KCCI chief renews will to play bigger role in boosting economic diplomacy

Marking the 140th anniversary this year, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry or KCCI, the nation's largest business lobby, hosted the Global Business Networking Night event in Seoul on Tuesday to further promote foreign investment and attract global companies to nurture the country as the business hub in Asia. “Starting with tonight's event, the KCCI will further strengthen its role as an economic and diplomatic platform,” KCCI Chair Chey Tae-won, who also serves as

IndustryMay 1, 2024

Fila chairman named this year’s Van Fleet Award winner

Yoon Yoon-soo, chairman of the Fila Holdings Corp. and Acushnet Holdings Corp., has been named this year's winner of the General James A. Van Fleet Award in recognition of his contributions to Korean-US relations, according to the Korea Society on Wednesday. The Korea Society highlighted Yoon's involvement in founding and advising the Korea-US Alliance Foundation and the Korea Defense Veterans Association in 2017, both of which honor the bravery and sacrifice of Korean War veterans, as

CompaniesMay 1, 2024

Govt. to launch task force for supporting people's livelihoods

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Wednesday the government will set up a task force in charge of monitoring and resolving issues regarding economic livelihoods of the people. Choi made the remarks during an emergency economic ministers' meeting in Seoul, stressing the government's priority of reviving the economy and boosting consumer sentiment amid weak domestic demand and high inflation. "We will not just be satisfied with decent economic data and will put policy priority on h

EconomyMay 1, 2024

Creditors of Taeyoung E&C approve capital reduction plan

Creditors of Taeyoung Engineering & Construction on Tuesday approved a massive capital reduction plan designed to support the builder currently undergoing a debt restructuring program. More than 75 percent of the builder's creditors agreed to the plan to reduce major shareholders' stakes at a 100-to-1 ratio without compensation. The plan, proposed by Taeyoung's main creditor, Korea Development Bank, earlier this month, also seeks to raise some 700 billion won ($507 million) th

IndustryApril 30, 2024

S&P keeps 'AA' rating on S. Korea with stable outlook

Global credit appraiser S&P Global Ratings said Tuesday it has maintained its credit rating on South Korea at "AA," with a stable outlook. S&P has kept South Korea's long-term sovereign credit rating at the third-highest level on the company's table since August 2016, when it upgraded the rating by one notch from "AA-." "The stable rating outlook reflects our expectation that (South) Korea will maintain average growth rates that are higher than most oth

EconomyApril 30, 2024

Line, Kakao eye Asia’s No. 1 blockchain network

Blockchain platform operators under Korean tech giants Line and Kakao are to complete integration under the new brand name "kaia" in June, the entities announced Tuesday. Project Dragon, created through a merge of Kakao's blockchain platform Klaytn Foundation and Finschia Foundation under Naver's affiliate Line Tech Plus, said it plans to complete the integration of the respective blockchain ecosystems in June, following a merger announced in February. “Such a merger of

IndustryApril 30, 2024

Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1

After logging losses for five consecutive quarters, Samsung Electronics' chip business returned to the black in the first quarter this year, thanks to rising demand for high-end chips and a surge in chip prices. In its earnings report for the January-March period on Tuesday, Samsung said its chip division reported 23.1 trillion won ($16.7 billion) in sales and 1.91 trillion won in operating profits. The profit comes after the company suffered operating losses for five consecutive quarters.

IndustryApril 30, 2024

Marking 10 years, KB accelerator nurtures 255 startups

More than 250 startup companies have joined KB Financial Group’s accelerator program over the past 10 years to scale up businesses into unicorns in the fintech industry. KB Financial Group held an event on Tuesday marking the 10th anniversary of the KB Innovation HUB Center, the first organization dedicated to fostering and supporting startups in the financial sector. Since KB Innovation HUB Center’s inception in 2015, the group launched its startup accelerator program, KB Starters

CompaniesApril 30, 2024

Financial groups maintain capital adequacy despite ELS risk

Korean banking groups maintained solid capital adequacy despite significant payouts for consumer compensation due to misselling equity-linked securities tracking a Hong Kong index. Industry sources reported that the average capital adequacy ratio, or Common Equity Tier 1, among five major Korean financial groups -- KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NongHyup -- was 12.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, a slight decline from 13 percent in the previous term and 12.9 percent from the same peri

IndustryApril 30, 2024

Seoul shares up for 3rd day on Samsung, batteries

South Korean stocks finished up for a third consecutive session Tuesday backed by a strong earnings performance by top cap Samsung Electronics and overnight US stock gains. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.62 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,692.06. Trade volume was moderate at 450 million shares worth 11.1 trillion won ($8.03 billion). Winners outpaced losers 439 to 408. Institutions and foreign investors combined bought a net 52

MarketApril 30, 2024

[Photo News] Samsung Olympic Experience Zone

Samsung Electronics said Monday it has opened the Samsung Olympic Experience Zone ahead of the upcoming Olympics in Paris. The venue, a collaboration with Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Jean Nouvel, will operate from March 3 to Oct. 31 to display diverse Galaxy devices. Samsung has been the official partner of the Olympics and Paralympics for about four decades. (Samsung Electronics)

IndustryApril 30, 2024

Naver, Intel, KAIST join forces to set up AI lab in Korea

Naver, Intel and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology will set up a joint lab in Korea to lead the new global ecosystem for artificial intelligence semiconductors, KAIST announced Tuesday. The joint lab called NIK AI Research Center will be established on the KAIST campus in Daejeon in the first half of this year and begin research in July. KAIST said that the joint research center will be run for three years, adding that its operation can be extended depending on research achi

TechnologyApril 30, 2024

Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO

Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group's e-commerce unit SSG.com faces mounting pressure from investors to recoup the 1 trillion won ($727 million) investment made between 2019 and 2022 amid its delayed market debut hit by lukewarm sales in recent years. According to industry sources on Tuesday, Shinsegae is in last-minute discussions with Affinity Equity Partners and BlueRun Ventures, the two private equity funds that are reportedly considering exercising a put option to sell back their stake

IndustryApril 30, 2024

Ministry launches special team to end dog meat consumption by 2027

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Tuesday launched a special commission dedicated to ending dog meat consumption in the country by 2027. Earlier on Jan. 22, the ministry had introduced a task force to iron out the details of implementing a government plan to end the practice, with a revision to the related law taking effect Tuesday. The task force has become an official entity under the ministry, comprising 13 members, including officials from the Ministry of Interior and S

IndustryApril 30, 2024

SK Telecom to unveil LLM for telecom carriers in June

SK Telecom, Korea's largest wireless carrier by the number of subscribers, said Tuesday it aims to introduce a large language model specializing in telecom-related terms as early as June. The upcoming telecom-specific LLM is developed from general-purpose LLMs such as ChatGPT and Claude. SK Telecom joined hands with global Big Tech firms including OpenAI and Anthropic to develop the LLM. Telco-specific LLMs are more adjusted to the telecommunications domain and better at understanding use

TechnologyApril 30, 2024

GS E&C secures W600b LNG terminal project

South Korean construction giant GS Engineering & Construction announced Tuesday that it has won a contract worth 600 billion won ($435 million) to build a new liquefied natural gas terminal in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. The Northeast Asia LNG Hub Terminal Project aims to establish a large-scale energy storage facility in the southwestern city of Yeosu. Expected to take about 42 months, the project will involve the construction of two LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity of 200,000 kilo

IndustryApril 30, 2024

Hyundai Motor launches internship program for foreign students

Hyundai Motor Company announced Tuesday its commitment to cultivating global talent through a summer internship program designated for international students in Korea, fostering the company’s cultural inclusivity and global market presence. This marks the first time Hyundai Motor has openly recruited international students studying in Korea as interns. The flagship unit of Hyundai Motor Group, the world's third-largest carmaker, aims to blend diverse international perspectives into it

MobilityApril 30, 2024

S. Korea's tax revenue falls W2.2tr on-year through March

South Korea's tax revenue fell 2.5 percent on-year during the first three months of 2024 due mainly to weak corporate performances, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The government collected 84.9 trillion won ($61.68 billion) in taxes this year through March, down 2.2 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The decline was due mainly to the fall in corporate taxes collected and income taxes. The collection of corporate taxes sank 22.8 percent, or

EconomyApril 30, 2024

[Photo News] Stylish revamp

Renault Korea opens a new showroom in Daegu on Monday as part of the carmaker's brand revamp announced earlier this year. The latest showroom is the third of its kind here to embrace the French carmaker's new showroom concept, called "rnlt©." The showroom also features a range of lifestyle products under the brand name, "The Originals." (Renault Korea)

IndustryApril 30, 2024

[Photo News] Robot cook at school

Doosan Robotics demonstrates the efficiency of its robotic solution for cooking fried food at a high school in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, according to the company on Tuesday. The robotic solution is capable of cooking fried dishes for 500 people in two hours by operating six frying baskets at once. (Doosan Robotics)

IndustryApril 30, 2024