Hanjin Group to Invest
10 tln Won in 5 Yrs.

Plans to set aside 2 tln won in investments for this year

Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho said the Hanjin Business Group will pour 10 trillion won into investments over the next five years.
Cho, on the sidelines of a New Year's welcoming meeting organized by the KCCI, said, "Hanjin plans to invest 10 trillion won over the next five years, but the government needs to set definite guidelines in consideration of the circumstances."Regarding KAL's plan to enter the low-priced flight market, no government guidelines have been set, so the situation regarding investments is not favorable, he noted.
Hanjin Business Group originally planned to invest 1.6 trillion won during 2007, but a preliminary tally showed it actually poured in 1.95 trillion won. The business group plans to set aside 2 trillion in investments for this year,
up 5 percent to 7 percent from last year's actual investment amounts.
Cho said Hanjin Group, which operates primarily in the service sector, cannot immediately surge the pace of investments, but will increase them to some extent.
The problem with the low-priced flight market is that too many companies are competing, said Cho, adding that rules need to be set for the sake of safety, which is why his airline has asked for the government for guidelines.
In late 2007, KAL announced a plan to establish Air Korea, specializing in the low-priced flight market. Their plan suffered a setback when the Ministry of Construction and Transportation demanded a two-year business plan and a minimum 20,000 flights as conditions for permission to start a low-priced airline.
Cho also applauded the introduction of a surcharge linked to oil price hikes. nw

Hanjin Business Group is putting more energy into leaping into a world-class logistics conglomerate. (below photo) Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho.