logo
Renault appoints procurement expert as Korean chief

Renault appoints procurement expert as Korean chief

Korea Herald7 days ago
Renault Group has appointed Nicolas Paris, vice president of e-powertrain, battery, connectivity and software at the French headquarters, as the next CEO of Renault Korea, the French automaker announced Monday.
According to the announcement, Paris will officially begin his Korean CEO tenure on Sept. 1. Stephen Deblaise, current CEO of Renault Korea, has been appointed to lead Renault India starting on the same date.
Paris has an extensive 20-year resume in the global auto industry. Before joining Renault Group in 2015, he served as a corporate purchasing director for Bosch's Asia-Pacific region. At Renault, Paris held various positions, taking on purchasing leadership roles in China and India and working as alliance global director of APO platform and chassis for Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi.
Since 2023, he has played an integral role in Renault Group's technological innovation and transition towards electric vehicles as procurement vice president of e-powertrain, battery, driver assistance connectivity and software.
Deblaise took the top position at the Korean branch in March 2022 and successfully launched Renault Group's Aurora project. As part of the group's international strategy, the project sought to build new vehicles at the automaker's Busan plant, where it debuted the new Grand Koleos sport utility vehicle. The French brand has sold over 45,000 units of the SUV since its release in September 2024.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Why some Koreans considered iPhone ‘half-baked' until it could replace their wallet and record calls
Why some Koreans considered iPhone ‘half-baked' until it could replace their wallet and record calls

Korea Herald

time28 minutes ago

  • Korea Herald

Why some Koreans considered iPhone ‘half-baked' until it could replace their wallet and record calls

For more than a decade, a certain group of South Korean iPhone users passed around the same dry joke online: features like Apple Pay, call recording and transit card support would "only come to iPhone after unification with North Korea." The comparison wasn't literal. It was a way of saying these features felt so delayed that they belonged to the realm of the near impossible. But as of now, that punchline has expired. On July 22, Apple and T-money officially launched support for Korea's nationwide transit card system on iPhones and Apple Watches. It was the last major item on a long list of missing functions that had, for many, made the iPhone feel "half-baked." While there has been no official survey or data on how many iPhone users in Korea viewed the device as incomplete, the frustration was very real, and very specific for some. For years, Galaxy users could pay at almost any store using Samsung Pay's MST technology, swipe into buses and subways with built-in postpaid transit cards, and record phone calls natively. iPhone users, by contrast, had to make tradeoffs. 'I stayed with Galaxy because I had to,' said Kim Min-seok, a 38-year-old sales team manager at a mid-sized electronics firm in Seoul. 'Call recording isn't optional in my job. We handle client contracts over the phone all the time. If I missed something and had no record, I was the one to blame.' He recently switched to an iPhone 15 after his company approved the use of SK Telecom's 'A.' app, which enables call recording through a separate VoIP system. But the transition, he said, still feels like a compromise. 'It works, but it's not the same. On Galaxy, it's just there. You press a button and it's done.' This isn't a niche concern. In Korean business culture, verbal instructions and agreements often carry weight. As a result, call recording is not seen as invasive, but practical. Until recently, iPhones had no way to support it, due to Apple's global privacy policies and refusal to allow third-party access to its native call interface. 'I had friends who loved Apple, but they couldn't use it because of that one feature,' Kim said. 'It wasn't about price or loyalty. It was about function.' Other features were equally consequential. Samsung Pay, launched in 2015, quickly became the de facto standard for mobile payments in Korea. It supported virtually all credit and debit cards and worked on nearly every terminal, including those without NFC support. Apple Pay, which depends entirely on NFC, arrived in Korea only in March 2023 through Hyundai Card, nine years after its global debut. Even then, it launched with limited card compatibility and worked at only a fraction of merchants. According to Hyundai Card's PR director, Shim Hyun-jung, the rollout was 'technically successful but commercially narrow.' 'We knew Korean users had waited a long time,' she said. 'But the infrastructure wasn't ready, and the local financial ecosystem had to adjust to Apple's model.' Apple Pay's arrival spurred a surge in Hyundai Card signups, especially among younger users. But expansion stalled as other card issuers hesitated over Apple's transaction fee demands. The service remains exclusive to Hyundai Card to this day. Not all iPhone users saw these delays as a problem. 'I didn't think of my iPhone as lacking anything,' said J.Y., a 24-year-old university student in Seoul who asked to be identified by her initials only. 'I have not really considered Apple Pay as a basic smartphone feature. I already carry a wallet in my bag.' She has used iPhones since high school and says she prefers them for the design and the way they work with her iPad and MacBook. 'I don't feel like I'm missing out. I just like how it all fits together.' Her view reflects a different kind of user, perhaps more common, shaped more by Apple's ecosystem than by Korea's mobile-first infrastructure. Among Koreans in their 20s, especially women, iPhone usage is dominant. A 2024 Gallup Korea survey found that 75 percent of women in this age group used iPhones, compared to just 55 percent of men in their 20s. 'I think the idea of a 'half-baked iPhone' is mostly a guy thing,' J.Y. added, laughing. 'My female friends and I hardly consider features like Apple Pay or Samsung Pay as basic functions of a smartphone.' Still, for a subset of Apple fans in Korea, the missing features were deeply felt. Nowhere was this more visible than in Asamo (short for "iPhone User Group" in Korean), a massive online community hosted on Naver Cafe. With more than 2.3 million members, Asamo has long served as a hub for Apple users seeking workarounds, complaining about limitations and sharing news. 'We weren't trying to be negative. We just wanted our phones to function like they should in Korea,' said Jang Soo-min, a 31-year-old marketing professional and longtime Asamo moderator. 'Galaxy users could pay, ride the bus and record a call with no effort for such a long time. iPhone users couldn't. It felt like we were using the same device with half the functionality.' Jang points out that iPhone users often had to carry physical cards, memorize instructions during calls and explain to others why their phones couldn't do what was expected. 'It was embarrassing sometimes,' he said. Jang was one of the first to test Apple Pay on day one, and he set up T-money transit support the morning it launched on both his iPhone and Apple Watch. 'This is the Korean Apple ecosystem I've been waiting for,' he said. 'Not new. Just finally complete.' Still, even with the feature list filled out, Apple's market share in Korea remains limited. As of July 2025, Gallup Korea estimates Apple holds 24 percent of the domestic market, with Samsung commanding 72 percent. 'This isn't going to cause a mass switch from Galaxy to iPhone,' said Hwang Ah-yeon from the Korea Consumer Agency. 'The people who wanted iPhones already had them. This just makes their lives easier.' And for those who switched years ago, the arrival of long-promised features isn't cause for celebration. It's more like quiet vindication. 'We made do for years,' said Jang. 'Now it does work, though not perfectly. That might not sound exciting for every iPhone user in Korea, but for those of us waiting for it, it means everything.' mjh@

[Editorial] Beef and barriers
[Editorial] Beef and barriers

Korea Herald

time5 hours ago

  • Korea Herald

[Editorial] Beef and barriers

Trade tensions rise over beef and investments, with economic growth hanging in the balance As the Aug. 1 deadline for US reciprocal tariffs approaches, South Korea faces intensifying pressure to make politically sensitive trade concessions. Nowhere is this tension more visible than in the dispute over American beef. On July 24, US President Donald Trump took to social media to praise Australia's decision to open its beef market — including imports of cattle over 30 months old — and warned that countries refusing 'magnificent' US beef were 'on notice.' Among major US trade partners, South Korea now stands alone in maintaining such restrictions. What's at stake is more than beef. South Korea is racing to avert the imposition of 25 percent reciprocal tariffs on a range of exports. These duties would hit at a precarious moment for its manufacturing base, already strained by stagnant domestic demand and mounting global uncertainty. In recent talks in Washington and New York, South Korean officials proposed a revised investment package totaling over $100 billion and offered limited concessions on rice and beef — areas long deemed untouchable. Yet US negotiators, emboldened by recent deals with Japan and the UK, are demanding more. The comparison with Japan has become particularly thorny. Tokyo secured a reduction in reciprocal tariffs to 15 percent in exchange for a $550 billion investment commitment and broader market access for US agricultural and auto exports. South Korea's proposed investment, though substantial, remains well short of that mark. More troubling, if South Korean exports are hit with 25 percent tariffs while Japan's face only 15 percent, Korean manufacturers would suffer an immediate and damaging competitiveness gap. Recent earnings reports from Hyundai and Kia already show steep profit declines, driven in part by early US tariffs on automobiles. Extending such disadvantages across additional sectors could deepen South Korea's growth malaise and leave long-term economic scars. The options are narrowing, but not yet exhausted. Seoul has signaled a more flexible posture, suggesting it may allow partial openings of the beef market and step back from earlier prohibitions. Unlike Japan's investment-heavy deal, however, South Korea is positioning its offer around industrial cooperation, particularly in shipbuilding — a sector President Trump has prioritized for revival. With China expanding its maritime footprint, Washington may be receptive to deeper strategic ties with Seoul in shipbuilding, semiconductors and batteries. South Korea has framed these offers not merely as trade-offs, but as building blocks of a broader manufacturing alliance aligned with US supply chain objectives. Still, the outlook remains uncertain. Trump and key trade officials are now in Europe for parallel negotiations, leaving only July 30 and 31 as viable windows for a final agreement. Absent a breakthrough, the tariffs will take effect on Aug. 1. Analysts warn that if the US proceeds with a 25 percent tariff, South Korea's real gross domestic product could decline by as much as 0.4 percent, even under a gradual adjustment scenario. Medium-sized exporters would be hit hardest, lacking the scale to shift production or absorb the cost shock. South Korea's negotiators must weigh the costs of limited market concessions against the broader fallout of failure. While agricultural sensitivities are real, clinging to legacy protections may imperil national economic interests. Other countries have accepted sectoral compromises in return for tariff relief and market stability. South Korea must now craft a tailored approach that secures similar benefits without replicating others' terms. Avoiding a blanket concession is essential, as is avoiding blanket resistance. If Seoul cannot match Tokyo's dollar commitments, it must compensate with industrial leverage, strategic alignment and diplomatic finesse. These final days of negotiation will test its ability to safeguard the economic base while sustaining political and public consensus at home. Never has it been clearer that small concessions now could prevent far greater losses later.

SPC to end overtime night shifts after presidential rebuke
SPC to end overtime night shifts after presidential rebuke

Korea Herald

time16 hours ago

  • Korea Herald

SPC to end overtime night shifts after presidential rebuke

Korean food conglomerate SPC Group said it will eliminate overtime night shifts exceeding eight hours across its manufacturing lines starting in October, following the death of a factory worker in May. The group, which owns the well-known bakery chain Paris Baguette, said Sunday it will overhaul its production system and working arrangements by cutting overnight operations for all but essential items like fresh goods and gradually reducing daytime hours to prevent fatigue-related accidents. The move comes after President Lee Jae Myung visited the SPC Samlip plant in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, Friday, where he directly linked the fatal accident to 'prolonged late-night labor.' The victim, a woman in her 50s, was killed in May after being caught in machinery while applying lubricant to a conveyor belt during a night shift. To prevent such a fatal accident, SPC vowed to hire more workers, adjust output and product mix, and reorganize factory lines. Affiliates, including Paris Baguette, Paris Croissant, Shany and Samlip, are preparing detailed execution plans, with full implementation set for Oct. 1. The presidential office welcomed the move. 'SPC's announcement came just two days after (the president) questioned whether it was sustainable for employees to work four 12-hour night shifts a week, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and urged Korea to become a society that values life and is willing to bear the cost of safety,' presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters in a briefing. As part of its broader safety reform, SPC also committed to cutting the 12-hour shift system by 20 percent by 2027. It will invest 62.4 billion won ($45 million) to enhance automation, improve safety equipment and upgrade working conditions. SPC has come under growing public scrutiny following a string of fatal workplace incidents. The total number of work-related deaths rose to six between 2022 and 2025, including three previously reported accidents and three additional fatalities linked to illness caused by overwork.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store