LS Cable & System completes new cable plant in Indonesia

LS Group’s cable manufacturing unit, LS Cable & System, announced Wednesday that it has completed the construction of a new power cable plant in Indonesia in its latest push to secure footing in the burgeoning market. The new plant, called LSAGI, is a joint venture between LS Cable & System and Artha Graha Network, Indonesia’s 10th-largest conglomerate. The Korean firm owns a 75 percent stake in the entity. The plant, located on a 64,000-square-meter site in the Artha Ind

IndustryJan. 26, 2022

Anchor Equity-backed Fresheasy acquires smaller rival for W100b

Korea’s largest meal kit provider Fresheasy said Wednesday it acquired its smaller rival Tasty9, the No. 2 player, for 100 billion won ($83.5 million) in a move to further strengthen its leadership in the burgeoning ready meal market here. The latest deal is the fourth in a series of acquisitions it has carried out under new ownership. In October last year, Hong Kong-based Anchor Equity Partners acquired a controlling stake in Fresheasy for an estimated 300 billion won. Over the three

ConsumerJan. 26, 2022

Natural decline in population hits all-time high in November

SEJONG -- South Korea’s monthly decline in population reached the record-high of more than 8,000 in November, with the demographic tally losing by more than 40,000 for the first 11 months of 2021, state data showed Wednesday. This suggests that government policies to promote marriages and births have lacked efficacy in terms of easing worries over the so-called demographic cliff. According to Statistics Korea, the number of births stayed at 19,800 in November. This marked the second-lowe

EconomyJan. 26, 2022

[Market Eye] Companies fret over new industrial accident law

South Korean companies are fretting over a new industrial safety law that goes into effect Thursday, voicing concerns over the law’s lack of clarity and “excessive penalties” to hold CEOs accountable for fatal industrial accidents.  According to the Serious Accident Punishment Act, which targets companies with more than 50 employees, business owners or management held responsible could face a criminal penalty of a minimum one-year prison term or fines of up to 1 billion

IndustryJan. 26, 2022

Samyang Foods partners with Good Neighbors for child advocacy

South Korean food manufacturer Samyang Foods signed an agreement with Good Neighbors, a child advocacy non-governmental organization in Seoul, to promote child protection, the company said Wednesday. Under the agreement, the company donated 10 million won ($8,350) as a scholarship raised through a matching grant program participated by its executives and staff. Last year, Samyang Foods established a partnership with a district branch of the organization in Seongbuk-gu, where the company‘s

IndustryJan. 26, 2022

LG Energy Solution, GM to build 3rd EV battery plant in US

LG Energy Solution and General Motors said Wednesday they will invest $2.6 billion to build their third electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in the US. The facility will be located in Lansing, Michigan. The factory will begin mass production in early 2025 and produce 50 gigawatt-hours of EV batteries per year once fully operational, which is enough to power 700,000 EVs that can travel more than 500 kilometers in a single charge. The investment is expected to create 1,700 new jobs.

IndustryJan. 26, 2022

Posco Chemical posts record revenue on EV battery demand

Posco Chemical posted record revenues in 2021, largely buoyed by a robust performance of its secondary battery materials business, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. According to the refractory and secondary battery materials arm of South Korean steel giant Posco, its sales surged 27 percent to 1.98 trillion won ($1.65 billion) on-year, a record figure in the company’s history. Operating profits also soared 101.9 percent to 121.7 billion won in the same period. Po

IndustryJan. 26, 2022

SKC-led consortium bets $80m for next-generation EV battery materials

SKC, the chemicals unit of South Korea’s No. 3 conglomerate SK Group, said Wednesday it has invested $80 million with partners to secure next-generation electric vehicle battery technologies. According to SKC, it formed a consortium with SJL Partners, BNW Investment and Kiwoom PE and invested $80 million in Nexeon, which develops materials that go inside the minus sides of electric vehicle batteries. Through the investment, the consortium secured a partial stake in the British firm a

IndustryJan. 26, 2022

[Newsmaker] Korea to invest W9tr to speed up digital transformation

South Korea will inject a record-high 9 trillion won ($7.5 billion) this year into its drive for digital transformation as part of the country’s Digital New Deal plan, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday. The biggest portion of the state fund, 5.9 trillion won, will be poured into strengthening the ecosystem of data, network and artificial intelligence. By the end of this year, it plans to set up 310 additional kinds of AI learning data and a comprehensive platform service t

TechnologyJan. 26, 2022

Banking groups beef up auto financing to lure young drivers

South Korea’s banking groups have started upgrading their auto loan and financing services to the next level this year, aiming to go beyond their traditional business to attract mobile-first customers. KB Financial Group, the nation’s No. 1 banking group by total assets, has expanded its car financing services offered via online and mobile platforms, mostly through its leasing and installment financing unit KB Capital. On Jan. 4, KB Capital signed a deal with Volvo’s electri

MarketJan. 26, 2022

Kia Q4 net rises 30% on weak won, SUVs

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Wednesday its fourth-quarter net profit rose 30 percent from a year earlier on a weak won and increased SUV sales. Net profit for the three months ended in December jumped to 1.248 trillion won ($1.04 billion) from 961.6 billion won during the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. "A combination of a weak won, improved product mix and reduced incentives helped offset the impact of chip supply chain problems and th

IndustryJan. 26, 2022

Seoul to install walking deck on Han River

The Seoul city government will create a walking deck floating above water on the Han River by the end of next year to offer new attractions, officials said Wednesday. The 192-meter-long deck, comprising a walking trail on the first floor and an observatory deck on the second floor, will be connected to the small river island of Seonyu in western Seoul, officials said. An 80-meter-wide water screen will be set up with a fountain falling from the second floor, about 15 meters above the ground, t

IndustryJan. 26, 2022

[Korea Chips Act] New law to fuel chipmakers’ race to acquire 12th graders

This is the second installment of a two-part series on Korea‘s Chips Act and controversies surrounding a law meant to support the local chip industry amid heated competition around the world. -- Ed. To tackle a chronic workforce shortage in the domestic chips industry, Korean semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have been ramping up efforts to acquire talents even before they become an adult. Under a new law, a Korean equivalent to the CHIPS for America Act, chipmakers

TechnologyJan. 26, 2022

[Herald Interview] Royal Salute heritage reinterpreted with Richard Quinn's design

Pernod Ricard’s Royal Salute 21 Year Old is British to the core. Created to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Royal Salute’s every detail from its tasting note to the bottle design is dedicated to being British.  In that context, Royal Salute’s latest collaboration with London-based fashion designer Richard Quinn is more than just a collaboration between the two British icons.  Quinn captivated the British fashion scene after becoming the first recipient

IndustryJan. 26, 2022

Growth of S. Korean exports forecast to slow in Q1

South Korea's exports will likely lose some growth momentum in the first quarter of the year due to a string of unfavorable external factors, a state bank said Wednesday. Overseas shipments by Asia's fourth-largest economy are expected to climb 15-16 percent on-year to $169 billion in the January-March period, according to the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Exim Bank). "South Korea's exports are likely to keep expanding in the first quarter, but their growth pace may lose some steam,"

EconomyJan. 26, 2022

Scientists develop biosensor to detect COVID-19 variants within 30 min.

A group of South Korean scientists developed a screening biosensor that can detect COVID-19 variants within 30 minutes, whose test results are as accurate as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, a state-run science institute said Wednesday. The team led by Lee Kwan-hyi of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) developed the highly sensitive and portable biosensor to screen variants through angiotensin-converting enzyme called ACE2. ACE2 is a virus receptor shared by all known C

TechnologyJan. 26, 2022

Daily FX turnover hits record high in 2021 amid brisk exports, stock investment

The daily foreign exchange (FX) trading by banks in South Korea hit a record high in 2021 amid increased demand from strong exports, imports and foreigners' investment in local financial markets, central bank data showed Wednesday. The daily FX turnover came to an average $58.31 billion last year, up 10.3 percent from $52.84 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The amount marked the largest since 2008, when relevant statistics started to be compil

MarketJan. 26, 2022

Samsung's chipmaking plant in Xi'an begins normal operation as China lifts lockdown

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday its chipmaking facility in the Chinese city of Xi'an has returned to normal as the city has lifted a lockdown. The world's largest memory chip maker had temporarily adjusted operations at its NAND flash chips manufacturing base late last month following the lockdown in the city. The draconian restrictions imposed on Dec. 22 banned the city's 13 million citizens from venturing out and doing nonessential activities to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Th

IndustryJan. 26, 2022

Samsung to unveil Galaxy S22 at Unpacked event next month

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it will hold its Unpacked 2022 event next month to showcase the latest Galaxy smartphone with improved chips and boosted camera performance and capabilities. The tech company will show off the Galaxy S22 smartphone at the Feb. 10 event, saying it will "set an epic new standard for smartphones with the most noteworthy S series ever created." The event will begin at 12 a.m. on that day (10 a.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 9). A YouTube video that was un

IndustryJan. 26, 2022

Kakao Games invests $20m in US game developer Frost Giant Studios

South Korean game developer Kakao Games Corp. said Wednesday it has invested $20 million in US-based independent game developer Frost Giant Studios in line with its efforts to increase its global profile. The game affiliate under Kakao Corp., which operates South Korea's most-used mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said it made the investment through its European corporate, Kakao Games Europe B.V. The investment is part of $25 million in a Series A funding round participated in by other investors, su

IndustryJan. 26, 2022