Journalist
Lee Hugh
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IBK Industrial Bank CEO Blocked From Office as Union Presses Pay Dispute Jang Min Young, CEO of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, has been unable to enter his office for 19 days since his appointment because of union opposition. Blocking a new CEO’s first days at work has repeatedly occurred at the state-run bank, but this time the union says it will keep Jang out until he brings back a solution with financial regulators over overtime pay. The standoff has raised concerns in the financial sector that a leadership vacuum could drag on. Jang arrived at the bank’s headquarters in Seoul’s Euljiro area at about 8:35 a.m. Monday but turned back after a five-minute confrontation with union members who blocked the entrance. Union members shouted, “Don’t come back until you bring an answer on an exception to the total wage cap.” The union argues that the wage-cap system has replaced overtime pay with compensatory leave, but limits on actually using that leave amount to unpaid wages. The bank has been discussing with the Financial Services Commission a plan to pay 78 billion won in unpaid overtime in long-term installments, but the union opposed it, saying, “Why take dividends all at once while splitting up compensation for employees’ overtime?” Jang said the wage-cap issue “is something the president ordered, and I, too, am someone appointed by the president,” adding, “I will communicate and resolve it quickly, so I ask you to wait.” As he left, Jang told reporters he has repeatedly urged the commission to allow an exception “considering IBK’s special circumstances,” and that “a broad consensus is forming.” He said the blockade is disrupting normal operations and asked the union to allow him to work while negotiating with the government. The union’s efforts to block a new CEO are not new. Citing weaker benefits than commercial banks and what it calls “parachute” appointments, past CEOs have followed a familiar pattern: appointment, union opposition and then a compromise. Yoon Jong Won entered the headquarters office 27 days after taking the job in 2020, after promising the union greater transparency in selecting executives, a resumption of voluntary retirement programs and more flexible leave periods. In 2022, when Jung Eun Bo, then head of the Financial Supervisory Service, was floated as a CEO candidate, the union launched a blockade campaign, calling it a parachute appointment. After that backlash, Kim Sung Tae, an internal candidate, was ultimately selected. Similar protests also occurred when outside candidates such as Kim Jong Chang and Yoon Yong Ro were chosen. If no agreement is reached by this week, before the Lunar New Year holiday, Jang is expected to set a record for the longest period a CEO has been blocked from work. A financial industry official said IBK’s role has become especially important under the current government in areas such as balanced regional development and advanced strategic industries, and that decisions such as large-scale fund investments cannot be made unilaterally by working-level staff, making Jang’s return to normal management urgent. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 16:25:24 -
BYD Korea to Offer Free Vehicle Inspections at 17 Service Centers for Lunar New Year BYD Korea said Monday it will run a Lunar New Year free inspection campaign to help drivers prepare for holiday travel. The campaign will be held over eight days at 17 BYD Auto service centers nationwide: three days before the holiday (Feb. 11-13) and five days after (Feb. 19-20 and Feb. 23-25). During the campaign, BYD Korea will provide detailed free checks of items important for long-distance driving, including power-battery condition, underbody inspection, the brake system and whether consumable parts need replacement. The inspection takes about 30 minutes, and the company will also offer an in-cabin deodorizing service using a fogging device. All customers who visit a service center during the period will receive a small gift, the company said. “Because the Lunar New Year holiday is a time when long-distance travel is frequent, managing vehicle condition is especially important,” BYD Korea said in a statement. It said the campaign was designed to help customers travel more safely before and after the holiday, adding that it will continue expanding service programs tailored to real-world driving conditions and customer needs. BYD Korea said it plans to build a network of 26 service centers by year’s end to improve service quality. BYD Auto service centers nationwide operate Monday through Friday, and addresses and business hours by center are available on BYD Korea’s official website. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 16:24:39 -
T’way Air to Launch Incheon-Jakarta Route in April, First for South Korean LCCs T’way Air said Monday it has opened reservations for its upcoming Incheon-Jakarta service, becoming the first South Korean low-cost carrier to launch the route. The airline plans to begin flights on April 29, operating five times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It will use an Airbus A330-300 with 347 seats, including 12 business-class and 335 economy seats. Flights will depart Incheon International Airport at 3:10 p.m. and arrive at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 8:10 p.m. local time. Return flights will leave Jakarta at 9:50 p.m. and arrive at Incheon at 7:05 a.m. the next day. Flight time is about 7 hours, 10 minutes. A T’way Air official said the schedule opening will improve access to major cities in Southeast Asia and added that the airline will continue to prioritize safe operations while working to improve customer convenience. T’way Air said it has been expanding its overseas network across Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Japan, Central Asia, Europe, Oceania and North America. The airline said it is strengthening competitiveness by adding more medium- and long-haul routes and plans to keep diversifying its network strategically.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 16:24:18 -
South Korea’s Kim Sang-gyeom wins Olympic silver; Yoo Seung-eun takes bronze in snowboard big air South Korea’s once-thin record in snow sports gained two landmark Olympic medals in Livigno, Italy. Kim Sang-gyeom, a 37-year-old snowboarder who kept training while working construction day jobs, won silver to deliver South Korea’s 400th Olympic medal overall. A day later, 18-year-old Yoo Seung-eun overcame injuries to win bronze, the first Olympic medal by a South Korean woman in a ski or snowboard event. Kim and Yoo earned their medals one day apart in snowboarding at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, expanding South Korea’s footprint beyond its traditional winter strengths. ◆ From day laborer to Olympic medalist: Kim Sang-gyeom’s fourth try Kim won silver in the men’s parallel giant slalom final at Livigno Snow Park. It was the first medal for South Korea’s team at these Olympics. Kim began athletics as a child while dealing with asthma, then took up snowboarding in middle school on a teacher’s recommendation. After graduating from Korea National Sport University in 2011, he continued without a corporate-backed team, working part-time during training and taking day labor jobs at construction sites in the offseason to support himself. He showed early promise by winning the parallel giant slalom at the 2011 Erzurum Winter Universiade in Turkey, but struggled at the Olympics: 17th in qualifying at the 2014 Sochi Games to miss the round of 16; eliminated in the round of 16 at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games; and 24th in qualifying at the 2022 Beijing Games. His best world championships finish was fourth in parallel giant slalom in 2021. Kim’s results improved in his mid-30s. He won his first FIS Snowboard World Cup medal — silver — in November 2024 in Meilin, China, 15 years into his career, then added bronze in March last year in Krynica, Poland. At his fourth Olympics, Kim advanced eighth in qualifying and reached the knockout rounds. In the quarterfinals, he upset Roland Fischnaller of Italy, the No. 1 rider in this season’s FIS World Cup parallel giant slalom rankings. Kim reached the final but lost to Benjamin Karl of Austria by 0.19 seconds to take silver. “Finally, I did it. I’m really happy,” Kim said in a broadcast interview after the race. “I’m so glad to win a medal at my fourth Olympics. Today I rode at more than 90 points.” Thanking his family, he added, “Thank you for waiting. My family gave me a lot of strength. Thanks to everyone who believed in me, I didn’t give up and made it this far. I’ll hang this medal on my mom, dad and my wife.” “Snowboarding is my life,” he said. “There’s still a lot to get through, but I believe if I keep at it, there will be even better results.” Kim’s medal also marked a milestone for South Korean Olympic history. South Korea’s ski and snowboard programs won their first Olympic medal in 2018, when Lee Sang-ho took silver in the same event. Kim’s result added another medal in parallel giant slalom eight years later. It was also South Korea’s 400th Olympic medal overall. South Korea won its first Olympic medal at the 1948 London Summer Olympics, when weightlifter Kim Seong-jip earned bronze. Through the 2024 Paris Games, South Korea had won 320 Summer Olympic medals (109 gold, 100 silver, 111 bronze). Through the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, it had won 79 Winter Olympic medals (33 gold, 30 silver, 16 bronze), for a total of 399 before Kim’s silver. ◆ Yoo Seung-eun breaks through with South Korea women’s first snow-sports medal The next day, Yoo won bronze in the women’s snowboard big air final with 171.00 points across her first two runs. It was the first Olympic medal for a South Korean woman in skiing or snowboarding, and a notable result in a freestyle event judged on tricks and execution rather than alpine-style racing decided by fractions of a second. Yoo, born in 2008, reached the podium after a long stretch of rehabilitation. Soon after making her World Cup debut in 2024, she suffered an ankle injury that kept her off the snow for an extended period. Ahead of the Olympic season, she also broke her wrist during training. With big air’s high risk of falls, some questioned whether she could even compete at the Games. In her first final run, Yoo landed a “backside triple cork 1440,” a difficult trick involving a backward rotation and four spins, scoring 87.75 points. She added her second-run score to reach 171.00 overall, and despite an unsteady landing on her third run, her earlier scores held up for bronze. “I still can’t believe it. It’s an honor just to be on the same stage as the athletes I respect,” Yoo said after the medal ceremony. “For a year, I couldn’t do much because of injuries, but this experience gave me the courage that I can do it again next time. I’m really proud of myself.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 16:23:33 -
Hyundai Motor CEO Munoz: 125.2 trillion won for South Korea, 35 trillion won for North America over 5 years Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Munoz laid out large investment plans for South Korea and the United States, while also signaling a push to expand in emerging markets such as China and India. In an email to employees on Monday titled “Our Goals and Direction for 2026,” Munoz said Hyundai Motor will invest 125.2 trillion won in South Korea over the next five years, its largest-ever domestic investment plan, and about 35 trillion won in North America, or $26 billion. He added that the company is preparing to expand production capacity in India and restructure its China business, a strategy aimed at strengthening growth in South Korea and the U.S. while pursuing opportunities in India and China. For this year, Munoz set targets of global sales of 4.16 million vehicles, revenue growth of 1% to 2% and an operating profit margin of 6.3% to 7.3%. He said Hyundai Motor plans to sustain momentum with the launch of a Genesis hybrid and a range-extended electric vehicle, or EREV, slated for next year. “South Korea delivered stable growth on the back of the successful launches of the Palisade and Ioniq 9, and North America posted record-high sales for five straight years,” Munoz said. He said Europe accelerated its shift to electrification despite a tough regulatory environment, India’s EV sales grew by more than 750%, and Hyundai Motor is strengthening its strategy in China to match intense competition. Munoz attributed Hyundai Motor’s recent share-price gains to its “vision for physical AI and robotics” presented at CES, as well as revenue performance, strong execution and steady results. He said the company can achieve its 2030 strategy using the same PM² approach that drove last year’s results: moving quickly, preparing early, responding nimbly to change and working as “one global team.” Hyundai Motor also reaffirmed its long-term targets: global sales of 5.55 million vehicles by 2030, including 3.3 million eco-friendly vehicles, or 60% of the total. It set an operating profit margin goal of 8% to 9% and said it plans to expand its hybrid lineup to at least 18 models.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 16:22:56 -
Catcher Choi Jae Hoon Out of South Korea’s 2026 WBC Team With Finger Injury; Kim Hyeong Jun Added Hanwha Eagles catcher Choi Jae Hoon has been dropped from South Korea’s roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic after injuring a finger. The Korea Baseball Organization’s national team strengthening committee said Tuesday that Kim Hyeong Jun of the NC Dinos will replace Choi, who recently broke a finger during Hanwha’s winter training. Kim will join LG Twins catcher Park Dong Won as South Korea’s catchers for the WBC. Kim had been left off the roster while rehabbing after breaking a palm bone last year, but was added after showing a quick recovery. Kim previously played in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held in 2023, the 2023 Asia Professional Baseball Championship and the 2024 WBSC Premier12. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 16:21:44 -
FKI Calls for Clearer Breach-of-Trust Standards to Boost Corporate Risk-Taking South Korea should refine the legal elements of its breach-of-trust crime to encourage entrepreneurship and investment in advanced industries such as artificial intelligence, batteries and biotechnology, a business group said. The Korea Federation of Korean Industries, known as FKI, said it held a seminar in Seoul on Monday at the FKI Tower conference center in Yeouido titled “Problems and Improvement Measures for the Breach-of-Trust Crime.” In opening remarks, FKI Executive Vice Chairman Kim Chang Bum said large-scale investment is needed to secure “future growth engines” in areas including AI, batteries, bio and mobility, but executives are struggling to make bold decisions because of breach-of-trust risks. “Reasonable improvements to the breach-of-trust system are needed to reduce management uncertainty and raise entrepreneurship, the source of innovation,” Kim said. Ahn Tae Jun, a professor at Hanyang University Law School, said the current provision is vague, undermining the criminal law principle of clarity and predictability. He warned that a civil-law breach of duty based on good faith could be treated as a crime, making the scope of liability hard to foresee. Ahn said managers often cannot know in advance whether their actions are criminally prohibited, and they can be punished based only on the “risk of loss” even without actual damage. That could turn failed business judgments into criminal cases and lead to the “criminalization of civil disputes,” weakening executives’ willingness to act, he said. Ahn said South Korea’s approach differs from major countries. Germany does not punish attempted breach of trust and has no aggravated provisions for occupational or special breach of trust, he said. Japan requires a strict subjective element beyond intent, including a purpose of seeking benefit for oneself or a third party or causing loss to the principal. The United States and the United Kingdom have no breach-of-trust statute, and even similar provisions are narrowly applied, he said. To reduce side effects, Ahn proposed creating a business judgment rule that treats reasonable decisions as not violating duty, or otherwise tightening the elements of the offense. Full repeal could also be an option, he said. In a discussion session, speakers also called for limiting criminal intervention in business judgment. Hong Young Ki, deputy dean of Korea University Law School, said breach of trust is the only crime that deprives or infringes another person’s property interests, and called for detailed practical guidelines and strict case-by-case application. Kang Won, a professor of business administration at Sejong University, said when executives are indicted for occupational breach of trust, they inevitably divert resources to self-defense until a final acquittal, which can weaken corporate competitiveness. He called for reforms that minimize criminal intervention in business judgment and clarify the presumption of innocence. Ryu Hyuk Sun, a professor in KAIST’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering who holds doctorates in business administration and law, said the vagueness of the provision is expanding criminal liability after the fact. He urged South Korea to reset the boundary between criminal and civil liability, similar to Germany and Japan, where criminal punishment functions as a last resort to supplement civil controls. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 16:21:08 -
Survey: 75% of South Korean new-car shoppers are open to EVs, wary of Chinese brands Consumers say trust and safety matter most when buying an electric vehicle, a survey found. Chabot Mobility said on Monday that 75.1% of 450 people planning to buy a new car this year expressed interest in purchasing an EV. The largest share, 41.9%, said an EV is among the options they are considering. Another 18.4% said they are actively considering an EV, and 9.4% said they have decided on one. By age group, interest was highest among people in their 20s, at 100%, and those in their 30s, at 85.4%. Rates were lower among people in their 50s and those 60 and older. Cost was the top reason for considering an EV. Savings on charging compared with fuel costs led responses at 62.5%, followed by government subsidies at 41.3% and tax benefits at 32.7%. The biggest factors holding buyers back were infrastructure and safety concerns: lack of charging infrastructure (45.3%), worries about safety such as fires (34.9%) and charging time (32.8%). Asked how government EV subsidies affect vehicle choice, 37.9% said they have some influence and 29.6% said they have a very large influence, meaning about 67% view subsidies as a key factor. Views of Chinese EV brands showed both interest and caution. The most common response, at 38.6%, was that respondents are interested but still do not trust them. Price competitiveness was cited as the biggest attraction, at 64.3%. For advanced driver-assistance features such as full self-driving, 76.5% said they would pay extra. The most preferred price range was 3 million to under 5 million won, at 40.5%. Looking ahead, the most common expectation for how autonomous-driving advances will affect buying decisions was a greater emphasis on safety standards, at 26.7%. "EVs are now a practical purchase alternative, evaluated beyond an eco-friendly image in terms of lower running costs and total cost of ownership," a Chabot Mobility official said. The official added that Chinese EV brands are drawing interest on price, but said building trust in quality and safety will be key to gaining a foothold in the market.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 16:19:56 -
K Car Posts Record 2025 Operating Profit of 76 Billion Won K Car, a South Korean used-car platform that sells vehicles directly, said it set record highs in both revenue and operating profit last year. The company said Monday it posted preliminary full-year revenue of 2.4388 trillion won and operating profit of 76 billion won. Revenue rose 6% from a year earlier and operating profit increased 11.5%. K Car said it lifted sales 1.4% despite a 2.2% year-over-year drop in used-car registrations amid financial-market volatility and worries about a slowing economy. Annual used-car sales totaled 156,290 vehicles, raising its market share to 12.7%. Retail sales came to 114,496 vehicles, with online transactions accounting for 55.9%. Auction sales totaled 41,794 vehicles, up 6.5% from a year earlier and a record, the company said. K Car said it plans to launch new businesses this year, including a service that supports safer direct transactions between individuals, as it aims to broaden its platform across different types of deals. CEO Jung In Guk said the company has continued to expand its share steadily as the market shifts toward corporate operators, citing brand trust and diversified buying and selling channels. He said K Car will respond quickly to market changes and pursue sustainable growth.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 16:19:23 -
South Korea's WBC hopes fade as injuries sideline more key players SEOUL, February 10 (AJP) - Hanwha Eagles' catcher Choi Jae-hoon has been dropped from South Korea's roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic (WBC), the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said on Tuesday. The KBO said Choi will be unable to participate in the international tournament, which opens next month, after injuring his finger during the Eagles' winter training. Choi will be replaced by NC Dinos' Kim Hyung-jun. Kim was initially excluded from the roster after suffering a broken palm bone last year but became available thanks to a quick recovery. Kim previously represented South Korea at the pandemic-delayed Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, the Asia Professional Baseball Championship in Taiwan that same year, and the 2024 WBSC Premier12, co-hosted by Japan, Mexico and Taiwan. With several key players such as Hanwha Eagles' pitcher Moon Dong-ju and infielders like Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves and Song Sung-mun of the San Diego Padres sidelined by injuries, South Korea’s prospects of winning the tournament look dim. This year's tournament will be held from March 5 to 17, with games played in Houston, Miami, Puerto Rico and Tokyo. South Korea, grouped with Australia, Chinese Taipei, the Czech Republic, and Japan, will have its opening game against the Czech Republic in Tokyo on March 5. 2026-02-10 16:19:11