Vice finance minister attends OECD meeting in Paris

First Vice Finance Minister Kim Byoung-hwan attended a ministerial meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last week, Seoul's finance ministry said Sunday. During the meeting in Paris on Thursday and Friday (local time), Kim discussed global supply chains, inclusive growth and other issues, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said in a statement. On the sidelines of the meeting, Kim held separate talks with his counterparts, including Charlotte Vere of Br

EconomyMay 5, 2024

Sales of eco-friendly cars top 100,000 in Q1 in S. Korea

Sales of eco-friendly cars surpassed 100,000 units in the first quarter in South Korea on booming demand for hybrid vehicles, industry data showed Sunday. A total of 101,727 environmentally friendly cars made by five South Korean carmakers, including Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp., were sold during the January-March period, up 8.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data. Out of this total, 85,828 units, or 84.4 percent, were hybrid cars, soaring 42.4 percent from the same period last

MobilityMay 5, 2024

Combined operating profit of 7 TV home shopping channels plunges 39.6 pct last year

Seven channels selling goods on television in South Korea saw their combined operating profit plunge 39.6 percent on-year in 2023, according to industry data Sunday, hurt by intense competition with social media and livestreaming platforms. The combined operating profit of the seven TV home shopping channels stood at 327 billion won (US$241 million) last year, compared with a combined profit of 541.1 billion won in 2022, according to the data released by the Korea TV Homeshopping Association. It

ConsumerMay 5, 2024

US announces extension on graphite use for EV tax credits through 2026

The US government announced a decision Friday to extend tax credits for electric vehicles containing Chinese graphite until the end of 2026 -- an extension that followed a demand from EV manufacturers. On the Federal Register, the Treasury Department posted the final rules on the clean energy vehicle provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act that included the temporary exemption of graphite from rules on the use of minerals from "foreign entities of concern," including from China, Russ

EconomyMay 4, 2024

Hankook Tire takes over control of Hanon Systems

Hankook Tire and Technology Co. on Friday reached a deal to buy a controlling stake in Hanon Systems Corp., the world's second-largest heat pump systems maker for automobiles, for 1.73 trillion won ($1.27 billion). Under the deal with private equity firm Hahn & Co., Hankook Tire will buy a 25 percent stake in Hanon Systems and an additional interest via rights offerings. Hankook Tire already owns 19.49 percent in Hanon Systems after spending 1.08 trillion won in 2014. With the additiona

CompaniesMay 3, 2024

Woori to re-enter brokerage business with acquisition of Korea Foss Securities

Woori Financial Group said Friday that it will launch a new brokerage arm in the third quarter by acquiring digital brokerage firm Korea Foss Securities and merging it into its existing investment banking subsidiary. The tie-up plan between Woori Investment Bank and Korea Foss Securities marks the financial giant's return to the stock trading business after a decade. Woori Financial Group's long-term goal is to become one of the country's top 10 brokerage firms within the next dec

IndustryMay 3, 2024

Naver will consider company benefits in deciding on selling Line shares: CEO

While the Japanese government is pressuring Naver to shed ownership in Line, the dominating messaging app in Japan, the Korean internet giant said it will make a decision based on the benefit of the company's business, the chief executive officer said Friday. During an earnings call, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said the administrative guidance issued by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications last month, demanding Tokyo-based LY Corp., the operator of Line, to lower its dep

IndustryMay 3, 2024

Samsung chief returns from Europe after meeting with Pope, business leaders

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong returned to Seoul on Friday after his trip to Europe, where he made a surprise visit to Vatican City to meet with Pope Francis, and met with business counterparts for cooperation. During the 10-day trip, Lee traveled to Germany, France and Italy, and checked on the company's business operations there. “The spring has come,” he told reporters without further explanation, upon his arrival at the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center. He did

IndustryMay 3, 2024

B-Robotics teams up with Hanwha Robotics for restaurant automation

B-Robotics, a subsidiary of the delivery app Baemin's operator Woowa Brothers, said Friday it has signed a memorandum of agreement with Hanwha Robotics to strengthen its focus on the restaurant automation market. The signing ceremony was held at B-Robotics' headquarters in Seoul on Thursday with B-Robotics CEO Kim Min-soo and Hanwha Robotics CEO Seo Jong-hwi in attendance. Under the agreement, B-Robotics and Hanwha Robotics will establish a joint strategy for further developing restaur

CompaniesMay 3, 2024

Seoul shares close lower ahead of US employment data

South Korean shares closed slightly lower Friday as investors took to the side ahead of US employment data. The local currency rebounded against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 7.02 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 2,676.63. Trading volume was slim at 329.8 million shares worth 7.7 trillion won ($5.65 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 477 to 390. The index had opened higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that followed dovish remarks from

MarketMay 3, 2024

Hyundai Motor to inject extra W1.3tr in Motional

Hyundai Motor Group will invest 1.29 trillion won ($946 million) in Motional, a US-based autonomous driving startup, to boost technological development and secure stable control of the startup, the Korean auto conglomerate said Friday. Hyundai Motor will spend 663 billion won in capital increase and another 620 billion won for acquiring Aptiv’s 11 percent share in Motional, bringing the auto giant’s total share to 66.8 percent. The auto giant’s three affiliates -- Hyundai Motor

MobilityMay 3, 2024

Samsung Life Science Fund invests in US gene therapy firm

Samsung Life Science Fund, an investment fund created by Samsung affiliates, will invest in Latus Bio, a US gene therapy development company, according to Samsung Bioepis on Friday. It is the sixth investment made by the fund between Samsung Biologics, Samsung C&T and Samsung Bioepis, to explore new business opportunities in the biotechnology sector. The exact amount of investment has not been disclosed. Latus Bio is a US biotech that develops novel gene therapy candidates for disorders of t

IndustryMay 3, 2024

Hugel to develop next-generation botulinum toxin product

Hugel has started its development of new botulinum toxin products using a botulinum toxin type that has a faster onset and shorter duration of effect, the aesthetics firm said Friday. According to Hugel, botulinum neurotoxins that are currently used for therapeutic and cosmetic applications have been botulinum neurotoxin type A and B. The onset of action of botulinum toxin A, which is most widely used for cosmetic applications, ranges from three to seven days, while its therapeutic effect usuall

IndustryMay 3, 2024

Hyundai Motor aims to lead hydrogen truck business in US

Hyundai Motor Company is looking to spearhead the hydrogen-powered truck business in the United States as the Korean automaker welcomed the official launch of NorCAL ZERO Project, a pro-environment initiative using the company's hydrogen fuel cell technology to bring zero-emission freight transportation to the San Francisco Bay Area and California's Central Valley, on Friday. "The NorCAL ZERO Project in Oakland marks a significant step forward in realizing Hyundai's vision fo

MobilityMay 3, 2024

Naver Q1 net income soars 1,171.9% on growth of major businesses

South Korean tech giant Naver Corp. said Friday its first-quarter net profit soared 1,171.9 percent from a year earlier on the overall growth of its major businesses, including its search platform and e-commerce. Its net profit reached 555.8 billion won ($404 million) in the January-March period, compared with 43.7 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. The operating profit jumped 32.9 percent on-year to a quarterly high of 439.3 billion won, and sales rose 10.8 percent

TechnologyMay 3, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 14.63 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,698.28 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.85 percent higher Thursday, while the Nasdaq rose 1.51 percent on dovish remarks from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggesting there will unlikely be a rate hike in the near future. In Seoul, most large caps were in positive terrain.

MarketMay 3, 2024

KASA chief vows full support for private-led space missions

Korea’s new state space agency, the Korea AeroSpace Administration, or KASA, will focus on rearranging roles with the private sector to support companies to lead commercial space developments while the government concentrates on long-term space projects, the nominee for the top leadership position at KASA said Thursday. “So far, Korea’s space sector has been led by the government out-sourcing projects to the industry,” said Yoon Young-bin, an aerospace engineering profess

IndustryMay 2, 2024

Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride

South Korea's inflation fell to the 2 percent range as the country’s directive to lower price growth has been continuing to go down a bumpy path on fluctuations in the oil and agricultural prices, data showed Thursday. Consumer prices, a key metric of inflation, rose by 2.9 percent in April, marking a 0.2 percentage point decrease from the 3.1 percent reading shown in both March and February, according to the data from Statistics Korea. “The prices of petroleum products, which r

EconomyMay 2, 2024

Celltrion seeks bigger footing in South America

Celltrion announced Thursday that the company has won public tenders in Peru to provide its autoimmune disease treatment Remsima (infliximab) and anticancer product Herzuma (trastuzumab) to the South American country. According to Celltrion, Remsima has won a tender held by the Peruvian Workers' Insurance System (EsSalud), which is the largest of its kind, accounting for 81 percent of the total infliximab volume in Peru. The company will supply Remsima for a year starting this month. Celltr

IndustryMay 2, 2024

LG CNS enters steel scrap market

LG CNS said Thursday that the company has entered the steel scrap market by setting up a joint venture with local steel firm Daehan Steel. The new entity, called Aimos, will develop a cloud and artificial intelligence-based solution that can sort out scrap steel from metallic waste. “The demand for steel scrap is increasing along with the wider adoption of environment-friendly electric arc furnaces that use steel scrap as its raw material,” an official from LG CNS said. Its new sol

IndustryMay 2, 2024