NHN net loss narrows in 2023 on lower costs

Major IT company NHN Corp. said Tuesday its net loss narrowed in 2023 from a year earlier thanks mainly to reduced costs. Net loss came to 9 billion won ($6.8 million) last year, compared with a 31.8 billion-won deficit a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose 7.3 percent on-year to 2.26 trillion won, with operating income coming to 55.5 billion won, up 42.2 percent from the previous year. NHN said its mobile games division contributed stably to 2023 sales, and it post

MarketFeb. 13, 2024

Korean Air merger gets EU nod

The European Union's antitrust regulator granted conditional approval for the merger of Korean Air with its smaller domestic rival Asiana Airlines on Tuesday, leaving only approval from the US pending among the 14 relevant authorities, according to Korean Air. The approval comes after the nation’s largest air carrier submitted a revised merger plan to the European Commission in November last year, which entails selling off Asiana Airlines' cargo business and turning over certain airport s

IndustryFeb. 13, 2024

SK chief headed to Germany, Spain to bolster ties

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is expected to travel to Germany next week, joining an economic delegation as the head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, according to industry sources, Tuesday. Chey will be traveling to Berlin on Feb. 19 to take part in various business forums and gatherings, where business and government officials from Korea and Germany are expected to discuss strengthening collaborative efforts. Chey is also expected to travel to Barcelona, Spain, to attend a globa

IndustryFeb. 13, 2024

Seoul shares up for 3rd day on rate cut hopes

Seoul shares closed higher for the third straight session Tuesday amid hopes that the US Federal Reserve will start easing due to continued disinflation. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 29.32 points, or 1.12 percent, to close at 2,649.64. Trade volume was moderate at 550.46 million shares worth 12.93 trillion won ($9.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 597 to 285. January's US consumer price index due later Tuesday is

MarketFeb. 13, 2024

Celltrion seeks approval for Actemra biosimilar in Europe

Celltrion announced Tuesday that the company has submitted its application for marketing authorization to the European Medicines Agency for CT-P47, a biosimilar referencing Roche's Actemra. Roche's Actemra (tocilizumab) is approved for a wide range of uses, including rheumatoid arthritis, giant cell arteritis, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis and cytokine release syndrome. Celltrion’s application has been based on the results from a glob

IndustryFeb. 13, 2024

Korea no longer a land of workaholics, study suggests

  The proportion of South Koreans working more than 50 hours a week has sharply dropped over the past 20 years to be on par with the average for member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a new report from a Korean business lobby group on Tuesday. According to the Korea Enterprises Federation, the number of wage earners working more than 50 hours per week stood at 2.53 million in terms of actual working hours and 2.24 million in terms of con

EconomyFeb. 13, 2024

CEOs, top executives to be held accountable for financial misconduct

Executives of financial companies will be held accountable for misconduct within their assigned areas of responsibility starting in July. The Financial Services Commission announced guidelines on Tuesday for the new "responsibilities map" system, requiring financial institutes to detail responsibilities for executives, including chief executive officer. In December, the National Assembly passed a revised bill for the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies, introducing the

IndustryFeb. 13, 2024

[KH Explains] Why NCSoft is playing coy on game revenue

NCSoft announced an annual revenue of 1.78 trillion won ($1.34 billion) and operating profit of 137.3 billion last week, down 31 percent and 75 percent on year, respectively. Following the earnings announcement, the South Korean game developer held a conference call Thursday to explain last year's financial results. During the call, an analyst castigated the company for a recent change to its reporting practices: “You say that the company is putting efforts together, but it seems that (

IndustryFeb. 13, 2024

Apple’s market share exceeds 25% for first time in Korea

US tech giant Apple saw its domestic market share exceed 25 percent for the first time in 2023, slightly narrowing the gap with its archrival Samsung Electronics, despite the global economic downturn and decreased demand, a report showed Tuesday. Apple’s share rose 3 percentage points on-year to reach 25 percent in Korea last year, according to the data by market research firm Counterpoint Research, while maintaining the No. 2 spot in the Korean smartphone market. Samsung kept the No. 1

TechnologyFeb. 13, 2024

Renault Korea hires new lead for smart vehicle tech

Renault Korea Motors, the South Korean unit of French automotive giant Renault Group, said Tuesday it has appointed Regis Brignon, a software and electrical systems specialist, to lead the development of its software-defined vehicles, or next-generation smart vehicles, for the Korean market. Starting in February as the director of systems engineering operations at Renault Technology Korea, he will lead teams in developing next-generation technologies for future Renault models made in Korea, inc

MobilityFeb. 13, 2024

[Photo News] Bitcoin flies high

A screen shows bitcoin trading at over 67 million won ($50,459) at local crypto exchange Bithumb's headquarters in southern Seoul, Tuesday. The price of bitcoin traded above $50,000 on Monday (US time) for the first time since December 2021, according to the US-based crypto exchange Coinbase. The sharp increase is assessed to have stemmed from a strong inflow of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds that directly hold bitcoin. The Korean price of bitcoin stood at 67.1 million won as of 2 p.m.,

MarketFeb. 13, 2024

Samsung, Princeton University team up for 6G network tech

  Samsung Electronics said Tuesday its California-based research and development unit has partnered with Princeton University to lead innovation in the sixth-generation telecommunications networking system. Samsung Research America has become a founding member of the corporate affiliates program launched by Princeton University, dubbed the NextG Initiative Corporate Affiliates Program, to lead 6G research and development, the tech giant said. The NextG program aims to bring up technologic

TechnologyFeb. 13, 2024

Exports fall 14.6% from Feb. 1-10; chip sales jump over 40%

South Korea's exports fell nearly 15 percent on-year in the first 10 days of February due mainly to fewer working days, but sales of semiconductors soared more than 40 percent, data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments reached $15.01 billion in the Feb. 1-10 period, compared with $17.57 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports, however, increased 11.7 percent on-year to $2.31 billion. The number of working days came to 6.5 days duri

EconomyFeb. 13, 2024

Seoul shares open higher amid rate cut hopes

Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday as investors expect the US Federal Reserve to start easing this year due to continued disinflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 33.23 points, or 1.27 percent, to 2,653.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investors await January's US inflation data due later in the day. The US consumer price index is expected to support the view that decelerating inflation will allow the US central bank to start cutting rates this year. In Seoul,

MarketFeb. 13, 2024

[Graphic News] Imports of Japanese seafood post biggest on-year drop since 2012

South Korea’s imports of Japanese seafood posted the biggest on-year decline last year since 2012, a year after the Fukushima nuclear accident, data showed. South Korea imported Japanese fish and shellfish worth a combined $151.9 million in 2023, down 12.8 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. The drop was the biggest since 2012, when South Korea’s imports of Japanese seafood plunged 33.3 percent on-year due to safety concerns after the

MarketFeb. 13, 2024

Foreign investors rush to ‘undervalued’ stocks

Foreign investors have been racking up “underperforming shares” on the Kospi, Korea’s main bourse, backed by increased expectations of the government’s initiative to boost the local stock market. Since the government late last month vowed to come up with new measures to tackle the "Korea discount," offshore investors are increasingly flocking to invest in firms with low price-to-book ratios in anticipation of stock price recoveries. PBR is a metric used to compa

MarketFeb. 12, 2024

[KH Explains] Why Korea’s platform act faces backlash at home, abroad

Skepticism has grown over the platform act, as the nation’s antitrust watchdog hints at a thorough review of the most contentious aspect of the bill: the preliminary designation of “monopolistic” online platform operators. The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday announced its decision to review the proposed act to explore whether there is an alternative to the ex ante designation that would have similar effects with less impact on the digital services market, before making a fur

TechnologyFeb. 12, 2024

[KH explains] Why ramyeon makers still stick with 'ramen' marketing

Amid soaring exports of Korean instant noodles in recent years, a renewed spotlight has been cast on a decadeslong dilemma among local food companies -- whether or not the word "ramen" should be ditched from their marketing strategy. Ramen, rooted in Japanese culinary tradition, has become a household name globally that refers to noodles in broth. The term "ramen" can also refer to instant noodle products. Amid a growing global presence, Korean businesses have long used the t

IndustryFeb. 12, 2024

Hyundai Motor nears 100m sales milestone

Hyundai Motor Group is highly likely to surpass the 100-million-vehicle sales mark this year, 56 years after it started selling cars in Korea in 1968. According to the carmaker on Monday, it has sold close to 97 million vehicles around the world as of last year. Of these, about 24 million were sold in Korea's domestic market, accounting for approximately 25 percent of total sales, while the remaining 73 million, or 75 percent, were sold internationally. To achieve the 100 million milestone,

MobilityFeb. 12, 2024

Korea’s defense exports amount to $14b last year

South Korea secured its place among the world's top 10 defense exporters for the second consecutive year in 2023 with approximately $14 billion in exports, anticipating continued demand this year bolstered by substantial deals already in place. Data from the Korean Ministry of National Defense and domestic defense companies published on Monday show that Korea, ranking ninth globally behind Spain, expanded its export markets to 12 countries last year, including new partners like the United A

IndustryFeb. 12, 2024