SK On to raise 2.8 tln won in rights offering

South Korean battery maker SK On Co. will raise a total of 2.8 trillion won ($2.17 billion) from its parent company and a few other local private equity funds by issuing new shares, in an effort to pool financial resources for business expansion. SK On will sell 36.4 million shares, worth 2 trillion won, to SK Innovation Co. and 14.8 million shares, worth 824.3 billion won, to six local PEFs, including Korea Investment Private Equity, SK Innovation said in a regulatory filing. The investment

Dec. 21, 2022

CJ Cheiljedang partners with startup Emmyon to develop health supplements that prevent muscle loss

South Korean food giant CJ Cheiljedang Corp. said Tuesday it has joined hands with a US startup to develop ingredients used to make health supplements that prevent skeletal muscle loss. CJ Cheiljedang inked a license agreement with Emmyon earlier in the day to utilize the US startup's various patents covering ursolic acid. Ursolic acid is a substance found in apple peels and herbs like rosemary and thyme. Emmyon holds a number of patents covering ursolic acid, CJ Cheiljedang said. The two s

Dec. 6, 2022

LS Cable's acquisition of KT Submarine expected to create synergy

LS Cable & Systems recently said it will make a 25.2 billion won ($17.58 million) equity investment in KT Submarine to foster its undersea cable business. The cable manufacturing unit of LS Group said it will acquire 4.04 million stocks, or a 16 percent stake in KT Submarine by December, and become the second-largest shareholder of KT Submarine. Once LS Cable exercises its call option in the four months from April 1 next year, the cable manufacturer can purchase a 42 percent stake in KT Subm

Oct. 26, 2022

SK Group chief apologizes over data center fire

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Monday apologized over massive disruptions of online services in South Korea following a fire at a data center run by one of the group's subsidiaries earlier this month. "I would like to deliver an apology to the people," Chey said during an audit at the parliament's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee. "I feel very responsible for the blackout. The entire SK Group is making efforts to deal with the situation."

Oct. 24, 2022

[Breaking] Fire at Kakao data center causes servers to go down

A fire Saturday at a Kakao data center in Pangyo, south of Seoul, has led to a server outage affecting the KakaoTalk messenger app, along with other apps such as Kakao T, Kakao Map, Kakao Metro, Kakao Webtoon, Kakao Bank, Kakao-owned portal Daum and music streaming service Melon. The internet connection for the apps has been unavailable since 3:30 p.m. "There has been a fire at SK C&C data center since 3:30 p.m. Work has begun to put down the fire, but we are uncertain when the fir

Oct. 15, 2022

KT&G, Mirae Asset launch W40b matching fund

KT&G Corp. and Mirae Asset Financial Group launched a strategic matching fund to invest in startups and find new growth engines. The two contributed 20 billion won ($13.9 million) each into the new fund which will invest mainly in health care and companies with good environmental, social and corporate governance. Mirae Asset Capital will manage the fund, KT&G said in a press release. KT&G said it will work together with Mirae Asset Capital in reviewing new areas of business, discove

Oct. 12, 2022

LS Group discusses business with Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors

LS Group said its Chairman Koo Ja-eun discussed business cooperation on Tuesday with the ambassadors of Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- five of the six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The GCC is a regional, intergovernmental, political and economic union of the above countries plus Bahrain, which does not have an embassy in South Korea. Set up in 1981 for economic and security cooperation, the GCC is seeking to expand business beyond crude oil

Oct. 11, 2022

Blind: App that has everyone in the workplace talking

Blind, a workplace community app, has been a source of some of the biggest company news stories and viral social media posts globally. They range from the Korean Air “nut rage” incident and the 2017 sexual harassment allegations at Uber to the controversy at US food delivery platform DoorDash over an initiative that requires all employees to make one food delivery every month, to name a few. One of the latest corporate news stories to come out of the anonymous user-based platform for

Oct. 11, 2022

PK Valve develops Korea’s first valve for liquified hydrogen

PK Valve & Engineering, a subsidiary of STX, which specializes in industrial valves, said it has developed the country’s first valves for liquefied hydrogen after three years of research and development. The “3-inch Globe valve for liquefied hydrogen,” made of 316L stainless steel, can be directly applied to containers that store liquefied hydrogen at minus 253 degrees Celsius. Hydrogen liquefies at the extremely low temperature of minus 253 degrees, and constantly gasifies

Oct. 6, 2022

KT&G promotes business in global tax-free exhibit

KT&G said it is taking part in an annual exhibition hosted by the Tax Free World Association in Cannes, France, from Oct. 3 through 6 as part of efforts to expand its duty-free business to Europe, the Middle East and Central and South Americas. The South Korean tobacco company is displaying premium products from Esse, Raison and Bohem brands at its booth. It is also holding meetings with global distributors and tax-free businesses at the TFWA World Exhibition and Conference. It is the 13th

Oct. 5, 2022

[Advertorial] KT&G continues support programs to help young job seekers

Korea’s largest tobacco producer KT&G pledged to continue its job training programs to help young job seekers here, as the country suffers from a record-breaking rate of youth unemployment, the company said Wednesday. As of June this year, the youth unemployment rate reached 10.5 percent, marking the highest level since 1999, when the nation was struggling to recover from the Asian financial crisis. A mentor listens to a young job seeker at KT&G’s career camp. (KT&G)The company annually runs a f

Aug. 30, 2017

Homeplus releases Italian fine wines at local branches

Homeplus has introduced Italian quality wines at its local branches as a part of the company’s campaign promoting premium wines sold at reasonable prices in the Korean market, the company said Tuesday.Last year, Homeplus launched its Superstar project, bringing in quality wines from outside the country and offering them at lower prices to expand the nation’s wine market base. Italy’s Tuscany-based Banfi wines are displayed at a Homeplus branch in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Tuesday. (Homeplus)This year,

Aug. 29, 2017

Hyundai Oilbank to start periodic refinery maintenance

Hyundai Oilbank, one of the top refiners in Korea, said Wednesday that the company would conduct maintenance activities at Hyundai Oilbank Daesan Plant, starting Tuesday. A week ahead of the scheduled project, Hyundai Oilbank CEO Moon Jong-bak held an event to encourage field workers that will be responsible for the refinery maintenance. “Safety is the most important value at a refinery site,” Moon said.  Hyundai Oilbank CEO Moon Jong-bak (left) helps a worker put on safety boots during an event

Aug. 16, 2017

Amorepacific steps up with wider R&D efforts

South Korea’s leading cosmetics firm Amorepacific aims to beef up its presence in the global market through wider investment in research, the firm said Monday.Between 1997 and 2016, the firm increased its research and development spending from 17.9 billion won ($15.7 million) to 119 billion won.“The R&D spending of the company is expected to increase again in 2017 as it did in previous years,” Amorepacific’s spokesperson said.Amorepacific was the first cosmetics firm to open a R&D office here in

Aug. 14, 2017

Booyong Group chairman to represent senior citizens

Booyoung Group Chairman Lee Joong-keun was inaugurated as the 17th chairman of the Korean Senior Citizens Association. On Wednesday, the KSCA held an event in Seoul to celebrate the designation, with around 400 participants in attendance, including government officials and lawmakers.  Booyoung Group Chairman Lee Joong-keun delivers his speech at an inauguration ceremony held in Seoul on Wednesday. (Shim Woo-hyun/The Korea Herald)Upon his inauguration, Lee pledged to speak for the 7 million senio

Aug. 9, 2017

Lotte founder loses last remaining board seat from affiliate

The founder of South Korean retail giant Lotte lost his last remaining board member seat at the affiliate of the conglomerate, effectively leaving the management scene, the business group said Wednesday.The board of directors of Lotte Aluminum Co., a packaging material firm, decided not to extend the term of Shin Kyuk-ho on the decision-making body. The move by the affiliate marks the complete departure of Shin from the running of the company that he started with the founding of Dongbang Alumi I

Aug. 9, 2017

[Ask a Lawyer] Can I dissmiss poor performers?

Q: Can I fire employees who constantly show poor performance? What steps should I take? A: Article 23 of the Labor Standards Act stipulates that an employer shall not, without justifiable cause, dismiss or suspend a worker, reduce wages, or take other disciplinary action against a worker. It goes without saying that dismissal of a poor performer should also be based on a justifiable cause. Yet, no consistent legal principle has been established in regard to what constitutes justifiable cause for

Aug. 9, 2017

Hanwha to turn 850 temporary workers into permanent employees

Hanwha Group said Tuesday it will turn 850 temporary workers into permanent employees by the first half of next year, a decision that will mostly benefit young workers at its services affiliates.Group officials said each affiliate will begin work evaluations of each temporary worker from next month for a phased transfer to permanent positions. About 660 of these workers are in the services sector of the group, including duty-free shop operator Hanwha Galleria and leisure affiliate Hanwha Hotels

Aug. 1, 2017

Lotte Duty Free withdraws from Jakarta airport

Lotte Duty Free, South Korea's top duty-free operator, said Tuesday it has pulled out of an airport in the capital city of Indonesia last month, after an unsuccessful bid to extend the contract.Lotte's duty-free store in Jakarta International Airport closed Monday after its contract expired, the company said. Opened in January 2012, it was the firm's first overseas store. The closure comes at a time when local duty-free stores are struggling to cope with the diplomatic row between Seoul and Beij

Aug. 1, 2017

Korean convenience store chain taps Vietnam

GS Retail Co., a major convenience store chain operator, said Monday it has signed an agreement with a Vietnamese company to make inroads into the Southeast Asian market.The Korean firm said it signed a deal with SonKim Group in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday to set up a joint venture with a plan to open the first GS25 store in the Vietnamese city within the year.The announcement came as the competition in South Korea's convenience store business, dominated by three chains -- CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven

July 31, 2017