Woori Bank faces probe again over wire transfers

Woori Bank, one of the five largest lenders in South Korea, is under investigation over suspicious money transfers totaling 800 billion won ($623 million) as one of the bank employees is standing a separate trial on charges that he stole 61 billion won in the largest bank theft local lenders have seen. A Woori branch in Seoul had sent the money overseas in the last year in what the bank and authorities suspect to be fraudulent remittances that could involve money laundering, given the transacti

IndustryJune 27, 2022

GS Inima gears up for seawater desalination project in Oman

A 2.4 trillion won ($1.86 billion) seawater desalination project in Oman overseen by GS Engineering & Construction subsidiary GS Inima has kicked off, officials said Monday. GS Engineering & Construction has signed financing documents for GS Inima’s project to build a Barka 5 Independent Water Plant in Oman, a deal reached with Oman Power & Water Procurement Co. in 2020, the company said. Of the $130 million that will be needed for building the plant, GS E&C will be procu

IndustryJune 27, 2022

Pulmuone sponsors Korean food documentary by US culinary school

South Korean food giant Pulmuone said Monday it has sponsored a documentary production with the Culinary Institute of America, one of the world’s most prestigious culinary schools, to promote Korean food to a global audience. In partnership with Pulmuone, the CIA plans to document Korea’s plant-based recipes and food culture. The documentary will be used for educational purposes for chefs, CIA students and food and cafeteria service providers in the US. Starting with Korea, the CI

ConsumerJune 27, 2022

Seoul shares up for 2nd day amid recession woes

Seoul shares ended higher for the second straight session Monday, as investors speculate the pace of the Federal Reserve's rate hikes could be slower than expected amid global recession woes. The local currency sharply rose against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 35.32 points, or 1.49 percent, to close at 2,401.92. On Friday, the KOSPI rebounded 2.3 percent to 2,366.60 after marking a 19-month low a session earlier. Trading volume was moderate at 501.09 mil

MarketJune 27, 2022

[Photo News] World Cup Coins

The official commemorative coins issued by the Qatar Central Bank to celebrate the 2022 Qatar World Cup were showcased in Seoul on the sidelines of a ceremony held to launch limited edition medals to commemorate the Korea-Japan World Cup held 20 years ago. A set of 24 gold and silver legal tender coins were released by the Middle Eastern country last month as part of FIFA‘s Official Host Country Coin Program, in collaboration with MDM Deutsche Muenzhandelsgesellschaft, FIFA’s officia

MarketJune 27, 2022

[Best Brand] Hanwha Q Cells looks to tap home solar power systems

Leading total energy solution provider Hanwha Q Cells is accelerating efforts to bring solar energy into households in South Korea, with its Q.Home initiative that will allow people to produce, store and manage solar energy. The product is already being sold in Europe, where demand is high. The company, which entered the solar energy business in 2010 and has since provided energy storage systems and energy management systems, is known for producing quality photovoltaic systems, or solar power s

IndustryJune 27, 2022

[Best Brand] Coway’s Icon Water Purifier 2 attracts with innovative features

The second edition of South Korean furniture and home appliance brand Coway’s Icon Water Purifier is garnering attention with its innovative characteristics. Launched June 2, the product features artificial intelligence technology that autonomously diagnoses the operation status of the water purifier, according to the company. In addition, the user can use its mobile app to not only analyze the condition of the product, but also control it remotely. It has obtained the AI+ artificial i

IndustryJune 27, 2022

Burden from investor debt binge drags down Kospi: analyst

Risks stemming from South Korea’s investor debt binge is a key reason behind the local benchmark stock index’s recent lackluster performance, analysts said Monday. This fueled concerns of a possible market crash as the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes have been increasing debt burden on retail investors. “Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea saw a sharp gain in household and corporate debt,” Heo Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment

MarketJune 27, 2022

[Best Brand] The IB Korea introduces new cocktail products

The IB Korea, a beer and liquor importer, recently participated in the Air House Festival, a music fair held in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, for three days starting June 10. At the event, the IB Korea met with young customers in their 20s, introducing its newly launched cocktail products, Uptown Margarita and Uptown Pina Colada. The two new products are brands from Texas-based distillery and winery Southern Champion. The Uptown Margarita is an agave wine-based cocktail, while the Uptown Pina

ConsumerJune 27, 2022

[Best Brand] Linus offers top-notch app development services

Linus, an application development service provider, has successfully carried out 40 projects for companies across various areas, including analysis of nutrients, multilingual education and luggage delivery. As a startup established in 2019, Linus is a system integration company that creates apps for both Android and iOS, sets up servers and web services and develops machine-learning models and prediction platforms. According to Linus, the startup gets involved in the initial planning stages of

TechnologyJune 27, 2022

[Best Brand] Starbucks Korea recognized for offering equal job opportunities

Starbucks Korea has been bolstering its efforts in creating equal job opportunities and giving back to society. The coffee chain, with over 20,000 employees across over 1,600 locations nationwide, has been recognized by the government for providing equal employment opportunities to disadvantaged groups. The Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities chose Starbucks Korea as an “excellent case” of having incorporated the disabled into its workforce. As of June 2022, Sta

IndustryJune 27, 2022

[Best Brand] Powerful-X Recovery Cream becomes No. 1 sports cream

Powerful-X Recovery Cream is the nation’s No. 1 sports cream, offered by Powerful-X, a local sports beauty and health care company. Since its launch in 2014, sales exceeded 30 billion won ($23.2 million) in 2017 and its success led to the maker’s stock debut on Konex, a securities exchange for small and medium-sized firms, in the same year. The firm attributed the cream’s huge success to its steady quality improvement over the time. The firm applied its own “Flex-So

IndustryJune 27, 2022

[Best Brand] Samsung C&T enters SMR, eco-friendly energy biz

The engineering and construction division of Samsung C&T Corporation is aggressively entering the eco-friendly energy businesses such as small modular reactors, or SMRs, green hydrogen and ammonia. The Engineering & Construction Division of Samsung C&T recently invested $70 million in NuScale Power, an American SMR company, laying a stepping stone for its SMR business overseas. SMRs are safer compared to conventional nuclear reactors, emits nearly zero carbon, and guarantees a stab

MobilityJune 27, 2022

[Best Brand] Come In Wash‘s patented solution offers high quality service

Automatic car wash system company Come In Wash first received attention for offering high quality car wash services using an automatic, no-touch, no-brush car wash which was patented in 2019. With increasing market demand and business expansion, Come In Wash has opened its first branch in downtown Seoul on June 10. Located in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, it offers a top quality car wash system for customers in adjacent neighborhoods such as Cheongdam-dong and Apgujeong-dong. Unlike other

IndustryJune 27, 2022

[Best Brand] LocknLock caters to wide range of home-cooked meals

The trend of having healthy home-cooked meals has driven household goods companies to expand their business into the small home appliances sector. LocknLock, the global food container maker, has introduced Steam Fryer S2, which offers five cooking options -- steam oven, air fryer, grill, toaster and steamer. In particular, its super steam mode cooks food at 130 degrees Celcius and forces superheated steam deep inside ingredients. Since the cooker heats ingredients fast, it draws out fat and sa

ConsumerJune 27, 2022

[Best Brand] Shinhan Card targets Generation MZ with ‘Hilarious Loopy’

Shinhan Card recently launched debit cards that feature the popular animation character Loopy, targeting “Generation MZ,” a local term combining millennials and Generation Z and roughly encompassing those born from the 1980s to 2010s. “Hilarious Loopy,” an exaggerated version of Loopy’s funny character, went viral across social media and online communities among teens and 20-somethings, prompting the credit card company to use the character from the “Pororo t

IndustryJune 27, 2022

Commemorative medals for 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup on sale

Special limited edition medals and banknotes to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, went on sale Monday. Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corporation (KOMSCO) said the commemorative items were made to wish the South Korean national football team good luck on the upcoming 2022 Qatar World Cup, while serving as a reminder of the national unity Korea experienced during the 2002 tournament. The “FIFA World

MarketJune 27, 2022

Korea close to authorizing 1st homemade vaccine

South Korea’s drug regulators are looking to announce the final approval of the country‘s first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine before the end of this week, officials said Monday. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Council concluded that SK Bioscience’s request for the approval of SKYCovione‘s biologics license application could be granted in a meeting on the previous day. A total of 23 outside experts and regulatory authori

TechnologyJune 27, 2022

Despite brisk earings, refiners weary of windfall tax

The nation’s four refiners -- SK Innovation, GS Caltex, S-Oil and Hyundai Oil Bank -- are expected to post record earnings in the second quarter this year, with sky-high oil prices boosting their operating margins. But they are under heavy social and political pressure as their thriving business means higher energy bills for consumers. Commodity prices rise and fall dramatically and refiners are sometimes threatened with a tax on their “extraordinary” profit at times of high

IndustryJune 27, 2022

Govt. unveils W1tr spending package for AI chip dominance

The South Korean government on Monday announced a five-year plan to spend a combined 1.02 trillion won ($794.8 million) in semiconductor chip research and development to maintain its competitive edge in the global chip market. The spending package in the country, home to memory chip powerhouses Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, is aimed at securing a stronger footing in the field of artificial intelligence chips, mainly by developing libraries and compiler software to encourage wider usage of d

TechnologyJune 27, 2022