[Contribution] Scaling up SMEs, startups as key export players

By Cho Ju-hyeon South Korea’s small and medium-size enterprises and startups are facing challenges in exports amid bleak economic outlook and Chinese-dependent business. For survival, small companies should alter their course to diversify exports. As of February, the total amount of exports has decreased for five consecutive months, along with a trade deficit for 12 consecutive months. Exports from SMEs, which came to $117.5 billion last year, however, has been on a downward trend since

IndustryMarch 22, 2023

Kyobo Life CEO joins father to win top industry honor

Kyobo Life Insurance CEO Shin Chang-jae has been named as the recipient of the 2023 Insurance Hall of Fame Laureate award by the International Insurance Society, the company said Wednesday. The latest feat is especially meaningful for the 70-year-old CEO as he follows in his father's footsteps to win the top industrial honor. His late father Shin Yong-ho was the founder of Kyobo Life, and won the same award in 1996. The company said it is the first case that both a father and son have bee

IndustryMarch 22, 2023

Hankook Tire woos young people with ‘Made in Hankook’ campaign

Hankook Tire & Technology, the world’s sixth-largest tiremaker, said Wednesday it is carrying out various projects under its motor culture brand Made in Hankook for better communication with millennials and Generation Z. Launched in 2021, Made in Hankook pursues a young and dynamic image centered on high technology, innovation, design and motorsports. As Hankook Tire aims to lead innovative changes in future mobility culture, the company is seen to have a broad worldview. Made in Hanko

IndustryMarch 22, 2023

Hyundai Heavy Industries hits 200m horsepower in engine output

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the nation's largest shipbuilder affiliated with HD Hyundai, said Wednesday that its accumulative engine production for vessels has exceeded 200 million horsepower -- a record in the global shipbuilding industry. The company held a ceremony to mark the production milestone as it started a new 74,720-horsepower vessel engine at its engine production plant in Ulsan, an industrial city on the southern coast. The company said the latest feat comes 44 years since it sta

MobilityMarch 22, 2023

Seoul shares open higher on eased banking crisis woes

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking US gains overnight, as concerns about a global banking sector crisis have eased, with eyes on the Federal Reserve's upcoming monetary policy path. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 16.33 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,404.68 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares rose, as investors welcomed the rescue of Credit Suisse by Swiss banking giant UBS in a move to stem the contagion of turmoil in the global

MarketMarch 22, 2023

Boryung to set up JV with US space station developer

South Korean drug maker Boryung said Tuesday the company will establish a joint venture with US commercial space station developer Axiom Space in its latest foray into the space health care industry. “(Boryung) came to an agreement with Axiom Space yesterday to establish a joint venture in South Korea," Boryung CEO Jay Kim said during the company's annual shareholders meeting, held at its headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. According to Boryung, the two companies have signed a lett

TechnologyMarch 21, 2023

Seoul shares up on eased global banking system woes

South Korean stocks ended higher Tuesday, as fears over a global banking turmoil have somewhat eased and investors expect the Federal Reserve to have a milder tone regarding monetary tightening ahead of its rate-setting meeting, analysts said. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.15 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 2,388.35. Trading volume was a bit slim at 345.82 million shares worth 7.14 trillion won ($5.45 billion), with de

MarketMarch 21, 2023

LVMH CEO visits Korea, meets retail business leaders

Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury products behemoth LVMH, accompanied by his daughter and the CEO of Christian Dior Delphine Arnault, visited South Korea for the first time in three years after the COVID-19 pandemic, in a bid to discuss the brand's plans regarding duty-free and department store business with major South Korean retailers. During his three-day trip to Korea which ends on Wednesday, Arnault met with Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin at the Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, southern S

ConsumerMarch 21, 2023

Innospace opens new era for space sector

Innospace, a South Korean startup specializing in developing hybrid space rockets, on Tuesday announced that the previous day's launch of the Hanbit-TLV had been successful, opening up a new era for the country’s private space sector. The Hanbit-TLV, which was launched from the Alcantara Space Center in Brazil at 2:52 p.m. on Sunday there, flew for 4 minutes and 33 seconds with its engine burning for 106 seconds after the liftoff, and eventually landed in the safety zone in Brazilian

TechnologyMarch 21, 2023

Apple Pay makes Korean debut after 10-year wait

Global tech giant Apple kicked off its mobile payment service Apple Pay in Korea on Tuesday, with more than 170,000 iPhone users rushing for registration earlier in the day. “We're so thrilled to bring Apple Pay to our users here in Korea with Hyundai Card as our first issuer,” Duncan Olby, who is in charge of Apple’s digital wallet services outside America, said in a press conference held at the Hyundai Card Understage in Itaewon, central Seoul. “Users can start p

IndustryMarch 21, 2023

Finance ministers of Korea, Japan may meet after 7 years

Top financial policymakers of Korea and Japan may hold a one-on-one meeting for the first time in seven years, following the recent easing of tensions between South Korea and Japan. The Finance Ministry is looking into launching talks between its minister Choo Kyung-ho and his Japanese counterpart Shunichi Suzuki, following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to Japan. With the Korean government announcing that a Seoul-backed foundation would compensate victims of wartime forced labor ea

EconomyMarch 21, 2023

[Photo News] Saving energy in style

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday unveiled this year’s new Bespoke home appliances lineup at a press event in Seoul. Twenty-seven new products are expected to be launched in the first half of the year, coming equipped with artificial intelligence-based energy-saving features.

TechnologyMarch 21, 2023

Posco Future M to build W400b battery materials plant in Pohang

Posco Future M, formerly called Posco Chemical, said Tuesday it would construct an electric vehicle battery materials plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, after landing a 40 trillion won ($30.6 billion) deal with Samsung SDI earlier this year. During a shareholders meeting Monday, the company decided to build a 392 billion-won plant that exclusively produces nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) battery materials for the first time. The estimated annual production capacity is 30,000 tons, enough

MobilityMarch 21, 2023

SK affiliates to boost expertise, inclusivity of boards

South Korea’s SK Group is bolstering the expertise and inclusivity of board directors across its affiliates by adding more females and current and former top executives to the boardroom as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance more responsible management. Ahead of their shareholders’ meetings later this month, the group said Tuesday its 12 key affiliates, including SK Inc., SK hynix, SK Telecom and SK Innovation, have nominated final candidates for outside directors. Of the 12 new c

IndustryMarch 21, 2023

Posco International to nurture carbon capture as new growth engine

South Korean commodities trader Posco International announced Tuesday that it will foster the carbon capture and storage business by establishing a new commercialization team. CCS is a technology that collects and stores carbon dioxide emitted from industries and permanently isolates them from the atmosphere. The collected carbon dioxide is stored underground and is used in artificial seismic wave exploration, exploration drilling and carbon dioxide injection to determine a suitable stratum stru

IndustryMarch 21, 2023

Samsung CEO hints at buyout of Rainbow Robotics

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and co-CEO Han Jong-hee said Tuesday that the tech giant was in talks to secure a greater stake in Rainbow Robotics, a local humanoid robotics company, in an apparent move to ramp up its presence in the burgeoning robotics market. At a press event held to introduce Samsung’s new Bespoke home appliances lineup in Seoul earlier in the day, Han noted that the company has a strong appetite to acquire Rainbow Robotics and related talks are on the way “l

TechnologyMarch 21, 2023

LG CNS offers cloud cost optimization service

South Korean information technology service provider LG CNS said it launched cloud cost optimization service FinOps Clinic, which assesses clients’ cloud usage to offer the optimal budget and reduce overall cloud spending. More companies are using multiple cloud services from multiple service providers, and the new service is aimed to allow clients to effectively manage their costs by identifying mismanaged or abnormal cost occurrences, LG CNS said. FinOps -- formed by combining "fina

IndustryMarch 21, 2023

[Photo News] EV charging robot

Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday unveiled an artificial intelligence-based automotive charging robot. According to the carmaker’s test video, the robot communicates with the Ioniq 6 electric sedan and controls the charging process, from parking to opening and closing the charger port cover. Details about the robot’s mass-market debut were not disclosed immediately.

MobilityMarch 21, 2023

Exports down 17.4 % during first 20 days of March

South Korea's exports fell 17.4 percent on-year in the first 20 days of March, data showed Tuesday, amid the protracted downcycle in the global semiconductor industry. The country's outbound shipments stood at $30.9 billion in the March 1-20 period, compared with $37.4 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports decreased 5.7 percent on-year to $37.3 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $6.3 billion. In February, the count

IndustryMarch 21, 2023

Seoul shares open higher amid global banking sector instability

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking US gains, as the takeover of troubled Credit Suisse by UBS raised hope for eased concerns about the global banking sector. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 14.85 points, or 0.62 percent, to 2,394.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares rose after Swiss banking giant UBS on Sunday announced the takeover of Credit Suisse, a deal engineered by the Swiss authorities in an effort to avoid further turmoil in t

MarketMarch 21, 2023