South Korean won tumbles after Trump wins US presidential election

The South Korean currency fell sharply against the US dollar during intra-day trading Wednesday after Donald Trump won the US presidential election. The South Korean won was trading at 1,400.5 won to the dollar as of 8:20 p.m., marking the first time to surpass the 1,400 won threshold since April 16. The won opened at 1,374 won at 9 a.m., up 4.6 won from the previous session. But the won-dollar rate reversed course in the morning, with the US dollar strengthening on news that Trump held an advan

EconomyNov. 6, 2024

South Korean biz community hopes for stronger Korea-US cooperation

South Korea's major business organizations on Wednesday joined in congratulating Donald Trump on his victory in the US presidential election, urging him to strengthen Seoul-Washington cooperation. The Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry congratulated Trump on his election victory, emphasizing that the Korea-US trade and economic partnership is anchored in a strong security alliance. The KCCI expressed hope for continued bilateral relations under the incoming Trump administration, adding

IndustryNov. 6, 2024

South Korean industries likely to revisit US investment plans after Trump win

With former US President Donald Trump's successful reelection to the White House, South Korean industries with major investments in America may be expected to realign their US business strategies amid an anticipated shift in Washington's economic and trade policies. Many in the South Korean business community forecast a second Trump administration to pursue strong protectionist trade policies centered on American interests. In particular, industries here are closely watching the poss

IndustryNov. 6, 2024

LG wins top patent award for AR navigation tech

LG Electronics received the top recognition from the country’s patent agency for its advanced vehicle augmented reality technology used to guide drivers on complex and unfamiliar roads on Wednesday. At this year’s Patent Technology Awards hosted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office, LG Electronics has been chosen as the winner of the grand prize, the King Sejong Award, for its patent on vehicle AR-based navigation. “We expect our AR solutions will innovate driving experie

IndustryNov. 6, 2024

Celebrity chef Paik's franchise company soars in market debut

Celebrity chef Paik Jong-won’s franchise company Theborn Korea made a strong debut on the Kospi market Wednesday as investors endorsed his affordable food brands and his popularity grew globally, with a recent Netflix series giving further tailwind to his business. Theborn Korea saw its shares traded as high as 58,100 won ($41.60) at the market open — a 70.9 percent jump compared to the 34,000 won the stock was priced at earlier in the week. That gave the company a valuation of aroun

IndustryNov. 6, 2024

Increased bets on Trump victory send won to 2-yr low, Seoul stocks down for 2nd day

The South Korean won dipped to a two-year low against the US dollar Wednesday on increased bets on Republican nominee Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election. Korean stocks ended lower for the second consecutive day. The local currency was trading at 1,396.2 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 17.6 won from the previous session, the lowest since November 7, 2022, when the rate closed at 1,401.20. Investors rushed to buy US dollars as Trump's victory heralds an i

MarketNov. 6, 2024

EcoPro HN completes battery materials plant

EcoPro HN, the environmental solutions provider under EcoPro, said Wednesday it has completed the construction of a new manufacturing plant for rechargeable battery materials in Chopyeong, North Chungcheong Province. Around 100 officials, including key executives -- former EcoPro Chairman Lee Dong-chae, EcoPro CEO Song Ho-jun, EcoPro HN CEO Kim Jong-seop and Jincheon County Governor Song Ki-seop -- participated in the completion ceremony at the newly-built facility earlier in the day. The manufa

IndustryNov. 6, 2024

Coupang hits record quarterly sales on customer loyalty

New York-listed e-commerce giant Coupang set another quarterly record in the July-September period of this year on enhanced user engagement, with its revenue reaching $7.86 billion, a 32 percent jump from a year ago. The company also returned to profitability in the quarter after posting operating losses in the previous quarter largely from the UK luxury shopping platform Farfetch it acquired last year and antitrust fines in Korea. "The improvements we saw this quarter are most notably driv

IndustryNov. 6, 2024

Kumyang works to win back investor trust

South Korean battery-maker Kumyang unveiled the world’s first 4695 cylindrical battery cell, which the company claimed to have greater capacity than Tesla's 4680 battery, at InterBattery 2024 at Coex in Seoul in March this year. Oxford Metrica, a UK-based global advisory firm, recently analyzed that 600 Kumyang 4695 cells can generate 75 kilowatt-hours of energy to offer about 600 kilometers in driving distance, whereas the same number of Tesla 4680 cells would create about 52 kWh to

CompaniesNov. 6, 2024

Renault Korea CEO awarded Industrial Service Medal

Renault Korea CEO Stephane Deblaise has been awarded the Industrial Service Medal from the Korean government in recognition of his leadership in successfully launching the Grand Koleos, the French automaker's new sports utility vehicle codenamed Aurora 1. According to Renault Korea on Wednesday, Deblaise was selected as the recipient of the national award during the 2024 Foreign Company Day hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas the p

CompaniesNov. 6, 2024

Mixed outlook for Chinese visa exemption

Beijing's visa exemption for South Korean tourists will take effect on Friday this week, but expectations are mixed about the impact, as it comes after years of waning popularity of China as a travel destination here. China announced Friday that it would allow passport holders of Korea and eight other countries to enter China without visas for up to 15 days for tourism, business, family visits, and transit purposes. Chinese nationals are still required to apply for a visa to enter Korea. Lo

IndustryNov. 6, 2024

Posco discusses future strategies at tech forum

South Korean steel giant Posco Group on Wednesday held the 2024 Posco Group Tech Forum, an annual event dedicated to sharing advancements in the core technologies of the group’s key businesses and discussing future directions. Now in its 36th year, the event was held offline in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, for the first time in five years following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s forum focused on deepening understanding of the group’s core technol

CompaniesNov. 6, 2024

[Photo News] Hanwha-Saudi ties

Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan (right) met with Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulazia Al Saud, the defense minister of Saudi Arabia, in a hotel in Seoul on Monday to reaffirm their commitment to a defense partnership. During the meeting, Hanwha vowed to provide advanced defense systems, as part of the Saudi Arabian government’s Vision 2030 initiative that seeks to localize more than 50 percent of its military procurement by 2030. This is the second meeting for the Hanwha heir

IndustryNov. 6, 2024

Kolmar Korea reduces development time for cosmetics

South Korea's leading cosmetics original design manufacturer, Kolmar Korea, announced Wednesday it will start a packaged product service to accelerate product launches by up to six months, aiming to strengthen its position in the global market. The packaged product service, or PPS, allows clients to obtain products simply by choosing from pre-developed formulations and containers. Typically, launching a new cosmetic product takes nine to 12 months. Kolmar anticipates the PPS system will sho

IndustryNov. 6, 2024

Miracell showcases stem cell tech at Spain conference

South Korean stem cell research company Miracell showcased its stem cell extraction system, Smart M-Cell, during the IV Congreso Semdor Valencia conference in Spain last month. Hosted by the Spanish Pain Society, the annual conference brought together pain management experts from around the world to explore effective solutions for preventing and treating pain. This year’s event, held Oct. 24-26, invited doctors from Spain, the UK, the US, the Netherlands, Greece and Italy. During the confe

TechnologyNov. 6, 2024

SKT to open Nvidia GPU-based AI data center

South Korea's leading mobile carrier SK Telecom said Wednesday it will open an artificial intelligence data center based on US tech giant Nvidia’s graphics processing units next month in Seoul, along with an AI data center testbed in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, in the same month. The announcement came as the company unveiled its AI revenue model identifying three key areas for rapid monetization upon its earnings release for the July-September period: data centers, business-to-business

IndustryNov. 6, 2024

Daewoo E&C seeks bigger footing in US property market

South Korean builder Daewoo Engineering & Construction said Wednesday a delegation of its executives recently visited the US to meet with private equity firms and developers as part of its efforts to expand its real estate development operations in the country. The delegation, which included Vice Chairman Chung Jin-haeng, Jung Jung-gil, director of the North America Development Department, and other company officials, visited Chicago and New York last week to explore potential partnerships w

CompaniesNov. 6, 2024

SK Telecom Q3 net income down 9.1% on non-operating cost

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's leading mobile carrier, said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit decreased 9.1 percent from a year earlier due to an increase in non-operating costs. Net profit for the July-September period came to 280.2 billion won ($202.1 million), down 9.1 percent from a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its operating profit rose 7.1 percent on-year to 533.3 billion won, while sales increased 2.9 percent to 4.53 trillion won. The company said its net pro

IndustryNov. 6, 2024

BOK to test feasibility of tokenized bank money-based voucher

South Korea's central bank said Wednesday it will test the feasibility of a digital voucher based on a tokenized deposit as part of its trial to introduce a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). Along with the Financial Services Commission, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Bank of Korea will test the feasibility of a tokenized deposit-based voucher program for use on smartphones via a digital voucher management platform, which can be available for culture, education and ot

EconomyNov. 6, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on US rally

South Korean stocks kicked off higher Wednesday tracking an overnight tech rally on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 9.64 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,586.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, major US indexes gained ground as a report on the services industries shows that the US economy is still strong. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.02 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite increased 1.43 percent, and the S&P 500 went up 1.23 per

MarketNov. 6, 2024