Japan tops Korea's beer imports in five years

Japan reclaimed the top spot in South Korea’s beer imports in 2023, five years following the start of the Tokyo-Seoul trade dispute, data showed Wednesday. According to data from the Korea Customs Service, imports of Japanese beer products reached $55.51 million last year, a 283.3 percent increase from the previous year. The figure was the highest since $39.75 million was posted in 2019, the year Japan imposed new restrictions on the export of three key semiconductor materials to Korea. Th

Jan. 17, 2024

Hyundai Motor speeds up strategic shift to software-defined mobility

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday it has set up a new research and development division in its push for software-defined vehicles by combining several teams across the auto giant's affiliates. The Advanced Vehicle Platform Division integrates three software development units -- its in-house SDV division and two separate teams at the carmaker’s research centers. Other teams working on the next-generation automotive platform and software that used to be under the leadership of the carm

Jan. 17, 2024

[Photo News] Tackling low birth rate

KEB Hana Bank CEO Lee Seung-lyul (right) and Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Bok-hyun pose for a photo after the lender was named an Excellent Institution for Promotion of Coexistence and Cooperation in 2023 by the financial regulator on Wednesday. The award was given in recognition of the bank's efforts to help resolve the country's low fertility rate by launching a savings product that provides preferential interest rates for parents and pregnant women. (KEB Hana Bank)

Jan. 17, 2024

HD Hyundai CEO talks global decarbonization efforts at Davos

Chung Ki-sun, vice chairman and CEO of the Korean shipbuilding and energy conglomerate HD Hyundai, attended the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, where he discussed global collaborations in decarbonizing the transportation and logistics industries, according to the company on Wednesday. This engagement follows Chung’s address at the CES 2024 in Las Vegas last week, where he highlighted HD Hyundai's commitment to establishing a hydrogen energy ecosystem and de

Jan. 17, 2024

[Photo News] Maritime heroes

S-Oil CEO Anwar A. Al-Hejazi (fifth from right, second row) and maritime officers of the Korea Coast Guard during a ceremony honoring their heroic actions at a Seoul hotel on Wednesday. Eight maritime officers will be recognized this year and offered a combined 90 million won ($67,000) in cash prizes. (S-Oil)

Jan. 17, 2024

[Photo News] Hyundai, Kia sweep 9 design awards

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday that it has won nine Good Design awards this year. Eight cars, including Hyundai’s N Vision 74 sports car, Kia’s EV9 and the Genesis X Convertible, won transportation awards, while Kia’s next-generation infotainment system, called Ki, won an interactive media award. The N Vision 74, inspired by the Pony Coupe Concept, the nation’s first sports car unveiled in 1974, has won all four major design awards, including from iF, the Industrial D

Jan. 17, 2024

Hyundai ditches China plant to focus on India, Indonesia

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday it has sold its Chongqing plant in China to the region’s industrial park developer Yufu Industrial Complex Construction Co. for approximately 1.62 billion yuan ($290 million), as part of a global operational restructuring aimed at shifting focus from volatile markets to expanding in growing Asian countries like India and Indonesia. The sale comes in the wake of the company's dwindling market share in China, which fell to 1.4 percent in 2023. This dec

Jan. 17, 2024

Seoul shares open lower on dimmed prospects for Fed's early rate cuts

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street amid dampened hopes for the Federal Reserve's early rate cuts. After starting marginally higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 14.13 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,483.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, all three major US indexes lost ground as Fed Gov. Christopher Waller's comments cooled bets on the Fed's early rate cuts. A slide in Apple and Bo

Jan. 17, 2024

[Graphic News] Number of newly launched businesses falls

The number of newly established companies in South Korea fell for the second consecutive year in 2022 amid an economic slowdown, data showed. Some 997,000 businesses were newly established in 2022, down 3.5 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. In 2021, the figure decreased 3.4 percent, or 35,000 firms, on-year to come to 1.02 million amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By industry, the number of newcomers in the real estate sector fell by the largest 32,000 entiti

Jan. 17, 2024

[Photo News] Samsung chief meets tech masters

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong (fifth from left, back row) poses for a photo after a meeting with 15 Tech Experts of the Year, an in-house recognition of engineers who have worked at the company for more than two decades, at the company's Seocho office in southern Seoul on Tuesday. Samsung introduced the system in 2019 to foster master-level tech experts. (Samsung Electronics)

Jan. 16, 2024

Hanjin Logistics hires China, US specialists for global expansion

Hanjin Logistics Corp., an affiliate of the nation’s airline-to-logistics conglomerate Hanjin Group, said Monday it has hired two global specialists as part of efforts to enhance its presence in overseas markets, especially the US and China. Rone Jeong, a China specialist, joined Hanjin in December and will be tasked with ramping up the shipper’s presence in Asia by connecting with more air and ocean shipping clients, as well as cross-border sellers based in China. Jeong earned an MB

Jan. 16, 2024

OCI-Hanmi merger aims for Korean version of Bayer

OCI Group, a chemical, solar power and electric car battery material maker, looks to merge with drugmaker Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, as the two entities seek business synergies to create the Korean version of Bayer, the German chemicals-to-pharmaceuticals giant. On Friday, OCI Holdings and Hanmi Science, the holding units of the two entities, made a surprise announcement that they were merging through a stock acquisition and new share issuances. Under the agreement, OCI Holdings is to acquire a

Jan. 16, 2024

KEB Hana Bank to tap into Hungary in Q1

KEB Hana Bank said on Tuesday it will open a new overseas branch in Hungary's capital Budapest within the first quarter of this year. One of South Korea's top four commercial lenders, Hana will be the third to make inroads into the Central European country, following Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank. The state-owned Korea Development Bank also operates a local branch there. This marks Hana's first new overseas branch in almost two years, since it set up a Taiwan office in April 2022. H

Jan. 16, 2024

Seoul shares sink over 1% on heightened geopolitical risks; won sharply down

South Korean stocks slid more than 1 percent Tuesday as escalating geopolitical tensions surrounding the Korean Peninsula weakened investors' appetite for risky assets. The local currency sharply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 28.4 points, or 1.12 percent, to 2,497.59. Trading volume was slightly heavy at 641.9 million shares worth 8.5 trillion won ($6.4 billion), with losers outpacing winners 647 to 230. Institutions and foreigners led the

Jan. 16, 2024

[From the Scene] SK's recycling unit breathes new life into e-waste

LAS VEGAS -- In the middle of the sandy windswept desert of Las Vegas, SK Ecoplant’s recycling subsidiary, TES, realizes a circular economy through the destruction and recycling of electronic waste. The 3,700-square-meter facility, the fourth of its kind in the US, specializes in IT asset disposition, or ITAD, which destroys various types of information stored in IT equipment -- from PCs and laptops, to hard disks and data center equipment -- in a safe and environmentally responsible way.

Jan. 16, 2024

Korea vows 'utmost efforts' to tame prices before Lunar New Year

The Korean government announced new measures to curb inflation ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, including cutting price growth for fresh fruits and vegetables and postponing price hikes for electricity. With this year's four-day Lunar New Year holiday starting on Feb. 9, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok announced a slew of measures aimed at stabilizing the livelihoods of ordinary people at a governmental meeting on Tuesday. “Though the Korean economy has been showing signs of a reco

Jan. 16, 2024

Samsung SDI buys stake in Canadian nickel miner for battery expansion

Samsung SDI, a leading South Korean lithium-ion battery manufacturer, has acquired a stake in Toronto-based Canada Nickel in a $18.5 million deal to ensure a stable supply of critical battery materials for its expanding North American operations. Announced on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday, Samsung SDI will acquire an 8.7 percent stake in the major Canadian nickel mining company. This stake translates into 15.6 million shares. Under the agreement, Samsung SDI not only secures an initial pu

Jan. 16, 2024

Hyundai Motor eyes W1tr funding for Indian plant

Hyundai Motor Group plans to invest an additional 70 billion rupees ($845 million) into an automotive plant owned by General Motors in Talegaon, India, according to Indian authorities on Tuesday. According to an online post on X, formerly Twitter, uploaded by Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister of the western state of Maharashtra, the Korean auto giant plans to sign a memorandum of understanding for the new funding during this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Fadnavi

Jan. 16, 2024

Pernod Ricard Korea promotes sustainability in bar industry

Pernod Ricard Korea, the local subsidiary of global wine and spirits company Pernod Ricard Group, said Tuesday that it held a special lecture on Monday to promote a sustainable culture in the bar industry. As part of the company's professional training program called "Bar World of Tomorrow," Pernod Ricard Korea has been conducting special lecture series since 2022, inviting influential figures in the bar industry as speakers. "In order to establish a culture of sustainability

Jan. 16, 2024

[KH explains] EV tires: Profit surges, sustainability lags

South Korea's tire industry is booming, with leaders Hankook, Kumho, and Nexen posting impressive financials, thanks largely to the surging demand for electric vehicle tires. However, they face a sustainability dilemma, as the environmental impact of these tires clashes with the green ethos of EVs. Regulatory shifts could also affect future profits. The recent spotlight on Hankook & Company, which owns Hanbook Tire, following a failed takeover bid by MBK Partners, highlighted the sector

Jan. 16, 2024