The Shilla Seoul said Friday that it would close in January for about six months for a major refurbishment. The hotel said that it would cease all hotel services during the six-month revamp, except the Shilla Duty Free Shop, which will be open throughout the refurbishment period. Having been built more than three decades ago, the hotel building needs to renovate the guestrooms and bathrooms, hotel officials said. They said that the project will only involve the interior of the hotel and not the

Nov. 23, 2012

The government decided to extend the term of National Pension Service chief Jun Kwang-woo by a year, officials said on Friday.The NPS chief’s three-year tenure was due to expire early next month.Health and welfare officials said the government made the decision in consideration of the performance the pension service achieved under Jun.According to officials, the number of subscribers of the national pension surpassed 20 million people and the NPS’ combined operating profits it collected by fund

Nov. 23, 2012

FILA Korea Ltd. and FILA Global chairman and CEO Gene Yoon won the sixth Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, or EOY, organizers said on Friday. The award is created to pioneer outstanding leaders of business whose strength and leadership inspire world. Out of six EOY awardees, Yoon won this year’s EOY Master’s Award in recognition of his excellence in mergers and acquisitions he showed in merging the global sports brand FILA, Ernst & Young Hanyoung said. In 2011, Yoon also succeeded in

Industry Nov. 23, 2012

China’s No. 1 smartphone maker ZTE Corp. said it will target the Korean niche-market of smartphones, calling its Korean operation a screen-test for the global war against Korean tech titans such as Samsung and LG.Currently the Chinese handset firm targets the low-cost, third-generation device sector of the Korean smartphone market. In contrast to public opinion that Korea has completely switched over to Long Term Evolution devices, about 10 percent of customers in Korea are still willing to purc

Technology Nov. 21, 2012

Mobile communication venture firm Kakao launched three new mobile service platforms on Tuesday, aiming to secure at least 1 million individual and group partners in three years. Before the launch, Kakao had 31 mobile game partners and 260-some “plus friend” partner companies. In unveiling the new applications ― Kakao Page, Story Plus and Chatting Plus ― the mobile venture tech firm is poised to convert itself from customer-centered social servant to a powerful marketing-booster to its business p

Technology Nov. 20, 2012

Dongbu Insurance Co. pays the highest annual salaries to first-year employees, beating the former best-paying company Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance Co., according to news reports. Unlike the public conception that Samsung affiliate companies offer the highest annual starting salaries, Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance Co. ranked No. 3 despite its No. 1 performance in business Yonhap News said. Before tax reduction, the annual salaries for first-year employees with bachelor’s degrees was the

Technology Nov. 19, 2012

The nation’s best-selling tobacco manufacturer KT&G Corp. will export 300,000 packs of its premium tobacco brand “Tonino Lamborghini” to Hong Kong by the end of November. KT&G has already sold “Tonino Lamborghini” in Chinese duty-free shops since September, with its first import order at 488,000 packs. China and Hong Kong together form the largest, most competitive tobacco market in the world, the company said. “From the beginning, Tonino Lamborghini was meant to be launched worldwide,” a KT&G o

Technology Nov. 19, 2012

KONEPS, or Korea Online E-procurement System, is drawing more attention from abroad than ever, the Public Procurement Service said. The Korean e-procurement system provides a convenient one-stop service, enabling users to process all necessary operations for procurement ― registration, bidding, contract, and payment ― together, PPS said. Korea has signed multiple memorandums of understanding with 19 countries worldwide on e-procurement. PPS Administrator Kang Ho-in said, “Exporting KONEPS is an

Nov. 18, 2012

KT Corp. chairman Lee Suk-chae won the 11th CNBC Asia Business Leaders Award in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, the mobile operator said on Sunday.The award acknowledges Asian business visionaries with strength, innovation, ingenuity, knowledge and foresight that are especially required for the leaders of today’s global economy. One of the six awardees this year, Lee won the accolade in recognition of his personal involvement in supporting and fostering the next generation of leaders. Lee has beco

Technology Nov. 18, 2012

Samsung Electronics CEO Kwon Oh-hyun was ranked fifth out of 50 CEOs in “2012 Businessperson of the Year” selected by global business magazine Fortune, followed by Google CEO Larry Page who ranked sixth. Fortune evaluated Kwon as a CEO who has successfully run the $149 billion Samsung Electronics empire since June 2012 as the head of component business. “Under Kwon, the Korean company became the second-largest chipmaker in the world. Now the new CEO has to contend with its top customer and compe

Technology Nov. 18, 2012

“Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm,” the first expansion pack of “Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty,” will be released in March next year, game developer and publisher Blizzard Entertainment said Tuesday. “Heart of the Swarm” features new units, including Terran Hellbats, Zerg Swarm Hosts and Protoss Tempests, along with new maps. The expansion set has about 20 campaign missions, and provides an enhanced battle net service, Blizzard said at a “Starcraft” community party held in Seoul.“With ‘Heart of

Technology Nov. 14, 2012