Samyang Group chairman vows bold investments, M&As in 2020

Samyang Group Chairman Kim Yoon said in his New Year’s address that the company would overcome challenges and prepare for the future this year. During a New Year’s meeting on Thursday, he also vowed to make bold overseas investments, acknowledging that the group’s assets and business activities are overly focused on the Korean market.  “Both markets at home and abroad will be much more difficult this year,” Kim said, suggesting four strategies for the group&rsq

ConsumerJan. 3, 2020

LG Uplus to create home internet subsidiary in March, offer workers permanent positions

LG Uplus said Friday it plans to establish a home internet service unit, with the aim of launching it on March 1. The subsidiary’s business will encompass home internet services and pay TV products. Its share structure has not been decided yet, said LG Uplus.  According to the company, the subsidiary will hire temporary workers from the company’s external partners as permanent employees. LG Uplus aims to offer full-time positions to some 800 temporary workers this year and 500 a

IndustryJan. 3, 2020

Wonik QnC embraces Momentive’s quartz operation for $266m

South Korea’s fabricated quartz maker Wonik QnC said Friday it had completed an acquisition of quartz and ceramics business units owned by New York-based company Momentive Performance Materials for $266 million, in a bid to achieve a vertical integration of its supply chain.Wonik QnC based in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, makes components for semiconductors, displays and other products using quartz. The cross-border deal will allow the company to wholly own the world’s leading fus

MarketJan. 3, 2020

Finance minister urges financial firms to focus on risk this year

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Friday called for banks and other financial firms to improve their risk management processes and channel more funds into the real economy. Hong made the remarks at a meeting for the new year with heads of economic and financial institutions, including Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol and Finance Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo. "The trend of an economic recovery is anticipated for this year, but we must remain vigilant due to uncertainties over the gl

EconomyJan. 3, 2020

LG Electronics reinforces lineup of 8K TVs for CES

LG Electronics said Friday it will bring two more 8K TV models to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week. The 2020 lineup of LG’s 8K TVs will include a 77-inch organic light-emitting diode TV model, in addition to the current 88-inch OLED model, and a 65-inch NanoCell model, along with the current 75-inch model.LG’s 8K TV models have around 90 percent contrast modulation levels, certified by the Consumer Technology Association, the organizer of CES.  All four model

TechnologyJan. 3, 2020

Samsung to introduce fresh concepts of home electronics at CES 2020

Samsung Electronics said Friday it will introduce new concepts of home electronics at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, ranging from a beer fridge to a footwear management system. The South Korean tech giant will unveil three cube-type refrigerators -- Wine Cube, Beer Cube and Beauty Cube, whose names indicate their purpose.  It will also introduce a footwear management system featuring the technology of the company’s clothes care system, Air Dresser.  Under t

TechnologyJan. 3, 2020

Samsung ships over 6.7m Galaxy 5G smartphones in 2019

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it shipped more than 6.7 million Galaxy 5G smartphones last year, solidifying its top dog status in the global 5G handset market. With solid shipment performance, Samsung said it accounted for 53.9 percent of the global 5G smartphone market as of November 2019, citing data from market tracker Counterpoint Research.  Samsung launched five Galaxy 5G devices last year, including the Galaxy S10 5G and Note 10 5G, as well as Galaxy Fold 5G.The South Korean tec

IndustryJan. 3, 2020

Demographic change will bring new, bigger challenges to financial sector: BOK chief

The head of South Korea's central bank on Friday called for efforts by the financial industry to prepare for the fourth industrial revolution, as well as imminent demographic changes that he said will increasingly become bigger and more serious."It is not easy to predict changes that will come over the next decade. But it is easy to expect that the impact of changes in population and technological developments will become much greater while this trend of a new normal continues," Bank o

EconomyJan. 3, 2020

Top-down appointed IBK CEO turned away amid union resistance

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea on Friday faced a dispute over the appointment of its new chief, as its labor union protests what it called the government’s “abuse of authority.” On Friday, newly appointed CEO Yoon Jong-won, 59, a former senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, failed to enter the bank’s headquarters in central Seoul amid protests by union members, who barricaded all entrances to the building starting early in the morning. The previ

MarketJan. 3, 2020

Hyundai Heavy aims to win $15.99b worth of deals in 2020

South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Group said Friday its three shipbuilding units are seeking to secure combined deals worth $15.9 billion this year.The combined target of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. remains unchanged from last year's goal. Hyundai Heavy Industries said it aims to bag $8 billion worth of deals in 2020, according to a company official.Hyundai Mipo Dockyard said in a regulatory filing that it aims to clinch dea

IndustryJan. 3, 2020

Samsung, LG to showcase upgraded AI-powered products at CES

South Korea's top two electronics giants -- Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. -- will lock horns in the field of artificial intelligence at the upcoming tech expo in the United States, industry observers said Friday, as they pin high hopes on the products powered by human-like algorithms. AI is one of the key themes set to draw keen attention at the annual four-day Consumer Electronics Show that kicks off Tuesday in Las Vegas, Nevada, where more than 4,500 firms from around the glo

TechnologyJan. 3, 2020

Seoul shares open sharply higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Friday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 26.35 points, or 1.21 percent, to 2,201.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks rose to fresh highs on the first trading day of the new year following the news that China's central bank opted to stimulate the economy by adding more liquidity in the financial market.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.9 percent to 28,868.80, while t

MarketJan. 3, 2020

Former secretary to President Moon named new IBK head

Yoon Jong-won, a former senior secretary to President Moon Jae-in for economy, has been named the new head of the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea, the lender said Thursday.The head of the state-run bank is appointed by the president at the recommendation of the finance minister, with Yoon's three-year term to start Friday, the bank said. The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae did not offer reasons for Yoon's appointment.The bank's unionized workers, on the other hand, vowed an all-out struggle

IndustryJan. 2, 2020

Samsung to strengthen compliance programs via in-house committee

South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group said Thursday that it will strengthen its compliance programs by forming a groupwide committee dedicated to better complying with its own internal structure and related laws and regulations, as its key executives, including the group's de facto heir Lee Jae-yong, were embroiled in unlawful acts. Samsung said it is preparing to establish a compliance program led by former Supreme Court Justice Kim Ji-hyung, who previously headed a mediation committee t

IndustryJan. 2, 2020

McDonald’s McCafe launches decaf coffee drinks

McDonald’s said Thursday that its coffee brand McCafe has newly launched decaffeinated coffee drinks with the aim of attracting local customers who are sensitive to caffeine and heavy coffee drinkers.According to the company, McCafe will present four decaffeinated coffees -- Americano, McCafe Latte, Cappuccino and Espresso -- to offer a variety of choices for customers seeking to control their daily caffeine intake.The drinks in medium-sized cups cost between 1,000 won ($0.86) and 2,000 wo

ConsumerJan. 2, 2020

LG to face watchdog probe over clothes dryers

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's major home appliances maker, is set to face a probe from the country's antitrust watchdog, industry insiders said Thursday, as local consumers plan to submit a collective complaint against the company over its clothes dryers.A Seoul-based law firm representing 560 local consumers said it will request that the Fair Trade Commission investigate LG's misleading advertisement for its clothes dryers' automatic condenser cleaning system. LG last month announced a vol

IndustryJan. 2, 2020

Fishery exports jump to record high in 2019

South Korea's exports of fishery products climbed to a new high last year, the maritime ministry said Thursday, despite a large drop in the country's overall exports.Outbound shipments of fishery products came to $2.51 billion in 2019, up 5.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.It marks the first time the country's exports of fishery products breached the $2.5-billion mark. "The country reached record highs in fishery exports for a second consecuti

IndustryJan. 2, 2020

Entrepreneurs stress future business, customer-centered, innovation in 2020

Although Korean conglomerates faced a rough time in 2019 amid growing geopolitical uncertainties and trade tensions topped by Japan’s export controls, the US-China trade war, rising protectionism and a global economic slowdown, most of the top business chiefs here hope for better prospects this year. Leaders from large corporate groups -- including Samsung, LG, Hyundai Motor, Posco, KT, CJ, Hanwha and Shinsegae -- have stressed the need to prepare for future business, customer-centered man

IndustryJan. 2, 2020

NPS chief offers to resign, hopes to run in general elections

National Pension Service Chairman Kim Sung-joo has offered to resign so that he can run in the general elections in April, according to news reports citing political sources Thursday.Kim has reportedly tendered his resignation to President Moon Jae-in, who appointed him as head of the state-run pension fund two years ago. He has a year left in his three-year term as chairman. Before assuming his current post in 2017, the former lawmaker served as a member of a National Assembly health and welfar

MarketJan. 2, 2020

Samsung heir discusses world’s first 3-nm process for foundry

Samsung Electronics’ de facto leader Lee Jae-yong on Thursday discussed the tech giant’s strategy to utilize the world’s first 3-nanometer process technology for manufacturing chips. Lee visited the company’s semiconductor research and development center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, as his first official gesture of on-site management in 2020. The Samsung heir discussed the company’s plans to commercialize cutting-edge chips ordered from global customers on the la

TechnologyJan. 2, 2020