among salaried executives of listed companies, excluding the company owners. Kwon’s salary was 228.7 times higher than that of the average Korean employee in 2012, 29.6 million won. His paycheck […]
Foreign firms’ remittances cause red faces
Branches of some multinationals send more than their net profits in dividend payments to their head offices. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Monday, IBM Korea and Philip Morris Korea’s dividend ratios stood at 115.1 percent and 111.6 percent, respectively. This means IBM paid 133 billion won and Philip Morrris 157.1 billion won in […]
Samsung boss receives biggest dividend payments
Last month’s executive pay disclosure painted a rather incomplete picture of who earns how much in Korea’s business world because it exempts non-board member executives from disclosure. However, dividend payment data helps present a clearer picture. While the income of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee remains unknown, dividend payment data provides a minimum estimate. Samsung […]
Banks to promote films, dramas
Korea’s major lenders are expanding their support for the content and entertainment industry, which has taken off with the popularity of hallyu worldwide. The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) plans to lend a total of 750 billion won during the 20142016 period to nurture the culture and content industry, which is seeking financial support. […]
Korea offers makeovers Chinese cannot resist
A cosmetic surgery hospital in southern Seoul mirrors a Chinese drama set in a luxury model home. Beside a statue of Venus, a woman lies with her face wrapped in bandages. A young woman in a patient gown talks with a man in black sunglasses. A group of Chinese tourists curiously listen to a staff […]
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