Kakao Games Corp., the gaming unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp., reported Tuesday its first-quarter net profit rose 54.2 percent on-year to 28.3 billion won ($22.3 million) thanks to the popularity of its mobile title "Odin Valhalla Rising" and improved cost management. Operating profit spiked 169.7 percent on-year to 42.1 billion won in the January-March period, while sales rose 104.7...

KakaoBank Corp., a South Korean internet-only bank, Tuesday reported a 43.2 percent jump in its first-quarter earnings as its customer base continued to expand amid the coronavirus pandemic. Net income came to 66.80 billion won (US$52.8 million) in the January-March period, compared with 46.66 billon won tallied a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit also surg...

South Korean information technology service provider LG CNS has kicked off the process of its initial public offering (IPO) that could take place as early as in the second half of this year, industry sources said Tuesday. LG CNS, a unit of South Korea's No. 4 conglomerate LG Group, sent a request for proposal to major domestic and overseas securities companies the previous day to choose the lead...

Joint forum held by The Korea Herald, AmCham explores how metaverse is entering a new phase in post-pandemic world

Toss Bank is now the first South Korean internet-only bank to allow foreign residents here to open an online bank account, the lender said Monday. “Starting Monday, all foreigners here are able to open an account as long as they have their registration card,” Toss Bank said in a statement. Foreigners are offered the same service as locals, according to the bank, which was set up last year, four ...

Decentralized autonomous organizations present new organizational structure for the future

Shin Dong-won, chairman of South Korea’s largest instant noodle maker Nongshim, looks around the company‘s second factory in US in this photo released Monday. According to Nongshim, the new factory located in Rancho Cucamonga, California can produce up to 350 million instant noodles per year. The Korean noodle maker said it aims to reach annual sales of $800 million (1.01 trillion won) in the US ...

With the growing buzz around the metaverse driven by every sector of industry around the world, The Korea Herald and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Korea are co-hosting a forum to discuss what the hyper-interactive virtual world holds for the future. The two-hour forum invites a number of business leaders and experts, who are leading the rise of the metaverse to share their insight...

Major South Korean securities firm Meritz Securities Co. said Monday its first-quarter net profit rose 33.4 percent from a year ago on the back of good performance at its investment banking unit (IB) and solid returns from its investment. Net profit stood at a quarterly record of 282.4 billion won ($224.9 million) in the January-March period, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its operati...

South Korean refiner GS Caltex said Sunday it has teamed up with Posco International, the trading unit of steel giant Posco, to make a big push into the burgeoning biofuel market amid growing calls for emissions cuts globally. Under the deal, the two firms seek to build an extensive biofuel value chain combining GS Caltex’s manufacturing technology and Posco International’s refinery infrastructu...

Ending 10-year tug of war, carmakers pledge better transparency, quality control

With the growing buzz around the metaverse driven by every sector of industry around the world, The Korea Herald and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Korea are co-hosting a forum on Monday to discuss what the hyper-interactive virtual world holds for the future. The two-hour forum, held from 1 p.m. at Four Seasons Seoul, has invited a number of business leaders and experts, who are l...

South Korea biotech firm Seegene is expected to build production facilities for molecular diagnostics in West Coast of the US in a bid to expand its presence in the all-important market, its US chief hinted in a recent media interview. “Seegene Technologies will move beyond serving as a distribution channel of Seegene-made products and self-produce bio products tailored to the needs of the US ma...

Hyundai Motor Co. said Sunday it has bagged purchase orders for more than 1,500 of the all-electric IONIQ 5 in Indonesia within about a week after its official release in the Southeast Asian country. The South Korean automaker clinched purchase deals for 1,587 vehicles in the first five days since its official release on April 22, Hyundai's sales unit in Indonesia said. The amount of purchase o...

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said Sunday it is launching a new smart logistics business supplying cutting-edge solutions for clients to better respond to the latest tech trends and improve operational efficiency overall. The market for smart logistics solutions, based on diverse technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and robotics, is fast growing on th...