Samyang shares soar on upbeat sales of Buldak ramyeon in US

Samyang Roundsquare shares rallied Monday, driven by investor expectations of the growing popularity of its spicy ramyeon brand, the Buldak series, especially in the US market. The shares soared to a record high of 353,000 won ($258) at one point in the morning before closing at 329,000 won. Over the past three months alone, the shares jumped more than 70 percent. Samyang's upward trajectory began in August 2023 when it posted record exports of its Buldak products in the second quarter. E

CompaniesMay 13, 2024

China’s AliExpress, Temu sign rare pact in Korea to ensure product safety

Chinese e-commerce giants AliExpress and Temu signed a product safety agreement with Korea's Fair Trade Commission on Monday in the hopes of ensuring and protecting Korean consumers from harmful products being distributed and sold here through their platforms. The agreement marks the first of its kind signed by an overseas online platform operator in Korea regarding product safety. Particularly, Temu's involvement is noteworthy as this is the first time the company signed such an agree

IndustryMay 13, 2024

Seoul shares almost flat ahead of US inflation data

South Korean stocks ended almost flat Monday as investors were cautious ahead of the release of US inflation data set to be released later this week. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.42 point, or 0.02 percent, to 2,727.21. Trade volume was slightly heavy at 614.2 million shares worth 12.9 trillion won ($9.4 billion), with losers outpacing winners 481 to 380. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained ground for the fourth c

MarketMay 13, 2024

Samsung doubles down on Vietnam

Samsung Electronics has pledged to increase its annual spending in Vietnam to $1 billion as the Southeast Asian country emerges as a strategic base for manufacturing in the region. According to industry sources on Monday, Samsung Electronics Chief Financial Officer Park Hark-kyu on Thursday met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi to discuss business collaborations. During the meeting, the Samsung CFO noted how the company has invested $22.4 billion in Vietnam so far and share

IndustryMay 13, 2024

Yuhan-Kimberly’s reforestation campaign marks 40th year

Yuhan-Kimberly announced Monday that its long-standing forest conservation campaign "Keep Korea Green" has reached its 40th anniversary this year. Originating in 1984, the campaign has evolved into a corporate social responsibility model rooted in cooperative governance, driving both societal and corporate development. Marking the campaign's 40th anniversary, Yuhan-Kimberly announced its achievements so far. Through the campaign, Yuhan-Kimberly has planted over 57 million trees ac

IndustryMay 13, 2024

Processed food satisfaction rate keeps falling: report

South Korean consumers’ satisfaction with processed food dropped in 2023 compared to the year before, a report showed Monday, marking a decline in the price category for the third-straight year. The Korea Rural Economic Institute conducted a survey of 2,000 households across the country between August and October last year, asking them to rate their satisfaction with processed foods on a scale of 1 to 5. The respondents gave a 3.6, after marking 3.9 for three consecutive years from 2020 to

ConsumerMay 13, 2024

[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps

Hyundai Motor Group’s plan to build a new headquarters called Global Business Center, or GBC, as a landmark in southern Seoul still faces bumps after having already undergone decade-long obstacles as it continues struggling with the Soul Metropolitan Government to find common ground on height. The dispute was recently reignited when it was reported that the Seoul Metropolitan Government intended to reject Hyundai Motor’s new plan to build two 55-floor main buildings instead of the ea

MobilityMay 13, 2024

LG Innotek to spur growth in automotive lighting

LG Innotek on Monday renewed its commitment to nurturing the automotive lighting business as its key growth driver. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the commercialization of Nexlide, the parts maker’s flexible three-dimensional lighting brand for vehicles. The module-based lighting products boast brighter, clearer and more uniform light emission. Starting with the Nexlide-A in 2014, the Nexlide-M began mass production in the first quarter of this year. A total of nine types of Nexli

TechnologyMay 13, 2024

K bank racks up record earnings ahead of market debut

South Korea's internet-only lender, K bank, witnessed a significant improvement in its earnings as it gears up for its market debut this year. The bank announced Monday that its net profit in the first quarter surged nearly fivefold to 50.7 billion won ($37 million), from 10.4 billion won in the same period last year, reaching a new quarterly high. The bank stated the record performance results from a balanced growth in both deposit and loan balances, which increased by 25.7 percent and 6.6

IndustryMay 13, 2024

Toss Securities logs record quarterly profit in Q1

Toss Securities, the online-only brokerage arm of Korean fintech giant Viva Republica, continues its upward trajectory, marking a significant milestone with its highest-ever quarterly net profit in the first quarter. The company announced Monday that its net profit soared to a record 11.9 billion won ($8.7 million) in the first quarter, rebounding from a net loss of 400 million won in the same period last year. This figure is equivalent to eight times the annual net profit of 1.5 billion won rec

IndustryMay 13, 2024

SK Telecom to lead AI data center standardization

SK Telecom said Monday that their proposal for standardizing industry-wide technologies for AI data centers has recently been approved as a new research project by a UN telecom agency. The ITU-T, a division of the UN-affiliated International Telecommunication Union, is responsible for studying and establishing electrical and telecom standards, with over 900 entities from around 190 member countries joining. "The ITU-T's endorsement of our new standardization project not only underscore

TechnologyMay 13, 2024

Woori Financial ready to bulk up

South Korean financial services conglomerate Woori Financial Group is seeking to diversify its business portfolio beyond banking in an apparent move to take on its bigger rivals here. Among the nation’s top four financial groups, Woori has long remained the smallest in terms of sales. Last year, Woori was the only one to post less than 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) in earnings, with its net profit standing at 2.51 trillion won. KB, the No. 1 financial group, recorded 4.63 trillion won in n

IndustryMay 13, 2024

S. Korea to set up over W10tr program to support chip industry

South Korea will push to set up a package worth over 10 trillion won ($7.28 billion) to support the chip industry as part of efforts to boost the competitiveness of the critical industry and to prop up economic growth, the finance ministry has said. The planned assistance program of more than 10 trillion won aims at supporting facility investment and research and development programs for all sectors of the chip industry from chip materials to manufacturing equipment and components, Finance Minis

IndustryMay 13, 2024

Seoul shares open higher amid mixed signals for US rate cut

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday while investors remained watchful over mixed signals for the US Federal Reserve's future monetary policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 9.42 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,737.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained ground for the fourth consecutive week, and the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted increases for the third straight week. But on Friday, Wall Street closed

MarketMay 13, 2024

LG Electronics CEO offers to pay $1m salary to top AI talents

LG Electronics Chief Executive Officer Cho Joo-wan traveled to the US to meet with big tech counterparts and discuss collaboration in artificial intelligence, as well as to secure AI talents, the company said Sunday. Hosting a tech conference in Cupertino, California on Saturday, Cho underscored the importance of talents in AI development and said the company is willing to offer large salaries to secure top talents. "Changes such as electrification, servitization and digitalization are occu

IndustryMay 12, 2024

[Contribution] Korea should prioritize innovation, not misguided platform regulation

By Hong Dae-sik & D. Daniel Sokol Korea rightly aspires to be a tech leader, but misguided regulation threatens its innovation prowess. Korean officials are considering platform legislation modeled after the European Union’s recently implemented Digital Markets Act. But that untested law has been widely criticized and prior European legislation, the General Data Protection Regulation, has hurt European competition -- leading to less AI investment by venture capitalists and one-third

IndustryMay 12, 2024

Battery makers ramp up efforts to diversify graphite supply chain

Korean battery makers are speeding up efforts to diversify their supply chains to source key materials, including graphite, as the US pushes back the deadline for the ban on the use of Chinese minerals by two years. Earlier this month, the US Treasury Department announced an extension to its $7,500 tax credit scheme for electric vehicles containing components from Foreign Entities of Concern, which includes China, until the end of 2026. "There have been concerns that if Korean batteries fai

IndustryMay 12, 2024

Samsung Electronics microwave tops European market

Samsung Electronics said Sunday that it has retained its top market share position in the microwave market in Europe for the ninth consecutive year. According to market research firm Euromonitor, Samsung Electronics ranked No. 1 with a market share of 15.3 percent in the microwave segment across 19 European countries surveyed last year. The company targeted the market by offering premium materials and distinctive designs, reflecting the high level of interest in kitchen interior design among Eur

TechnologyMay 12, 2024

[Photo News] Empowering jobseekers

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo (front row; second from right) and Vice Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Sung-hee (front row; third from right) pose for a photo during the launch event of the firm's social contribution program, "Hana Power On Innovative Company Internship," held at the group's headquarters in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Thursday. Since 2018, Hana has been supporting innovative companies in hiring socially vulnerable groups, such as the disab

IndustryMay 12, 2024

Motional delays self-driving service launch to 2026 following Hyundai investment

Hyundai Motor Group's joint venture Motional announced staff reductions and a two-year delay to its driverless taxi service plans last week, following the group's 1.29 trillion won ($941 million) injection into the startup earlier this month, reflecting growing industry pessimism about the viability of self-driving cars. Hyundai established Motional with Aptiv in the US in 2020 and launched its Ioniq 5-based robo-taxi service with Uber and Lyft last year. However, the rollout of the second-

MobilityMay 12, 2024