Celltrion's Stelara biosimilar recommended for EU approval

Celltrion said Monday that CT-P43, its ustekinumab biosimilar referencing Stelara, received an approval recommendation from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use. Stelara is Janssen's top-selling drug for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The global market for ustekinumab last year was estimated at around $20 billion, Celltrion added. “CHMP’s recommendation plays a decisive role in the EMA&

IndustryJuly 1, 2024

Antitrust watchdog to sanction AliExpress for violating e-commerce laws

The Fair Trade Commission has launched formal proceedings to sanction Chinese e-commerce giant AliExpress for alleged violations of e-commerce laws. According to industry sources on Monday, the FTC recently issued a review report outlining sanctions against AliExpress for failing to report its basic business information to the government. Under the Act on the Consumer Protection in E-Commerce, operators of e-commerce platforms must report their business name, email address, internet domain name

IndustryJuly 1, 2024

Global memory chip market picks up amid AI boom

The global memory chip market is picking up on the back of the artificial intelligence boom, with the chip price expected to rise in the second half of this year, according to industry sources on Monday. In the wake of a recovery in demand for server and AI chips, such as High Bandwidth Memory chips, the average sales price of DRAM chips is forecast to increase by 8 to 13 percent in the July-September period when compared to the previous quarter, TrendForce, a Taiwan-based chip market tracker sa

IndustryJuly 1, 2024

Seoul shares up for 2nd day ahead of key events

South Korean stocks finished a tad higher Monday as investors took a breather ahead of the release of the Fed minutes and the second-quarter earnings guidance of Samsung Electronics. The local currency fell against the US dollar on the first day of won-dollar transactions being extended until 2 a.m. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 6.49 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,804.31. Trade volume was slim at 452.5 million shares worth 9.8 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with losers beati

MarketJuly 1, 2024

SK On enters emergency mode amid sluggish performance

SK On, the battery unit of South Korean chip-to-construction conglomerate SK Group, said Monday it will freeze the annual pay of all executive-level officials until it turns to profit, declaring emergency management amid its sluggish performance. The company decided to drastically revamp all working processes, including resource distribution, to improve operational efficiency in response to the changing industry environment as global electric vehicle markets are in a stagnation phase, known as t

IndustryJuly 1, 2024

Korea’s chip exports reach all-time high in June

South Korea’s semiconductor exports soared to a record high in June, backed by strong global demand, data from the Trade Ministry showed Monday, helping the country's exports to continue their upward trajectory. The country’s total exports stood at $57.07 billion in June, jumping 5.1 percent on-year, and imports came to $49.07 billion, shedding 7.5 percent on-year. As a result, Korea posted a trade surplus of $8 billion, marking a ninth consecutive month of surplus. The surplus

EconomyJuly 1, 2024

Nine One Hannam sets record for highest apartment price ever

The record for the most expensive apartment ever sold in South Korea was broken in June, according to government data tracking real estate transactions. The country's new most expensive apartment is a 273.94-square-meter first-floor unit at Nine One Hannam in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, which sold for 20 billion won ($14.5 million) on June 4. Nine One Hannam is known to be home to celebrities and business moguls, including RM and Jimin of K-pop group BTS and G-Dragon of Big Bang. Completed

MarketJuly 1, 2024

Hyundai Motor takes aim at Southeast Asia

Hyundai Motor Group is looking to spearhead the burgeoning auto markets within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, based on its established footings in a number of countries in that region, the South Korean auto conglomerate said Monday. According to the automaker, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Indonesia, the conglomerate’s first vehicle manufacturing plant in the ASEAN region, rolled out 22,520 units in the first quarter of this year to reach an overwhelming operation rate

MobilityJuly 1, 2024

Kyobo Life chief honored for ethical entrepreneurship at Geneve Forum

Kyobo Life Insurance CEO and Chairman Shin Chang-jae's ethical business practices received global recognition at the Geneve Entrepreneurship Forum on Thursday. The leading life insurer in South Korea said Monday that Shin was awarded the Global Ethics & Stakeholder Commitment Award at the annual entrepreneurship forum held at the International Labor Organization headquarters in Geneva. Each year, the International Council of Small Business gathers distinguished entrepreneurs, legislator

IndustryJuly 1, 2024

[Photo News] Kia for kids

Kia said Monday that it opened up a mobility career experience center at KidZania, a work-experience theme park where children can try various real-life jobs, in Busan. Kia's mobility career experience center consists automotive research facilities, test course of driver's license and driving tracks where young visitors can get a chance to check out different occupations in the mobility sector. The automaker's job world for kids marked the second edition after it set up the previo

MobilityJuly 1, 2024

KT&G shares ESG achievements in 2023 report

South Korea’s top tobacco maker KT&G on Monday released its 2023 business report, renewing its commitment to advancing its carbon neutrality goals and improving corporate governance. The report, an amalgam of its annual strategic reports and publications on activities tied to environmental, social, and governance, outlines a quantitative account of the company’s eco-friendly management vision and advancements in corporate governance. “Our ESG capabilities are the driving fo

IndustryJuly 1, 2024

Hanwha Aerospace aims to achieve W2.9tr in sales of aviation engine parts by 2032

Hanwha Aerospace Co. said Sunday it aims to generate 2.9 trillion won ($2.08 billion) in sales from the global aviation engine components business by 2032, with a target to secure capabilities for developing its own engine technologies for fighter jets. "Hanwha Aerospace has been actively promoting its global engine parts business, with Hanwha Aerospace USA (HAU) playing a key role," said Park Myong-hwan, chief financial officer at HAU. "We aim to achieve 2.9 trillion won in sales

IndustryJuly 1, 2024

Hanwha Ocean wins over W2tr orders for eight vessels

Major South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean Co. said Monday it has won orders totaling 2.15 trillion won ($1.55 billion) for eight carriers from two Middle Eastern shippers. Hanwha Ocean will build four liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships for one undisclosed Middle Eastern shipper at a cost of 1.43 trillion won and four very large crude carriers (VLCCs) for another at 719.6 billion won, the company revealed in a regulatory filing. So far this year, Hanwha Ocean has bagged $5.3 billion worth of ord

IndustryJuly 1, 2024

Seoul shares start higher amid eased inflation woes, political uncertainties

South Korean stocks opened a tad higher Monday amid eased woes over US inflation and rising political uncertainties. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 0.95 point, or 0.03 percent, to 2,798.77 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Last week, US key inflation data of the personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.1 percent on-month for May, meeting the market expectations. However, escalating uncertainties over the upcoming US presidential election weighed heavily on th

MarketJuly 1, 2024

Forex market hours extended to 2 a.m.

South Korea’s foreign exchange market will operate until 2 a.m. from Monday, while its crypto market is to enter a new phase with the enactment of the virtual asset user protection law this month, as part of new government measures to come into place in the latter half of this year. The Finance Ministry announced Sunday it has released a booklet on policy changes across the government's ministries for the second half of 2024. The booklet is available at the ministry’s website an

EconomyJune 30, 2024

Foreign buying of Korean shares soars to new record in H1

Foreign investors’ net purchases on the South Korean stock market during the first six months of this year surged to an all-time high of over 23 trillion won ($16.6 billion), according to the nation's sole bourse operator, the Korea Exchange, on Sunday. Overseas investors amassed a total of 23.28 trillion won worth of local shares in the first half of this year, the highest since the Korea Exchange began compiling related data in 1998. The previous high was set at 12.23 trillion won

MarketJune 30, 2024

[Reporter’s Notebook] Busan ‘International’ Mobility Show and BMW

The 2024 Busan International Mobility Show began at Bexco in Korea’s second-largest southeastern port city on Thursday, just like any other global auto exhibition. The press day allowed numerous journalists to take a firsthand look at what the event had in store. However, despite the global intentions behind the title of the event, the exhibition venue had only one auto importer present: BMW Group Korea. BMW Group Korea President Han Sang-yun noted in his presentation that the German autom

MobilityJune 30, 2024

Korean Air Skypass bags 2nd win at National Service Awards

Korean Air said Friday that its mileage program Skypass had won the top award in the airline membership sector at this year’s National Service Awards, marking the second consecutive year it has received the honor. The National Service Awards evaluates and honors services most cherished by consumers across industries throughout the year. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Korean Air’s Skypass enables members to accumulate mileage based on their usage of Korean Air and its par

IndustryJune 30, 2024

[Herald Interview] ‘Renault Grand Koleos is like Chanel’

BUSAN -- The Korean-tailored features, positioning and unique name of the Grand Koleos, the sports utility vehicle Renault Korea debuted at the 2024 Busan International Mobility Show last week, will lure Korean customers, according to the CEO of the French automaker’s local office. “This car is completely answering to a different proposal that we can give as a French brand,” said Renault Korea CEO Stephane Deblaise in an interview with the Korea Automobile Journalists Associa

MobilityJune 30, 2024

SK hynix pledges W103tr for AI chips by 2028

SK Group said Sunday that it will secure 80 trillion won ($57.9 billion) by 2026 to accelerate its push for two growth drivers: chips and artificial intelligence. SK hynix, its chipmaking unit, alone plans to invest 103 trillion won by 2028, with 80 percent of the new funding focusing on AI chips, including high-bandwidth memory, a burgeoning area where the chip giant has secured an earlier edge. Telecom carrier SK Telecom and internet service provider SK Broadband will also invest a combined 3.

IndustryJune 30, 2024