[Weekender] VIB treatment: Luxury market surges for ‘very important babies’

Despite South Korea’s notoriously low birth rate, its childrenswear market shows no sign of abating, especially led by the binge spending of young parents. “Most parents that I know think that putting a luxury onesie that costs hundreds of dollars on a baby is excessive because they grow out of clothes so quickly. But, there are also some parents, particularly those who are well-off, who are willing to buy expensive clothes for their kids,” said a 38-year-old Seoul resident sur

IndustryJuly 6, 2024

Hyosung's estranged son donates inheritance, seeks to end family feud

Cho Hyun-moon, former vice president of Korea's industrial chaebol Hyosung and the estranged second son of the late founder Cho Suck-rai, announced on Friday his decision to donate his entire inheritance to charity in hopes of ending the feud with his brothers. "I’ve set up a public trust and will donate every penny of the inheritance left to me by the late honorary chairman. I hope my brothers will support this initiative," Cho stated at a press conference in Gangnam, Seoul

CompaniesJuly 5, 2024

FSC chief nominee vows to keep tight rein on household debts

First Vice Finance Minister Kim Byoung-hwan, the nominee to head the Financial Services Commission, said he must put in all efforts to bring down the fast growth of household debts on Friday. Kim, a 53-year-old macroeconomics expert, was tapped to the post to lead the country's top financial policy-making unit, according to the presidential office's announcement made on the previous day. “With the prolonged high interest rates and inflation, risks are building up in the vulnerabl

EconomyJuly 5, 2024

Genesis BBQ chairman shares K-chicken business stories at AIB conference

Yoon Hong-geun, chairman of Genesis BBQ, the nation's largest fried chicken franchise, shared the global success stories of the Korean fried chicken market in front of international scholars at the Academy of International Business, a prominent global association of scholars and business professionals. Under the theme "World Changer BBQ: A Case of Global Business Innovation," Yoon presented the global status and strategy of BBQ during AIB conference, held at the Lotte Hotel in cen

IndustryJuly 5, 2024

LG Electronics ups Q2 earnings guidance on robust sales

LG Electronics said Friday it expected its second-quarter earnings to climb more than 60 percent from a year earlier on robust sales of its main home appliance products and balanced qualitative growth of its business-to-business sector. LG estimated that its operating profit for the April-June period came in at 1.19 trillion won ($863.2 million), up 61.2 percent from a year ago, according to the company’s earnings guidance. The home appliance maker’s earnings guidance for the April-J

TechnologyJuly 5, 2024

Samsung projects 15-fold surge in Q2 profit

Samsung Electronics predicted Friday that its operating profit in the April-June period would rebound to exceed 10 trillion won ($7.3 billion), driven by a recovery in demand for memory chips and rising prices on the back of the expansion of the artificial intelligence market. Samsung's second-quarter operating profit is estimated to hit 10.4 trillion won, up 1,452.2 percent from a year ago, according to the company’s earnings guidance. The figure far exceeded the 8.23 trillion won consens

TechnologyJuly 5, 2024

Hanwha Energy makes tender offer as part of group succession plan

Hanwha Energy launched a bid on Friday to acquire shares worth 180 billion won ($130 million) in the group's holding company Hanwha, as part of a succession plan to transfer management control from the current Hanwha Group chairman to his three sons. Hanwha Energy, the renewable energy arm under Hanwha Group, South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate by total assets, seeks to secure 6 million common shares of Hanwha, according to a regulatory filing made on the same day. The tender o

IndustryJuly 5, 2024

Samsung SDI clinches W1tr energy storage deal with top US electric utility

Samsung SDI is set to supply energy storage solution batteries worth 1 trillion won ($724 million) to NextEra Energy, the largest electric utility in the United States. Industry sources report that Samsung SDI is finalizing a contract to provide batteries with a total capacity of 6.3 gigawatt-hours to NextEra Energy. This supply is equivalent to 11.5 percent of North America's total energy storage solution capacity of 55 GWh last year. The key product in this deal is the Samsung Battery Box

IndustryJuly 5, 2024

S. Korea's current account returns to surplus in May

South Korea logged the largest current account surplus in 32 months in May on the back of a sharp rise in the trade surplus and increased dividend income, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus reached $8.92 billion in May, a turnaround from a deficit of $290 million in April. The May surplus marks the largest since September 2021, when the surplus came in at $9.51 billion. In the first five months of the year, the country's current account surplus reach

EconomyJuly 5, 2024

Seoul shares open higher ahead of US jobs data

Seoul shares opened higher Friday as investors await US jobs data this week for clues on the Federal Reserve's future policy path. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 15.66 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,840.60 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 358 billion won ($260 million) worth of stocks, offsetting individuals' stock selling valued at 352 billion won. The US jobs report due Friday is forecast to show slowing job grow

MarketJuly 5, 2024

Value-up Program optimism brings Kospi to two-year high

South Korean shares hit the highest level in nearly two and half years on Thursday, with much-awaited tax incentive plans for the Korean government’s program to boost the stock market taking shape. The benchmark Kospi rose 1.11 percent to close at 2,824.94, reaching the highest since January in 2022. Institutional and foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth 1.11 trillion won ($803.8 million) and 321.5 billion won, respectively, while retail investors sold off 1.41 billion of sh

MarketJuly 4, 2024

SK, Canada’s EDC forge partnership on green energy

SK Group said Thursday that it has teamed up with Export Development Canada, the country’s exports credit agency, to boost cooperation in high-tech areas such as renewable energy and batteries. SK Inc., the holding unit of the group, signed a memorandum of understanding with EDC to forge a long-term partnership with its CEO Jang Yong-ho and EDC CEO Mairead Lavery in attendance. "This MOU is significant in that SK and Canada's public financial institution cooperate under a common

IndustryJuly 4, 2024

Seoul shares rise over 1 pct on rate-cut hope

South Korean stocks finished more than 1 percent higher to hit this year's high Thursday as investor sentiment was boosted by revived hopes for a rate cut in the United States and Samsung Electronics' upcoming earnings guidance. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 30.93 points, or 1.11 percent, to 2,824.94. It marked the highest closing price since Jan. 21, 2022, when it finished at 2,834.29. Trade volume was slim at 386.4 million shares worth 12.8 trillion won ($9.26

MarketJuly 4, 2024

Stalled talks for Line stake sale: Boon or bane for Naver?

Negotiations over Naver’s sale of a stake in its joint venture with Japan’s SoftBank are expected to be prolonged, with no immediate breakthrough in sight. Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon on Tuesday said the Korean portal giant had no immediate intention to sell its stake in LY Corp., the operator of Japan’s popular messenger Line. Naver and SoftBank each own 50 percent of A Holdings, which controls almost 65 percent of shares in LY Corp. Asked about the possible change in its ownershi

IndustryJuly 4, 2024

Daewoo E&C chairman meets Vienamese PM

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Chairman Jung Won-ju met with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Seoul to discuss future cooperation in construction projects in Vietnam, the company said Thursday. During the meeting held at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday, Jung sought the Vietnamese government’s support in the company’s ongoing construction projects in Vietnam. “Daewoo E&C is proud of being responsible for the Starlake City project in Hanoi,&r

IndustryJuly 4, 2024

LG Energy Solution CEO underscores stronger fundamentals

LG Energy Solution CEO Kim Dong-myung said Thursday that the company needs to focus on strengthening fundamentals and review ways to cut down any dissipation amid the stagnating demand for electric vehicles forecasting a troublesome outlook for the battery industry. "As we have been pushing for aggressively winning contracts and expanding businesses, it's true that there have been a lot of inefficiencies across various sectors such as personnel, facilities, and purchases," he said

CompaniesJuly 4, 2024

SK Square names new CEO to reshape investment portfolio

SK Square, the investment arm of SK Group, is set to reshape its business portfolio to concentrate on the chip industry and divest "non-core" investments, under a new leader. On Wednesday, the company nominated Han Myung-jin, the head of the company's investment support center and former chief strategy officer of SK Telecom, as its new chief executive officer, to take over from Park Sung-ha who was dismissed a week ago. "The appointments committee in the board of directors no

IndustryJuly 4, 2024

Starbucks Korea launches campaign to celebrate 25th anniversary

Starbucks Korea is launching the Festival for All promotional event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its operations in the nation, the coffee giant announced Thursday. This seven-day event kicks off Friday and features new food and beverage products from overseas branches. For beverages, the company will showcase its French vanilla latte and "The Melon Of Melon Frappuccino," initially launched in the US and Japan, respectively. The French vanilla latte includes two shots of blonde

CompaniesJuly 4, 2024

Mirae Asset chief named AIB executive of year in first for Asian financier

Mirae Asset Financial Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo on Wednesday received the International Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of International Business, a top honor in the industry, recognized for his pivotal role in lifting the firm as a global financial service provider. Park is the first Asian financier and the second Korean entrepreneur to receive the prestigious award from the AIB, an association of international business scholars and professionals. The first Korean awardee was S

IndustryJuly 4, 2024

Posco invites Canada JV managers for technical, quality control training

Posco Future M, the battery materials company affiliated with Posco Group, said Thursday it has conducted technical training for key employees of its joint venture project with General Motors in Quebec, Canada. A total of 21 members of Ultium CAM, the cathode material-making joint venture set up with the US auto giant General Motors in May 2022, participated in a monthlong program held at the firm’s training center in Seoul and its cathode materials plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Provin

MobilityJuly 4, 2024