LG Scores Big With 'Borderless' TV

Daniel Phillip Henney, an American actor and spokesman in commercials for LG Electronics’ borderless flat-panel TVs, poses with the TV. Seamless TVs, which have been selling in the global market since September this year, are strategically important for LG to decide the profit curve of its TV-making unit in 2010. / Korea Times

By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter

LG Electronics, the world's second-biggest liquid crystal display (LCD) TV maker, plans to widen the market gap with its bigger rivals, including Sony, in 2010 by propelling its borderless flat-panel TV sets.

LG has been set to sell some 6 million borderless LCD TVs with LED backlights, next year, inspired by highly impressive initial moves in such sets after their debut, company officials say.

In September, LG has unveiled the seamless TVs that eliminate the seam between the screen and the surrounding bezel, available both in traditional LCD and LED-backlit LCD models.

Available in sizes ranging from 32- to 47-inches, the "SL90 LED-backlit LCD" and "SL80 LCD TV" series are adorned with a seamless front.

LG officials say the company was able to create these svelte TVs by using a new manufacturing technique that creates a sleek, uninterrupted glass-like surface.

The screen also sports laminate film on the surface, which reduces glare and improves picture quality.

The SL90 is distinct from the SL80 line thanks to its LED backlighting technology, which pumps up the contrast ratio to a whopping 3,000,000:1.

"Both lines feature an invisible sound system that hides slim speakers at the bottom of the TV, enhancing the visuals with quality audio. Bluetooth is integrated, too, which lets viewers hook up the set to compatible mobile phones wirelessly to easily share music and movies on the big screen," a company spokesman said.

Sales have been on a good roll. Within the two months since the global debuts of borderless TVs, over 100,000 units have been sold, according to the company.

In Europe alone, 46,000 sets were sold, while 19,000 and 12,000 were sold in North America and LG's home turf, South Korea, respectively, from September to November, LG said in a statement.

Of the LED-backlit SL90 model, 42,000 were sold, while sales of the traditional SL80 LCD model reached 58,000.

Citing the successful launching of the seamless TVs, analysts are positive about the profit outlook of LG’s home entertainment unit in 2010.

"We can say the borderless TV series will lift its TV-making unit in 2010. Enhanced user-friendliness of the products will appeal to premium buyers in LG's key markets," So Hyun-cheol, an analyst at Shinhan Financial, said.

LG aims to sell 25 million LCD TV sets next year.

SM5 Legacy Continues With Redesign

The new and improved SM5, a mid-sized sedan by Renault Samsung Motors, has been garnernig glaring reviews from the local car market. / Korea Times

By Jane Han
Staff Reporter

Renault Samsung Motors’ SM5 sedan has been the car maker's consistent bestseller for the past decade, but it is aiming to secure a bigger market presence next year with its highly-touted 2010 redesign.

The local unit of French auto firm Renault SA says it plans to start selling a new version of its SM5 sedan early next year to boost its sales and compete with the recently redesigned Hyundai Sonata.

The updated model, which has been in development since 2006, is equipped with either a 2-liter gasoline or diesel engine, both of which are available with a six-speed automatic transmission.

The new SM5 offers a full range of features and options, including a navigation system, massage seats and a body kit, according to company officials.

It is available in five different trims ― PE, SE, SE Black, LE and LE Exclusive ― with each of the trims showing off its own unique set of features. For example, the PE trim is equipped with a back warning system and 16-inch aluminum wheels, while the SE trim comes with a convenience package that includes power seat controls.

Officials claim that the third-generation SM5 promises to give drivers and passengers a new and improved experience as the model has been revamped both inside and out.

Renault Samsung has sold more than 700,000 units of the SM5 and the car maker says the ongoing popularity owes to the vehicle's continued enhancements.

The improvements led SM5 to win numerous industry recognitions, including awards in design, power brand and consumer satisfaction. And such good reputation, in turn, has helped the model retain top-level status in the used car market as well.

The car maker says the most pivotal factor that led SM5 to keep its market position against intensifying competition is its impeccable quality.

Marketing Insight, an industry research firm, conducted a consumer satisfaction survey on domestic cars earlier this year and the results showed that Renault Samsung ranked No. 1 for eight years in a row. Respondents said SM5 had the best quality with the least quality stress

Kyobo Life Climbs to Top With Strategy to Cut Risks

Headquarters of Kybo Life in Seoul

By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter

Kyobo Life Insurance employees wondered when they heard a whistle fill the auditorium of the insurer's headquarters in Gwanghwamun, downtown Seoul, last March.

It was Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae who blew the whistle. The former medical professor, who was often spotlighted for special, meaningful events by washing the feet of insurance salespeople or baking cookies for them, blew the whistle to mark beginning of fiscal year 2009.

With the whistle, he meant that all should be as passionate and fully ready like a runner lined up for the start, to mark growth for the year despite difficulties in the global financial market.

The whistle seems to have paid off. Kyobo Life Insurance made a notable achievement despite the global economic crisis.

Kyobo marked 291.6 billion won in net profit in 2008, rising to the top of the life insurance industry. Hence, Moody's, a global credit rating agency, maintained its rating on Kyobo at ``A2,'' while it lowered ratings on numerous financial businesses around the world.

The ``A2'' rating is the highest among Korean financial companies. Kyobo's total assets have breached 50 trillion won, and it has had the highest return on equity (ROE) among the top three players in the life insurance industry here for the past five years.

These accomplishments saw the company win the 2009 Asia Insurance Industry Award, the first Korean life insurance company to do so.

``In the end, risk management paid off,'' a spokesman at Kyobo Life Insurance said. The insurer learned that key for survival is risk management. Kyobo successfully overcome the Asian financial crisis without any government support.

Kyobo Life Insurance stopped overseas investments before September last year when Lehman Brothers collapsed. The thorough risk management enabled it to minimize losses while others faltered.

The insurer set up committees to examine investment and asset management, excluding investment in risky assets from its portfolio. It stuck to its conservative investment principle confined to safe assets that it knows well.

It also focused on non-savings type insurances, which paid off with a good performance. Under the slogan that ``Insurance is love for family,'' the insurer increased sales of whole-life insurance and annuity insurance products.

``Kyobo Life Insurance aims at making good growth of a virtuous circle, in which customer satisfaction leads to increases in sales and profits, and eventually benefiting customers as well as all Kyobo workers and shareholders,'' the spokesman said.

Seoul Milk Assures Quality, Freshness

Seoul Milk labels the production date, as seen in the red penciled part, of its products as well as expiration date, although the current law only requires food manufacturers to print just one of the dates. / Korea Times

By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

Seoul Milk, the country's oldest and biggest dairy producer, has been recognized for its leading quality of products such as milk, yogurt and other beverages for more than 70 years.

And the company isn't resting on its laurels, as it continues to commit to improving quality to let customers know that they are getting the best and freshest products available at all times.

In July, Seoul Milk became the first dairy producer to put the production date on its milk cartons. The country's current food safety law requires food makers to reveal either the production or expiration date of products, but not both, often leaving consumers questioning how long the products have been sitting on store shelves.

Seoul Milk's decision to disclose both dates on its milk cartons seems to be drawing positive reviews from consumers.

Since implementing the labeling policy on July 14, the company has been selling about 9.38 million cartons per day, up from its previous level of about 8 million per day.

During September, the company even sold more than 10 million cartons for four straight days, which is around 44 percent of the 23 million milk cartons sold daily in the country.

The sharp increase in the company's milk sales is impressive when considering that overall milk consumption has been dipping in the past few years due to low birth rates, Seoul Milk officials said.

``The decision to label our milk products with the production dates is also connected with our efforts to innovate production and delivery procedures to enhance the freshness of our products,'' said Noh Min-ho, an official from Seoul Milk's marketing unit.

``Printing the production dates means we need to increase our efforts to reduce the time between production and shipment of our milk products, which means that the produced amount and the level of consumer demand should be matched more precisely. This has us providing fresher milk, which also contributes to reducing our inventory.''

Seoul Milk is planning to eventually expand the printing of production dates on all of its products, which include flavored milk, yogurt, coffee, fruit beverages, cheese and ice cream.

Seoul Milk is currently running a prize competition on its Web page (www.seoulmilk.co.kr), which continues through the end of January.

The high scorers of the online quiz will be awarded a selection of prizes, including 375 grams of gold to the first-place winner, 20 1 million won gift certificates, cosmetic products, agricultural products and of course, Seoul Milk's dairy products to others. The winners will be announced on Feb. 11.

Micro-robot to clean vessels

Korean scientists have developed a tiny robot, about the size of a grain of rice, which can swim along inside human veins and unplug clogged vessels.

According to the team of researchers led by Park Jong-oh at Chonnam National University, the ``micro-robot,'' measuring a millimeter long and 5 millimeters from end to end, successfully cleared blockages of vessels inside a pig.

Scientists around the world have been competing to develop micro-robots that could be sent through the body to clear blocked vessels, track down diseases and deliver drugs, proving the 1987 Dennis Quaid film, ``Innerspace,'' as prophetic. However, this marks the first time that such a device was successfully tested in a living laboratory animal, Park said.

``The navigation and control system, which allows us to steer the robot in any direction and monitor the movement in real time, will likely contribute as the crucial core technology in developing medical-purpose robots of the future,'' Park said during a presentation at his university in Gwangju.

``Robots like these may open new possibilities in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases ― our device measures just 1 millimeter wide, an ideal size to probe through coronary arteries, which average around 2 millimeters in diameter.''

Vein-cleansing mini-robots have been a subject of particular interest for Korean scientists, with their research getting significant financial backing by the government with hopes that such devices could be injected into humans to treat cardiovascular diseases by as early as 2020.

Park's research was one of the projects under a 7-year, 20.3 billion won ($17.8 million) plan by the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy to develop such robots that was introduced in 2007.

Once entered into blood vessels, the robot is guided by an outside electromagnetic field that allows it to navigate through the body automatically to a designated point or be controlled by computer with joystick-like controls.

The robot can travel up to 50 millimeters per minute, and once inside a clogged vessel, it pierces through blockages and plaque with its built-in drill that rotates up to 1,800 times per minute.

The robot's drill can also double as a drug injector, and Park said the next version of the robot will be equipped with better disease detection and treatment capability, including ultrasound signals.

``The hardest part was developing a technique to precisely control the robot's movement, which was difficult due to the ever-changing nature of blood flow velocity and blood pressure. But our electromagnetic system has proved efficient enough,'' Park said.

``The next step in the development is to combine the robot's navigation and treatment capability that includes ferrying drugs.''

POSCO, KT lead ‘Work Smart’ drive

Digital age driving out old office custom of staying within eyesight of bosses

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff reporter

In the past, working hard meant getting in early and staying late. But the long hours do not necessarily mean workers produce good work.

These days, a growing number of Korean companies are realizing the value of ``working smart,''' in order to compete in the global market.

POSCO, the world's largest steelmaker, is leading in ``work smart'' efforts. When he assumed his post as CEO last year, Chung Joon-yang introduced the concept and implemented measures, such as reducing paperwork. Employees were asked to submit just one page reports ― complying with the ``3Ss'' ― short, simple and specific.

Smart phones are also being recognized as key tools in the workplace, encouraging ``mobile offices.'' POSCO, as well as Kolon Group and other companies, have distributed smart phones to their employees in order to raise work productivity.

Even Samsung Electronics president Choi Ji-seong was quoted as saying: ``Smart workers will enjoy more benefits from the company.'''

Even the government is jumping on the bandwagon, with a plan to establish telecommuting work centers or ``Smart Work Offices'' for public employees by 2013.

For Korean companies who want to compete in the global market, Samsung Economic Research Institute analyst Ahn Byung-wook said working smart is a must.

``Smart work is an imperative for Korea, which is on the verge of joining the ranks of advanced countries. Global competition makes work smart a prerequisite for survival, not an option,'' he said, in a recent paper.

Ahn highlighted five areas that companies should purse innovation, with the acronym SMART ― Space, Method, Acquaintance, Result, and Time management. This means, creating a work space that is conducive to creativity; reevaluating work methods; utilizing acquaintances inside and outside the companies; focusing on results and eliminating time-wasting factors.

``In terms of diligence, Korea faces tough competition from China and India, while it does not have any competitive advantage coming from abundant natural resources or capital. Korea has no other choice but to take advantage of its relatively competitive human resources. Therefore, the surest way to beat the competition is to create an environment and organizational culture where employees can balance between life and work, and do their work creatively,'' he said.

Korean companies can take their cue from tried-and-tested practices of international companies. In advanced countries, work smart initiatives are aimed at enhancing the work hours with value-added elements by working creatively.

The importance of the office space cannot be underestimated. It should be designed in such a way as to make it conducive to improving work performance and creativity.

For example, Japanese clothing giant Uniqlo removed chairs in meeting rooms to encourage faster decision-making, ditched personal desks to encourage better project work, and turned off lights after 7 p.m. to discourage overtime work. SAS Institute, a leading software firm, provided personal offices to its employees, as well as a fitness center and swimming pool.

Efficient management of the work processes is also an important element to consider. For example, Samsung Electronics regularly evaluates value-added work and restructures on a regular basis.

Many companies also efficiently collect ideas from people inside and outside the workplace. ``The latest global management trend features the sharing of knowledge across all sectors of business management ― benchmarking of other industries, convergence and the collapse of industrial barriers,'' Ahn said.

Procter and Gamble (P&G) developed a Web site www.tremor.com, a community of over 280,000 members, to promote its products even before they are launched. It is considered the largest group of word-of-mouth marketing, as it combines market research expertise with principles of cognitive science.

An employee's performance should be evaluated not by the amount of working hours, but with value-added work. Ahn noted companies should improve their evaluation system, in order to provide appropriate incentives that match the performance of individual workers.

``To maximize their performance, companies need to operate a system that enables employees to challenge without fear of failure and to present their ideas freely,'' he said.

Time management is another significant thing to consider. Among OECD countries, Korean workers log in the most hours, an average of 2,261 hours a year. This is significantly more than the 1,798 hours put in by American, 1,655 hours by British, 1,457 hours by French and 1,808 hours by Japanese workers.

Companies should reduce overtime work in order to allow employees to have a better work-life balance. In line with this trend, KT and POSCO have introduced limited overtime. However, employees also need to change their working attitudes and methods to eliminate wasting time.

More companies are expected to follow the ``work smart'' trend in Korea, as its benefits for employees and the organization become more apparent.

``To secure and motivate core human resources, which determine the competitiveness of businesses, companies need to introduce and promote a smart work approach. Their effort can be an effective tool for immersing today's young workers into organizations as they prefer enjoying their own personal life rather than devoting themselves to companies,'' Ahn said.

Female executives still rare in Korea

The glass ceiling is still in place in corporate Korea, with a new survey showing that only one in five top companies have women on their executive boards. 

Women account for only 51 spots in the management boards of 21 companies from the top-100 listed firms this year, management magazine HR Insight said yesterday. 

Women in the management positions of KOSPI-listed companies have increased four-fold from 22 in 2006 this year. 

KT Corp., the country’s largest telecom operator, had placed 12 women in their board of directors, by far the most. Samsung Electronics had seven,LG Electronics five, and Korean Air four.

“The number of women promoted internally to executive positions is quite small here,” Oh Il-sun, managing editor of the magazine said.

A 54.9 percent, or 28 of the total, had been promoted internally and the rest were recruited from elsewhere. The fastest career track-record among them is held by Han Hyun-mi, 50, who joined Asiana Airlines in 1990 and became vice president in 2006. The youngest is Jun Jin-soo, 39, deputy vice president of Amore Pacific, the country’s largest cosmetics manufacturer.

Kim Jin, vice president of LG Electronics, had kept her executive position for nine years, the longest any Korean woman had in a listed local company.

Ten among the 51 are Seoul National University graduates, followed by Yonsei University with six and Ewha Womans University with five.