Hyundai takes over Mobis' hydrogen fuel cell business

Hyundai Motor Company has acquired a hydrogen fuel cell business from the group's affiliate and auto parts supplier Hyundai Mobis at 217 billion won ($163 million) to consolidate the group's hydrogen energy efforts. The agreement, finalized on Friday, includes a complete transfer of assets, personnel, and operations related to Hyundai Mobis' domestic hydrogen fuel cell activities to Hyundai Motor Company. Hyundai Motor Group is streamlining its operations by focusing its hydrogen

MobilityFeb. 16, 2024

K-water CEO meets Saudi ambassador to help with country's water challenges

Korea Water Resources, the state-run water management agency also known as K-water, had a meeting with the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Korea to discuss water concerns and request support for Saudi Arabia's bid to host the World Water Forum in 2027. K-water announced Friday that CEO Yun Seog-dae met with Ambassador Sami M. Alsadhan at the company's office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss K-water’s advanced technologies that can assist in tackling Saudi Arabia's wate

IndustryFeb. 16, 2024

Samsung Display may face strike amid pay deadlock

Samsung Display is on the verge of facing its second-ever labor strike, as unionized workers and the company failed to reach an agreement in wage talks and collective negotiation. The unionists held a fifth round of talks over wages and collective bargaining agreements on Thursday with the display maker's management, but the company showed “no willingness” for a negotiation, the union chief told The Korea Herald on Friday. “From the first round of negotiations that began i

IndustryFeb. 16, 2024

Samsung chairman inspects biotech arm, urges to 'aim higher'

Samsung Electronics Chair and Samsung Group leader Lee Jae-yong on Friday visited the group’s biotech arm in Incheon, calling on executives and staff members to set higher goals after the unit posted all-time high earnings last year. At Samsung Biologics’ biopharmaceutical campus in the Songdo Industrial Cluster in Incheon, the chair inspected the construction site of its fifth plant with a capacity of 180,000 liters, slated to go online in April 2025, and was briefed by executives

IndustryFeb. 16, 2024

SK Networks unveils AI investment firm goal

SK Networks unveiled its vision to transform into an artificial intelligence-centered business investment firm on Friday and mapped out a plan to triple its operating income to 700 billion won ($524 million) by the end of 2026. “Based on the innovative foundation of our business model, we will continue to create and grow the happiness of various stakeholders by promoting 'AI democratization,’ ensuring universal access to the benefits of AI technology by fostering a civilization

IndustryFeb. 16, 2024

LS Cable, Germany’s VAC team up for EV magnets

LS Cable & System, through its subsidiary LS Eco Advanced Materials, has partnered with European magnet manufacturer Vacuumschmelze to create a joint venture aimed at making special magnets needed for electric vehicles. Announced on Wednesday, this partnership will start producing 1,000 tons of neodymium permanent magnets annually by 2027, enough for half a million electric cars. Neodymium permanent magnets are crucial for the motors that power electric cars, making this venture particularly

MobilityFeb. 16, 2024

Bithumb hits stumbling block in ambition to be market No. 1

Bithumb Korea, the operator of the country’s No. 2 cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, has failed to seal a deal with major local lender KB Kookmin Bank for issuance of real-name accounts, jeopardizing its plan to attract more traders. KB Kookmin Bank informed Bithumb last week that it will not partner with the crypto exchange to provide real-name accounts, industry officials confirmed Friday. In Korea, virtual asset exchanges are required to utilize real-name accounts under commercial banks

IndustryFeb. 16, 2024

Seoul shares end over 1% higher on reviving hope over Fed's rate cut

Seoul shares closed higher Friday, as investors placed their bets on a possible rate cut by the US Federal Reserve and US retail sales fell by a wider margin than expected. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Kospi added 34.96 points, or 1.34 percent, to close at 2,648.76. Trade volume was moderate at 584.7 million shares worth 10 trillion won ($7.5 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 627 to 249. Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of 558.4 billion won, w

MarketFeb. 16, 2024

CJ appoints two new CEOs for group's core companies

CJ Group has named two new CEOs to lead its key units -- CJ CheilJedang and CJ Logistics -- as part of its annual personnel reshuffle announced on Thursday. Kang Sin-ho, currently the CEO of CJ Logistics, has been promoted to vice chairperson of CJ CheilJedang and will assume the role of CEO at the food company. Shin Young-soo, who presently oversees CJ Logistics' Korea business division, will replace Kang to take the helm as CJ Logistics CEO. This marks the first time since 2017 that CJ Gr

IndustryFeb. 16, 2024

Hyundai Motor to cut foreign chip reliance with local push

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group has initiated a project aimed at significantly boosting the local production and procurement of automotive semiconductors from early this year, according to industry sources on Friday. Challenges stemming from the auto group's heavy reliance on international suppliers for its semiconductor needs, such as supply chain vulnerabilities exposed during the global pandemic, are expected to be resolved through the initiative. Over 90 percent of Hyundai's

MobilityFeb. 16, 2024

BBQ's delivery-only outlet opens in Vietnam

Korea's fried chicken franchise BBQ Chicken has opened a BBQ Smart Kitchen store specializing in delivery orders and takeout services in Vietnam, marking its Southeast Asian debut to tap into the rapidly growing delivery market. Genesis BBQ announced Friday the recent opening of its BBQ Gardenia branch, situated within the upscale Vinhome Gardenia apartment complex in Hanoi. "Given the unique growth trajectory of the Vietnamese delivery market among Southeast Asian nations, we are intr

IndustryFeb. 16, 2024

SK-backed Sapeon to develop on-device AI chip

Sapeon, a fabless startup backed by South Korean telecom-to-chip conglomerate SK Group, said Friday it would develop a new semiconductor optimized for on-device artificial intelligence as the market has been witnessing significant growth in recent years. The company said it was selected to get support to develop prototypes for commercializing AI chips with edge AI, IoT and embedded computing firm Advantech Korea under the project dubbed Compass, run by the state-run government research institu

TechnologyFeb. 16, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

Seoul shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after the US retail sales fell by a wider margin than expected, reviving hopes over the Federal Reserve's rate cuts. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 15.78 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,629.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average move up 0.91 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing 0.3 percent. The rise came after the US retail sales for January fel

MarketFeb. 16, 2024

Is shareholder activism finally taking hold in South Korea?

South Korean companies are facing increasing shareholder activism with the government's recent push for improvements in corporate governance expected to fuel the trend, according to industry experts on Thursday. A report released Thursday by Diligent Market Intelligence, a solution from governance software provider Diligent, showed a record-high number of 77 companies headquartered in Korea were targeted by activist campaigns in 2023, outnumbering its economic peers such as Singapore and Ho

MarketFeb. 15, 2024

Coupang's alleged 'blacklist' sparks legal clash

Coupang Fulfillment Service, a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Coupang, announced on Thursday that it is has taken legal action against a lawyer who has claimed that the company blacklisted over 16,000 former and current employees, as well as individuals associated with Coupang, purportedly to prevent their reemployment or subject them to close monitoring in other situations. CFS filed a complaint with police in Songpa-gu, Seoul, against Kwon Young-guk, a lawyer and former head of legal advisory

IndustryFeb. 15, 2024

Kakao posts record annual sales of W8.1tr in 2023

Kakao said Thursday it logged all-time high annual sales in 2023 due to increased profitability from its mobile messenger, KakaoTalk. The IT giant reported 8.11 trillion won ($6.08 billion) in sales last year, up 14.1 percent from a year earlier. It marks the first time for the company surpassing the 8 trillion won mark in annual sales. Annual net profit, however, fell 13.5 percent on-year to 501.9 billion won and it shifted to a net loss of 1.5 trillion won, from a net profit of 1.07 trillion w

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2024

[KH Explains] Will Korea's new EV subsidies undercut Tesla's edge?

The South Korean government is carrying out a strategy to boost the price competitiveness of electric vehicles from domestic automakers with a revised EV subsidy policy for this year. It is seen as a response to aggressive pricing strategies of Chinese automakers and models equipped with Chinese batteries, such as the Tesla Model Y, which utilizes cost-efficient lithium iron phosphate batteries from China's CATL. These models are becoming increasingly pervasive due to their affordability. Chines

MobilityFeb. 15, 2024

LG Chem, CJ CheilJedang to partner on bio-based nylon

LG Chem announced Thursday that the company will work together with food giant CJ CheilJedang to produce bio-based nylon, an eco-friendly alternative to traditional synthetic polymers. LG Chem said the two companies signed a heads of agreement on Wednesday to establish a joint venture that will produce ingredients and bio-based nylon products. “It has not been determined yet, but the two companies are expected to establish the joint company as early as this year,” an official familia

IndustryFeb. 15, 2024

Activist funds demand W1tr Samsung C&T payout

A tense faceoff between shareholders and Samsung C&T management is expected, as five foreign activist funds have teamed up to demand the Korean firm return its profit to shareholders through dividends and a share buyback program that would amount to some 1.2 trillion won ($900 million). In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Samsung C&T reported it has submitted the proposal made by the five activist funds, which includes City of London Investment, for a vote at the upcoming regular shareholders me

IndustryFeb. 15, 2024

Seoul shares end lower on profit taking

Seoul shares closed lower Thursday as investors attempted to cash in recent gains. The Korean won gained against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.62 points, or 0.25 percent, to close at 2,613.80. Trade volume was moderate at 607.8 million shares worth 10.25 trillion won ($7.68 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 539 to 330. Foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 14.8 billion won and 49.3 billion won, respectively, while individuals purchased

MarketFeb. 15, 2024