The year 2006 produced new stars who improved Korea’s image on the global stage, got promoted against the odds, made a complete change in their career or staged a comeback. They stood out in every sector, from mergers and acquisitions to sports, from movies to politics.
The president of the world
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| From left: Ban Ki-moon, Han Myeong-sook, Rhyu Si-min, Oh Se-hoon, Chough Soon-hyung |
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The new UN chief and former foreign minister Ban Ki-moon comes top among shining Korean stars of 2006. He is also the first UN secretary-general from a country allied to the U.S. Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook also received plenty of attention by making a successful transformation from politician to government leader. The nation's first female prime minister is also one of the potential presidential hopefuls from the ruling party. Health and Welfare Minister Rhyu Si-min, who faced opposition even from the ruling party for his unusual behavior and remarks in the confirmation process, completely changed his image after taking the position by wearing discreet civil-servant grays and becoming more careful in word and deed.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon also left his own footprint on the year. He suddenly announced he was running for the job with only 50 days to go before the local elections on May 31 but won over party rivals such as Myaeng Hyung-gyu and Hong Jun-pyo who had been consolidating their supporter base over several months, and eventually defeated former justice minister Kang Geum-sil, who also had been a promising presidential hopeful of the ruling Uri Party.
Chough Soon-hyuｎｇ of the Millennium Democratic Party is the biggest star the two by-elections this year produced. He failed in the general elections in 2004 after taking the lead in the impeachment movement against President Roh Moo-hyun but defeated his GNP and Uri competitors in a by-election on July 26. He stepped into the spotlight right after winning the election by taking issue with the procedural problems with the confirmation of Jeon Hyo-sook, who was disastrously nominated as the new Constitutional Court president. Ahn Hee-jung, a member of Roh's inner circle of former student activists, was granted an amnesty on Aug. 15 Liberation Day, and is currently taking the lead in gathering pro-Roh forces together.
Unbeaten records in M&As
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| From left: Ra Eung-chan, Park Sam-gu, Nam Yong, Koo Hak-su |
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Shinhan Financial Group CEO Ra Eung-chan rose to stardom in the financial industry by taking over the nation's largest credit card company LG Card. He raised the bidding price at the last minute in fierce competition with Hana Financial Group and National Agricultural Cooperative Federation to acquire the troubled credit card company, which played a critical role in Shinhan's victory. Ra has never been defeated in high profile M&A competition such as the takeover of Chohung Bank, and his lucky streak persisted this year, too. The chairman of the Kumho Asiana Group Park Sam-gu played an important role in pushing the company from 11th to eighth place among large conglomerates here by taking over Daewoo Construction & Engineering ｗhose assets are worth over W5 trillion (US$1=W926). The former LG Telecom chief Nam Yong made a comeback as vice president and CEO of LG Electronics five months after he quit due to government regulations following the mobile carrier’s failure to deliver a next-generation telecommunication service it had acquired the rights for. Shinsegae CEO Koo Hak-su successfully took over Walmart's stores here, helping his company raise the number of its megastores nationwide to over 100.
World-class investigative capabilities
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| From left: The Bangbae Police Station’s investigation team, Hines Ward, Chung Seong-san, Kim Sun-wook |
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When the frozen bodies of two newborns were found in the freezer of a French couple's home in Seoul in July, the Korean police grabbed their chance to showcase their first-class investigative capabilities around the world. Police identified the woman as the culprit by conducting DNA tests and forced the French media to reflect on their initial dismissive response to the findings. There were also stars who highlighted controversial social issues. Hines Ward, the half-Korean wide-receiver who was named Super Bowl “most valued player” by the U.S. National Football League, gave us an opportunity to think about the deep-rooted racial bias in our society. Chung Seong-san, who produced the musical “Yoduk Story” about a concentration camp in North Korea, made people here realize how disastrous the human rights situation is in the North.
A pop star in the world’s most influential 100
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| From left: Rain, Gong Ji-young, Kim Yu-na, Park Tae-hwan, Cheong Jin-suk |
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Thirty-seven years after the installation of Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, Apostolic Administrator to Pyongyang and Archbishop of Seoul Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk was named Korea’s second cardinal. Korean classical music found a new jewel: Kim Sun-wook, (18), a senior at Korean National University of Arts. Kim, who is a product of only domestic musical instruction, became the first Asian musician to take the prestigious Leeds International Pianoforte Competition in September. Rain was this year’s busiest entertainer. Giving his first concert in February at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the singer took the first steps towards the U.S. market. He also was chosen as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by U.S. news magazine Time, proving that his popularity is not limited just to Asia. Korea’s own B-boys or breakdance troupes stood out with their prolific activity. They took the world championships by storm and have been appraised as shaping another Korean Wave. The Korean literary world showed off its might in the form of a novel by Gong Ji-young this year. “Our Happy Time,” the story of tragic love between a death row inmate and a professor, topped the bestseller list for eight weeks in the second half of this year. The movie “The King and the Clown,” which drew 12.3 million to the theaters without a single big name in its cast, ushered in a new phase in the Korean movie world.
In sports, Kim Yu-na was the first Korean figure skater to win the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championship in March and also topped the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, writing a new page in Korean figure skating history. Park Tae-hwan won three gold medals and the MVP award at the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar
(englishnews@chosun.com )
