Private lunch with Hyundai Motor chief to be auctioned

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun will join a lunch auction event to better connect with the younger generation, the Federation of Korean Industries said Monday. The business lobby has invited the Hyundai Motor chief, along with car-sharing company SoCar CEO Park Jae-uk and TV celebrity Noh Hong-chul, to take part in the event, similar to billionaire Warren Buffett's famous charity lunch. A total of 30 people will be selected for the power lunches targeted at the “MZ ge

May 1, 2023

SKIET to supply battery separators for EVs to China's Sunwoda

SK IE Technology, an electronics materials maker affiliated with SK Group, said Monday it is supplying battery separators to Chinese battery maker Sunwoda Electronic, paving the way for it to secure a footing in China’s burgeoning electric vehicle market. The two companies recently signed a memorandum of understanding at Sunwoda’s headquarters in Shenzhen, with senior executives of both companies in attendance. A battery separator is one of the key components of EV batteries, as it p

May 1, 2023

Samsung eyeing 25% cut in chip production: analysts

Samsung Electronics is expected to cut its memory chip production by up to 25 percent in an effort to ease inventory woes, according to analysts on Sunday. The projection comes after the world’s largest memory chip maker hinted on an earnings call last week that it would start cutting production of legacy products for which it had already secured sufficient inventory to meet mid- to long-term demand. At the time, the company did not specify the reduction scale. Following the announcement,

April 30, 2023

[Beyond Earth] ‘We are all earthlings after all’

“As a human who has looked at the Earth from space with the naked eye, I’ve come to a position where it is very difficult for me to ignore the problems on Earth. And that is something that all astronauts have in common,” said Yi So-yeon, Korea’s one and only astronaut, in an interview with The Korea Herald on April 25. Yi became the first Korean to travel to space when Soyuz TMA-12, a Russian space mission to the International Space Station, was launched on April 8, 2008.

April 30, 2023

SK Bioscience to invest W2.4tr by 2027

SK Bioscience said Friday that the company will invest 2.4 trillion won ($1.79 billion) over the next five years into new vaccine development and the expansion of manufacturing facilities both here and abroad. “The next five years and the company’s investments made during the period will determine SK Bioscience’s future,” said SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong during a press conference held in Seoul. The size of the latest investment is around five times bigger than investme

April 28, 2023

Hyundai Mobis CEO shares future mobility vision at global forum

Hyundai Mobis CEO Cho Sung-hwan reaffirmed the company's vision to strengthen its key competitiveness in the future mobility sector including autonomous driving and connectivity during a symposium held in Vienna on Thursday. “Hyundai Mobis will deliver a differentiated platform to customers in the electrification, autonomous driving and connectivity sectors based on software with exceptional quality and optimum semiconductors,” Cho said during his speech. The 44th International

April 28, 2023

S. Korea calls on US to resolve legal dispute on nuclear reactor export to Czech Republic

South Korean Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang called on the United States to make joint efforts to resolve a legal dispute over Seoul’s potential export of nuclear reactors to the Czech Republic, the Industry Ministry said Friday. Lee raised the issue during a meeting with US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in Washington on Thursday, on the sidelines of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit. During the talks, the two sides also agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation on clea

April 28, 2023

S. Korea, US agree to minimize US CHIPS Act-induced uncertainties

South Korean Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo agreed to minimize uncertainties and business burdens chipmakers face over the US’ semiconductor subsidy program, Seoul’s Industry Ministry said Friday. The two sides held their first Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue, or SCCD, in Washington on Thursday and released a joint declaration statement, vowing to work closely together to minimize the impacts of the US’ CHIPS Act and Inflation R

April 28, 2023

LG beats Q1 earnings estimates, outpaces Samsung for 1st time

Despite the global economic downturn, LG Electronics announced surprise earnings for the January-March period, outpacing its crosstown rival Samsung Electronics' financial result for the first time in more than a decade. In a regulatory filing on Thursday, the consumer electronics giant said its operating profit for the first quarter was 1.5 trillion won ($1.12 billion), down 22.9 percent from a year earlier. It has become the company’s second-highest profit for the January-March pe

April 27, 2023

[Herald Interview] Fairfax County ready to support Korean companies expanding into US

Fairfax County of Virginia, one of the major business destinations in the US, is home to 8,800 tech companies, including nine listed on the Fortune 500. South Korea also has a sizeable business community consisting of some 80 companies -- the largest number among Asian countries -- including Dongwon Group, SK Signet, Golfzon and Korea Aerospace Industries. Behind the successful attraction of the big names and multinational businesses stands Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, which se

April 27, 2023

Korean chip, car industries unassuaged by summit talks

South Korean chip suppliers and automakers have been left unimpressed by the summit between Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joe Biden, after it failed to bring out any tangible measures to ease their concerns over Washington's increasingly protectionist policies. Holding a joint press conference after their summit on Wednesday, the two presidents announced their agreement on strengthening cooperation in advanced technology sectors, including chips, electric vehicles and batteries. But they did

April 27, 2023

Samsung posts worst quarterly earnings in 14 years

Samsung Electronics, which posted its worst quarterly earnings in 14 years amid weak demand and falling chip prices, said it expects a gradual recovery in the second half of the year as the effects of production cuts kick in from the following quarter. In response, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone maker plans to increase the proportion of advanced processes and high-value-added products and continue to invest in securing future technologies. “We are in the process of red

April 27, 2023

Korea, US agree to bolster ties on bioeconomy

The Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization said Wednesday it has signed an agreement with its US counterpart Biotechnology Innovation Organization to bolster ties in the bio-economy, ranging from supply chain management to research and development. The two organizations signed a memorandum of understanding for enhanced partnership on the sidelines of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the US for a summit with President Joe Biden. The agreement is the first of its kind signed betwe

April 26, 2023

Posco Future M, LG Energy Solution sign W30tr cathode supply deal

South Korean battery materials maker Posco Future M said Wednesday it has inked a deal worth 30.25 trillion won ($22.6 billion) to supply high-nickel cathode to LG Energy Solution, the nation’s largest electric vehicle battery maker, for the next seven years. The mega deal comes after the company secured a 10-year supply deal worth 40 trillion won with Samsung SDI, another major battery maker here, in January. Cathode, making up more than 40 percent of battery prices, is a key battery ma

April 26, 2023

SK hynix suffers record loss in Q1, eyes recovery in Q2

In the wake of escalating competition between the US and China, SK hynix said it is reviewing plans for future operation of its manufacturing facilities in China, as it announced its worst operating profit losses on Wednesday. “We are looking at various factors of long-term geopolitical risks, market demand and operation efficiency to comprehensively review the future operation of our manufacturing plant in China,” Kim Woo-hyun, chief financial officer for SK hynix, said on the ear

April 26, 2023

Apple still in need of Korea-made displays despite production push

US tech giant Apple will likely continue its reliance on Korean-made displays, although it has been making a “sweeping effort” to develop its own components for more direct control over its designs, a report showed Tuesday. According to a report released by the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion, Apple is expanding its use of in-house components such as chips and displays in its flagship iPhones as part of a strategy to maintain its dominance in the m

April 25, 2023

Are Koreans really fat?

For 27-year-old Choi, the main focus in her life recently has been getting her weight down. The after-work dinners at her new job and frequent dates with her new boyfriend have resulted in her tipping the bathroom scale into the above-55-kilogram range for the first time in her life, prompting her to panic-buy a gym membership, exercise equipment and organic meal kits. “I just feel so big since I’ve put on the extra weight. I want to get my weight down to below 50 kilograms,” s

April 25, 2023

Samsung, SK under renewed pressure to join US chip battle against China

South Korean chipmakers are facing increasing pressure amid an intensifying US-China rivalry, as Washington has reportedly requested the Korean government to hold back from filling China's shortfalls in chips. Seoul’s presidential office refused to comment Monday over a report from the Financial Times that the White House had asked the Korean government to urge its chipmakers to "not fill any market gap" in China, if Beijing bans US-based Micron Technology from selling chips

April 24, 2023

Yoon joined by chaebol leaders on US trip amid concerns of protectionism

South Korea’s top conglomerate chiefs are heading to the US this week to accompany President Yoon Suk Yeol on his state visit, hoping to find a breakthrough in business uncertainties surrounding increasingly protectionist policies in the all-important market. Taking his biggest economic delegation to date in his weeklong state visit to the US from Monday, Yoon is expected to relay the difficulties Korean companies face with the US' introduction of the CHIPS and Science Act and Inflati

April 23, 2023

Celltrion employees unimpressed by company's new dress code

South Korean pharmaceuticals giant Celltrion last week announced a set of new workplace policies, including a stricter dress code, prompting complaints and mockery among young employees. According to the company on Sunday, the official dress code bans employees from wearing jeans and other casual attire such as hoodies, sweatpants, crew-neck tees and anything that has large brand logos. Instead, workers are advised to wear collared shirts, jackets, slacks and black sneakers. Celltrion allowed

April 23, 2023