By Jane Han
Staff Reporter

Kim Woong-nam, who works for a mid-sized trading firm in southern Seoul, says he can deal with annoying clients, late hours and the not-so-great salary, but can't bare the dreadful afternoon traffic to get to the company's branch across the river twice a week.

But Kim will be saying goodbye to all of that in a couple of weeks, when his office gets equipped with the latest videoconferencing system that will connect him and his colleagues north of the river in a matter of seconds.

``Considering each roundtrip takes about two hours, I'll be saving at least four hours on the road,'' said Kim, adding that his boss encouraged him to use the time earned for language training. ``I'll get reimbursed for my classes with the money the company saves on gas.''

A growing number of corporations are realizing the same benefits from minimizing trips, as the global economic slowdown squeezes managers to cut their spending in every possible way.

``More firms seem to find that reducing business trips is one of the most immediate money-savers,'' says Chun Yoo-jin, the country manager of Polycom, a California-based provider of video communication products.

Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, the country's two main carriers, said its number of domestic flyers is continuously declining.

``Trips can't always be avoided because a face-to-face meeting is oftentimes critical in sealing a deal, but other discussions can easily be done via the video and audio system,'' says Kim.

Timesaving, efficiency and better communication are what users highlight as the high-tech tool's key advantages. And users aren't limited to just businessmen, as government agencies, hospitals and schools are also switching over.

South Chungcheong Province officials said it saved more than 40 million won annually after it set up 16 videoconferencing systems throughout its facilities.

``Corporations also turn to this system to go green,'' said Park Jong-soon, the country manager of Tandberg, a Norway-based service provider.

He said his clients, including POSCO, Hyundai Motor and Samsung, use the method to cutback on their carbon footprint.

The move is also evident overseas, as global firms like HP, Cisco Systems and AstraZeneca are shedding business travel to cut costs.

jhan@koreatimes.co.kr