Orion Choco Pie logs W500b in global sales

Global sales of Orion’s signature snack Choco Pie reached 500 billion won ($417 million) in 2021, logging an 8.8 percent growth year-on-year, according to the Korean confectionery maker on Wednesday. This means around 3,400 million individual packets of Choco Pie were sold worldwide, which would cover more than five laps around the Earth when lined up, said the company. Choco Pie’s success overseas is thanks to the company’s efforts to tailor the product to suit each specifi

IndustryFeb. 16, 2022

Samsung Electronics labor union threatens to stage first-ever walkout

Labor unions of South Korean tech titan Samsung Electronics said they could go on strike for the first time in over 50 years, after their demands for a pay raise and special summer leave in a first-ever wage negotiation fell on deaf ears. Protesters representing four labor unions comprising over 5,000 employees said Wednesday they will work to salvage its wage negotiation with Samsung’s management, with a walkout -- possibly with other trade unions under Samsung affiliates -- being their

IndustryFeb. 16, 2022

Hana signals start of HQ transfer to Incheon

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group marked the transfer of its headquarters from Seoul to Incheon with a groundbreaking ceremony, the firm said Wednesday. The groundbreaking ceremony for the planned 22-level building with seven underground floors was held Tuesday at Cheongna International City, which is part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone. Hana Financial and five of its affiliates –- flagship commercial bank Hana Bank, brokerage Hana Financial Investment, credit card issuer Hana

MarketFeb. 16, 2022

Philip Morris Korea’s new parental leave policy 'respects all forms of families'

Philip Morris Korea has implemented a new parental leave policy to support all forms of families raising children including adoptive parents and legal guardians, the company said Wednesday. Under the company’s parental policy, which became effective last month, employees can take up to 126 days of paid parental leave if they are primary caregivers. The company allows up to 56 days of paid parental leave for secondary caregivers. According to the company, a primary caregiver is the perso

IndustryFeb. 16, 2022

[Feature] A boom with a view: Prices of riverside apartments soar

Nicknamed “celebrity town,” Seoul Forest Trimage is a luxurious apartment complex in eastern Seoul’s Seongsu-dong, known to be the home of K-pop stars, actors, athletes and other public figures. With a four-room unit measuring 152 square meters last quoted at 5.5 billion won ($4.59 million), the housing complex built in 2017 near Seoul Forest consists of two 47-story buildings that overlook the Han River, which bisects the capital. High-rise apartments with views of Seoul la

MarketFeb. 16, 2022

Posco’s business principle introduced at Stanford MBA course

Posco Group’s business principle “Corporate Citizenship” has been introduced as a case study example for a course in Stanford University’s MBA program, according to the Korean steelmaker on Wednesday.  Four years ago, Posco Group declared its management philosophy “Corporate Citizenship: Building a Better Future Together” as a guiding business principle, vowing to strengthen its commitments to environment, social, and governance issues. Such a concept,

IndustryFeb. 16, 2022

Corporate donations exceed W40b for Korean athletes at Beijing Olympics: FKI

Corporate donations made for Korean athletes competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics have exceeded 40 billion won ($33.4 million) over the past four years, according to industry data collected by the Federation of Korean Industries Wednesday. A total of 91 companies have donated cash and goods worth 41.75 billion won between 2018 and 2021 to support Korean national athletes preparing for this year’s Olympics, the data found. Donations were made mostly through related sports associatio

IndustryFeb. 16, 2022

Blockchain experts band together

An organization of some 5,000 people in the digital asset and blockchain industry and academia has been launched. The idea is to present the government with industrial roadmaps in a systematic manner, as it has been difficult to do so with a number of blockchain-related groups springing up. The Korea Blockchain Enterprise Promotion Association (KBEPA) and the Korea Blockchain Association Organization Federation held a ceremony to launch a “blockchain (digital asset) industry committee&r

IndustryFeb. 16, 2022

Celltrion 2021 net soars 20% on robust overseas sales

Celltrion Inc., a major South Korean biopharmaceutical firm, said Wednesday that its net profit jumped 20.1 percent on-year last year on the back of robust sales of its biosimilar products in overseas markets. Net profit came to 623.7 billion won ($521.1 million) last year on a consolidated basis, compared with a profit of 519.2 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Celltrion said its operating profit reached a record high of 753.9 billion won last year, up 5.9 per

IndustryFeb. 16, 2022

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance set to cut car insurance premiums in April

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., South Korea's top non-life insurer, said Wednesday it will cut its auto insurance premiums by an average 1.2 percent in April on falling loss rates. It will mark Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's first premium reduction since 2020, when its car insurance premium increased more than 3 percent amid soaring deficits. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, the non-life insurance arm of top conglomerate Samsung Group, said it has made the decision as its aut

IndustryFeb. 16, 2022

S. Korea eyes active push for FTAs with African nations

South Korea said Wednesday it will actively push for free trade agreements with African nations in a move to deepen economic ties with the resource-rich emerging market and to diversify its trade portfolio. Last month, South Korea and Egypt agreed to carry out a joint feasibility study on the bilateral trade and economic partnership, which is a first step for South Korea to have a free trade pact with an African country if the two sign the free trade deal. Trade volume between South Korea and Af

EconomyFeb. 16, 2022

S. Korea reports largest job growth in almost 22 years in Jan.

South Korea reported the largest job growth in nearly 22 years in January as the job market improved to pre-pandemic levels due to a low base effect and the ongoing economic recovery, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people came to 26.95 million last month, up 1.14 million from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest job growth since March 2000, when the number of employed people increased 1.21 million on-year. It also marked the

EconomyFeb. 16, 2022

Instant noodle makers' 2021 operating profits sink on rising costs

South Korea's three major instant noodle makers saw their operating profits tumble in 2021 due largely to increased costs, their regulatory filings showed Wednesday. Nongshim Co., the leading maker of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, said that its 2021 operating income plunged 33.8 percent from the previous year. Ottogi Co. and Samyang Foods Co. also saw their operating profits for last year shrink 16.1 percent and 31 percent on-year, respectively. The companies attributed t

EconomyFeb. 16, 2022

Seoul stocks open sharply higher on eased Ukraine tensions

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that stemmed from eased Ukraine tensions. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 40.21 points, or 1.5 percent, to trade at 2,716.75 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks rallied, snapping a three-day losing streak, on the back of overall gains in tech shares amid eased tensions over Russia's possible invasion of Ukraine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

MarketFeb. 16, 2022

Samsung unveils board reshuffle plan

Samsung Electronics unveiled Tuesday a plan to add six new board members and put them to the vote at an upcoming shareholder meeting in March. With the move, Samsung is likely to place more emphasis on its memory chip operations and sustainability in its business, which includes smartphones, consumer electronics goods and semiconductor chips. Among the incoming inside board member nominees is Samsung Electronics CEO Kyung Kye-hyun, who oversees its Device Solutions Division dedicated to semic

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2022

Tesla faces FTC sanction over alleged fiddling with battery performance

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has sent a review report to US electric vehicle maker Tesla to notify its conclusion of an investigation showing that Tesla allegedly fiddled with battery performance in low temperatures. The report notified Tesla of violating advertisement laws by exaggerating the performance of its Model 3 vehicles. Tesla advertised that its Model 3 vehicles can drive up to 446 kilometers once fully charged, without informing customers that its driving range can decreas

IndustryFeb. 15, 2022

NCSOFT 2021 net down 32.5% on increased costs

NCSOFT Corp., a major South Korean online and mobile game developer, said Tuesday its net profit decreased 32.5 percent in 2021 due to increased costs. Net profit stood at 395.7 billion won ($329.8 million) last year, compared with 586.6 billion won a year earlier, NCSOFT said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit came to 375.2 billion won, down 55 percent on-year from 824.8 billion. Annual sales fell 4.4 percent over the same period to 2.3 trillion won. Its increased spending on marketing

IndustryFeb. 15, 2022

Seoul stocks down for 3rd day amid Ukraine risk

South Korean stocks extended their losing streak to a third session Tuesday, as investors' appetite for risky assets weakened amid heightening US-Russia tensions over Moscow's potential invasion of Ukraine. The Korean won sharply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 27.94 points, or 1.03 percent, to close at 2,676.54 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 575 million shares worth some 9.2 trillion won ($7.7 billion), with losers outnumb

IndustryFeb. 15, 2022

Korea to draw contingency plans amid Ukraine tension

SEJONG -- Korea’s economic policymakers are mapping out contingency plans to minimize shocks from the possibility of worsening relations between Ukraine and Russia, the Ministry of Economic and Finance said Tuesday. Their plans are mainly focused on protecting export-oriented enterprises and the financial market by carrying out a variety of emergency countermeasures. Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon presided over a task force meeting during the day to cope with the geopolitical risk. P

EconomyFeb. 15, 2022

Posco Chemical offers EV experience program for children

Posco Chemical said Tuesday it ran an experience program where children can make miniature electric vehicles and charging stations and learn about their eco-friendliness. According to the refractory and secondary battery materials arm of South Korean steel giant Posco, it opened “Green Dream Class” at four children’s culture centers from Jan. 24 to Feb. 11 where Posco Chemical staff and executives participated as instructors and assembled miniature EVs and charging stations t

IndustryFeb. 15, 2022