Heo Ung wins KBL Pocari Sweat Popularity Award

At the 2023-2024 JungKwanJang Korean Basketball League Awards, Busan KCC's Heo Ung won the Pocari Sweat Popularity Award for the fifth consecutive time, Dong-A Otsuka said Tuesday. The league awards ceremony took place Monday at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. Introduced in the 2011-2012 season, the popularity award is decided entirely by fan votes to determine the season's most popular player. All Korean Basketball League players are eligible, wi

IndustryApril 2, 2024

[KH Explains] Korean shipbuilders eye US yards to tap Navy's lucrative repair deals

Korean automotive, battery and semiconductor titans have been navigating their investments toward American shores, driven by incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Now, the Jones Act and Byrnes-Tollefson Amendments might beckon Korean shipbuilders to American waters. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean are setting their sights on acquiring American shipyards, specifically to tap into the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business. HD Hyun

IndustryApril 2, 2024

Hyundai Motor grabs triple win in World Car Awards

Hyundai Motor Group has once again triumphed at the 2024 World Car Awards, with its vehicles being named World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle, and World Performance Car of the Year. The World Car Awards is an annual event organized by automotive journalists globally to honor excellence in the car industry across multiple categories. This accolade marks the third consecutive victory for Hyundai Motor Group in the World Car of the Year and World Electric Vehicle of the Year categories, be

MobilityApril 2, 2024

[Photo News] New Panamera in Korea

Porsche on Tuesday launched the new Panamera in the Korean market. The third-generation sporty sedan boasts the new plug-in hybrid model equipped with the newly developed electric motor and revised four-liter V8 turbo engine. The upgraded hybrid powertrain can create a system output of up to 650 horsepower. With the advanced battery, the new plug-in hybrid vehicle can drive up to 91 kilometers on a single charge. The prices of the new Panamera 4 and Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid begin at 176.7 million

MobilityApril 2, 2024

Seoul shares open lower on strong US data

Seoul shares opened lower Tuesday on speculation that stronger than expected data may prod the Federal Reserve to push back its rate-cut timetable. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 10.12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,737.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing purchasing managers' index released overnight stayed at 50.3 last month, the highest since September 2022 despite a prolonged tightening mode by the Fed. The F

MarketApril 2, 2024

Consumer prices rise over 3% for 2nd month in March

South Korea's inflation stayed over 3 percent for the second consecutive month in March on record prices of fruits and rising global oil prices, data showed Tuesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 3.1 percent on-year last month, following a 3.2 percent increase the previous month, according to the data from Statistics Korea. In January, inflation fell below 3 percent for the first time since July 2023, but high prices of fruits, farm produce and energy have caused inflation

EconomyApril 2, 2024

Hyundai Motor's March sales down 3.7 pct on weaker demand in S. Korea

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's leading automaker, said Monday its monthly sales fell 3.7 percent in March from a year earlier due to sluggish demand in its home market. Hyundai Motor sold 369,132 vehicles last month, down from 383,396 units a year ago, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales sank 16.1 percent on-year to 62,504 units last month, and exports edged down 0.7 percent to 306,628 units during the cited period. Hyundai Motor said it sold 15,302 sedans, including 6,100 Grandeu

MobilityApril 1, 2024

[Contribution] The Caribbean Dream comes true through industrial ODA

By Lee Seong-woo Vice president of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry The Caribbean Sea, adorned with over 7,000 islands, lies to the east of Central America, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. For many Koreans, this tropical paradise brings to mind the waterpark Caribbean Bay or the film series Pirates of the Caribbean. Yet, this region is plagued by frequent natural disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, heavy rains and landslides. Sadly, most Caribbean cou

IndustryApril 1, 2024

Internet-only banks soar past W100tr in assets

Last year witnessed remarkable growth for South Korea's three internet-only banks, as their combined value surged past the milestone 100 trillion won ($74 billion). The aggregate assets of Kakao Bank, K bank and Toss Bank reached approximately 101.61 trillion won by the end of last year, marking a substantial 27 percent increase from the previous year's 79.5 trillion won. Kakao Bank led the pack with total assets of 54.48 trillion won, followed by Toss Bank with 25.73 trillion won and

IndustryApril 1, 2024

Pharmaceutical rivals partner for Fexuclue's sales

Daewoong Pharmaceutical has partnered with Chong Kun Dang for local sales of the gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) treatment Fexuclue, the country’s 34th new drug, the company said Monday. Fexuclue is a potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB)-based GERD treatment that is designed to improve the shortcomings of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs, such as slow onset of action and dietary effects. P-CABs have the longest half-life of up to nine hours among GERD medicines and have a lon

IndustryApril 1, 2024

Samsung Bioepis launches half-priced Soliris biosimilar

Samsung Bioepis, a biosimilar developer under Samsung Group, announced Monday that the company decided to launch its Soliris biosimilar Epysqli in Korea at a price nearly 50 percent cheaper than the original drug. Epysqli is a biosimilar referencing Soliris, a high-cost drug for the treatment of rare hematological disorders, developed by Alexion Pharmaceuticals. As of 2022, the drug generated global sales of approximately 5 trillion won ($3.7 billion). The global rights to Soliris are currently

IndustryApril 1, 2024

Seoul shares up for 2nd day amid revived hopes for US rate cuts

Seoul shares closed higher Monday as US inflation data was in line with market expectations raising hopes that the Federal Reserve may start cutting rates in June at the earliest. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.23 points, or 0.04 percent, to close at 2,747.86. Trade volume was slim at 391.77 million shares worth 9.9 trillion won ($7.3 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 573 to 295. Institutions and foreigners bought a combine

MarketApril 1, 2024

More women break glass ceiling on financial group boards

South Korean financial groups have undergone a transition in their board composition, indicating governance changes centering on gender diversity and internal control. Given that a financial holding company’s board is the ultimate decision-making body engaging in establishing management strategies and budget planning for itself and its affiliated banking and securities units, the changes give a glimpse of the future direction that the groups are pursuing. Here are the key takeaways from

CompaniesApril 1, 2024

Korea Ginseng Corp. appoints global business chief as new CEO

Korea Ginseng Corp., the country's leading ginseng manufacturer, said Monday that it has appointed An Bin, the company's former global business chief, as its new CEO. “In order to transition into a global top-tier comprehensive health company, we must adopt a 'Global One Market' approach that combines both domestic and overseas markets," An, 51, said in his inauguration remarks. “We will aim to maximize profits in overseas markets while at home we will take a

CompaniesApril 1, 2024

First Jeep EV to make Korean debut in H2

Stellantis will launch the Avenger, the Jeep brand’s first all-electric sports utility vehicle, in Korea in the second half of this year as the global automaker looks to focus on regaining customer trust and bolstering its brand image here, the company’s recently appointed head said Monday. “Challenges and opportunities still co-exist in (the Korean market),” said Bang Sil, managing director of Stellantis Korea, in her first press conference since starting in her role as

MobilityApril 1, 2024

[Photo News] Hanwha chief congratulates team

Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn (center) and his son and Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan took a selfie with employees at the Hanwha Aerospace research and development campus in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Friday. Hanwha's chief visited the center to congratulate Hanwha Aerospace’s selection as the only bidder for the nation’s forthcoming next-generation launch vehicle project and to offer encouragement to the team of researchers. (Hanwha Group)

IndustryApril 1, 2024

HBM leadership is coming to us: Samsung CEO

Samsung Electronics has established a special team dedicated to High Bandwidth Memory, going all-out to get an edge in the advanced memory chip, which is currently in the spotlight as a key component in raising the processing speed for artificial intelligence applications. Highlighting the importance of HBM in the wake of the AI boom, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kyung Kye-hyun vowed to keep up efforts to secure leadership in the burgeoning market and revealed the company has formed a team

IndustryApril 1, 2024

JB Financial inks partnership with Vietnam’s OKXE

South Korea's JB Financial Group said Monday it has signed a partnership with OKXE, a Vietnam-based platform for used motorcycles, eyeing the expansion of its brokerage business in the country. At a signing ceremony held in Seoul on Friday, JB Financial Group and its affiliate JB Investment agreed to acquire a combined 8 percent stake in OKXE. OKXE was launched in Vietnam in 2020 by CEO Kim Woo-seok, bringing used motorcycle transactions from offline to online. With over 8 million users as

IndustryApril 1, 2024

CJ’s veggie dumplings hit US military shelves

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang said Monday it has started selling plant-based dumplings at grocery stores within US military bases in Korea. These Bibigo dumpling products come in three varieties -- original, japchae and kimchi -- all featuring the company’s special vegetable protein based on beans, which provides a taste and texture similar to meat. Starting with dumplings, CJ said it plans to expand its product lineup to include frozen rice balls and gimbap. They added it aims

CompaniesApril 1, 2024

Korean Air marks 45 years of flights to New York

Korean Air hosted a surprise event at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of operating flights to the city, the nation’s largest air carrier said Monday. At the event, a round-trip prestige ticket from Incheon to New York was awarded to the 45th passenger of Korean Air flight KE082 bound for Incheon. Korean Air also gave out welcome eco-bags to all passengers aboard KE082, which were crafted in collaboration with the Korean Ass

IndustryApril 1, 2024