Trade, overseas dividends bring current account surplus expansion

#Current account surplus for first 6 months shrink 90% compared to a year ago South Korea logged a current account surplus for two consecutive months in June due to a trade surplus and increased dividends from overseas, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's current account gained $5.87 billion in June, following the $1.93 billion surplus from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo assessed that Korea was showing a sound p

EconomyAug. 8, 2023

LG Energy Solution to build battery recycling plants in China

LG Energy Solution will build two battery recycling plants in eastern China under a joint venture with top Chinese cobalt producer Huayou Cobalt, marking the first collaboration of its kind in the industry between Korean and Chinese companies. The pretreatment factory, which will be set up in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, will extract battery scrap generated from battery production and process used batteries, LG Energy Solution said in an announcement Tuesday. The post-processing factory, which wi

IndustryAug. 8, 2023

Starbucks Korea gives scholarships to patriots' descendants

Starbucks Korea announced Tuesday that it has donated scholarship funds to descendants of Korean independence activists who supported the country’s fight against Japanese colonial occupation. The donation ceremony was held earlier on the day at Starbucks Academy Center, also Starbucks Korea's former headquarters, located in Sogong-dong, Seoul, in collaboration with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and Community Chest of Korea, a local charity organization. It was attended

IndustryAug. 8, 2023

Samsung’s latest foldable phones set preorders record at home

Samsung Electronics’ new foldable smartphones -- the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 -- have yet to be launched, but preorder figures suggest that they are likely to be a super hit. The South Korean tech giant said Tuesday that preorders for the two models amounted to 1.02 million units in South Korea, setting an all-time high record for the form factor. The preorder record marked by the previous models was 970,000 units last year. While Samsung accepted seven-day preorders until Monday ahead o

TechnologyAug. 8, 2023

S. Korea vigilant on ensuring stable power supply amid scorching heat

South Korea's industry ministry said Tuesday it is focusing on ensuring a stable power supply amid the soaring demand in the face of sweltering heat. The maximum electricity demand reached 93.6 gigawatts the previous day, the highest ever for a summer season, above the ministry's estimate of 92.9 GW. "We will stay vigilant and closely manage the electricity supply situation throughout the summer season, as uncertainties can arise at any time," Second Vice Industry Minister Ka

EconomyAug. 8, 2023

[Contribution] ASEAN and Korea on road to sustainable and equal partnership

By Kim Hae-yong, secretary general of the ASEAN-Korea Center ​Every August 8th, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations celebrates ASEAN Day in commemoration of its founding in 1967. While the celebration lends ASEAN’s collective effort to consolidate the region’s unity, it is also an opportune time to reflect on how ASEAN and Korea have become indispensable partners. Amid the multifaceted challenges brought about by the regional dynamics, the significance of the ASEAN-Korea par

IndustryAug. 8, 2023

Seoul shares open higher on US gains amid rate hike woes

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors remain concerned over the Federal Reserve's additional rate hikes to tame inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 9.6 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,590.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading. All three major US stock indexes finished higher Monday, snapping their worst weekly decline since March, on upbeat corporate earnings. Investors are keeping an eye on the Fed'

MarketAug. 8, 2023

LG Uplus Q2 net up 32% on robust wireless service

LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's No. 3 mobile carrier, said Tuesday its second-quarter net profit rose nearly 32 percent from a year earlier, driven by its robust wireless business. Its net income amounted to 213.3 billion won ($163.3 million) in the April-June period, up 31.7 percent from the year-ago period. Operating profit for the April-June period was 288 billion won, up 15.9 percent from a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Revenue rose 1.3 percent to 3.42 trillion won. T

IndustryAug. 8, 2023

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 2nd month in June

South Korea logged a current account surplus for the second straight month in June on the back of a trade surplus and increased dividend payments from overseas, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's current account surplus reached $5.87 billion in June, following the $1.93 billion surplus a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. June's surplus came as the country logged a trade surplus and dividend income increased. The country's goods accou

EconomyAug. 8, 2023

Korea Aerospace Industries Q2 net profit down over 80 pct due to investment in new businesses

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, on Monday reported its second-quarter net profit plunged 80.3 percent from a year earlier mainly due to investment in new businesses. Net profit for the three months ended in June was 9.9 billion won (US$7.6 million), according to the company's regulatory filing. The operating income for the April-June period fell 75.6 percent on-year to 8.4 billion won, while sales increased 9.7 percent to 733.5 billion

IndustryAug. 7, 2023

CJ Cheiljedang Q2 net profit nearly halves on global economic slowdown, cost burden

South Korean food giant CJ Cheiljedang Corp. said Monday its second-quarter net profit plunged almost 50 percent from a year earlier due to a global economic slowdown and higher cost burden. Net profit for the three months ended in June was 127.5 billion won ($97.6 million), down 49.6 percent from the same period last year, the company said in a regulatory filing. The operating income for the April-June period fell 31.7 percent on-year to 344.6 billion won, and revenue decreased 4 percent to 7

IndustryAug. 7, 2023

KT to appoint new CEO upon shareholder approval later in Aug.

South Korean telecom giant, KT Corp., said Monday that its CEO nominee will be appointed as the company’s new chief by taking shareholders’ votes at the extraordinary shareholders meeting slated for the end of this month. KT Chief Financial Officer Kim Young-jin said at the company’s earnings conference that the firm will improve business performance in the latter half this year under a stable management system and strive to improve corporate value with the CEO nominee taking t

TechnologyAug. 7, 2023

Food Ministry aims to double kimchi exports to $300m by 2027

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs set a goal to double the exports of kimchi to $300 million by 2027 via a comprehensive plan to bolster the nation's kimchi industry, the ministry announced Monday. The Food Ministry unveiled its five-year plan for 2023 to 2027 for the promotion of the domestic kimchi industry. The plan comes as the Kimchi Industry Promotion Act, which mandates the announcement of the nation's general plan to invigorate the indigenous kimchi industry e

ConsumerAug. 7, 2023

Seoul shares down for 4th day ahead of US consumer prices data

South Korean stocks ended lower Monday as investors took a wait-and-see approach ahead of upcoming major economic releases, including US consumer price data. The local currency gained ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 22.09 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,580.71, extending its losing streak to a fourth day. Trading volume was slim at 497.1 million shares worth 11.8 trillion won ($9 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 519 to 360. Institutio

MarketAug. 7, 2023

[KH Explains] Are women well represented in clinical trials?

Efforts are underway to consider sex differences in drug development by increasing woman’s participation in clinical trials, but the lack of regulatory guidelines remains a barrier to taking gender diversity into account, experts say. The COVID-19 pandemic and South Korea’s vaccination programs have shed light on how a disease and its treatment can affect men and women differently. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s data, the percentage of female pat

IndustryAug. 7, 2023

Superconductor-themed stocks rally on hope for breakthrough finding

Stock prices of superconductor-themed shares rebounded Monday, backed by a retail investor frenzy with high hopes on the potential game-changing room temperature superconductor technology. Shares of superconductor industry related firms continued to enjoy a rally from last week after a research team including the Quantum Energy Research Centre said it discovered a room-temperature superconductor called LK-99 on July 22. Related stocks experienced a slight dip on Friday, when skeptical responses

MarketAug. 7, 2023

Korean companies offer support for Scouts

Korean companies have stepped up efforts to support the World Scout Jamboree as the event's host announced an early withdrawal from the campground in North Jeolla Province due to inclement weather on Monday afternoon. Some major conglomerates, including Samsung and Hyundai, have invited Scouts to their business sites, following President Yoon Suk Yeol's order to offer tour programs for the jamboree participants. Hyundai Motor Group on Monday opened its commercial vehicle plant in Jeonj

IndustryAug. 7, 2023

[KH explains] LK-99: Roller coaster of excitement, deflation

A South Korean research team recently created a buzz with a claim that it has created one of the holy grails in science -- a room-temperature superconductor called LK-99 – prompting researchers around the world into a race to replicate the experiment. Two weeks after their claimed discovery, no one has yet been able to completely reproduce the sensational result that could revolutionize power grids. Amid the mixed assessment on the research's validity, the Korean team, led by Lee Suk-

TechnologyAug. 7, 2023

Osaka, Tokyo two most popular destinations in H1

Japan’s Osaka and Tokyo were the two most popular outbound destinations for South Korean travelers in the first half of this year, according to government data Monday. Data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed that the route connecting Incheon Airport and Osaka’s Kansai International Airport was the most popular flight route in the January-June period with about 1.7 million passengers. The second busiest international flight route was the Incheon-Tokyo (Nar

IndustryAug. 7, 2023

[Photo News] Streamlined air travel

The PASS Smart Ticket is demonstrated at a domestic airport gate, as the Korea Airports Corp. and the three major Korean telecom firms rolled out the new service Monday. The service, available at 14 major domestic airports including Seoul's Gimpo, Busan's Gimhae and on Jeju Island, enables users to verify both their ID and boarding pass in the PASS app — a digital ID service run by the telecom providers — on their smartphones. (SK Telecom, KT, LG Uplus)

TechnologyAug. 7, 2023