Issue 'Women' emerge as key topic in job market this year Female employment emerged as a key topic in the job market this year. During the New Year's press conference on January 6, President Park Geun-hye emphasized employment of women, vowing to make Korea into a country where women don't experience career discontinuity because of childbirth and parenting. At present, Korean women's college entrance rate is high, but their employment rate is the lowest level among OECD countries. The government is likely to rev up the part-time job system with flexible working hours it had implemented last year as boosting female employment rate emerged as one of the tasks for the government. If women experiencing career discontinuity resume working, they will bring in an annual salary income of 5.8 trillion won, according to an economic research institute. We will examine the outlook for this year's job market which is turning more women-friendly. Interview Passage of Foreign Investment Promotion Act...Its Impact On the Economy Interviewees:AHN Choong-yong,Foreign Investment Ombudsman at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA)/Distinguished Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies, Chung-Ang University/Former President of Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) The government is likely to accelerate loosening investment related regulations following President Park Geun-hye's remarks during the New Year's press conference to completely reexamine the regulations. Of the deregulation policies, the revised Foreign Investment Promotion Act is drawing attention recently. It was the reason why the parliament failed to pass the 2014 budget in late 2013 and carried it over to this year. However, companies are looking forward to the changes stemming from passage of the act. Indeed, seven out of 10 holding companies, of the 53 holding companies surveyed, expect the passage of foreign investment act to have positive effects on their investments. Moreover, one out of two subsidiaries of conglomerates are concretely reviewing plans to make joint investments. Bizline will find out what the foreign investment act is, what outcome is expected and if there are ways to minimize problems stemming from this. ICT Li-Fi instead of Wi-Fi, visible light communication technology In the not too distant future, Wi-Fi sharers which are usually found indoors could disappear. This is because of an emergence of a technology candidate that can replace Wi-Fi. Visible light communication which uses LED light wavelengths or so-called Li-Fi (LED + Wi-Fi) enables accessing the internet using LED installed as indoor lighting. Just like electric waves, light is also a type of electromagnetic waves, so it can adjust wavelengths to deliver data. Last year, Li-Fi researchers in the U.K. have succeeded in exchanging data at a speed more than 100 times faster than Wi-Fi. Prior to this, domestic researchers adopted visible light communication technology as an international standard. We introduce Li-Fi, a new concept communication technology that can implement wireless internet at a speed faster than Wi-Fi. It also has its own function of lighting and is safer than Wi-Fi as it doesn't generate electric waves. Hidden champions Samick Musical Instrument, a premium world-class piano maker Samick Musical Instrument Co. has been specialized in producing pianos for 55 years. The company opened the era of 'one piano for one household' in Korea and climbed to the unrivaled position in the local piano sector. Through its experts and tens of years of experiences in delicate processing, the company implemented precise and even tones in pianos and planted itself as the country's top piano exporter. As part of its aggressive business strategies, it acquired Seiler, a German piano maker with 160 years of tradition. It is currently exporting premium pianos to 60 countries around the world. Recently, it has been attracting attention by focusing on developing a new technology such as a silent piano that takes into account noises between floors. We will look into the secret to success of Samick, which is aiming to grow into the world's top global piano maker.

• published: 17 Jan 2014
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