Hanwha E&C named preferred bidder for new sports-MICE complex project in Seoul

Hanwha Engineering and Construction Corp. has been picked as the preferred bidder for a project to build a new major sports and convention industry complex in southeastern Seoul, the city government announced Friday. Seoul aims to develop some 350,000 square meters around Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul's southeastern Songpa Ward into a comprehensive commercial complex encompassing a wide range of sectors, including sports, MICE, culture and shopping through private investments. MICE refers to

IndustryDec. 10, 2021

Samsung Heavy Industries wins W245b order for LNG carrier

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Friday that it has signed a 245 billion-won ($208 million) deal to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier. The deal signed with a company in Oceania calls for Samsung Heavy Industries to deliver the vessel by May 2025, the shipbuilder said in a regulatory filing. With the latest deal, Samsung Heavy Industries has won orders worth a cumulative $12 billion so far this year, surpassing its annual order target of $9.1 billion by 32 percent. By ship, Samsun

IndustryDec. 10, 2021

S. Korea to monitor prices of farm products ahead of Lunar New Year holiday

South Korea plans to closely monitor prices of major agricultural, livestock and fishery goods starting next week in a bid to help stabilize inflationary pressure ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, a senior government official said Friday. The government will monitor the price movements of 17 items that are mainly used for holiday preparation meals, including napa cabbage, beef, eggs and rice, according to First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon. Next year's Lunar New Holiday runs from Jan.

EconomyDec. 10, 2021

[Graphic News] Imports of golf equipment at record high in first 10 months of this year

　South Korea’s imports of golf equipment rose to a record high in the first 10 months of this year on the back of strong demand amid the pandemic, customs data showed. 　The imports of golf clubs and other related equipment reached $601 million in the January-October period, up 29.3 percent from the previous year, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. 　The reading hit an all-time high for any first 10-month period of the year. It was also higher than the yearly imports of gol

BusinessDec. 10, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on spiking COVID-19 cases

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Friday, as the country's spiking new coronavirus cases fanned concerns about tougher virus curbs. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 21.59 points, or 0.71 percent, to 3,007.98 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment worsened as South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 7,000 for the third consecutive day Friday amid the waning immunity and colder weather. Most large caps traded lower in Seoul. M

MarketDec. 10, 2021

Top policymaker vows oversight of data monopoly by fintech firms

South Korea’s top financial policymaker said Thursday that he is seeking to work with other government bodies to prevent monopolistic practices by big tech companies holding vast amounts of personal data while promoting financial companies’ investment in financial technology.　 The remark came amid growing concerns over the market dominance of Naver Financial and Kakao Pay -- the fintech services offered by the country’s largest internal portal and messenger app operator,

EconomyDec. 9, 2021

Samsung's Lee returns from UAE amid expectation of 5G partnership

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong returned to Seoul on Thursday, ending a three-day trip to the United Arab Emirates involving a “small meeting.” “I had a small meeting in Abu Dhabi,” Lee told reporters as he arrived in Seoul, referring to a capital of the UAE. “It was a good opportunity, because experts from around the world in various fields got together to learn how each country or each industry stands ready for the future.” The de facto le

TechnologyDec. 9, 2021

Kotra, foreign chambers to support expatriates on industrial trend

The state-run trade promotion agency Kotra and foreign chambers of commerce in Korea on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in providing economy-related educational programs for expatriates working in South Korea. The program, called “Business+ Forum,” will begin in March next year, and expatriates at the management and executive level working in foreign companies, international organizations and embassies in Korea will be able to apply for the course, accordi

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

[Photo News] Self-drive for podium

A self-driving race car of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology finishes fourth at the Indy Autonomous Challenge held in Indianapolis on Oct. 23.  KAIST said Thursday that it will participate in the Autonomous Challenge, a one-on-one autonomous racing tournament scheduled to take place at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, in January.

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

Samsung ushers in next generation with execs in 30s, 40s

Samsung Electronics has promoted a swath of young executives in their 30s and 40s as part of its ongoing efforts to breathe fresh air into its rigid corporate culture. The Korean tech giant said Thursday a total of 198 executives, including eight executive vice presidents in their 40s and four vice presidents in their 30s, were promoted in its year-end executive reshuffle. Samsung said the latest reshuffle was carried out in line with its performance-driven culture, citing the company’s

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

Seoul stocks extend winning streak to 7th session on eased omicron concerns

South Korean stocks advanced for a seventh consecutive session Thursday amid eased concerns about the omicron variant of the new coronavirus. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 27.77 points, or 0.93 percent, to close at 3,029.57 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 496 million shares worth some 12 trillion won ($10.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 656 to 187. Institutions bought a net 620 billion won, wh

MarketDec. 9, 2021

LG Innotek chief wins tech award

LG Innotek said its chief executive Jeong Cheol-dong will receive an award from the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers on Friday for helping raise the global competitiveness of the local materials and parts industry. Jeong, known for his insight on the materials and parts market with 37 years of experience in business-to-business deals, will receive the Haedong Technology Award from the academic organization, the electronic components maker said. Having joined LG Semiconductor

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

Jungheung to become 3rd largest builder in Korea after Daewoo E&C takeover

Construction conglomerate Jungheung Group’s acquisition of much-larger rival Daewoo Engineering & Construction on Thursday is set to make Jungheung the third-largest builder by asset in South Korea, following Samsung E&C and Hyundai E&C.  While the two firms will run management individually under terms, Jungheung Group said it will retain Daewoo E&C staff and executives and guarantee the builder‘s independence in management. The two builders’ flagship apa

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

Beauty companies share globalization strategy at Trade Week 2021

Business leaders in the cosmetics and beauty industry shared their thoughts on the growth potential of K-beauty on Thursday, at Trade Week 2021, a four-day global conference organized by the Seoul Business Agency to offer support for small and medium-sized enterprises in Seoul.  L’Oreal’s Chief Digital Officer Lee Seon-young kicked off the seminar, explaining how digitalization is changing the company’s business strategy. “We do not think the rise in online busine

ConsumerDec. 9, 2021

Whey out of line: Seoul Milk under fire for portraying women as dairy cows in ad

Korea’s No. 1 milk producer by market share, Seoul Dairy Cooperative is under fire for objectifying women and portraying voyeurism in its latest video advertisement for its organic milk products. The 52-second video shows people, most of whom are presumably women, dressed in white drinking water from a stream and relaxing in a green meadow somewhere in Gangwon Province.  In the next scene, a man quietly approaches with a video camera from the cover of trees. He steps on a branch an

ConsumerDec. 9, 2021

S. Korea's debt level not to negatively affect credit ratings: S&P

South Korea's government debt level is not high enough to negatively affect its sovereign ratings in the near future, the global credit appraiser S&P Global Ratings said Thursday. Kim Eng Tan, senior director at S&P, said Korea's debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to reach slightly more than 40 percent by the end of next year, lower than the 50 percent estimate by the Korean government. "l just state very clearly that I don't think the Korean government ratings will be negatively affec

EconomyDec. 9, 2021

'Squid Game' 9th most searched keyword on Google in 2021

South Korean megahit “Squid Game” ranked as the No. 9 most-searched keyword by worldwide users on Google this year, Google Korea said Thursday. No. 1 on the list of most searched terms was “Australia vs. India,” referring to cricket matches between the two countries. “India vs. England” took second, followed by “IPL,” which stands for the Indian Premier League. Among the TV shows searched on Google worldwide, the Korean drama series was the mos

TechnologyDec. 9, 2021

LG CNS joins hands with Fujitsu for optimization consulting

South Korean information technology solutions company LG CNS said Thursday it has teamed up with Japanese counterpart Fujitsu to strengthen its mathematical optimization consulting capacity to improve client services. LG CNS and Fujitsu‘s Korean unit has recently signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an optimization algorithm that runs on Fujitsu’s digital annealer computational architecture. Fujitsu‘s digital annealer is a quantum computing-inspired technology to s

TechnologyDec. 9, 2021

Kyobo, KakaoBank join hands for platform projects

Kyobo Life Insurance affiliates and KakaoBank signed a memorandum of understanding on data cooperation and financial platform projects, officials said Thursday. KakaoBank, South Korea’s biggest internet-only bank by user base, said it will work with Kyobo Book Centre, the country’s largest bookstore by sales, to develop and upgrade an alternative credit rating model. To do that, the lender plans to research and analyze nonfinancial data such as the history of book purchases by Kyob

IndustryDec. 9, 2021

LG Energy Solution reviews $2b EV battery plant in Ontario

LG Energy Solution said Thursday it is mulling a new electric vehicle battery plant worth $2 billion in the Canadian province of Ontario. According to South Korea’s leading battery firm, it is currently in talks with Ontario officials for the new battery factory. The envisioned Ontario plant is part of LG Energy Solution’s plan to invest 5.6 trillion won ($4.76 billion) in North America by 2024 and secure an additional annual production capacity of 55 gigawatt-hours in the regi

IndustryDec. 9, 2021