Eun Young Chough

In July 2009, Charm Lee, President of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), was appointed as the first German-born naturalized Korean to lead a state-run enterprise. Coming from Germany in 1978, Lee became a Korean citizen in 1986 after being inspired by the creativity and future potential of Korea. Before being appointed as the head of the KTO, Lee worked as a committee member of Visit Korea Year, Seoul City ambassador, and a member of the Hanshik (Korean traditional food) Globalization Promotion Team. Under Lee’s unique management philosophy and initative, last year, the KTO managed to receive the highest evaluation mark by the Korean government, which is an unprecedented achievement. The next few pages are excerpts from the interview KTO President Charm Lee gave to Asia-Pacific Business & Technology Report.

In the past, Korea’s tourism industry was criticized due to its low stature and lack of tourism resources. What attempts are being made to enhance Korea’s tourism competitiveness under your leadership?

Not long after Google announced that it had invested US$168 million to develop the world’s largest solar energy power plant in California’s Mojave Desert, General Electric (GE) announced its plans to build an advanced technology, thin-film solar panel factory in the United States, which is anticipated to be larger than any other existing solar panel plant in the country.

‘The guru of the Korean franchise business,’ or ‘A legend of success’ are examples of how people describe the CEO of Nolboo NBG, Kim Soon-Jin. From her start as an owner of a small, five square meter-sized restaurant serving bossam (meaning ‘steamed pork’ in Korean) 24 years ago, Kim now oversees a total of more than 680 Nolboo Global branches, with locations in Singapore, Beijing, and Thailand.

The tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan has sent a worldwide wake-up call. Countries throughout the world are now turning their eyes to alternative energy that can replace this carbon-free energy source.

The crisis is also raising anti-nuclear sentiment and leading nations are being called upon to reinforce and review their nuclear security measures and strategies. The Fukushima nuclear plant incident may also be threatening the “nuclear renaissance” of the 21st century, characterized by the advent of the revival of the nuclear energy source.

With more than ten years of research and clinical studies, Professor Choi Joong-ki, president of SNPE Good Posture Academy and author of the bestselling book Straightened Spine, a Healthy Life, has established his own exercise therapy called Self Nature Posture Exercise (SNPE). A professor at the Continuing Education Center of Hallym University of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education Center of Kyonggi University, he has been spreading this exercise, which has helped various patients who suffered from symptoms such as herniated cervical disc, herniated lumbar disc, scoliosis, shoulder pain and obesity. He created SNPE after going through years of low back pain himself, and the tools used for the therapy have been gaining national attention from media and patients in Korea.

The Oil Price Task Force (TF) pulled out its sword in January with a grim resolution to tackle the skyrocketing oil prices. But the result was disappointing, to say the least. The report – announced three months after the TF’s establishment – was criticized as measures filled with vague and abstract solutions. The 3.9% inflation rate in March, the highest in 21 months, already was making Korean citizens apprehensive, and the TF’s announcement seemed to just pour oil on the flames.