코리아헤럴드기자의 경제와 문화이야기

그랜드 민트 페스티벌이라는 좋은 축제를 작년에 놓친 것을 땅을 치고 후회하며
올해는 기필코 가리라 마음먹고 있었는데
이번에도 조기할인티켓 신청기간을 놓치고야 말았다. -_-;;
그래도 공식 티켓오픈은 8월4일이라니 천만다행이다.

오늘 1차 라인업발표가 있었다!!

<7월 30일 낮 2시 발표된 그랜드 민트 페스티벌 2009의 내용>

* 1차 라인업 아티스트 *

검정치마
나루 (NARU)
노리플라이 (NO REPLY)
달빛요정역전만루홈런
메이트 (MATE)
스위트피 (SWEETPEA)
스윗소로우 (SWEET SORROW)
언니네이발관
오지은
이장혁
장기하와 얼굴들
장윤주
재주소년
전제덕
피터팬컴플렉스 (PETERPAN COMPLEX)
한희정
휘성
DENISON WITMER
MAXIMILIAN HECKER
SUNSHINE STATE

* festival guy *
김재욱

::

오오옷! 1차 라인업 만으로도 갈 이유는 충분한 듯.
특히 스윗소로우의 참여는 개인적으로 감회가 새로울 듯.
2006년 1월 "올해의 주목받을 신인가수"로 코리아헤럴드 문화부 기사로 그들의 인터뷰기사를 썼던 기억이 난다.
회사에서 사진을 찍을 때 "노래좀 들려줘보세요 진짜 잘하시나" 라고 했던 나의 무례한 태도에도 불구하고
그들은 전혀 개의치않고 4성화음이 1초만에 나왔다. >.<
몇개월 후 그들은 "아무리 생각해도 난 너를"이란 곡으로 대박으로 떠버리고 말았다.....
노리플라이, 오지은, 재주소년 등 매우 관심가는 뮤지션들이 즐비하군하...후훗...
올림픽공원에서 시원한 10월의 가을 저녁을 보낼 수 있기를....^^

I love the rhythm!

공정위가 퀄컴에 과징금 2600억원을 때리던날, 나는 공교롭게도 광화문 사무실에 앉아있었다.
공정위에 출입기자로 등록은 되어 있었으나 방통위나 IT출입은 아니어서 퀄컴이 청계천변 톰앤톰스 바로 윗층 한미리 한식당에서 5시반에 기자회견한다는 사실을 데스크를 통해 알게됐다.
일단 급한대로 거리가 가깝고, 공정위도 출입하므로 퀄컴 기자회견장으로 갔다.

::

보통 준비된 기자간담회나 기자회견에서는 화기애애하게 자료도 배포하고 명함도 서로 건네며 통성명을 한다던가 알던 취재원일 경우 그동안 잘 지냈느냐 하며 담소를 나누기도 하지만 이번엔 공정위 과징금 문제때문에 급히 생긴 기자회견이라 그런지 5시반에 칼같이 차영구사장이 발표문을 읽어나가는 것으로 시작됐다.

발표문을 읽기전 차사장은 자신은 5년 전까지 국방부 정책실장을 했던 사람인데 이번에 한국정부의 반대편 입장에 선다는 것 자체 만으로도 무거운 심정이라 밝혔다.

기자회견 내용을 요약하자면 퀄컴은 전세계 CDMA시장 점유율을 높이는데 크게 기여했고, 이번 공정위 과징금은 국내 휴대폰제조업체와 전세계CDMA시장에 불리하게 작용할 것이고, 공정위가 주장하는 리베이트라는 것은 리베이트가 아니고 물건을 많이 팔아준데 대한 할인, 인센티브라는 거다.

차사장은 변호사 2명과 같이 기자회견에 임했고 "모든 가능한 수단을 동원해서" 법적 대응을 하겠다고 했다.

::

과징금이 사상최대라는 점, EU에서도 비슷한 문제로 퀄컴은 골치를 앓고 있다는 점이 포인트다.

앞으로 어떻게 풀려갈지 참..궁금하다..

Qualcomm fined $208m for unfair practices 

 

By Kim Yoon-mi

 

Korea's Fair Trade Commission said yesterday it has decided to fine U.S.-based mobile chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. 260 billion won ($208.2 million) for "abusing its monopoly market status." It is the largest fine ever imposed on a single company in the country.

 

The FTC said that Qualcomm, which owns key patents for the code division multiple access and posesses 99.4 percent share of the local CDMA modem chip market, demanded higher royalties from local mobile manufactures using other companies' products.

 

The company demanded 5.75 percent royalties from companies that use other chipmakers' modem chips and 5 percent royalties from those who use its own chips.

 

The antitrust watchdog said the world's largest cell phone chipmaker also offered rebates to Korean mobile phone makers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics on the condition that they purchase a majority of their chips from Qualcomm.

 

For example, the FTC said, Qualcomm offered 3 percent of the value purchased to a phone maker if the maker buys more than 85 percent of the modem chips from Qualcomm.

 

In addition, Qualcomm's "unfairly" demanded continued payment of 50 percent of old royalties even after the patent rights expired, putting heavier cost burdens on local manufacturers, the FTC said.

 

"Due to the Qualcomm's unfair business practices, its rivals such as Korea's Eonex Technologies and Taiwan's VIA weren't able to enter the local CDMA chip market," said Suh Dong-won, vice chief of the FTC in a press briefing in Seoul.

 

"With the FTC's decision, we expect that local manufacturers will be able to lower the cost burden which could benefit cell phone consumers as well," he said.

 

According to FTC rules, the watchdog can levy a fine on a company found abusing market monopoly status up to 3 percent of its sales.

 

This time, the FTC applied a 2.2 percent rate, he said. According to the FTC, Qualcomm's 2007 sales in the Korean market stood at $3.87 billion, or 35 percent of its total global sales

 

In 2005, the FTC levied a 113 billion won fine on local fixed-line telecom giant KT Corp.

 

The FTC started investigation on Qualcomm in 2006 when two U.S. companies - Texas Instruments Inc. and Broadcom Corp. - and two small Korean companies - Nextreaming Corp. and Thin Multimedia Inc. - filed complaints.

 

Qualcomm Korea president Cha Young-koo said the company cannot agree with the FTC's ruling and will take legal steps.

 

"The size of the fine, in particular, is quite shocking. We will defend our position as much as we can, through all appropriate legal steps available," Cha told reporters in a news conference he called shortly after the FTC's announcement.

 

Cha claimed that the FTC's ruling serves for foreign competitors of Korean mobile phone manufacturers and hurt Korean firms' price competitiveness because the "discriminative royalties" and "conditional rebates" that FTC claims are actually "royalty discounts" and "incentives" for Korean firms buying Qualcomm products massively.

 

"Incentives based on chip purchase volume has contributed to enhancing the price competitiveness of Korean handsets. They were widely used marketing method employed under agreements with Korean handset manufacturers," Cha said.

 

"Companies like Texas Instruments Inc. and Broadcom Corp. are main suppliers for GSM-using mobile phone makers such as Nokia and Ericsson. They are attacking Korean mobile phone makers and Qualcomm to thwart the spread of WCDMA in the global market," he said.

 

(yoonmi@heraldm.com)

 

2009.07.24

 

Independent financial advisers enter their prime 

By Kim Yoon-mi

 

Independent financial advisers, or IFAs, will have an upper hand over agents representing an insurance company or private bankers, because clients would want to obtain all kinds of information about financial products in the whole market rather than relying on one financial company, the CEO of a general agency said yesterday. A general agency refers to a financial company which makes agreements with insurers and securities firms to allow IFAs to sell their insurance policies and offer financial advice on fund investments in return for commissions.

 

Kwak Keun-ho, president and CEO of A Plus Asset Advisor, gave up his 25-year-long career with Samsung Life Insurance in the summer of 2007 to jump into the GA business. He started the company with securities business veteran Kim Kyeong-sin, who is co-CEO.

 

"I could start this business because I was gearing up for the Capital Market Consolidation Law which took effect last February. Our company wants to help clients redesign their household asset portfolios and investment plans from scratch," Kwak said in an interview with The Korea Herald.

 

"Consumers have rights to compare all kinds of financial products at once, just like they prefer going to a large electronics mall to buy a TV set rather than going to a certain manufacturer's sales outlet."

 

A Plus Asset's business portfolio is currently concentrated on insurance, with insurance sales taking up 85 percent of sales. The remainder comes from investment advice on securities funds.

 

Currently, fund sales are available only through contracts between clients and securities firms, not between companies like A Plus Asset and securities firms, because the revision of the insurance law has been delayed due to the financial crisis last year.

 

Once the related insurance law is revised as promised by the financial authorities, the company's status will be changed into "insurance sales agency" from the current "large-sized corporate branch operator." Then, the company will be able to sell funds just like brokerages under the Capital Market Consolidation Law.

 

In the long term, Kwak's goal is to reduce the proportion of insurance to 40 to 50 percent, and increase financial advice on funds and other various financial products in the long term.

 

"In the financially advanced countries like the United Kingdom, GA takes up more than 50 percent in terms of insurance sales, but in Korea, it's about 2 percent. Our rivals are several giant insurers in Korea," he said.

 

A Plus Asset has sealed partnership agreements with almost all non-life insurers, 11 major life insurers and five securities firms including Samsung Securities.

 

According to his claim, giant life insurers would try to raise insurance rates for new insurance products in the years to come to cover losses from their cheap insurance policies sold in the past.

 

"They would hate that companies like us are growing because we would introduce cheaper products to consumers," he said.

 

A Plus Asset has about 1,500 "Total Financial Advisers," working at 56 branches across the nation. The company requires them to get four types of certificates - certificates for life insurance sale, non-life insurance sale, variable life insurance sale and investment advisory on securities funds.

 

More than 50 percent of their clients are wealthy people holding assets worth several billion won, Kwak said. To compete with private bankers, his company's TFAs are required to know every detail of their clients' financial status including the number and the type of bank accounts and securities accounts through frequent contacts and financial consultations with clients, he said.

 

As of the end of last year, the company raised ($78 million) in sales and 3.8 billion won in net profit. Its net profit is about one-tenth of that of a major life insurer in Korea.

 

Although the current net profit is small, Kwak was confident that he could catch up with giant insurers in the next five years.

 

"We have an extremely low contract cancellation rate. More than 95 percent of contracts with our 90,000 clients have never been canceled so far," Kwak said.

 

The company is preparing to invest in new businesses such as re-insurance and asset management and aims to go public in three or four years, he added.

 

(yoonmi@heraldm.com)

 

 

2009.07.22