FKI Retains Chmn. Cho

Hyosung Group chairman to serve another 2-year term; STX Group Chmn. Kang and GS Group Chmn. Hur named vice chairmen

Chairman S.R. Cho of Hyosung Group has been renamed by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) to continue to serve as its chairman at the general conference of the business lobby organization on Feb. 19, the FKI said.
His tenure runs until 2011. He was named to assume the position in 2007 to succeed Chairman Kang Shin-ho who retired.
During a media interview following his reappointment, he said the education system must be reformed, adding that it's too identical all over the country. He said Korea must have an education system that can compete and win globally in many areas such as trade, technology and research. The system should be able to give special training tailored to individual talents so that people can seek jobs that suit their talents. The system should provide education to individuals that will prepare them to be globally competitive.
On the rumors of a March crisis, he said he doesn't feel any symptoms of a crisis building up at this time, adding Korea is doing fine, unlike some Eastern European countries faced with economic crises. "We experienced the financial crisis a decade ago and we are prepared; I don't feel any crisis symptoms. The government has been taking measures to minimize the effects on the nation from the turbulent economy," he said.
On the creation of jobs and high wages, he said the labor market should be flexible in order to create more jobs. "One can take a rest for a while and get back to his job, as in advanced countries. We have to spend more to create jobs, even if we have to reduce our savings. Extra work should be given to those who don't have jobs, instead of earning overtime money. We ought to expand job-sharing programs to every business in the country," he said.
The FKI chairman said the government has done a good job in implementing reforms and introducing various business-friendly policies. But the world economy is in bad shape and the Korean society is full of confusion and disturbance, he said.
On new growth engines, Cho said substantial investment should go to such new business areas as wind power generation and solar power generation. "We ought to spur investment in those areas to lead the new industries," Cho said.

Hyosung Group's 2008 Record:
In the meantime, it was announced during the briefing on the Hyosung Group's 2008 performance results that sales amounted to 6.925 trillion won, up 27.7 percent YoY and operating profit hit 410.4 billion won, up 72.1 percent YoY.
In the fourth quarter, sales hit 1.880 trillion won, up 30.6 percent YoY, and operating profit reached 129.5 billion won, up 85 percent YoY, posting over 100 billion won for three consecutive second quarters, the group said.
In the heavy industrial sector, sales reached 1.372 trillion won and operating profit hit 178.9 billion won as a result of the marketing efforts focused on such countries and regions as the Middle East, India, the United States and South America, diversifying the market while boosting profitability through improvements in productivity and technology. The sector accounted for 30.3 percent of the group's total sales last year and 43.6 percent of operating profit as the sector expands its businesses to such new areas as wind power generation, solar energy power generation and new recycled energy, the group said.
The industrial parts and materials sector also did well last year, posting 884.6 billion won in sales, up 23.5 percent YoY, and 92.2 billion won in operating profit, up 479.9 percent YoY, thanks to the depreciation of the Korean won and the Vietnamese plant going online.
The chemical sector has also done well with sales of polypropylene rising sharply to bring the sector's total sales to 1.493 trillion won, up 30.7 percent YoY, with operating profit expanding 17.7 percent YoY at 69.1 billion won.
The textile sector has experienced difficulties due mostly to the fall in the price of Spandex caused by a lack of demand. The sector, however, was able to expand its global market share of the product with the Turkey and Vietnamese plants coming online last year. The company has been doing all it can to segregate its products to meet demands from individual regions and countries around the world in order to improve profitability. nw

Chairman S.R. Cho of Hyosung Group and concurrently chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries