UA Incheon-San Francisco flights to exceed pre-pandemic levels

The number of United Airlines flights from Incheon to San Francisco will exceed pre-pandemic levels starting from June as the Star Alliance member hopes to serve as a connecting bridge among travelers from Korea and the US, according to a top executive at the air carrier. The airline has increased the number of flights from Incheon to San Francisco, from seven flights weekly to 12, since April 24, to reach pre-pandemic levels. Starting June 2, it will expand the flights for the route to 14 per w

May 6, 2023

Nexon's MapleStory turns 20, uniting fans in nostalgia

Nexon's iconic MMORPG, MapleStory, is commemorating its 20th anniversary this year with an array of virtual and real-world celebrations. First launched in 2003, the 2D side-scrolling game quickly amassed players of all ages thanks to its inviting visuals and straightforward gameplay. Nexon said that "MapleStory has long been loved for its series of well-received content updates." Significant updates include 2011's "Legend," which achieved a record 626,000 concurre

April 27, 2023

Shinsegae, Hotel Shilla win Incheon airport duty-free licenses

Shinsegae DF and Hotel Shilla were selected Wednesday as new duty-free operators at Incheon International Airport, the Korea Customs Service said. Shinsegae and Shilla were awarded licenses to operate duty-free shops in DF 1 zone and DF 2 zone, respectively, for 10 years starting from July. The shops sell perfumes, cosmetics, alcohol and tobacco. Five companies, including Hyundai Department Store Duty Free, Lotte Duty Free and China Duty Free Group, competed for the rights to run duty-free store

April 26, 2023

Fitch upgrades outlook on Hyundai Card to positive, affirms at BBB

Hyundai Card said on Friday that global rating agency Fitch revised its outlook on the Hyundai Motor Group's credit card unit to positive from stable while retaining its credit rating at BBB. It is the card company's first revision from the ratings firm in 11 years, as its rating and outlook had stayed at BBB stable since July 2012. In a rating action commentary released on March 30, Fitch attributed the rating upgrade mainly to Hyundai Motor Group -- the parent company of Hyundai

April 7, 2023

Kakao raided over suspicious SM stock purchase

Financial authorities and prosecutors jointly raided tech giant Kakao Corp. on the suspicion that it participated in stock price manipulation during its takeover of K-pop agency SM Entertainment. The Financial Services Commission on Thursday sent a team of 40 investigators to Kakao and its affiliate Kakao Entertainment in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province to seize internal documents and other related data. Authorities are looking into the possibility that Kakao violated the Capital Markets Act when

April 7, 2023

[Graphic News] Number of corporate M＆As in S. Korea down 7.7% in 2022

Mergers and acquisitions by South Korean firms decreased 7.7 percent in 2022 from a year earlier amid economic uncertainties, data showed. The number of mergers came to 1,027 cases last year, down from 1,113 cases tallied in 2021, according to the Fair Trade Commission. They were valued at 325.5 trillion won ($245.9 billion), down 6.7 percent over the period. It marked the first time since 2016 for the number of M&As to decrease on-year. The figure, meanwhile, still hovered above 1,000 for t

March 21, 2023

HD Hyundai chairman wins top industrial honor

HD Hyundai Chairman Kwon Oh-gap on Wednesday received South Korea’s highest state industrial award -- Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit -- for his achievements as a business leader in enhancing the country’s shipbuilding industry and promoting the culture of giving. The award ceremony took place during the ceremony of the 50th Commerce and Industry Day organized by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy. The event was held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry

March 15, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group donates W5.2b sleeper buses for firefighters

Hyundai Motor Group has decided to donate eight customized sleeper buses worth 5.2 billion won ($4 million) to the National Fire Agency for the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s first social responsibility project, the South Korean auto giant said Tuesday. As part of the project, Hyundai Motor Group, along with the KCCI and Hyosung Group, held a social event at a fire station in the southeastern port city of Ulsan. The KCCI’s Entrepreneurship Roundtable, a corporate gathering

March 14, 2023

[Beyond Earth] Hanwha looking long-term with space business

Hanwha Group, South Korea's seventh-largest conglomerate by total value of assets, solidified itself as the leading player in the country’s space race in the private sector when its aerospace arm, Hanwha Aerospace, won the bid to lead the project of upgrading the homegrown Nuri rocket over Korea Aerospace Industries in December 2022. On top of advancing the Nuri rocket through four more launches by 2027, Hanwha has made it clear that it aims to become what it calls a “total spac

March 12, 2023

Number of startups drops 7.1 pct in 2022

The number of startups in South Korea fell more than 7 percent in 2022 from a year earlier amid a sluggish property market, government data showed Friday. A total of 1.317 million new companies were set up in the country last year, down 7.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups. The ministry attributed the decline largely to tougher rules for the home rental business, falling real estate transactions and low proper

March 3, 2023

SM founder's suspected offshore tax evasion can never happen, says Hybe CEO

Park Ji-won, CEO of K-pop powerhouse Hybe, is seen in this photo provided by the company. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) Hybe, the K-pop powerhouse that is trying to become the largest shareholder of its rival SM Entertainment, once again tried to dispel concerns over suspected offshore tax evasion by SM founder Lee Soo-man on Friday, calling it "a scenario that can never occur." On Thursday, SM's co-CEO Lee Sung-soo claimed in a YouTube video that the founder Lee established a Hon

Feb. 17, 2023

Yoon expresses commitment to rooting out illegal acts at industrial sites

President Yoon Suk Yeol has expressed his commitment to rooting out illegal acts by labor unions at industrial sites, saying doing nothing against them would raise questions about what the government exists for, his office said Sunday. Yoon made the remark during a meeting with about 150 government ministry employees held in the central administrative city of Sejong on Tuesday last week, stressing that a key point in labor reform is to ensure the rule of law, the office said in a statement. &q

Feb. 12, 2023

[Herald Interview] Shareholder activism will boost share prices long term: expert

The rise of shareholder activist campaigns will provide outside perspectives for Korean companies and increase their values both socially and financially in a long term, said Alex Edmans, a finance professor at the London Business School. “Evidence shows that when you have shareholders engaging, as long as these are large shareholders which have skin in the game, and therefore incentives to do a lot of their own research, it is useful to listen to those outside perspectives,” Edmans

Jan. 18, 2023

[CES 2023] SK chief makes surprise appearance at CES

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won appeared at CES on Friday, reversing the earlier announcement that he was canceling his visit to the tech show after one of his aides tested positive for COVID-19. This is the first time Chey has visited the four-day exhibition in person. He is also the only chief among those of the South Korean conglomerates participating in CES to be attending the show. "Being here for the first time, I could see various new technologies that I have heard so much about,&qu

Jan. 7, 2023

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