Hyundai Motor, Saudi Arabia join efforts for future mobility ecosystem

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that it has joined hands with Red Sea Global to implement eco-friendly future mobility to Saudi Arabia’s development project to open luxurious and pro-nature tourism resorts along the west coast of the Middle Eastern country. According to the announcement, the representatives of the Korean automaker and the Saudi Arabian megaproject signed a memorandum of understanding in Riyadh on Sunday. Red Sea Global, which is entirely owned by the Public Investment Fund

MobilityMarch 25, 2024

Eximbank to form W1tr fund for chips, battery

The Export-Import Bank of Korea, or Eximbank, announced it will form a 1 trillion won ($745 million) fund to support businesses in high-tech strategic industries, especially semiconductors and batteries. The policy lender will put in 150 billion won toward the fund which will close out at 1 trillion won. The fund will be used to provide preferential interest rates and loan limits to businesses related to chips, battery, bio, future mobility and electric engineering. It is the second fund establi

IndustryMarch 25, 2024

LX chief calls 2024 'turning point'

LX Holdings Chairman Koo Bon-joon said Monday he would enhance the group’s crisis response system in a bid to enhance its responsiveness to business uncertainties at home and globally. “The year 2024 will be an important inflection point as we prepare for the next three years of LX’s leap,” Koo said during this year’s annual shareholders meeting held at the company’s headquarters in Seoul. Koo’s comments come as LX Group spun off from LG Group in 2021

IndustryMarch 25, 2024

Antitrust watchdog to launch large-scale survey on e-commerce platforms

With the rapid influx of global e-commerce into the domestic market, the Fair Trade Commission is set to launch an extensive market survey starting Tuesday, to examine the evolving landscape and structure of the e-commerce market in Korea. The survey marks the first step in gathering data to produce a policy report slated for release by the end of this year. The report's objective is to proactively identify and analyze fair trade and consumer issues arising from shifts in e-commerce market

IndustryMarch 25, 2024

IBK to roll out W100b fund for digital tech

The Industrial Bank of Korea on Monday announced the establishment of a strategic investment fund worth 100 billion won ($75 million) to nurture businesses with innovative digital technologies. The fund will be pooled by the policy lender and its affiliate IBK Capital, with each investing 90 billion won and 10 billion won, respectively. As IBK Capital is more experienced in venture funding, it will manage the fund as a general partner, IBK explained. The fund aims to support platform operators w

IndustryMarch 25, 2024

65% of Korean firms penalize ChatGPT-crafted resumes

A majority of large companies in South Korea disadvantage applicants who craft their resumes using artificial intelligence services, such as ChatGPT, according to a survey released Sunday. The Labor Ministry and the Korea Employment Information Service unveiled a report on employment trends in the second half of 2023, which was based on a survey of human resource managers at the nation’s top 500 companies by sales. The survey was conducted from Nov. 20 to Dec. 22 last year, with 315 out of

IndustryMarch 25, 2024

[Photo News] Farewell to the Queen

Asiana Airlines’ Boeing 747-400, the last Boeing 747 aircraft in South Korea, is honored with a grand water salute at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Monday to mark its final flight. Known as the “Queen of the Skies,” the iconic aircraft was first introduced in Korea in 1999. The Asiana aircraft has flown nearly 97,000 hours, completing over 18,000 flights and covering 88 million kilometers. (Asiana Airlines)

IndustryMarch 25, 2024

EcoPro invests $11m to secure stake in Indonesian nickel smelter

EcoPro, a South Korean battery materials holding company, said Monday that it had invested $11 million for a 9 percent share in Green Eco Nickel, an Indonesian nickel smelter operated by Chinese battery materials firm GEM, to expand the supply of nickel, a crucial raw material for lithium-ion battery production. The Green Eco Nickel smelter, situated on Sulawesi Island in Indonesia, boasts annual production of approximately 20,000 tons of nickel. The investment will allow EcoPro to gain addition

IndustryMarch 25, 2024

Hana Bank, ICE Digital Trade team up for paperless trading

Hana Bank announced Monday that it has inked a memorandum of understanding with global digital solutions provider ICE Digital Trade to innovate trading procedures, especially digitalizing trade-related documents and communications. ICE Digital Trade, part of New York-listed Intercontinental Exchange, connects over 56 global banks and 65,000 member companies through its digital trade transaction solution, called DSUA or Databridge Services & Users Agreement. This partnership aims to streamlin

IndustryMarch 25, 2024

[Photo News] New electric Mini in Seoul

Mini Korea will hold an exhibition to shed light on the past, present and future of the brand in Seoul from Friday to April 21, the premium small car brand under BMW Group said Monday. Showcasing the new all-electric Mini Cooper and new all-electric Mini Countryman, the "Mini Heritage and Beyond" exhibition will be held at the K Museum of Contemporary Art in Gangnam-gu. The new Mini EVs are to hit the local market later this year. (BMW Group Korea)

MobilityMarch 25, 2024

Plastic surgery remains top choice for medical tourists

Plastic surgery remains the top choice for medical tourists visiting Korea, with dermatology and dentistry gaining popularity recently, according to data from Creatrip, a Korean tourism platform, Monday. The data is derived from Creatrip’s market analysis of its medical tourism offerings in January and February this year. Plastic surgery emerged as the leading preference among inbound tourists, with reservation rates surging 220 percent from the previous year, accompanied by a 270 percent

IndustryMarch 25, 2024

Fescaro's 'defense in depth' system allows multi-layered vehicle cybersecurity strategy

With the concept of software-defined vehicles growing more prominent in the automobile industry, so is demand for automative cybersecurity. Fescaro, a leading cybersecurity specialist, has what it calls a "defense-in-depth" system that has a multi-layered strategy to provide security for the security of the car's system. The first layer cuts off the primary risks by filtering the inbound communications through a security gateway. The secondary layer applies security solutions to t

IndustryMarch 25, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on tech, battery gains

South Korean stocks started a tad higher Monday on gains from tech and battery shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.46 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,757.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech and battery heavyweights led the upbeat start. Samsung Electronics, the world's No. 1 memory chipmaker, rose 0.51 percent and its rival SK hynix increased 1.53 percent. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution edged up 0.12 percent, and Samsung SDI went up 2.75 percent.

MarketMarch 25, 2024

Competition heats up in HBM market as Nvidia endorses Samsung chip

The race for leadership in the burgeoning high bandwidth memory chips market is growing fiercer, as Nvidia revealed its plan to secure orders for the cutting-edge component from Samsung Electronics, the Korean chip giant seeking to outsmart crosstown rival SK hynix. At a media briefing last week, Jensen Huang, the co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, openly endorsed Samsung Electronics and unveiled the company's plan to use the Korean chipmaker's HBM chips in the future. US-based Nvidia is the biggest

IndustryMarch 24, 2024

Bithumb set to spin off non-exchange biz in IPO push

Local crypto exchange operator Bithumb Korea is set to simplify its corporate governance, spinning off its non-exchange business in a move designed to accelerate its stock market debut planned for next year. Bithumb Korea will separate its holdings business under a new name, tentatively coined Bithumb Investment, the company announced through a regulatory filing Friday. While the existing unit will be in charge of operating the country's No. 2 crypto exchange Bithumb, the newly launched uni

IndustryMarch 24, 2024

Walter Cho charts course for seamless integration with Asiana Airlines

Korean Air Chair and CEO Walter Cho secured his position as a board member of the national flag carrier and pledged to steer the company toward successful integration with Asiana Airlines this year, marking a leap toward establishing a megacarrier. Cho received an 85 percent endorsement from participating shareholders during their annual meeting on Thursday. "Despite the prolonged timeline, the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines will be a substantial driver of long-term growth,

IndustryMarch 24, 2024

Paris Baguette, Pascucci partner for Italian market entry

SPC Group's bakery chain Paris Baguette is poised to enter the Italian market in collaboration with Italian coffeehouse chain Caffe Pascucci. SPC Group Chair Hur Young-in inked a business agreement with Mario Pascucci, CEO of the Italian coffee brand Caffe Pascucci, during Pascucci’s visit to Korea on Sunday, for the Korean franchise bakery's expansion to Italy. Paris Baguette's entry into Italy will mark its third expansion into Europe, following launches in France and Brit

IndustryMarch 24, 2024

Kumho Tire wins highest rating in German performance tests

Kumho Tire’s model ECSTA HS52 tire has garnered recognition from tire performance tests conducted by German automotive magazines ADAC and Auto Bild, the company said Wednesday. In this year's comprehensive tire performance evaluations, the ECSTA HS52 model achieved third place with a "Good" rating from ADAC and fourth place, also rated as "Good," from Auto Bild. This made it the top-performing tire from a South Korean manufacturer. ADAC’s testing was among 16

MobilityMarch 24, 2024

Posco extends child care support to tackle low birth rate

South Korean steel firm Posco Group has woven social welfare into its corporate strategies through its child care centers, open not just for their own workers but also those of its partner firms, as part of efforts to help tackle the nation's falling birth rate. The Shared Coexistence Work Child Care Centers, initiated in June 2020, are collaborative ventures between Posco and its suppliers, underscoring the group's dedication to supporting a work-family balance in response to national

IndustryMarch 24, 2024

KB Financial Group names first woman board chair

KB Financial Group picked banking expert Kwon Seon-joo as its board chair, making her the first woman to serve in the role. The decision was approved at a board meeting on Friday. With over 30 years of experience in the financial industry, Kwon served as the CEO of the Industrial Bank of Korea from 2013 to 2016. She was the first woman to take the top position at a local bank. She joined KB Financial Group's board as an outside director in 2020. Kwon currently serves as the head of Women Co

IndustryMarch 24, 2024