LG Uplus to supply 5G content to Thailand's top telco

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Sunday it signed a deal to export $11.14 million worth of 5G solutions and content to Thailand's top mobile carrier, Advanced Info Service (AIS). Under the deal, LG Uplus will provide AIS with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) 5G content and also oversee the rollout of the service from its testing to launch. LG Uplus said it expects its immersive 5G content, which includes Korean music shows, to gain popularity in Thaila

IndustryMarch 28, 2021

[Eye Plus] A Visit to ASEAN National Recreation Forest

As spring creeps in, more people are seeking outdoor activities to take advantage of the warmer weather -- as evidenced by the recent uptrend in Korean-language Google searches for parks. Located 25 kilometers north of central Seoul, the ASEAN National Recreation Forest in the city of Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, makes for a good spot for outings with family and friends. The forest is especially accessible to those based in Seoul, Incheon, Ilsan and Uijeongbu, as it takes roughly an hour to make

IndustryMarch 27, 2021

[Photo News] Lacoste crocodiles come to Garosu-gil

To celebrate the launch of a collaborative collection with Polaroid, Lacoste recently set up six pop-up zones on Garosu-gil street featuring huge, brightly colored crocodiles. Visitors to the flagship Lacoste store on Garosu-gil in Gangnam, Seoul, look through a shop window at the exhibition “Lacoste X Polaroid.”  Visitors take pictures of their reflections in the store’s rainbow mirror in southern Seoul. (Photos: Yonhap) By Yoon Chae-won (choenayoon@heraldcorp.com)

IndustryMarch 27, 2021

[Obituary] Nongshim Group chairman dies at age 92

Shin Choon-ho, chairman of major food company Nongshim Group, died Saturday of a chronic illness, the company said. He was 92. The group's flagship unit, Nongshim Co., is South Korea's top instant noodle maker. Born in 1930, Shin founded the food company in 1965 and became the group's chairman in 1992. (Yonhap)

IndustryMarch 27, 2021

NPS delays decision on domestic stock ratio

South Korea‘s public pension fund, the National Pension Service, delayed a decision on whether or not to increase the proportion of domestic stock holdings, amid mounting criticism over the fund’s selling streak. NPS investment Management, the fund’s highest decision-making body, held a meeting Friday to discuss the matter, but failed to reach an agreement on whether or not to raise the proportion of strategic asset distribution limit from the current 2 percentage points to 3

EconomyMarch 26, 2021

Prosecution needs to stop probe into Samsung chief's alleged propofol use: expert panel

A panel of civilian experts decided Friday to recommend that the state prosecution service halt its investigation into the allegation that Lee Jae-yong, the jailed de facto leader of Samsung Group, had taken propofol shots illegally. The committee of outside experts plans to deliver the opinion, which is not binding, to the Supreme Prosecutors Office. Among the 14 members of the panel who took part in the voting, eight opposed the continuation of the probe, and the rest favored it. They faile

IndustryMarch 26, 2021

Major banking groups hint at higher dividends at shareholders meetings

South Korea’s major banking groups expressed a willingness to review various ways to increase their dividend payouts -- including interim dividends – amid government restrictions that have placed a cap on earnings distribution, in shareholders meetings held through Friday. In an apparent bid to quell shareholders’ growing complaints over the firms’ decision to heed the Financial Supervisory Service’s earlier “recommendation” to keep their dividend payo

MarketMarch 26, 2021

S. Korean importers tense over Suez Canal blockage

In the wake of the Suez Canal blockage that is paralyzing regional and global logistics, South Korean companies are starting to feel an impact. With importers tense over possible delays in their material and product supplies, shipping companies are expected to gain from increased fees and surplus demands. HMM, Korea’s largest and the world’s eighth-largest shipper, saw its stock price climb 15.96 percent on-day to 34,150 won ($30.20) on Friday, prolonging the uptrend for nine co

IndustryMarch 26, 2021

YG Entertainment founder’s control shrinks after Chinese company exit

YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk’s grip on the firm has weakened after China’s ticket booking platform divested itself from the K-pop powerhouse this month. Shanghai Fengying Business Consultant Partnership has unloaded all of its 953,947 shares in YG Entertainment, dissolving a special relation status with Yang, a former CEO of the firm, a regulatory filing showed on Friday. The report showed that the combined stake owned by Yang and seven other related parties fell to 25.

MarketMarch 26, 2021

Celltrion founder’s two sons appointed as executive directors

Celltrion Group saw a generation shift in its leadership as the founder and honorary chairman stepped down from his official posts and his two sons obtained seats in key affiliates’ boardrooms, following a decision made at shareholders meetings Friday. The founder’s first son Seo jin-seok has been appointed as an executive director at Celltrion, filling an empty seat left behind after the founder stepped down from the chairman post in December. Second son Seo Joon-serk was also sepa

TechnologyMarch 26, 2021

Seoul stocks advance on oil prices, recovery hopes

South Korean stocks advanced more than 1 percent Friday, as vaccine distribution spurred expectations of an economic rebound amid stable oil prices. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 32.68 points, or 1.09 percent, to close at 3,041.01 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1 billion shares worth some 15.4 trillion won ($13.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 544 to 291. Foreigners bought a net 296 billion won

MarketMarch 26, 2021

Samsung SDS CEO vows makeover into cloud business

Samsung SDS President and CEO Hwang Sung-woo urged the company to realign itself into a cloud-based business platform that focuses on logistics and security services. “It is now time for Samsung SDS to transform into a true cloud company. Let us concentrate all strengths on cloud, logistics and security,” Hwang said Friday in an email sent out to staff and executives. Marking his first official message since taking office last December, Hwang made it clear that cloud-based busine

IndustryMarch 26, 2021

Korean Air’s Cho Won-tae survives proxy vote, remains CEO

Cho Won-tae, CEO of the nation’s flag carrier Korean Air and its holding Hanjin Group, has been reappointed to lead the company, despite the country’s pension fund operator’s disapproval in doing so. Shareholders in attendance at the meeting on Friday, or those who had submitted a proxy statement in advance, represented 56.91 percent in terms of shares. Nearly 83 percent of the shareholders with voting rights voted in favor of Cho, the company said. The National Pension Servi

MobilityMarch 26, 2021

SK rejects LG compensation demands, unafraid of giving up Georgia plant

SK Innovation said it cannot accept rival LG Energy Solution’s demands for damage compensation it suffered after its battery technologies were stolen, dragging on an already drawn-out settlement dispute involving the two battery makers. The corresponding remark came during the company’s annual shareholders meeting on Friday and also in the wake of LGES’ vow on the previous day that it will fight to receive reasonable compensation from SK. At the 14th shareholders meeting hel

IndustryMarch 26, 2021

LG confirms launch of new holding company LX Holdings

LG Corp., the holding firm of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate by assets LG Group, received approval from shareholders on Friday to set up another parent entity as part of the conglomerate spinoff plan. Set for launch on May 1, LX Holdings will take four non-electronics affiliates with promising outlooks -- LG International, LG Hausys, LG MMA and Silicon Works under its umbrella. LG Corp. will keep electronics, chemicals and communications businesses and focus on future growth e

IndustryMarch 26, 2021

Samsung C&T wins $448m deal from Singapore

Samsung C&T Corp., the construction unit of Samsung Group, said Friday it has won a $604 million ($448) deal to build a section of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. Under the deal with the Land Transport Authority, Samsung C&T will build Hougang interchange station and tunnels for the Cross Island Line, the city state's eighth MRT line. The Land Transport Authority said the deal also covers the construction of additional and alteration works to the existing Hougang station a

IndustryMarch 26, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding establishes shipyard simulation system with game engine

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering said Friday it launched a shipyard simulation system based on a game engine for optimized operations. According to DSME, it utilized the Unity game engine and constructed a 3D version of its actual shipyard. Inside the simulated space, DSME developed an algorithm that provides optimized transporter routes and block assembly. DSME aims to further advance the simulation system by applying cloud computing and machine learning technologies. Also, th

IndustryMarch 26, 2021

Home transactions tumble 24.5% in Feb.

Home transactions in South Korea sank nearly 25 percent in February amid government measures to rein in rising prices, data showed Friday. The number of homes changing hands nationwide stood at 87,021 last month, down 24.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The February reading was also down 4 percent from the previous month. The number of home transactions in the Seoul metropolitan area, which includes the western port

EconomyMarch 26, 2021

Korean automotive LED makers up presence in 2020 despite market decline: report

South Korea's two major automotive light-emitting diode (LED) makers saw their revenues increase last year despite an overall market slump amid the pandemic, a report showed Friday. Seoul Semiconductor Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. maintained their status as the world's fifth- and seventh-largest automotive LED suppliers, respectively, in 2020, but their market shares and sales grew, according to market researcher TrendForce. Seoul Semiconductor's revenue jumped 3.2 percent to $130 million

IndustryMarch 26, 2021

Doosan Heavy completes 2nd wind power generator plant

South Korean power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Friday it has completed the construction of its second plant for wind power generators in the country. The plant in Changwon, 398 kilometers southeast of Seoul, will assemble and test 5.5-megawatt wind power generators, Doosan Heavy said. With the plant, Doosan Heavy will be able to produce 30 wind power generators annually, the company said. With its wind power business starting in 2005, Doosan Heavy has b

IndustryMarch 26, 2021