Posco breaks ground on lithium plant in Argentina

South Korean steel giant Posco said Thursday it has broken ground on a lithium hydroxide plant in Argentina. The $830 million project calls for the establishment of the plant near the Salar del Hombre Muerto salt lake in northern Argentina, with an annual production capacity of 25,000 tons of lithium hydroxide. The plant is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024, and the capacity is enough to meet demand from 600,000 electric vehicles, according to Posco. The annual output will be ex

IndustryMarch 24, 2022

S. Korea's snack exports hit record high last year

South Korea's exports of snacks hit a record high last year on the back of demand by stay-at-home consumers amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of the Korean pop culture, customs data showed Thursday. Exports of snacks came to an all-time high of $466 million last year, up 13.1 percent from a year earlier and extending their gains to the second straight year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Snack shipments also rose 16.6 percent to $75 million in the first tw

IndustryMarch 24, 2022

[Graphic News] Grain import prices soar 47% over 2 years

　South Korea’s import prices of grain has jumped nearly 50 percent over the past two years to a near nine-year high amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Prices of imported grains came to $386 per ton in February, up 26 percent from a year earlier and 47.4 percent from two years earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. 　The February per-ton import price represented the highest level since it reached $388 in May 2013. 　Last mon

BusinessMarch 24, 2022

IMF director calls new BOK chief nominee an outstanding institutional leader

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday hailed the nomination of a South Korean IMF official, Rhee Chang-yong, to be the head of South Korea's central bank, calling him an outstanding leader and champion of analytical rigor. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Rhee will step down as director of the Asia and Pacific Department (APD) early next month to be considered for his new role as governor of the Bank of Korea. "Since joining the Fund in February 2014,

EconomyMarch 24, 2022

SK E&S acquires US EV charging platform operator

SK E&S Co., the natural gas provider under South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Thursday it has acquired a US electric vehicle (EV) charging platform operator as part of its push for green energy business. The acquisition of EverCharge Inc., a California-based startup, also included the takeover of its management, the company said in a release, without disclosing the details of the transaction. SK E&S said in a regulatory filing that it is investing $400 million in its US subsidiary

IndustryMarch 24, 2022

Seoul stocks open lower on Wall Street tumbles, inflation woes

South Korean shares opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, led by declines in big-cap tech and auto shares, amid rising woes over inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had shed 18.15 points, or 0.66 percent, to reach 2,716.90 as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, the US stock market tumbled amid renewed concerns over rising energy prices and inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.29 percent, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.23 percent. On

MarketMarch 24, 2022

Nat'l brand positively impacts foreign buyers' purchases of Korean goods: poll

Nearly 7 in 10 foreign buyers think that South Korea's national brand is having a positive impact on their purchases of products from Asia's fourth-largest economy, a poll showed Thursday. According to the survey of 213 foreign buyers, 72.9 percent of the respondents replied that their imports of South Korean goods have been affected positively by the country's national brand. Slightly over 25.4 percent said South Korean products remind them of high quality, followed by reasonable prices with 16

IndustryMarch 24, 2022

Corporate direct financing tumbles 44% in Feb.

Corporate direct financing in South Korea plunged nearly 44 percent in February from the previous month due mainly to a base effect, data showed Thursday. Local companies raised a combined 15.5 trillion won ($12.7 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, down 43.7 percent from January, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Direct financing refers to raising funds directly from the stock and bond markets without borrowing from banks and other financial institutions

EconomyMarch 24, 2022

Ahn stocks hit record high on bets he could be PM

Ahnlab founder Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the transition committee for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, saw his shares shoot up to a record high in 10 years on Wednesday on market expectations that he could be the prime minister when Yoon is sworn in on May 10. The stocks closed at 175,800 won ($144.76) Wednesday, breaking the previous intraday high of 167,200 won in January 2012. The net worth of the software mogul-turned-politician soared to 327 billion won. Ahn has a

MarketMarch 23, 2022

[UP IN THE AIR] ‘Only few will succeed in air taxi commercialization’

The race to come out on top in the future mobility sector is reaching a fever pitch. Market estimates show there are at least 200 global carmakers, aircraft manufacturers, telecommunication firms and startups working on developing urban air mobility (UAM) or flying cars. And Korean companies are no exception. Hanwha Systems, the country’s major defense electronics and related smart technologies and infrastructure service provider, is seeking to pivot its airspace business to target the g

IndustryMarch 23, 2022

Seoul shares up for 2nd day on big-cap tech, steel gains

South Korean stocks extended their winning streak to a second session Wednesday as institutional investors picked up large-cap steel and tech shares. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 25.05 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 2,735.05 points. Trading volume was moderate at 870.73 million shares worth some 11.7 trillion won ($9.64 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 529 to 300. Institutional investors bought a net 233.0

MarketMarch 23, 2022

Outgoing BOK chief concerned over high inflationary pressure

South Korea’s central bank chief Lee Ju-yeol on Wednesday expressed concerns of the lingering woes stemming from COVID-19, including the high inflationary pressure, as he prepares to wrap-up eight successful years as the Bank of Korea governor. “Looking back, my past eight years as BOK governor were full of unexpected events starting with the Sewol Ferry disaster -- which happened only 15 days after I took office -- MERS, Brexit, US-China trade war, Japan’s export restri

EconomyMarch 23, 2022

Dongnae raises W25b in Series A funding

Dongnae, Korea’s real estate startup platform, said Wednesday it has raised 25 billion won ($21 million) in Series A funding from US and Korean investors. Key investors include NFX, Daol Investment, Hana-Magna, Hana Financial Group, MetaProp, Fursys, Han River Partners, Flybridge, Maple, and WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey. “We plan to expand Dongnae branches in Seoul and in the Seoul metropolitan area, like the Pangyo office in Gyeonggi Province,” a Dongnae official said.

TechnologyMarch 23, 2022

Moon taps IMF director as new central bank chief

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday tapped Rhee Chang-yong, director of the Asia and Pacific department at the International Monetary Fund, as the nation’s next central bank chief, but the nomination set off a new war of words as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s office said it wasn’t consulted on the selection. Rhee’s nomination comes on the heels of an apparent weekslong power struggle between the outgoing Moon and the incoming Yoon administrations on naming key staff me

EconomyMarch 23, 2022

SK becomes world’s 1st buyer of ‘net-zero oil’

SK Trading International, a subsidiary of South Korean refiner SK Innovation, announced Wednesday plans to purchase up to 200,000 barrels of “net-zero oil” each year for five years from US-based Occidental Petroleum Corp., in a move to use the sustainable commodity for commercial products. The affiliates of SK Group, South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate by assets, will use the oil for products including eco-friendly aviation fuel. SK’s purchase of net-zero oil will b

TechnologyMarch 23, 2022

LG Energy Solution, SK On win hefty incentives in US, Hungary

LG Energy Solution and SK On, two Korean battery makers that are increasingly expanding their production base in key markets for electric vehicles, have recently won hefty incentives in the US and Europe, respectively. On Tuesday, the state of Michigan approved a package of incentives worth about $600 million for LG Energy Solution, including $565 million in government subsidies and $132.6 million in tax cuts. The incentives come after the battery maker announced a new investment of $1.7 bil

IndustryMarch 23, 2022

Nexon launches Dungeon & Fighter Mobile

South Korean gaming giant Nexon will launch Dungeon & Fighter Mobile -- the latest title of the developer’s megahit intellectual property -- on Thursday, the company said Wednesday. Similar to the PC version, the mobile title is a fast-paced 2D anime-styled side scrolling action game combined with elements of role-playing games and based on a continuously developing storyline. Dungeon & Fighter is one of Nexon’s most popular franchises as the PC version has 850 million re

IndustryMarch 23, 2022

Eximbank helps finance world’s longest suspension bridge in Turkey

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said it provided 600 million euros ($661.6 million) in financial support for the construction of the world’s longest suspension bridge, which opened last week in Turkey. The 2,023-meter Canakkale Bridge, built by a consortium of South Korea’s DL E&C and SK ecoplant, and Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi and Limak, connects Europe and Asia over the Dardanelle Strait. The 3.13 billion-euro project to build and operate the bridge and an 88.4-kilometer hig

IndustryMarch 23, 2022

LG opens AI research base in US

LG AI Research, an in-house research hub of South Korea‘s fourth-largest conglomerate, said Wednesday it has opened a new research center in the United States. The center is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, near the University of Michigan. It is LG AI Research’s first overseas location. The new facility will be led by Lee Hong-lak, chief scientist of AI and professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan. The center’s fundamental researc

TechnologyMarch 23, 2022

[KH Explains] Where can you travel from Korea quarantine-free?

If you are fully vaccinated in South Korea or elsewhere and have your vaccination status registered in the country, you can now enter without quarantine on the way back. Those who are fully vaccinated abroad but have not been able to register their vaccination status in the COOV system will also be free of the seven-day long self-quarantine, which is currently required, from next month. As of Wednesday, 54 countries and territories around the world have banned entry from foreigners, of which 2

MobilityMarch 23, 2022