[KH explains] Japan’s reviving chip industry unlikely to pose direct threat to Korea – for now

Japan, which supplied more than half of semiconductors in the global market in the 1980s, is now seen revamping its strategy to reclaim past glory, introducing state subsidies and setting an ambitious goal to mass produce the most cutting-edge chips. As geopolitics is playing out to reshape the global semiconductors industry -- mainly the intense rivalry between the US and China -- eyes are on whether Japan will come to take a meaningful share in the market, where competition is already fierce.

IndustryAug. 1, 2023

Kia to unveil new robot in 2024

Kia will debut a new robot next year in collaboration with Boston Dynamics, a US-based robotics company that was acquired by Kia’s parent Hyundai Motor Group in 2021, according to the South Korean automaker’s latest sustainability report published Tuesday. Although the report did not specify what type of robot it will be, the report noted that Kia will continue to search for new business opportunities such as robotics logistics and unstaffed delivery services by collaborating with th

MobilityAug. 1, 2023

Hanmi Global names North America chief

Korean construction management firm Hanmi Global said Tuesday that Kim Yong-sik, a former senior vice president of Hyundai Engineering & Construction, had been appointed as its new head of North America to be tasked with accelerating its overseas expansion. Born in 1964, Kim studied architectural engineering at Seoul National University and earned a master’s degree in real estate at the National University of Singapore. An industry veteran in the field of overseas construction projects

IndustryAug. 1, 2023

Deep contraction in imports leads to trade surplus in July

Korea narrowly avoided a trade deficit in July as falling prices of energy and raw materials pulled imports down faster than exports. Outbound shipments fell 16.5 percent on-year to $50.33 billion last month, while inbound shipments fell 25.4 percent to $48.7 billion, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korea Customs Service released Tuesday. Accordingly, Korea logged a trade surplus of $1.63 billion in July, marking a $500 million increase from a mon

EconomyAug. 1, 2023

HD Korea Shipbuilding to acquire STX Heavy Industries

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the shipbuilding unit under HD Hyundai, said Tuesday it will acquire STX Heavy Industries, a Korea-based marine diesel engine manufacturer in a 81.3 billion won ($63.5 million) deal. The company said it signed a contract with the private equity firm Pinetree Partners to purchase its 6.52 million shares in the engine manufacturer and an additional 5.36 million newly issued shares. The shipbuilder will become the largest shareholder holding a 35 pe

MobilityAug. 1, 2023

Naver Pay eyes Chinese debut this year

Naver Financial, a financial platform owned by South Korean internet giant Naver, said Tuesday it aims to introduce a mobile payment system to be used at stores in China, allowing the company to provide a better shopping experience mainly for Koreans traveling there. The company has recently signed partnership agreements with Alipay Plus and China UnionPay, two of China’s top three mobile payment services that also include WeChat Pay, as it aims to launch its popular mobile payment servi

TechnologyAug. 1, 2023

[Photo News] Self-driving shuttle

42dot, a software mobility unit under Hyundai Motor Group, said Tuesday it has started an autonomous-driving shuttle service for Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. The company's staff can hail the shuttle, equipped for eight people including a safety officer, via 42dot’s TAP! Mobile app. Twelve cameras and six radars analyze the road conditions to avoid any obstacles or pedestrians that lie ahead, the company said. (42dot)

MobilityAug. 1, 2023

[Photo News] Galaxy Drone Show in Busan

Drones create images to promote Samsung Electronics' latest Galaxy Z Flip5 smartphone over the Gwangan Bridge, an iconic Busan landmark, on Monday night. Samsung said Tuesday that the show used 600 drones for 15 minutes to celebrate the opening of its Galaxy Studio in the city. The tech giant also showed its support for Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo during the show. There are six Galaxy Studio locations in Seoul and Busan, where visitors can experience Samsung's latest d

IndustryAug. 1, 2023

NCSoft vows to boost support for emerging creative talent

One of South Korea's top game developers and publishers, NCSoft, is ramping up its efforts to boost the development of intellectual property by supporting emerging artists. The company has been carrying out a number of sponsorship campaigns, especially in the character industry, which can generate various derivative content including games, comics and merchandise other than characters themselves. Under its flagship sponsorship program, Rookie Project, since 2021, the company has been discov

IndustryAug. 1, 2023

Seoul shares open higher on tech, bio gains

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, drive by gains in tech and bio shares amid hopes of a soft landing for the US economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 15.09 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,647.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. All three major US stock indexes finished higher Monday on upbeat corporate earnings. The S&P 500 closed at a 16-month high of around 4,590. In Seoul, IT and bio shares drove up the Kospi, while tech blue chips traded mixe

MarketAug. 1, 2023

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s overseas plant orders jump 40.2% in H1

Overseas orders for industrial plants won by South Korean builders spiked more than 40 percent on-year in the first half of 2023, on brisk demand from the Middle East and Africa, data showed. Local builders clinched $13.05 billion worth of plant orders from abroad in the January-June period, up 40.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Commerce Ministry data. The first-half jump came as orders from Middle Eastern and African countries shot up from a year earlier. Plant orders from the M

IndustryAug. 1, 2023

CJ divests Chinese subsidiary in bid to ramp up K-food push

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang said Monday it sold its entire stake in Jixiangju Food, one of its biggest Chinese subsidiaries that sold Chinese food in China, in a bid to focus on its global strategy to primarily sell Korean food products, centering on its Bibigo brand. According to CJ CheilJedang, the company sold its 60 percent stake in Jixiangju Food for 300 billion won ($235 million) to multiple Chinese institutional investors and the second-largest stakeholder of Jixiangju Food, wh

ConsumerJuly 31, 2023

Doosan secured W500b pre-orders for lightweight EV cables

Doosan Corp., the holding unit of Doosan Group, said Monday it had secured a total of 500 billion won ($390 million) in preorders since 2019 for its lightweight patterned flat cable — or PFC — from corporate clients around the world. The PFC is a next-generation cable system pioneered by Doosan that can replace traditional cable harnesses in electric devices by reducing the weight, volume and complexity significantly, especially for electric vehicles. The PFC combines multiple cables

MobilityJuly 31, 2023

FSS orders Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch to enhance internal accounting practices

Korea's Financial Supervisory Service has requested the Seoul branch offices of two securities firms -- Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch -- to enhance their internal management in response to identified deficiencies in their books. Morgan Stanley had two instances of such management caution cases, while Merrill Lynch had one case identified during the inspections conducted by the financial regulator. Although these deficiencies do not involve legal violations, both securities firms are obli

IndustryJuly 31, 2023

Over 3m Koreans visit Japan in H1

The number of South Korean tourists to Japan surpassed 3 million in the first half of this year, recovering to pre-pandemic levels. The number of Japanese people visiting South Korea, however, has rebounded at a much slower pace to reach some 860,000, according to government data Monday. The yen’s prolonged weakness and Japan’s well-established tourism infrastructure and diverse tourist destinations made the difference, industry sources explained. According to data compiled by the Ko

IndustryJuly 31, 2023

Seoul shares up for third day as US data signals cooling inflation

South Korean stocks closed 0.93 percent higher Monday, after US data signaling cooling inflation fueled investor appetite for risky bets. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 24.26 points to 2,632.58. Trading volume was at 447.5 million shares worth 15.5 trillion won ($12.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 712 to 178. "The slower-than-expected in US personal consumption expenditures price index raised hopes for

MarketJuly 31, 2023

[KH Explains] Commercial real estate crash punishes investors

Korean investment firms are at the risk of painful losses in their commercial real estate investments with high interest rates and a shift to teleworking. With major economies tightening monetary policies, and the post-pandemic trend of working from home pushing up office vacancy rates, commercial office buildings -- once perceived as a reliable investment -- have become a liability. Igis Asset Management’s 370 billion won ($290 million) investment in the Trianon office building in Frankfu

MarketJuly 31, 2023

[KH Explains] Users abandoning Meta's Threads after explosive start in South Korea

Threads, the text-based social media platform built by Meta to rival Twitter, now called X, has seen a staggering decline in the number of daily active users in Korea, just within two weeks of its launch. Last Thursday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted that Threads has lost more than half of its users globally, after attracting more than 100 million signups, calling the regression normal and pledging to add more features to keep users engaged. The app has emerged as the first noteworthy social

TechnologyJuly 31, 2023

Hanwha bolsters space manpower

South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group is looking to add more talent to ramp up its space personnel resources and lead the opening of the country’s space era. Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Systems on Monday opened a recruitment process to hire newcomers and experienced job seekers as crew members of the Space Hub -- Hanwha’s conglomeratewide council dedicated to developing space businesses. According to the recruitment notice, Hanwha plans to hire over 100 people in 10 space sectors, s

IndustryJuly 31, 2023

SK Nexilis, Toyota Tsusho to set up battery materials JV

SK Nexilis, an SKC subsidiary, said Monday it has partnered up with Japan-based Toyota Tsusho Corp. to set up a joint venture and produce copper foil for electric vehicle rechargeable batteries in North America. Under the joint investment, SK Nexilis will be in charge of copper foil production, while Toyota Tsusho Corp. plans to secure battery makers in North America. Copper foil is used as a key anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Details such as the size of the deal and the location wh

MobilityJuly 31, 2023