S. Korea sends economic delegation to Austria, Croatia for World Expo bid

South Korea sent an economic delegation involving Samsung Electronics Co., LG Energy Solution Ltd. and other major companies to Austria and Croatia for talks on ways to enhance economic and investment ties, and to drum up support for Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, the industry ministry said Thursday. The delegation, led by Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, began a three-day visit to the two European nations Wednesday as part of South Korea's plan to send a delegation to 13 Europea

EconomyFeb. 16, 2023

High energy prices, weak chip demand, China slump behind export fall: finance minister

South Korea's extended export slump is attributable to higher energy prices, falling chip shipments and lower demand from China, the finance minister said Thursday. "When we analyze the latest trade deficits, most of them, roughly 95 percent, are attributable to three elements, namely energy, chips and China," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said ahead of a closed-door meeting with economy-related ministers. In January, Asia's fourth-largest economy suffered an all-time monthl

IndustryFeb. 16, 2023

US agricultural exports to S. Korea reach all-time high in 2022: U.S. data

WASHINGTON-- Shipments of American agricultural products to South Korea reached a record high of over $10 billion last year, US data showed Wednesday. US exports of agricultural products to South Korea came to $10.05 billion in 2022, up 2 percent from $9.85 billion a year before, according to the data from the US Department of Agriculture. The 2022 total also marks a whopping 67.3 percent spike from $5.97 billion in 2013. The top 10 export items to South Korea included dairy products, corn, wh

IndustryFeb. 16, 2023

Seoul shares open higher on US gains amid rate woes

Seoul shares opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, amid concerns over the US Federal Reserve's continued rate hikes to tame inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 22 points, or 0.91 percent, to 2,449.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 percent to 34,128.05 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9 percent to 12,070.59. Investors now await US employment data to be released Thursd

MarketFeb. 16, 2023

AI chatbot services will boost chip demand, says SK hynix chief

The proliferation of chatbots using artificial intelligence will become "killer applications" in boosting demand for advanced memory chips, SK hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho said at a symposium Wednesday. Park, who also serves as the chief executive officer of the world's second-largest memory chip maker, said memory chips will always be at the center of innovation as the era of artificial intelligence unfolds. "As the era of AI unfolds, unsolved challenges of the past will

IndustryFeb. 15, 2023

Business-friendly environment for foreign firms vital for trade: KITA

In order to improve Korea's suffering trade deficit, a Korean trade lobby group on Wednesday called for the government to ease regulations for foreign businesses. “Korea's export industry, which is mainly composed of intermediate goods and semiconductors that are sensitive to economic fluctuations, is one cause of the sluggish exports. But fundamentally, the global export market share is the key problem,” KITA Vice Chairman Jeong Marn-ki said during a press conference held

IndustryFeb. 15, 2023

SK Biopharmaceuticals makes big sales pitch in US

SK Biopharmaceuticals on Wednesday said its subsidiary SK Life Science is holding sales meetings in the US this week to boost sales of its seizure medicine cenobamate in the all-important market. Cenobamate, which is sold under the brand name of Xcopri, was approved in 2019 for partial-onset seizures in adults. The company has held the promotional event traveling across the US for the fourth consecutive year with an aim of strengthening its sales network and sharing its business plans with partn

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2023

Korea logs smallest job gain in 2 years

  Korea saw the smallest increase in the number of additional jobs in nearly two years in January, a sign of the toll the economic downturn has taken on the labor market. The pace of increase has slowed for eight months in a row since May last year, indicating a shrinking labor market. According to data released by the Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of employed people came in at 27.36 million last month, up 1.5 percent or 411,000 from a year ago. It was the lowest on-year growth

EconomyFeb. 15, 2023

KT, Mongolia to bolster ties on resource development, IT

South Korean telecommunications giant KT Corp. said Wednesday it has signed a partnership deal with the Mongolian government and the central Asian country’s business delegation to strengthen strategic cooperation in exploiting mineral resources and realizing digital transformation in the finance sector. Key officials of the Mongolian government and the country’s business delegation visited KT's headquarters in Jongno, central Seoul, a day earlier to sign the memorandum of unders

IndustryFeb. 15, 2023

Retail industries rush to cut ties with Yoo Ah-in

The Korean retail industry is busy preparing measures to erase actor Yoo Ah-in from their brands' promotions, after the actor tested positive for marijuana use and became embroiled in an open drug test investigation for the illegal use of propofol. Musinsa, the largest online fashion platform in Korea by sales, told The Korea Herald that the company is currently reviewing the termination of its brand model contracts with the actor. "With the investigation currently underway, we first d

ConsumerFeb. 15, 2023

Direct overseas shopping up 60% over 5 years

The value of overseas direct shopping exceeded $4.7 billion last year, significantly up from $2.7 billion in 2018, according to the latest data from the Korea Customs Service released Wednesday. The number of users also tripled over the past five years from 5.19 million to 15.57 million last year. It is the first time the figure has exceeded 15 million, coming to more than 1 in 4 people here. The most popular category for purchases was health-related foods, on which buyers spent a whopping $862

ConsumerFeb. 15, 2023

Ford stops production of EV truck over potential battery issue

US auto giant Ford has halted production and shipments of the F-150 Lightning, its electric pickup truck, citing troubling signs with the vehicle’s battery pack. The automaker on Tuesday said in a statement that the company found a potential battery issue in an F-150 Lightning during its pre-delivery quality inspections and decided to stop manufacturing and shipping vehicles while investigating the issue. Ford added that the company is not aware of any incidences of this issue in the field

MobilityFeb. 15, 2023

Samsung secures cash from display unit to boost lagging chip business

Samsung Electronics plans to borrow 20 trillion won ($15.78 billion) from its display unit to secure working capital as the tech giant seeks to maintain a similar level of investment as last year, despite the sharp industry downturn to continue into the year. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Samsung said it will be borrowing funds from Samsung Display at an interest rate of 4.6 percent, with the loan to mature on Aug. 17, 2025. Samsung Display, an affiliate in which Samsung Electronics holds 8

IndustryFeb. 15, 2023

Korean Air CEO named aviation leader of the year

Korean Air Chairman and CEO Walter Cho has been selected as the top aviation leader of the year by global aviation magazine Air Transport World, the nation’s flag carrier said Wednesday. “Since taking the helm at Korean Air in 2019, Walter Cho has rapidly gained a worldwide reputation for industry vision and dynamic management. His nimble and out-the-box thinking, particularly with regard to airline partnerships – especially the transpacific joint venture with Delta Air Lines &

IndustryFeb. 15, 2023

LG Energy Solution commits to climate change measures

LG Energy Solution said Wednesday it will improve reporting on climate-related risks in accordance with the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures, or TCFD, the first of its kind among battery makers here. TCFD is an international organization created by the Group of 20’s Financial Stability Board in 2015. It recommends companies to disclose information on governance, strategies, risk management and management objectives connected to climate change. “We will manage and

MobilityFeb. 15, 2023

LG Innotek unveils world's thinnest semiconductor base

LG Innotek said Wednesday that it launched the world’s thinnest and widest film-type semiconductor substrate, 2-metal chip on film, a key component for extended reality devices. Chip on film (COF) is a semiconductor packaging substrate that connects the display and main printed circuit board. It helps minimize display bezels and miniaturize modules for electronic devices such as TVs, laptops, monitors and smartphones. The 2-metal COF is an upgraded version of the single-sided COF, which is

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2023

[Photo News] Brew with a view

Starbucks Korea on Wednesday opened a new “The Bukhansan” store near an entrance to Bukhansan National Park in Seoul. The two-story building, with almost 1,000 square meters of floor space, aims to give visitors a special experience to interact with nature with a cup of coffee and enjoy the mountain view in the city center. Special features include a photo zone on the rooftop terrace and a walking trail surrounding the store building.

ConsumerFeb. 15, 2023

Seoul shares open lower amid rate hike worries

Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday as investors assess higher-than-expected US inflation data and the Federal Reserve's comments hinting at rate increases, which may portend a longer-than-expected period of monetary tightening to combat inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 9.95 points, or 0.40 percent, to 2,455.69 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.5 percent to 34,089.27 and the te

MarketFeb. 15, 2023

Import prices down in January on stronger local currency

South Korea's import prices fell for a third straight month in January despite oil price hikes, largely due to the local currency's rise against the US dollar, central bank data showed Tuesday. The import price index stood at 134.95 in January, down 2.3 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The index dropped 5.5 percent in November and 6.5 percent in December. Compared with a year earlier, the January index rose 1.7 percent, growing at

EconomyFeb. 15, 2023

[Graphic News] Cigarette sales up in S. Korea in 2022

Sales of cigarettes in South Korea edged up 1.1 percent in 2022 from a year before, the Finance Ministry said, despite the government’s anti-smoking campaign. South Korean smokers purchased 3.63 billion packs of 20 cigarettes in 2022, up from the 3.59 billion packs tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The amount, however, marked a 16.8 percent drop from 2014, a year before the government raised the price of cigarettes by 80 percent in January 2015 from

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2023