[Photo News] Porsche in Busan

Porsche Korea is participating in Art Busan 2024 as an official partner and hosting 'Salon de Panamera' at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center through Sunday, the German automaker's local office said Thursday. Inspired by Europe's salon culture, the exhibition will showcase Porsche’s brand philosophy of continuous innovation integrated with the brand's unique design by presenting the new Panamera 4, the automaker's latest powerful sporting luxury sedan,

MobilityMay 9, 2024

Seoul shares open flat ahead of US inflation data

South Korean shares opened nearly flat Thursday as investors sat on the sidelines ahead of the release of the U.S. consumer price index next week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged down 1.9 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,743.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investors remained cautious ahead of the release of the U.S. inflation data amid a mixed forecast over the future course of the Federal Reserve's key rates. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins

MarketMay 9, 2024

SK Hynix to sell 50% stake in China foundry unit to Chinese enterprise

South Korea's SK Hynix has agreed to sell its nearly 50% stake in its foundry unit based in China to a Chinese state-owned enterprise, according to regulatory filings and media reports. SK Hynix System IC said in a regulatory filing that it plans to sell a 21.3% stake in its foundry unit in Wuxi to China's state-owned Wuxi Industry Development Group Company for 205.4 billion won ($150.81 million). In a separate filing, SK Hynix System IC said it will also sell its intangible assets,

TechnologyMay 8, 2024

Korean Air sells five jets to US aerospace firm Sierra Nevada

Korean Air will sell five of its planes to US aerospace firm Sierra Nevada Corporation, the airline said in an exchange filing on Wednesday. Sierra Nevada recently won a $13 billion US Air Force contract to develop a successor to the E-4B Nightwatch, known as the Doomsday plane due to its ability to survive a nuclear war and act as a command and control centre during emergencies. Sierra Nevada did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Korean Air planes being sold are four-engined

IndustryMay 8, 2024

Pressure mounts on Naver to shed stake in Line

Takeshi Idezawa, CEO of the Tokyo-based LY Corp., the operator of the messaging app Line, said Wednesday that the company has requested its key shareholder Naver to sell stakes in an apparent move to cut the Korean firm’s control over its management. The decision comes as Naver is under growing pressure from the Japanese government to shed its ownership in Line, the popular app the Korean firm has nurtured over the past 13 years. Currently, almost 70 percent of the Japanese population is k

IndustryMay 8, 2024

Minister says chip subsidy a ‘tall order’

Countries have been rolling out competitive subsidy programs to boost their edge in the critical semiconductor industry. For South Korea, it is difficult to come up with such direct support programs, but the government is working to create an environment to benefit long-term investment in the sector, Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said in a press briefing Tuesday. Ahn also explained that the ministry, along with other government entities will set up a public fund to support strategic industries,

IndustryMay 8, 2024

Mirae Asset Securities reaps fruits of global growth

Mirae Asset Securities, Korea’s largest stock brokerage company, has yielded solid results and created a strong impetus for growth in overseas markets after two decades of global expansion. Park Hyeon-joo, chairman of the Mirae Asset Financial Group, which covers comprehensive financial services including asset management, wealth management, investment banking and life insurance, has been spearheading the group's ambition to expand businesses beyond familiar horizons. Mirae Asset Se

CompaniesMay 8, 2024

Korean drug makers flock to obesity treatment

South Korea’s pharmaceutical companies are accelerating the development of anti-obesity drugs to take share in the rapidly growing market, which is estimated to hit $100 billion by 2030. Hanmi Pharmaceutical is one of a few Korean drug companies that have been pushing ahead with their clinical trials for homegrown anti-obesity drugs. The drug company is currently expected to be the first Korean company that will launch a homegrown anti-obesity drug. “Hanmi Pharmaceutical is the only

IndustryMay 8, 2024

Korean battery makers heave sigh of relief over 2-year IRA reprieve

South Korea's battery industry has secured a two-year reprieve from the US Inflation Reduction Act restrictions on electric vehicle batteries containing Chinese graphite, giving it time to diversify its supply chain while the Korean government has committed 9.7 trillion won ($7.1 billion) in policy financing to support this transition. Following negotiations and advocacy by the Korean government and related industries, the US government on Friday agreed to suspend specific provisions of the

MobilityMay 8, 2024

Coupang earnings hit hard by losses from ailing Farfetch

New York-listed e-commerce giant Coupang reported Wednesday that its sales soared to a record high of $7.1 billion in the first quarter of this year, but operating profits were almost cut in half largely due to the losses from Farfetch, the luxury shopping platform it acquired last year. According to its earnings report earlier in the day, its revenue reached $7.1 billion in the January-March period, up 23 percent from a year ago. Its operating profits were $40 million, which compared to $167.

IndustryMay 8, 2024

Seoul shares up for 2nd day amid US rate cut concerns

Seoul shares ended higher Wednesday as investors remain watchful over whether the US Federal Reserve will slash key rates this year. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.69 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 2,745.05. Trading volume was moderate at 424.75 million shares worth 10.09 trillion won ($7.4 billion), with winners outpacing losers 575 to 280. Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 434.7 billion won worth of stocks, o

MarketMay 8, 2024

Over 80,000 millionaires, 20 billionaires in Seoul: report

There are over 80,000 individuals in Seoul with wealth of over $1 million, making it the city in the world with the 19th-highest number of millionaires, a recent study found. Around 82,500 residents in Seoul have wealth over $1 million as of December 2023, according to the “2024 World’s Wealthiest Cities” report issued by investment migration consultant Henry & Partners in collaboration with global data intelligence firm New World Wealth, Tuesday. In the annual report, weal

EconomyMay 8, 2024

HD Hyundai Marine Solution soars on first day of public trading

HD Hyundai Marine Solution, a ship maintenance unit affiliated with Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai, made its stock debut Wednesday, with the stock price soaring on the first day of trading. Listed on Kospi, the nation’s main bourse, its stock opened at 119,900 won ($88), a 48.8 percent surge from the initial public offering price of 84,300 won. It hit a high of 166,100 won before closing at 163,900 won. During its book-building period earlier in April, the company managed to amass

CompaniesMay 8, 2024

Kakao Bank hits record high quarterly profit in Q1

South Korean online-only lender Kakao Bank announced Wednesday that its net profit hit a record high of 111.2 billion won ($81.44 million) in the first quarter, a 9 percent increase from the previous year. Operating profit for the same period was 148.4 billion won, up 8.8 percent from last year. The bank said it achieved balanced growth across various business sectors, driven by a steady increase in customer numbers and the successful launch of products and services. Total customer numbers grew

IndustryMay 8, 2024

Minister pledges support for Naver in Line dispute

Korea will put Naver’s interest in the forefront in coming up with countermeasures to cope with the Korean IT firm’s conundrum of the Japanese government’s pressure on Naver to give up its ownership in Line, a leading messaging app in Japan that Naver has fostered for over a dozen years, the Korean science minister said Wednesday. “Regarding Japan’s administrative guidance of (Line), we have been continuously and closely cooperating with Naver to guarantee the maxim

IndustryMay 8, 2024

20 major S. Korean conglomerates have no female inside directors

A report showed Wednesday that women account for only 3.2 percent of all inside directors at the biggest companies in South Korea. There are 787 inside directors and 850 outside directors on the boards of the 30 largest South Korean conglomerates and their 298 affiliates according to the local market analysis firm Leaders Index. There are 174 female outside directors and 25 female inside directors, each accounting for 20.5 percent and 3.2 percent of the respective totals. All 30 conglomerates ha

IndustryMay 8, 2024

Less than 1 in 4 Seoul apartment deals are under W600m

Housing prices keep soaring in Seoul, as a report showed Wednesday that only 23.5 percent of high-rise apartments sold in the first quarter of this year went for less than 600 million won ($440,000). The real estate news platform Gyeongjae Man Lab -- Economy 10,000-Lab -- analyzed the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It found that 2,188 of the 9,314 high-rise apartment transaction deals in the first quarter involved apartments worth less than 600 million won. It was

EconomyMay 8, 2024

Czech envoy visits S. Korea's latest nuclear plant ahead of bid result

A Czech envoy visited a South Korean nuclear power plant last week amid the ongoing process to select the winner for the European nation's construction project estimated at around 30 trillion won ($22 billion), industry sources said Wednesday. Ivan Jancarek, the Czech Republic's ambassador to South Korea, visited the Saeul Nuclear Power Plant in Ulsan, 299 kilometers south of Seoul, on Friday, and was briefed on the overall operations of the facility, according to the sources. The visi

TechnologyMay 8, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on institutional buying

Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday on institutional buying, with investors staying watchful on whether the US Federal Reserve will slash key rates this year. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 3.65 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,738.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks ended nearly flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.08 percent at 38,884.26, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.1 percent to 16,332.56. Institutions and individuals bought a comb

MarketMay 8, 2024

Korea's logistics firms upscale facilities on Chinese e-commerce rise

Korean logistics companies are boosting their investment in their facilities to cope with the country’s increasing direct purchases from China, industry sources said Tuesday. According to Korea Customs Service, the number of items purchased through Chinese online shopping platforms last year reached 88.8 million, up 70.3 percent on-year. The combined value of those transactions also came to some 3.3 trillion won ($2.43 billion), up 121.2 percent from a year ago. The number of monthly activ

IndustryMay 7, 2024