Seoul shares dip for 3rd straight session on Wall Street losses

Seoul shares fell for the third straight session Friday in line with overnight losses on Wall Street. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) tumbled 28.89 points, or 1.02 percent, to close at 2,795.46. Trade volume was slightly moderate at 417.9 million shares worth 9.4 trillion won (US$6.78 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 574 to 302. Institutions and foreign investors dumped local shares worth a combined 781.2 billion

MarketJuly 19, 2024

Crypto investor protection law takes effect in Korea

South Korea’s first law specifically designed to protect cryptocurrency investors took effect on Friday, bringing the virtual asset industry within legal boundaries. The Virtual Asset User Protection Act aims to prevent unfair trading practices in the volatile crypto market, in response to how it was shaken by such incidents as the Terra-Luna crash and bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX. The new law defines virtual assets as electronic tokens with economic value that can be traded or transf

MarketJuly 19, 2024

Merger boosts SK On’s bid for turnaround

SK On's announcement Wednesday that it will merge with SK Trading International and SK Enterm has raised hopes of a potential turnaround in its financial performance and competitiveness in the battery industry. SK On has been grappling with persistent financial losses. The company, spun off from SK Innovation in October 2021, reported an operating loss of 581.8 billion won ($419.5 million) last year and 315 billion won in the first quarter of this year. This marked its 10th consecutive quar

CompaniesJuly 19, 2024

Samsung sees fewer preorders for Galaxy Z foldable phones

Preorders for Samsung Electronics’ new foldable smartphones have topped 910,000 units in South Korea, a decline from 1.02 million preorders for their predecessors last year, according to the tech giant on Friday. Ahead of the official release of the Galaxy Z Flip6 and Fold6 on July 24, Samsung accepted preorders for the new phones for a week until Thursday in Korea. Despite a nearly 10 percent decline from last year, consumers in their 20s and 30s – Samsung’s target audience &n

TechnologyJuly 19, 2024

Overseas-based fashion brands flock to Korea

South Korea's fashion scene is drawing increased interest from well-known global brands, particularly those targeting young women. Several overseas-based labels, such as Alo Yoga, On, Brandy Melville and Human Made, are slated to enter Korea's market. These brands have already garnered a loyal following among young Koreans, who previously relied on overseas purchases to access them. This influx is driven by a confluence of factors. A key driver is the perception that Korean celebriti

ConsumerJuly 19, 2024

S. Korea-Turkey revised double taxation treaty to take effect next week

A bilateral double taxation avoidance treaty between South Korea and Turkey was to come into force next week, Seoul's finance ministry said Friday. The revised convention, set to take effect Sunday, sets the maximum rate of withholding tax in the source country on income payments at 15 percent, compared with the current 20 percent, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The revision aims at easing the tax burden on companies doing business in the other country, and better prevent

EconomyJuly 19, 2024

Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

Seoul shares got off to a weak start Friday on overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 23.81 points, or 0.84 percent, to 2,800.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street shares tumbled as a weeklong decline in tech and chip stocks expanded to other blue chips. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite dropped 0.78 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 1.29 percent. In Seoul, most blue chips

MarketJuly 19, 2024

AmCham hosts policy gathering with privacy watchdog

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea announced Thursday that it had hosted a policy gathering with Ko Hak-soo, chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, to explore strategies for privacy protection in the era of artificial intelligence. For a second consecutive year, Ko met with an AmCham delegation of global companies to discuss the commission’s strategic responses to AI technologies. Highlighting the PIPC’s policy agenda, aimed at fostering an AI era that

IndustryJuly 18, 2024

Seoul shares fall over concerns of potential US-China chip row

Seoul shares retreated Thursday led by tech stocks over concerns that the United States may tighten chip sales to China. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) shed 18.67 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,824.35. Trade volume was slightly heavy at 632.9 million shares worth 15.1 trillion won ($10.9 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 602 to 275. Foreign investors dumped local shares worth 381 billion won, while retail in

MarketJuly 18, 2024

LG eyes W1tr sales in smart factory solutions by 2030

LG Electronics said Thursday it has set a goal of achieving over 1 trillion won ($724 million) in sales in the smart factory solutions business by 2030, by integrating artificial intelligence and digital transformation technologies as well as manufacturing and production data. “Despite it being the inaugural year of operation, substantial progress has already been made,” said Song Si-yong, a smart factory business division leader of LG PRI (Production Engineering Research Institute),

TechnologyJuly 18, 2024

[Exclusive] BlueOval SK’s Kentucky plant to start production in 1st half of 2025: official

BlueOval SK, a joint venture between Korean battery maker SK On and US automaker Ford, will begin mass production of batteries at its first plant in Glendale, Kentucky, in the first half of next year, a company official said Wednesday. “We are very excited about Kentucky 1 going online, the first of our three plants,” said Keli McAlister, external affairs director at BlueOval SK in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul. “There’s a lot of moving parts in a project th

MobilityJuly 18, 2024

Asset managers rush to rebrand ETF products to spur growth

Buoyed by the sharp growth of the local exchange-traded fund market, South Korean asset managers are rushing to rebrand their product lineups, trying to target investors with a fresh edge. According to data provided by Korea Exchange, the country's sole bourse operator, the net asset of the local ETF market stood at 158 trillion won ($114 billion) as of Tuesday, marking a sharp growth from 100 trillion won in June 2023. The market grew over three-fold in size from the 52 trillion won net as

MarketJuly 18, 2024

Samsung acquires UK tech startup to expand on-device AI capabilities

Samsung Electronics said Thursday that it has acquired Oxford Semantic Technologies, a UK-based startup, to enhance the on-device AI integrated into its Galaxy series. According to the tech giant, the acquisition was formalized Tuesday, though the financial details have yet to be disclosed. The acquired firm, founded in 2017 by three professors from the University of Oxford, leads in knowledge graphs, a key technology for advancing and personalizing artificial intelligence. This technology, whic

TechnologyJuly 18, 2024

S. Korea to seal $17b nuclear plant deal with Czech Republic by 2025

South Korea is close to securing a landmark contract to build nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic in a deal valued at approximately $17.3 billion, with finalization expected by March 2025. On Thursday, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Ahn Duk-geun held a press briefing to confirm the Czech government’s selection of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power as the preferred bidder. "The Czech government announced last night that it has chosen KHNP as the preferred bidder for the

IndustryJuly 18, 2024

Daewoo E&C chosen to construct Czech nuclear plants

Daewoo Engineering & Construction has been chosen as the preferred bidder to build nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic, the company said Thursday. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy earlier in the day, the Czech government has selected the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power as the preferred bidder to build four nuclear power units in the country. If the final contract is signed in March 2025, Daewoo E&C will be responsible for the construction. Daewoo E

CompaniesJuly 18, 2024

SK Innovation shuffles affiliates to cope with EV slump, lead future energy sector

SK Innovation on Thursday vowed to create synergy and lead the global energy sector through the realignment of its affiliates by merging itself with SK E&S and amalgamating battery-maker SK On with SK Trading International and SK Enterm. “We decided the merger with SK E&S to lay the groundwork for the growth of future energy businesses and push for a bold, structural innovation,” said Park Sang-kyu, CEO of SK Innovation, in a press conference at the SK Seorin Building in Seou

CompaniesJuly 18, 2024

Volvo XC40 triumphs as best-selling premium compact SUV

The Volvo XC40 has emerged as Korea’s best-selling premium compact sport utility vehicle in the first half of this year. The XC40 sold 1,089 units between January and June, with its B4 Ultimate all-wheel drive trim leading in single-trim sales, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association. In second place for single-trim sales was the MINI Cooper Countryman with 945 units, followed by the BMW X1 2.0 with 727 units. The same XC40 model secured second

MobilityJuly 18, 2024

S. Korea's unemployment up 16.9 percent on-year: report

Recent government data showed Thursday that the number of involuntarily unemployed people in South Korea reached 1.24 million in June, marking a 16.9 percent increase from the same month last year. According to a report by Rep. Hwang Jung-a of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the figure for June actually marked a substantial decrease compared to 1.89 million in January, and a slight increase from 1.23 million in May. But this year's monthly figures have risen considerably

EconomyJuly 18, 2024

Tmax Tibero’s research center recognized top R&D center by Science Ministry

Tmax Group announced Thursday that the research institute under its database management system (DBMS) specialist subsidiary, TmaxTibero, has been recognized by the Ministry of Science and ICT as the top corporate research and development center for the first half of 2024. Among 24 exemplary corporate research institutes chosen by the ministry, two, including TmaxTibero, were highlighted for their global growth potential and designated as top-tier. TmaxTibero's research institute focuses on

TechnologyJuly 18, 2024

Czech bid paves way for S. Korea's advance into nuclear energy market in Europe: industry minister

South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said Thursday that the country's recent winning of a nuclear power project in the Czech Republic will pave the way for its active advance into the broader European nuclear energy market. On Wednesday, the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power was selected as a preferred bidder to build two reactors at the Dukovany power plant by beating France's EDF. "We were able to secure a bridgehead to export nuclear reactors to Europe, which is

EconomyJuly 18, 2024