Another tight year ahead for Korea in 2025 with 3.2% budget increase

The Ministry of Economy and Finance has proposed a 677.4 trillion won ($509.2 billion) budget for next year, focusing on fiscal consolidation while bolstering public welfare and investing in strategic emerging industries. The budget, proposed by the finance ministry and endorsed by the Cabinet on Tuesday, represents a 3.2 percent hike from this year, reflecting the government's commitment to spending control and improved fiscal health. "Once known for its strong fiscal soundness, Korea

EconomyAug. 27, 2024

Hanwha Ocean’s H1 orders soar on high-value LNG vessels

Korean shipbuilding and offshore company Hanwha Ocean said Tuesday that it has secured some $5.07 billion in orders in the first half of this year with a strategic focus on high-value vessels such as LNG carriers. Under the contracts, Hanwha will build 26 high value-added ships – 16 LNG ships, two very large ammonia carriers (VLAC), one very large gas carrier (VLGC) and 7 very large crude oil carriers (VLCC) – scoring the highest contract amount in the merchant ship sector among dome

IndustryAug. 27, 2024

Seoul shares open lower on US tech losses

South Korean shares opened lower Tuesday, tracking an overnight tech slide on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 11.74 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,686.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, major US indexes closed mixed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.16 percent, while the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.32 percent and 0.85 percent, respectively. Artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia slid 2.25 percent ahea

MarketAug. 27, 2024

[Graphic News] Korean food exports rise 9.2%

South Korea’s exports of foodstuffs rose 9.2 percent on-year in the first seven months of 2024, data showed, led by sharp growth in instant noodle and processed rice products. Outbound shipments of food products came to $5.67 billion over the January-July period, compared with $5.18 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. By product, exports of instant noodles jumped 34 percent over the period to hit $699 million, with those of sn

MarketAug. 27, 2024

Korean export delegation visits Vietnam to enhance agricultural trade

A South Korean export delegation arrived in Vietnam on Monday for a weeklong trip aimed at promoting high-quality Korean agricultural products and facilitating their entry into the Vietnamese market. Led by officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the delegation includes a diverse range of exporters, such as manufacturers of fertilizers, eco-friendly agricultural chemicals, agricultural equipment, animal feed and machinery. Since 2018, the ministry has consistently s

ConsumerAug. 26, 2024

Franchises account for 70% of Korean chicken eateries: data

Crispy, double-fried, and an inseparable companion to cold beer, fried chicken is South Korea's beloved go-to snack for everything from sports viewing to late-night hangouts. But the country's $5.7 billion fried chicken industry, the world's third largest behind the United States and China, is showing signs of market saturation with a growing franchise dominance. Recent data from the Korea Fair Trade Commission and Statistics Korea paint a picture of a sector in flux as major fran

ConsumerAug. 26, 2024

[Photo News] Samsung fosters tech talent

A student makes device components as part of a polymechanics task in the 59th National Skills Competition at Kumoh Technical High School in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday. Samsung Group has been providing 250 million won ($188,000) every year since 2007 to sponsor the annual event aimed at fostering young talent. The conglomerate has so far hired 1,600 high school graduates who showed excellent performance at the competition in affiliates including Samsung Electronics and Samsung Displa

IndustryAug. 26, 2024

[KH Explains] Regulatory scrutiny, investor unrest heighten pressure on Doosan’s restructuring

Doosan Group is under intense scrutiny as it struggles to win investor confidence in its proposed governance overhaul. This comes amid growing speculation that the plan could collapse due to discrepancies between the proposed share purchase warrant prices and the company’s current stock prices. The situation has been worsened by regulatory pressures and increasing dissatisfaction among investors, leading to a dip in the stock prices of several Doosan subsidiaries. On Aug.19, shares of Doos

CompaniesAug. 26, 2024

Hyundai-Kia climb to top credit ranks among global automakers

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia have just secured their place among the world’s most financially sound automakers. According to industry sources Monday, both companies received A ratings from the world’s three major credit rating agencies -- Moody's, S&P and Fitch. This positions Hyundai and Kia alongside just three other automakers -- Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Honda -- that have earned A ratings from all three major credit rating agencies. Credit ratings from these agencies i

MobilityAug. 26, 2024

Seoul shares down for 2nd day after Fed chief's remarks; won at over 5-month high

South Korean shares closed slightly lower for the second straight day on Monday as investors sought to cash in on recent gains after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a potential rate cut next month. The local currency rose to its highest level in over five months against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 3.68 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 2,698.01. Trade volume was moderate at 329 million shares worth 8.97 trillion won ($6.77 billion), with l

MarketAug. 26, 2024

HD Hydrogen acquires fuel cell company Convion

HD Hydrogen, a recently established hydrogen fuel cell subsidiary of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, recently acquired Finnish fuel cell firm Convion at 72 million euros ($81 million), HD KSOE said Monday. Established in 2012, Convion specializes in manufacturing solid oxide fuel cells, or SOFC, and solid oxide electrolyzer cells, or SOEC, both of which are key technologies for hydrogen energy. According to HD KSOE, the intermediate holdings company under Korean shipbuilding co

CompaniesAug. 26, 2024

Kioxia's IPO expected to bring windfall for SK hynix: analysts

Japan’s Kioxia Holdings, the world’s third-largest NAND flash memory company, applied to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday, making it the largest stock debut since SoftBank in 2018. Now keen attention is being paid to SK hynix, the world's No. 2 maker of memory chips, which has invested 4 trillion won ($3 billion) in the Japanese rival. With the aim for an October initial public offering, Kioxia is expected to achieve a market capitalization of over 1.5 trillion yen ($1

IndustryAug. 26, 2024

Mastern eyes in US tech hubs for opportunities

Mastern America, the US arm of Mastern Investment Management, said Monday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with US real estate investor Woods Capital to attract investment for tech hub projects across the US. In October 2023, the US Economic Development Administration designated 31 regional technology and innovation hubs, which are regional coalitions dedicated to core technologies such as quantum computing, precision medicine, autonomous systems, clean energy and critical mineral sup

IndustryAug. 26, 2024

[Photo News] LG Tech Fair

LG Electronics Science Park President Park Il-pyung speaks during the opening of Spark 2024, LG's festival combining culture and tech, at LG Science Park in Seoul on Monday. The company kicked off the three-week event with its first LG Tech Fair, bringing together tech experts from eight LG affiliates including LG Electronics, LG Chem and LG Energy Solution, and others to discuss future technologies and share insights. (LG Corp.)

IndustryAug. 26, 2024

Homeplus achieves strong sales increase with summer promotion

South Korean discount chain Homeplus said Monday it saw a significant sales increase during it latest promotional event, which featured discounts on meat, vegetables and fruit, targeting peak demand in the summer vacation season. The event, which ran from July 25 to Aug. 11, resulted in growth across both physical stores and online. According to the company, sales at Homeplus' five major branches surged by over 50 percent, with some branches seeing sales increases of up to 90 percent. Meanw

CompaniesAug. 26, 2024

GI Innovation partners with MSD for new cancer drug combination

South Korean biotech company GI Innovation announced Monday a new partnership with Merck Sharp & Dohme, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., to test its drug GI-102 in combination with MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for treating patients with immunotherapy-resistant liver cancer, melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. This marks GI Innovation’s second collaboration with MSD, building on their earlier work for GI-101A. The trial will specifically t

CompaniesAug. 26, 2024

Coupang hosts global hackathon to seek innovative solutions

E-commerce giant Coupang announced Monday the company became the first domestic distributor to co-host a global hackathon event. Dubbed as "Hackseoul," the event, held on Saturday and Sunday, brought together some 200 software developers from 10 countries, including the US, Canada, Uzbekistan and India, at the company's headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul. AngelHack, a US-based company that has organized numerous hackathon events since 2011, designed the overall contest. The event wa

IndustryAug. 26, 2024

Tajikistan holds cultural day to share heritage with Korea

The Embassy of Tajikistan in South Korea announced Monday that it hosted a special event dedicated to celebrating Tajikistan Cultural Day, while strengthening cultural exchanges between the two nations. The event also marked the publication of the Korean edition of "Tajiks in the Mirror of History: From Aryans to Samanids," a book authored by Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon. Rahmon’s book reportedly offers an in-depth exploration of the history and cultural development of the

IndustryAug. 26, 2024

Celltrion gets European approval for Stelara biosimilar

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion announced Monday that it has received the European Commission’s final approval for Steqeyma, a Stelara (ustekinumab) biosimilar used to treat various autoimmune conditions. Steqeyma, or CT-P43, has been approved for use in all indications of reference product Stelara, including plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn's disease, following recent approvals in Korea and Canada in June and July, respectively. According to market resear

CompaniesAug. 26, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on US rate cut hopes

South Korean shares opened slightly higher Monday amid growing hopes for a US rate cut. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 2.85 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,704.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The increase follows sharp gains on Wall Street, prompted by remarks from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that hinted at the start of US rate cuts in the near future. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.14 percent to close at 41,175.07 Friday (US time), with

MarketAug. 26, 2024