KCCI opens office in Germany for AI, energy collaboration

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, South Korea’s major business group, said Monday it launched an office in Frankfurt to build a broader network in Germany where the largest number of Korean companies are doing business in Europe. Germany, home to smart factories embedding artificial intelligence and clean energy technology, is Korea's largest trading partner in Europe. Korea is the second-largest export market in the Asia-Pacific region after China. “The office located

June 10, 2024

IEEE honors Korea’s contribution to CDMA commercialization

South Korean tech firms and a local research center were recognized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, on Monday, for their significant contribution to commercializing the world's first code division multiple access network used in mobile phones in 1996. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Samsung Electronics, LG E

June 10, 2024

Busan mobility show to bank on hybrid, EV debuts

The 2024 Busan International Mobility Show will take place later this month amid challenges faced by traditional auto shows worldwide, with Hyundai-Kia, Renault Korea and BMW Korea expected to unveil their latest electric and hybrid models. The biannual event, hosted at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center, will commence with a press day on June 27 and continue until July 7. This year’s show coincides with the decline of long-standing auto exhibitions like the Geneva Motor Show, whic

June 10, 2024

[KH Explains] How Hanwha Qcells thwarts China surge in US solar market

In the wake of a generative artificial intelligence-driven energy surge and favorable regulatory shifts, Hanwha Solutions’ Qcells is poised to benefit from massive government subsidies in the US solar market. As many US solar companies have been scaling back investments due to the influx of inexpensive Chinese solar products, the Korean solar panel maker is seizing the opportunity to become the only company with a fully integrated local solar value chain that allows it to benefit from a co

June 10, 2024

[Photo News] For child protection

Mercedes-Benz Korea's corporate social responsibility committee has donated 500 million won ($363,000) to a child protection agency in Busan, the German automaker's local office said Monday. The donation was part of some 1 billion won raised through the auto importer's charity run held in Busan in April. In this photo, Mathias (left), CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, and Park Heong-joon, mayor of Busan, hold up the donation certificate during the delivery ceremony at Busan City Hall on

June 10, 2024

400,000 minors own Samsung Electronics shares worth W1.54tr

The number of underage stakeholders in Samsung Electronics, the country's largest company by market capitalization, has surged nearly 21 times in four years, reaching almost 400,000. According to the Korea Securities Depository's securities data portal, as of the end of last year, there were 391,869 Samsung Electronics shareholders under the age of 20, making up 8.38 percent of the total 4,672,130 shareholders. The total value of Samsung Electronics shares owned by these underage inves

June 10, 2024

Financial authorities to develop monitoring platform for illegal short selling by March next year

The financial regulator said Monday it plans to develop a real-time monitoring system for naked stock short selling by March next year. The plan comes amid an ongoing ban on stock short selling, which was originally set to end at the end of this month. "A considerable amount of time is required to develop a centralized naked short selling monitoring system, as well as an effective algorithm to detect illegal stock short selling," the Financial Supervisory Service said in a press releas

June 10, 2024

Seoul shares open sharply lower ahead of Fed meeting

Seoul shares opened sharply lower Monday ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 28.47 points, or 1.05 percent, to 2,694.20 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The weak start follows losses on Wall Street last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 87.18 points, or 0.22 percent, to close at 38,798.99 on Friday, following stronger-than-expected employment data that weakened hopes for a US rate cut. The US Federal R

June 10, 2024

Doubts persist over oil project despite expert briefing

Doubts persist over the potential of newly identified oil and gas reserves off South Korea’s southeastern coast, despite a press briefing on Friday led by the expert behind the discovery to address public concerns about the drilling project's feasibility and the credentials of the company involved. Since the announcement a week ago, the claim has triggered a wave of public attention, expressing both excitement and skepticism, with the government providing multiple clarifications for rumors

June 9, 2024

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

June 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

June 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

June 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

June 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

June 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

June 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

June 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

June 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

June 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

June 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

June 7, 2024