Finance minister vows 'bold market stabilization measures' against excessive volatility

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok vowed Thursday to stay vigilant on uncertainties regarding interest rate decisions by major economies and the Middle East crisis and to take bold market stabilization steps when necessary. Choi made the remarks during an emergency macroeconomic meeting meant to assess the Federal Reserve's rate-setting meeting Wednesday, where it kept the benchmark interest rate at between 5.25-5.5 percent for a sixth consecutive time. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said interest rat

May 2, 2024

[Photo News] For future entrepreneurs

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo (right) and Inha University President Cho Myeong-woo pose for a photo after signing a partnership agreement at the university in Incheon on Tuesday. This partnership supports youth entrepreneurship through the "Hana Social Venture University" outreach program by the financial group aimed at assisting and nurturing young students who aspire to start their own businesses. Now in its third year, the program has engaged 30 colleges nationwide, of

May 1, 2024

[Photo News] KB premium banking center

KB Financial Group Chairman Yang Jong-hee (front row, fourth from left), KB Kookmin Bank CEO Lee Jae-keun (second row, second from left), KB Securities co-CEOs Kim Seong-hyun (front row; seventh from left) and Lee Hong-ku (second row; fifth from left), along with actress Lee Young-ae (front row; third from left), pose for a photo during the inauguration ceremony for the second branch of "KB Gold&Wise the First," KB’s premium banking and asset management brand, in Banpo, south

May 1, 2024

LG Uplus to build hyper-scale data center in Paju

LG Uplus, one of the nation's top telecom carriers, said Wednesday it plans to build a large-scale data center in response to the growing demand for such facilities, largely driven by the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence and cloud servers across industries. To build the new data center, the company is set to acquire land and buildings located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, from LG Display, a panel manufacturing arm of LG Group. The exact investment amount and construction timelin

May 1, 2024

[Herald Interview] Asia’s first Master of Wine empowers Shinsegae’s wine push

Jeannie Cho Lee, the first Asian Master of Wine, has joined hands with Shinsegae Group, the Korean retail giant that is recently making a big push to lead the nation’s soaring luxury wine market. Lee earned the wine industry’s top honor in 2008. Being a member of the exclusive community of 417 Masters of Wine globally, she has built an extensive network within the industry and collaborated with numerous companies such as Watson’s Wine, Ficofi and Berry Brothers & Rudd. Curr

May 1, 2024

Come In Wash speeds up global expansion

Come In Wash, a Korean company specializing in automated car wash systems, is speeding up its global expansion through its patented “no-touch, no-brush” car wash technology. Established in 2019, Come In Wash rose to prominence at home with its innovative technology that relies only on high-pressure water jets to clean vehicles, without the need for brushes. Since then, this technology has gained international acclaim with expansions into the Philippines, Japan and the United States.

May 1, 2024

[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?

Korea’s stock market is set to enter a new phase with the upcoming launch of the first alternative trading system for the Korea Exchange, the nation’s sole bourse operator that has enjoyed almost 70 years of monopoly. Nextrade, a consortium of 34 securities and tech firms established in November 2022, aims to earn the final regulatory approval within the year for its official debut in the first quarter of next year. More than 20 brokerage houses here have already expressed their inte

May 1, 2024

GS chief visits Microsoft headquarters

GS Group Chairman Huh Tae-soo has reiterated the significance of digital transformation as the Korean energy, retail and construction conglomerate continues to seek out business innovation opportunities. According to GS Group on Wednesday, Huh and several CEOs of the conglomerate’s major affiliates such as GS Retail, GS Energy, GS Caltex and GS Engineering & Construction, held an annual overseas CEO meeting in Seattle from Monday to Tuesday and visited Microsoft's headquarters a

May 1, 2024

Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China

South Korea's exports increased for seven straight months, jumping 13.8 percent in April on strong chip demand and record-high automobile sales. Exports to the US, in particular, reached an all-time high, further widening the gap with China, the country's second-largest export destination. Outbound shipments came to $56.2 billion, up 13.8 percent on-year, according to data revealed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Wednesday. The data showed that imports rose by 5.4 perc

May 1, 2024

KCCI chief renews will to play bigger role in boosting economic diplomacy

Marking the 140th anniversary this year, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry or KCCI, the nation's largest business lobby, hosted the Global Business Networking Night event in Seoul on Tuesday to further promote foreign investment and attract global companies to nurture the country as the business hub in Asia. “Starting with tonight's event, the KCCI will further strengthen its role as an economic and diplomatic platform,” KCCI Chair Chey Tae-won, who also serves as

May 1, 2024

Fila chairman named this year’s Van Fleet Award winner

Yoon Yoon-soo, chairman of the Fila Holdings Corp. and Acushnet Holdings Corp., has been named this year's winner of the General James A. Van Fleet Award in recognition of his contributions to Korean-US relations, according to the Korea Society on Wednesday. The Korea Society highlighted Yoon's involvement in founding and advising the Korea-US Alliance Foundation and the Korea Defense Veterans Association in 2017, both of which honor the bravery and sacrifice of Korean War veterans, as

May 1, 2024

Govt. to launch task force for supporting people's livelihoods

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Wednesday the government will set up a task force in charge of monitoring and resolving issues regarding economic livelihoods of the people. Choi made the remarks during an emergency economic ministers' meeting in Seoul, stressing the government's priority of reviving the economy and boosting consumer sentiment amid weak domestic demand and high inflation. "We will not just be satisfied with decent economic data and will put policy priority on h

May 1, 2024

Creditors of Taeyoung E&C approve capital reduction plan

Creditors of Taeyoung Engineering & Construction on Tuesday approved a massive capital reduction plan designed to support the builder currently undergoing a debt restructuring program. More than 75 percent of the builder's creditors agreed to the plan to reduce major shareholders' stakes at a 100-to-1 ratio without compensation. The plan, proposed by Taeyoung's main creditor, Korea Development Bank, earlier this month, also seeks to raise some 700 billion won ($507 million) th

April 30, 2024

S&P keeps 'AA' rating on S. Korea with stable outlook

Global credit appraiser S&P Global Ratings said Tuesday it has maintained its credit rating on South Korea at "AA," with a stable outlook. S&P has kept South Korea's long-term sovereign credit rating at the third-highest level on the company's table since August 2016, when it upgraded the rating by one notch from "AA-." "The stable rating outlook reflects our expectation that (South) Korea will maintain average growth rates that are higher than most oth

April 30, 2024

Line, Kakao eye Asia’s No. 1 blockchain network

Blockchain platform operators under Korean tech giants Line and Kakao are to complete integration under the new brand name "kaia" in June, the entities announced Tuesday. Project Dragon, created through a merge of Kakao's blockchain platform Klaytn Foundation and Finschia Foundation under Naver's affiliate Line Tech Plus, said it plans to complete the integration of the respective blockchain ecosystems in June, following a merger announced in February. “Such a merger of

April 30, 2024

Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1

After logging losses for five consecutive quarters, Samsung Electronics' chip business returned to the black in the first quarter this year, thanks to rising demand for high-end chips and a surge in chip prices. In its earnings report for the January-March period on Tuesday, Samsung said its chip division reported 23.1 trillion won ($16.7 billion) in sales and 1.91 trillion won in operating profits. The profit comes after the company suffered operating losses for five consecutive quarters.

April 30, 2024

Marking 10 years, KB accelerator nurtures 255 startups

More than 250 startup companies have joined KB Financial Group’s accelerator program over the past 10 years to scale up businesses into unicorns in the fintech industry. KB Financial Group held an event on Tuesday marking the 10th anniversary of the KB Innovation HUB Center, the first organization dedicated to fostering and supporting startups in the financial sector. Since KB Innovation HUB Center’s inception in 2015, the group launched its startup accelerator program, KB Starters

April 30, 2024

Financial groups maintain capital adequacy despite ELS risk

Korean banking groups maintained solid capital adequacy despite significant payouts for consumer compensation due to misselling equity-linked securities tracking a Hong Kong index. Industry sources reported that the average capital adequacy ratio, or Common Equity Tier 1, among five major Korean financial groups -- KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NongHyup -- was 12.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, a slight decline from 13 percent in the previous term and 12.9 percent from the same peri

April 30, 2024

Seoul shares up for 3rd day on Samsung, batteries

South Korean stocks finished up for a third consecutive session Tuesday backed by a strong earnings performance by top cap Samsung Electronics and overnight US stock gains. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.62 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,692.06. Trade volume was moderate at 450 million shares worth 11.1 trillion won ($8.03 billion). Winners outpaced losers 439 to 408. Institutions and foreign investors combined bought a net 52

April 30, 2024

[Photo News] Samsung Olympic Experience Zone

Samsung Electronics said Monday it has opened the Samsung Olympic Experience Zone ahead of the upcoming Olympics in Paris. The venue, a collaboration with Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Jean Nouvel, will operate from March 3 to Oct. 31 to display diverse Galaxy devices. Samsung has been the official partner of the Olympics and Paralympics for about four decades. (Samsung Electronics)

April 30, 2024