Sales of warehouse stores rise amid high dining-out costs

Warehouse stores in Korea have seen a rise in sales, drawn by bulk sizes of fresh ingredients at lower prices as people opt for cooking at home rather than eating out, amid increasing prices. From January through April, sales of Traders Wholesale Club, the warehouse-type discount store owned by E-mart, increased by 8.6 percent, according to the company on Sunday. In contrast, both E-mart’s discount stores and its no-frills No Brand stores experienced a decline in sales, with decreases of

IndustryJune 9, 2024

Hyundai Motor accelerates hydrogen drive

Hyundai Motor Company has acquired the domestic hydrogen fuel cell business from the auto conglomerate’s affiliate and auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis to speed up its technological innovation and product development, the automaker said Sunday. According to Hyundai Motor, the takeover was officially completed last month to gather Mobis’ hydrogen fuel cell facilities, assets and personnel in one place. With the acquisition, Hyundai Motor set up a new process quality unit under its resea

MobilityJune 9, 2024

S. Korea, Japan, China CEOs want enhanced economic cooperation

Major business leaders in South Korea, Japan and China unanimously agreed on the need to enhance economic ties, with the highest expectations placed on economic revitalization and supply chain stability, a recent survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry revealed Sunday. The findings come from an on-site survey conducted at the trilateral business summit held on May 27 in Seoul, with 136 business leaders responding regarding their views on economic cooperation. The survey hi

EconomyJune 9, 2024

Instagram widens gap with Naver among Korea’s most-used apps

Instagram has significantly widened its lead over domestic top search engine Naver regarding usage hours among Korean smartphone users, data showed Sunday. According to data compiled by industry tracker Wiseapp, Korean users spent 389 million hours on Instagram, making it the third-most used app in the country in May, surpassing Naver by 46.41 million hours. Instagram had already outstripped Naver in April, maintaining the third-most used smartphone app position here for two consecutive months

IndustryJune 9, 2024

From K bank to Shift Up, major players to heat up IPO market

South Korea's initial public offering market is set to maintain its momentum in the latter half of the year, driven by the stock market recovery, as well as the successful listings of big names earlier this year. Having shaken off last year's slump, the total amount raised through IPOs stood at 1.6 trillion won ($1.16 billion) as of end-May, accounting for over 40 percent of the previous year's annual total of 3.86 trillion won. Just in June, an additional 700 billion won is expected to flood in

MarketJune 9, 2024

Samsung Electronics executives buy W1.15b worth treasury stocks

Samsung Electronics executives have been actively purchasing treasury shares to prop up the price, which has struggled to break out of the 70,000 won ($50.70) range. Six executives at the tech giant have collectively acquired 15,490 shares of the company’s stock this month, which amounts to 1.15 billion won, according to DART, the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure board, on Sunday. Park Hak-kyu, president of management support, purchased 5,500 common shares of Sams

IndustryJune 9, 2024

SKT brings K-pop fan community service to metaverse platform

South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom has unveiled a new K-pop service for its metaverse platform, ifland, designed as an arena where K-pop idols and their global fans gather and communicate with one another. Starting Monday, ifland will offer a fan community service with hotel-style spaces enabling fans to meet different K-pop groups and solo artists on each floor. Its introduction page provides an overview of the hotel's floors, while an artist lounge where each K-pop idol can check in t

TechnologyJune 9, 2024

Korea's value-focused coffee chains' enjoy high profits, contrary to low profits of licensed store owners

Value-focused coffee chain operators, such as Mega MGC Coffee and Compose Coffee, have grown rapidly in South Korea, thanks to increasing demand for affordable coffee products. While the number of such stores has been increasing across the country, concerns are mounting as the owners of licensed stores suffer amid low margins from selling cheap beverages, while chain operators enjoy higher operating profit margins. According to earnings reports for 2023, the operating profit margin of Mega MGC C

IndustryJune 7, 2024

Tesla upgrades in-car navigation software in China, introduces lane-level guidance

BEIJING (Reuters) -- Tesla released a software upgrade for its in-car navigation system in China on Friday, introducing new features such as displaying lane markings on its maps that correspond to the actual lanes on the road. The company announced the update on its official WeChat account along with a series of new features added in the latest over-the-air upgrade that it claimed would reduce users' reliance on smartphone applications while driving. Tesla did not specify the provider of th

TechnologyJune 7, 2024

Oil, gas reserves in East Sea 'highly prospective' says Act-Geo owner

The existence of oil and gas reserve in the East Sea is "highly prospective" as seismic data show the examined wells contain all four key elements of a petroleum system, Vitor Abreu, the owner and adviser of the US geoscience research firm Act-Geo said Friday. Act-Geo is the company that suggested substantial oil and natural gas deposits may be buried in the deep sea near Pohang's Yeongil Bay. "So to summarize ... the basin is highly prospective," Abreu said during a pre

IndustryJune 7, 2024

Samsung to introduce real-time AI translation to third-party apps

Samsung Electronics will introduce its real-time translation feature backed with artificial intelligence to third-party messaging apps like KakaoTalk to support voice calls, as part of its efforts to expand the influence of its on-device Galaxy AI, the company's research and development chief said Friday. In an editorial published via the company newsroom, Choi Won-joon, the executive vice president leading Samsung Electronics’ R&D office for mobile devices, also revealed that the

IndustryJune 7, 2024

Daewoong confirms safety, efficacy of diabetes drug Envlo for dogs

Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s research that confirmed its diabetes drug Envlo’s safety and efficacy in animals has been published in Veterinary Medicine and Science, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal for research in all areas of veterinary medicine, the company said Friday. Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s Envlo is the 36th new drug developed in South Korea. Launched in May last year, Envlo is an SGLT-2 inhibitor that has efficacy in reducing blood sugar levels in humans. According to

IndustryJune 7, 2024

Seoul shares rise over 1% on revived rate-cut hopes

South Korean stocks ended more than 1 percent higher Friday as investors' hopes for US rate cuts increased after the European Central Bank cut interest rates for the first time in almost five years. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 33.17 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 2,722.67. Trade volume was heavy at 771.8 million shares worth 12.2 trillion won ($8.9 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 460 to 400. Foreign invest

MarketJune 7, 2024

SK, TSMC chiefs agree to boost collaboration on AI chips

SK Chairman Chey Tae-won and TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei agreed to boost collaboration on the development of advanced artificial intelligence chips, including the High Bandwidth Memory chips high in demand, on Thursday. Chey traveled to Taiwan to meet with Wei and other IT leaders in the country, as part of the effort to strengthen SK's network and gain a competitive edge in the burgeoning global AI market. “Together, let’s open the door to the era of artificial intelligence that ben

IndustryJune 7, 2024

[Innovate Korea] We must control new technology: KAIST president

DAEJEON -- Lee Kwang-hyung, president of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, underscored the importance of controlling new artificial intelligence technology ethically in his speech at Innovate Korea 2024, held at the Lyu Keun-chul Sports Complex in Daejeon on Wednesday. “In the era of ‘humanism 2.0,’ we are living with ordinary humans, physically improved humans, mentally enhanced humans and AI," he said. “I think that our country and our society

TechnologyJune 7, 2024

[Innovate Korea] Future of robots depends on AI: Rainbow Robotics founder

DAEJEON -- Oh Jun-ho, founder of Rainbow Robotics and a former mechanical engineering professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, underscored the future of robots lies in artificial intelligence technology. “Robots are ready to do anything, but on their own, they can’t do anything. Bringing movement to them requires human touch like programming, but in the future, AI will be able to take on that role,” he said in his speech at Innovate Korea 2024, hel

TechnologyJune 7, 2024

[Innovate Korea] Innovate Korea 2024 spotlights ‘new humanity’ in AI era

DAEJEON -- Innovate Korea 2024, a major annual science and information communication technology forum hosted by Herald Media Group, shed light on the new form of humanity in the era of advanced artificial intelligence on Wednesday, sharing insights from various experts across a wide range of professions. This year’s event at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon featured K-pop star G-Dragon, who took part in a panel discussion. Some 3,000 participants gathered,

TechnologyJune 7, 2024

[Innovate Korea] Naver CEO affirms commitment to develop safe, sovereign AI

DAEJEON -- Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon highlighted how sincerely the IT giant is approaching the burgeoning artificial intelligence technologies in her speech at Innovate Korea 2024, held in Daejeon on Wednesday. “AI technology is a game changer which is developing rapidly, although it also stirs up several concerns,” she said. “Naver has been sincere about AI and we’ve been putting much effort into making a perfect Korean-language AI model.” The Naver chief pointed out

TechnologyJune 7, 2024

[Bio USA] SK Biopharmaceuticals seeks to expand R&D with surging Xcopri sales

SAN DIEGO -- SK Biopharmaceuticals CEO Lee Dong-hoon expressed increased confidence in solidifying the company's reputation as an "anti-epilepsy treatment franchise," following a surplus in the first quarter of this year, driven by the strong performance of Xcopri, launched in the United States in 2020. "Sales of Xcopri are currently driving our revenue, but our long-term goal is to succeed through our own research and development pipeline," Lee said during press confere

IndustryJune 7, 2024

Unionized workers of Samsung Electronics set to stage walkout over wages

Unionized workers of Samsung Electronics Co. were set to launch a one-day walkout over wages on Friday, a union official said, in what would be the first walkout at the technology giant. About 28,000 members of the National Samsung Electronics Union were set to collectively take the day off, but some analysts expected the labor action to have no major impact on production. The NSEU said it will not disclose the number of workers joining the walkout, saying the decision should be made voluntarily

IndustryJune 7, 2024