Most Popular
-
1
Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
-
2
Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
-
3
Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
-
4
K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
-
5
35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
-
6
Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
-
7
Pianist Lim Yunchan double winner at Gramophone Awards
-
8
S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
-
9
[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
-
10
N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
-
SK Telecom reports modest growth in Q2
South Korea's No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said Thursday its second-quarter operating income increased nearly 4 percent from a year earlier, helped by improved performance of its subsidiaries.Operating profit came to 423.3 billion won ($380.3 million) in the April-June period, the mobile carrier said in a regulatory filing. This represents a 3.9 percent on-year gain. Sales also increased 1.8 percent on-year to reach 4.34 trillion won during the cited period, the company said. The figures
July 27, 2017
-
Samsung, LG battery arms on alert on cobalt shortage
In response to a supply shortage of cobalt, a key ingredient used in lithium-ion batteries, South Korean battery makers Samsung SDI and LG Chem are stepping up development of new batteries and diversifying their material suppliers.Amid growing demand for the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and smartphones, cobalt, the key energy metal, has seen a decline in production this year driven mainly by the unstable political situation of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which account
July 26, 2017
-
Creditors of Kumho Tire to tentatively accept Kumho Asiana‘s proposals in brand dispute
Creditors of Kumho Tire Co. have tentatively agreed to accept original proposals by the tiremaker's parent group in a brand dispute with the Chinese buyer, the main creditor said Wednesday.The tentative agreement, which came after a meeting of the creditors earlier in the day, appears to pave the way for the creditors to complete the monthslong stalled sale of Kumho Tire to China's Qingdao Doublestar Co.Qingdao Doublestar signed a 955 billion won ($852 million) deal in March to acquire a 42 perc
July 26, 2017
-
GS Engineering Q2 net jumps 48% on new orders
GS Engineering & Construction Co. said Wednesday its second-quarter net profit jumped 48 percent from a year earlier helped by increased orders in housing and plant projects. Net profit for the April-June quarter rose to 11.46 billion won ($10.2 million) from 7.74 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit rose 6.5 percent to 85.97 billion won in the second quarter from 22.66 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 11 percent to 2.99 trillion won from little
July 26, 2017
-
AmorePacific's Q2 net drops sharply amid THAAD row
AmorePacific Corp., the country's top cosmetics maker, said Wednesday its second-quarter net profit plunged 59.8 percent from a year earlier, due largely to a protracted slump in the domestic market amid a sharp decline in Chinese tourists.Its net income came to 77.4 billion won ($69.2 million) in the April-June period, compared with 193 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. The operating profit for the cited period also fell 57.8 percent on-year to 102 billion
July 26, 2017
-
Sanofi Pasteur appoints new GM for Korea office
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines business unit of French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, said Wednesday it has appointed Baptiste de Clarens as the new general manager of its South Korean office.De Clarens joined Sanofi Pasteur in 2006, holding a range of responsibilities ranging from finance and sales to marketing and business operations at the Sanofi-owned vaccine company. Sanofi Pasteur Korea’s new general manager, Baptiste de Clarens (Sanofi Pasteur Korea)He moved to the firm’s Singapore office in
July 26, 2017
-
LOT Polish Airlines adds 8th Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
Poland’s flag carrier said Wednesday that it had received its eighth Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, completing its fleet order from 2005.The 787-8 will be used on LOT Polish Airlines’ expanded routes to Seoul and Tokyo, as well as the Warsaw-Newark route that begins service in August. LOT Polish Airlines‘ 787-8 Dreamliner (LOT Polish Airlines)The airline said that it is planning to receive the first of four 787-9 Dreamliners next April and that it will be one of the first airlines in the world to rec
July 26, 2017
-
Celltrion posts record earnings in Q2 on Remsima sales increase
South Korean drugmaker Celltrion said Wednesday that it posted record high earnings in the second quarter, fueled by expanded global sales of Remsima, a cheaper biosimilar copy of Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade. During the April-June period, Celltrion’s operating profit jumped 79.4 percent on-year to 138.3 billion won ($123 million), while revenue rose 33 percent to 246.1 billion won, marking the company’s best quarterly performance to date, the firm said.Celltrion’s headquarters in Songdo, Incheo
July 26, 2017
-
Most intra-group trading done through negotiated contracts: CEO Score
Most South Korean big businesses signed negotiated contracts for intra-group trading last year without going through public bidding, industry data showed Wednesday, amid rising concerns about business transparency and fair competition.The ratio of direct agreement contracts for the 699 companies affiliated with the country's 30 biggest business groups reached 93.2 percent, or 135.8 trillion won ($121 billion), of the total volume of trading between business affiliates of 145.7 trillion won, acco
July 26, 2017
-
FTC gestures at stern legal measures against rule breakers
The nation’s antitrust watchdog Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday filed complaints against two business operators that “deliberately breached laws,” in addition to sending down penalties, signaling stern action against rule breakers. The measure was also seen as reflecting the stance of the new FTC chief Kim Sang-jo, a former civic activist known for his strong call for transparent business operations.The watchdog decided to file complaints against multilevel marketing firm Nucerity and funeral
July 26, 2017
-
Hyundai Heavy to secure W1tr via management improvement plan
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group announced Wednesday it expects to acquire some 1 trillion won ($892 million) this year on the back of the company’s management improvement plan implemented last year to sell-off nonessential assets. HHI Group has sold 100 percent of its shares of Hotel Hyundai to private equity investment group Hahn & Company worth 200 billion won, according to the company’s press release.(Yonhap) The company added that so far this year it has also secured another 400 billion won
July 26, 2017
-
Daewoo Engineering's Q2 net soars on demand rise
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. said Wednesday its second-quarter net profit nearly tripled from a year earlier as it won more housing and plant projects.Net profit for the three months that ended June 30 soared to 148.1 billion won ($132 million) from 53.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. "We posted high profits in housing, social infrastructure and overseas plant projects we received," Daewoo E&C said in a statement. (Yonhap)The builder expected its n
July 26, 2017
-
Industrial chemical emission tops 53,700 tons in 2015: govt.
The amount of chemical substances discharged from business establishments in South Korea recorded 53,732 tons in 2015, slightly down from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday. The figure decreased by 529 tons, or 0.97 percent, from 54,261 tons recorded in 2014, according to the data by the Ministry of Environment. The emission rate also edged down to 0.0312 percent from 0.0332 percent. A total of 3,634 workplaces in the country emitted some 215 different kinds of pollutants in 2015,
July 26, 2017
-
Doosan Heavy buys US gas turbine service provider
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., South Korea's top power equipment maker, said Wednesday that it has taken over a US gas turbine service provider in a bid to boost its presence in the US market.In June, Doosan Heavy said it signed a preliminary deal to buy ACT Independent Turbo Services, a Houston-based gas and steam turbine repair service provider, for an undisclosed amount.With the acquisition Doosan Heavy will be able to secure a foothold in the US' 16GW gas turbine market.Doosan C
July 26, 2017
-
S-Oil's Q2 net drops on low oil prices
S-Oil Corp., the No. 3 oil refiner in South Korea, said Wednesday that its second-quarter profit dropped 85 percent from a year earlier, as low oil prices drove up inventory losses.Net profit reached 66.9 billion won ($59.8 million) in the April-June period, compared with 444 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Operating income dropped 82 percent on-year to reach 117 billion won over the cited period, while sales rose 11.1 percent on-year to reach 4.67 trillion wo
July 26, 2017
-
Soju sales rises amid protracted economic slump: sources
Sales of traditional Korean distilled liquor "soju" has soared steadily in recent years as more people sought the relatively cheap alcoholic beverage over more expensive offerings amid the protracted economic slump, industry sources said Wednesday.Sales of Hite Jinro's Chamisul soju exceeded the 1 trillion won ($894 million) mark last year for the first time since its debut in 1998, with a total of 1.7 billion bottles of 360 milliliter soju sold, the sources said.It is the first time any South K
July 26, 2017
-
Korea's air traffic rises 4.9% in H1
Air traffic in South Korea rose 4.9 percent in the first half from a year earlier helped by increased demand on non-Chinese routes, government data showed Wednesday. The number of airplanes which flew on domestic and international routes to and from South Korean airports rose to 373,690 in the January-June period from 358,195 a year earlier, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation said in a statement. "An increase in travel demand on routes to Japan and Southeast Asian countries
July 26, 2017
-
[Newsmaker] Death of ‘coffee chain king’ rattles Korean franchise industry
A businessman who had once beaten Starbucks in the coffee franchise race in South Korea some years ago has been found dead, police said Tuesday. Kang Hoon, CEO of the local dessert cafe franchise MangoSix was discovered in a bathroom at his residence in Seocho-dong by an employee on Monday afternoon, according to investigators. He was 49.Kang was a pioneer in the local coffee franchise industry, as he brought domestic coffee brands to huge success and attempted market entries to other Asian mark
July 25, 2017
-
SK Holdings buys 11.77% of e-Shang Redwood
SK Holdings announced it would buy 11.77 percent of Chinese logistics firm e-Shang Redwood Group’s newly issued stock, worth some 372 billion won ($333.3 million), in a disclosure Tuesday. The holding company of South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate in market capitalization aims to tap into the “explosive growth in e-commerce market” in China through the purchase, the firm said in a release. (SK)SK Holdings’ decision in the board meeting Tuesday came in tandem with the purchase of pharmaceut
July 25, 2017
-
LG Display to invest W7.8tr in OLED
LG Display announced Tuesday a new investment of 7.8 trillion won ($6.9 billion) for organic light-emitting diode panels, pinning its hopes on the emerging OLED market and hoping to become the second OLED display supplier for Apple’s iPhones.The investment plan, which was decided at its board meeting, includes 5 trillion won for small plastic OLED and 2.8 trillion won for large OLED out of the total 7.8 trillion won.“We made the meaningful decision in the TV and plastic OLED with the confidence
July 25, 2017