• Large firms hesitate to invest

    Lotte shows highest cash reserve ratio The average cash reserve ratio of conglomerates soared to a record high last year, data showed Sunday, triggering concerns that their sluggish reinvestment may hinder job creation and economic recovery. According to FN Guide, an online financial information provider, the average reserve ratio of…

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  • East Asia

    Korean games popular in China, Japan

    Critics argue tough regulations curb growth potential K-pop’s rise is fast and furious, representing the country’s booming cultural industry. Yet this doesn’t mean K-pop is the most profitable export item among cultural products. Guess what the No.1 is? Computer games. According to the state-run Korea Finance Corporation, Korea’s games exports…

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  • Diageo, Pernod Ricard to cut jobs

    Diageo and Pernod Ricard, the world’s top two liquor companies, are cutting their workforces in Korea due to declining whiskey sales, their Korean branches said Wednesday. Last week, Diageo Korea said it will provide an early retirement program for all managers and executives in a move to cut costs amid…

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  • Hyun hints at easing rules on hotel construction

    Strategy and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok indicated Wednesday that the government will ease regulations on hotel construction to boost the tourism industry. “The tourism industry is very effective in boosting the domestic economy and creating jobs. Currently, the number of foreign tourists is rising thanks to the growing popularity of…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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,…

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