KakaoTalk messenger suffers service disruption for 2nd day

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's dominant mobile messenger app, said Tuesday its service experienced a disruption for about an hour in the morning due to an error in its internal system. KakaoTalk's personal computer version was down from 8:30 a.m. to 9:24 a.m., the company said, noting it immediately responded to the issue. The messenger also experienced brief service outages Monday and last week. In 2022, KakaoTalk suffered a widespread outage due to a fire at a data center

May 21, 2024

[KH Explains] Hong Kong rally spurs hope for ELS loss mitigation

Hong Kong stocks surged to a 10-month high Monday, continuing a bullish rally and sparking hopes of South Korea's recovery from significant losses tied to equity-linked securities tracking the Chinese index. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, tracking major Chinese stocks on Hong Kong's main bourse, reached an annual high of 6,954 on Monday, setting daily records. The following day, it opened slightly lower at around 6,909, but this was still 38 percent up from January's annua

May 21, 2024

FSS briefs Hong Kong bankers on new short selling system

The Financial Supervisory Service officials visited Hong Kong to seek cooperation with financial authorities and investment banks there for the regulator’s efforts to stamp out illegal short selling. During his two-day visit from Thursday, a delegation led by FSS Senior Deputy Gov. Hahm Yong-il met executives in charge of the Asia-Pacific region at seven global investment banks to inform them about the Korean government’s plan to set up a monitoring system designed to detect illega

May 21, 2024

BAT Rothmans launches premium glo Hyper pro

BAT Rothmans' flagship heated tobacco brand "glo" announced Tuesday the launch of its new premium device, Hyper pro, with pre-orders available on Coupang. The brand-new model features a new EasyView screen and the latest HeatBoost technology. The EasyView screen, a high-definition AMOLED display, reflects consumer feedback from previous models. It offers six screen modes, allowing users to easily check remaining usage time, heating time, battery level and more with just a single c

May 21, 2024

Seoul shares end lower ahead of Fed minutes release

South Korean stocks ended lower Tuesday ahead of a release of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 17.96 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 2,724.18. Trade volume was moderate at 547.5 million shares worth 10.02 trillion won ($7.3 billion), with losers beating winners 585 to 290. Individual investors purchased a net 501.7 billion won worth of local shares,

May 21, 2024

[Herald Interview] Korea inspires other donors for development funding: World Bank vice president

Akihiko Nishio, the World Bank’s vice president for development finance, said Korea becoming the host country for the International Development Association's 21st replenishment meeting could uplift the spirit of contribution to the global solidarity fund. The International Development Association, a development finance institution under the multilateral lender World Bank Group, seeks to help the world’s poorest countries improve by providing loans and grants. On Monday, the Wo

May 21, 2024

K-water boasts 'super-gap' technoloiges at World Water Forum

Korea Water Resources Corp., or K-water, said Tuesday that it presented three "super gap" technologies the agency has developed to tackle water issues at the 10th World Water Forum in Bali, Indonesia. The technologies include digital twin technology for water management, AI-based water purification plants, and a smart water network management system. Recognized for their potential to tackle the unpredictable and unprecedented climate crisis, they were featured in a special session at

May 21, 2024

Samsung replaces semiconductor chief amid heightened AI race

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it has appointed Jun Young-hyun as the new head of its semiconductor business in an apparent move to strengthen its market position amid fiercer competition in burgeoning artificial intelligence chips. Kyung Kye-hyun, who previously held the position, has been tapped to lead the company's future business planning team. The announcement comes as Samsung struggles to compete with rivals in advanced chips such as SK hynix, the market leader in producing high ba

May 21, 2024

[Photo News] New brand identity for Bibigo

CJ CheilJedang has unveiled a new brand identity for Bibigo, the company’s Korean food brand, aimed at targeting global consumers, the food giant said Tuesday. The new BI resembles a Korean dining table, symbolizing human connection through culinary sharing. (CJ CheilJedang)

May 21, 2024

Hyundai Motor, Indonesia to bolster ties on EVs, hydrogen

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun met with Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, in Seoul on Monday to discuss ongoing and expanding collaborations in hydrogen energy and electric vehicle production. The meeting also included Kim Il-boom, executive vice president at the Global Policy Office, Hyundai Motor Company CEO Jang Jae-hoon and his foreign affairs advisor Sung Kim, a former US ambassador to South Korea. Hyundai is addressing Indone

May 21, 2024

[Herald Interview] TikTok, K-pop are evolving together: TikTok exec

In the globalization of K-pop, TikTok has played a very large role. “People used to listen to music by playing CDs or tuning into the radio, and with the advent of MTV and YouTube, it became the era of watching music through video media such as music video," said You Kyung-cheol, head of TikTok’s artist and label partnership, artist services in Northeast Asia. "Then, TikTok ushered in an era where people don't just consume music passively but actively participate in it

May 21, 2024

Hanwha chief calls for defense unit to spur growth overseas

Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon on Monday urged the group’s space business and defense arm Hanwha Aerospace to increase efforts to expand its presence in the global defense market. "We need to tirelessly work on securing future orders for Romania's K-9 project, in order to expand our share in the European market and extend our global market reach to North America," the chairman was quoted as saying during his visit to the company’s Changwon plant. It was Kim'

May 21, 2024

Hyundai eyes first hydrogen supercar by 2026

Hyundai Motor Group is reportedly set to produce a hydrogen-powered supercar with a whopping 775 horsepower as early as 2026, according to news reports Tuesday. If the plan materializes, the car will be the first of its kind. Reports said the new car will be based on the N Vision 74 concept car that was unveiled as a hydrogen hybrid model two years ago. The car codenamed the N74 is expected to be a hydrogen fuel cell-only supercar. Details of the car are said to have already been shared with Hyu

May 21, 2024

Govt. to monitor impact of US tariff hikes on some Chinese imports: finance minister

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Tuesday the government will closely monitor the impact of Washington's recent decision to raise tariffs on some Chinese imports. The remark came as the United States announced last week its plans to raise tariffs on around $18 billion worth of imports from China, focusing on strategic sectors, such as solar cells, semiconductors and electric vehicles. "While South Korea has been posting an export growth for seven consecutive months, the uncertainties

May 21, 2024

Seoul shares open lower on declines in technology stocks

South Korean stocks started lower Tuesday as big-cap tech shares fell across the board. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 10.94 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,731.20 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, major US stock indexes closed mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite up 0.7 percent to hit a record high on chip rally ahead of Nvidia's earnings release Wednesday and S&P 500 up 0.1 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.5 percent lower. In Seo

May 21, 2024

Foreign holdings of top 4 Korean finance giants hit record high

Foreign holdings in South Korean banking groups' shares have surged to a record high, driven by government and corporate efforts to boost local stock values. Industry reports indicate that the average foreign ownership of shares in four major local finance groups -- KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori -- reached 62.7 percent Friday, marking an all-time high. This figure reflects a 3.1 percent increase from the end of last year, significantly higher than the average 1 percent increase observed on Ko

May 20, 2024

Korea's increasing US investment mutually beneficial: report

South Korea's investment in the US creates a win-win effect for both countries as Korean companies' entry into the US contributes to the growth of Korea's exports while enhancing employment, economic growth and exports to the US, an industry report said Monday. Pouring a growing volume of investments in the US, Korean companies entering the US are found to contribute to the US economy in terms of employment, economic growth and exports, according to the report titled "Korea

May 20, 2024

XR partnership between LG, Meta falls through

The highly-publicized partnership between LG Electronics and Meta for an extended reality device seems to have fallen through largely due to the lukewarm outlook for the XR market overall, according to industry sources on Monday. “LG and Meta may continue collaborating in other areas such as artificial intelligence and metaverse. But for an XR device, they are pushing back their plans after seeing the sluggish sales of the earlier models, especially Apple’s Vision Pro,” an indu

May 20, 2024

Seoul shares close higher on tech, auto gains

South Korean stocks finished higher Monday led by strong gains in chip and auto heavyweights ahead of key events in the United States. The local currency fell slightly against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 17.52 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,742.14, rebounding from a 1.03 percent drop the previous session. Trade volume was moderate at 572.2 million shares worth 12.1 trillion won ($8.92 billion), with losers slightly beating winners 474 to 402. Institution

May 20, 2024

Chinese e-commerce sales slow in April amid safety concerns

Chinese e-commerce platforms, including the big three -- AliExpress, Temu and Shein -- suffered a more than 40 percent fall in sales in April, possibly hit hard by consumer concerns over product safety. According to a Monday report by BC Card, the nation’s largest payment processing company, payments on Chinese e-commerce platforms dropped more than 40 percent last month compared to the previous month. The transaction volume also decreased by 38.1 percent over the same period. Payments for

May 20, 2024