Seoul shares up for 3rd day as investors weigh BOK's rate freeze, Fed chief's speech

South Korean stocks ended slightly higher on Thursday, extending their winning streak to a third day as investors await more clues over the US rate policy direction amid the Bank of Korea's rate freeze. The local currency gained against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 6.54 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 2,707.67. Trade volume was moderate at 434 million shares worth 8.83 trillion won ($6.61 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 597 to 283. For

MarketAug. 22, 2024

Samsung to widen gap with Chinese rivals with AI TVs

Samsung Electronics said it is confident in maintaining its No. 1 position in the global TV market by widening the gap with Chinese rivals with its advanced artificial intelligence technology. “We believe that AI TVs will be a unique differentiator that other companies do not offer, as it is not just a TV but a platform that can connect various devices customers own,” Yong Seok-woo, president and head of visual display business at Samsung Electronics, said during a press conference i

TechnologyAug. 22, 2024

SK chief embraces AI for future growth at Icheon Forum

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won stressed the importance of adapting business strategies to the evolving AI ecosystem at the closing session of Icheon Forum 2024, SK Group's annual strategy meeting of top executives, which ended Wednesday. "Artificial intelligence presents us with numerous opportunities," Chey said. "Leveraging this trend effectively and embracing change swiftly will be crucial for thriving in the AI ecosystem." The chairman emphasized that while adapting

IndustryAug. 22, 2024

BOK keeps rate at 3.5%, cuts growth projection to 2.4%

The Bank of Korea kept the base rate steady at 3.5 percent Thursday while slashing the projection for economic growth by 0.1 percentage point to 2.4 percent due to slow domestic demand. All members of the monetary policy board agreed on the rate freeze. Of the six members, excluding BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong, four suggested leaving room for a rate cut within the next three months, according to Rhee. With the rate decision, the BOK has kept the rate steady for the 13th straight time since it raise

EconomyAug. 22, 2024

SK chief, partner ordered to pay W2b to estranged wife

A Seoul court on Thursday ordered SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and his live-in partner to pay 2 billion won ($1.50 million) in alimony to his estranged wife and the director of Art Center Nabi, Roh Soh-yeong. The Seoul Family Court ordered in a lawsuit seeking damage, filed by Roh against Chey’s partner Kim Hee-young, who is serving as the chair of T&C Foundation, that the defendant should jointly pay 2 billion won to the plaintiff along with the SK chief. “Based on the submitt

IndustryAug. 22, 2024

Hana empowers aspiring women leaders

Hana Financial Group is spearheading female empowerment with its program designed to unlock the potential of women's talents and to nurture them as leaders shaping the future of the group. The financial conglomerate, with subsidiaries of a retail bank, credit card and insurance firms, among others, under its wing, said it launched the fourth edition of Hana Waves, an annual in-house program that has nurtured 98 future female leaders since its establishment in 2021. Hana Waves -- Women

IndustryAug. 22, 2024

Coway outpaces rivals in filter technology

Korean home appliance-maker Coway has retained its No. 1 position in the nation’s water purifier market for almost three decades with its unrivaled filter technology. “Since the very beginning of our water purifier business, we have put intensive effort into enhancing the quality of water filters, one of the key components. Unlike most competitors, we can produce the products' main water filters on our own,” said a company official. With constant efforts to enhance the qua

IndustryAug. 22, 2024

[Test Drive] Casper Electric: a small, yet full package

The Casper Electric, Hyundai Motor’s newest all-electric sub-compact sport utility vehicle, might look unassuming but it wins consumers' hearts with a big surprise inside. The Korea Herald got to check out the EV model of the Casper, known as the Inster in overseas markets, in a test drive in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday. The first impression of the EV was the distinguished adorableness featuring harmless-looking circular headlights with pixel-style eyebrows on the front s

MobilityAug. 22, 2024

Porsche unveils K-edition Taycan in Seoul

Porsche Korea launched the new Taycan on Thursday, the brand’s upgraded all-electric sports sedan, as the German sports car-maker aims to keep building on the success of the EV here. “Since (the Taycan’s) launch in 2020, the demand for (our) first fully electric sports car has exceeded our expectations,” said Holger Gerrmann, CEO of Porsche Korea, during the launch ceremony at Grand Hyatt Seoul. “Last year, the Taycan accounted for a 16 percent share of sales as the

MobilityAug. 22, 2024

Hyundai Motor previews new tech to beat heat waves

Amid one of South Korea’s hottest summers on record, Hyundai Motor Group hosted the Heat Tech Day event on Thursday in Seoul to preview three advanced climate control technologies to improve passenger comfort in both scorching summers and harsh winters. The three technologies introduced at the event include a nano-cooling film that significantly lowers cabin temperatures during the summer, a radiant heating system that quickly warms passengers in winter and a metal-coated heated glass that

MobilityAug. 22, 2024

LG Chem leads growth hormone market with award-winning app

LG Chem is leading the nation's growth hormone market with its award-winning mobile app, EuDi. According to the company, EuDi won the iF Design Award 2024 in the user experience category in March. It was the only pharmaceutical company to win the honor among 521 winners since 2021, in an arena traditionally dominated by consumer electronics, telecoms and automotive sectors. Launched in 2019, the EuDi app was designed to streamline daily injections for children and their caregivers. The app

TechnologyAug. 22, 2024

S. Korea will expand free trade deals with emerging markets: PM

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday that South Korea will push to expand free trade agreements (FTAs) with emerging markets in Asia and Africa to boost the export-driven economy and enhance supply chain resilience. Han unveiled the trade policy road map during a ministerial meeting to address challenges from the rapidly changing global trade environment and supply chain disruptions. "We will expand the FTA network in major emerging markets, including Asia and Africa, to support local

EconomyAug. 22, 2024

Top financial regulator highlights need to overhaul credit payment system

The chief of the financial regulator on Thursday emphasized the need to reform the country's online payment system following massive payment delays at two e-commerce platforms. Kim Byoung-hwan, head of the Financial Services Commission, said the government will also seek to establish new regulations governing payment gateway (PG) service providers. "The recent TMON and WeMakePrice incident was a problem that occurred under the complex payment system in a newly emerging industry such as

EconomyAug. 22, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on hopes for rate cut by Fed

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday after the minutes from the Federal Reserve's rate policy meeting showed that the "vast majority" of its policymakers support a rate cut next month. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 7.53 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,708.66 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Fed released the minutes of the FOMC meeting on July 30-31, which showed that the policymakers believed that it would "likely be appropriate t

MarketAug. 22, 2024

'Vast majority' of Fed policymakers signal likelihood of September rate cut: minutes

The "vast majority" of the US Federal Reserve's policymakers indicated it might be appropriate to start lowering the benchmark interest rate next month should progress on inflation continue, the minutes of the central bank's monetary policy meeting last month showed Wednesday. The Fed released the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on July 30-31. At the meeting, the bank held its key rate at the 5.25 to 5.50 percent range for an eighth consecutive time, but

EconomyAug. 22, 2024

Samsung, LG showcase next-gen display tech at IMID

Korea's two top display makers Samsung Display and LG Display have won Display of the Year awards at the International Meeting on Information Display conference that kicked off on Jeju Island Wednesday. Having introduced the world’s first stretchable OLED display in 2017, Samsung unveiled another stretchable panel using the micro-LED technology that boasts the highest resolution and elongation rate among the stretchable products on the market. According to the display maker, the lates

IndustryAug. 21, 2024

Seoul shares up for 2nd day ahead of US payroll data, Fed chief's speech

South Korean stocks ended higher for the second straight session Wednesday as they waited for US payroll data and more clues over the US rate policy direction from this week's Jackson Hole symposium. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 4.5 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 2,701.13. Trade volume was moderate at 406 million shares worth 9.18 trillion won ($6.87 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 448 to 407. F

MarketAug. 21, 2024

[KH Explains] Institutional investors in Korea take slower approach to crypto

Though the introduction of the bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds has paved the way for more institutional investors globally to embrace the cryptocurrency into their portfolios, Korean institutions are still taking a cautious approach. With the US Securities and Exchange Commission approving spot bitcoin ETFs earlier this year, more institutional investors overseas, from hedge funds to private equities, are growing their exposure to the coin. According to Coinbase, a major crypto exchange in th

IndustryAug. 21, 2024

SKT, Lambda to open AI data center in Seoul

SK Telecom, South Korea's largest wireless carrier by membership, said on Wednesday that it will open an artificial intelligence data center in Seoul in December by joining hands with US-based graphics processing units-as-a-service provider Lambda. The decision comes as the two sides signed a partnership deal for a joint AI cloud business as they agreed to establish a large-scale Nvidia GPU cluster to support AI cloud business opportunities here, according to SK Telecom. Lambda is a company

IndustryAug. 21, 2024

LG Energy Solution to expand battery safety software business

LG Energy Solution said Wednesday it is expanding its battery safety diagnostic software business in response to the rising demand from electric vehicle manufacturers for more advanced safety measures. "With the recent EV fires, automakers are under pressure to enhance battery safety, but developing reliable diagnostic software is both complex and resource-intensive. LG Energy Solution is in a strong position here -- we have the diagnostic capabilities, the patents, and the real-world data.

MobilityAug. 21, 2024