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East Asia
Mahindra objects to Ssangyong audit
Mahindra & Mahindra, the Indian owner of Ssangyong Motor, said Monday that it objects to an audit by the National Assembly and that if it is pursued, it could affect the firm’s investment plan to the tune of 1 trillion won. “Funds for this (1 trillion won) investment will have…
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East Asia
‘Hanwha move complies with Park’s rules’
A member of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team Sunday welcomed Hanwha Group’s move to put about 2,000 “temporary” workers on regular payroll as part of efforts to improve job security and access to employment benefits. “The Hanwha move complies with the President-elect’s principle,” the member said, adding that the issue…
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East Asia
Women rise at foreign drugmakers
The imaginary glass ceiling seems omnipresent for Korean women, who struggle to advance their corporate careers in a country that data shows has the highest level of workplace gender division among rich economies. For female employees frustrated by the pace of advancement, branches of foreign pharmaceutical companies here may feel…
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East Asia
When Dreams Come True: Reflections on ‘Social Economy’ in Korea
*Author, Won-soon Park is a prominent civil rights lawyer, civic activist and social innovator. He became Mayor of Seoul in October 2011. First there was triumph of market economies after the fall of the Soviet Union. Then came successive global financial crises that debunked that triumphalism. Now, a new concept…
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East Asia
Chinese company eyeing Korean hotel
A Chinese company has submitted a letter of intent to the Incheon Development & Tourism Corp. (IDTC) to acquire the Harbor Park Hotel in the port city, IDTC officials said Tuesday. If successful, it would mean the first Chinese ownership of a large-size Korean hotel, they said. “The Chinese firm…
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East Asia
HSBC expects Korean tourism to expand further
Tourism is likely to remain one of the few bright spots in the Korean economy, saddled by an aging workforce, sliding industrial competiveness and hefty household debt. Korea will continue to benefit from an influx of travelers from China and other Asian countries and improved global awareness, according to a…
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East Asia
Desperate scratching
Lottery sales set record in downturn, invite new concerns Surpassing 3.19 trillion won (about $2.95 billion), lottery ticket sales in Korea set a record last year despite a dismal economy, or perhaps because of it. While this supported the old belief that a lottery is a recession-proof business, there are…
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East Asia
Park puts economy, safety first
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s government restructuring plan, unveiled Tuesday, calls for empowering ministries overseeing the economy while emphasizing public safety amid a rising number of sex crimes. Under the proposal, the team scrapped the Ministry of Special Affairs in charge of facilitating dialogue with opposition parties. Analysts widely agreed that the…
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East Asia
Gov’t set to ‘normalize’ black markets
The nation’s tax agency plans to bring the underground economy into the open in order to normalize “black markets” and expand tax revenue base to support the welfare budget of the incoming government, according to sources, Sunday. The National Tax Service (NTS) reported Saturday to President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team…
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East Asia
Hong Kong Ranks As The Freest Economy In The World 19 Years Consecutively
Photo taken on Sept. 10, 2012 shows scenery of Hong Kong, south China. Hong Kong’s acting Financial Secretary K C Chan on Jan. 10, 2013 welcomed the ranking of Hong Kong as the freest economy in the world for the 19th consecutive year. According to the 2013 Index of Economic…
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