S. Korea maintaining stable LNG supply amid Israel-Hamas conflict

South Korea maintains a steady supply of liquefied natural gas and is actively preparing for potential contingencies amid Middle East geopolitical uncertainties, the industry ministry said Tuesday. "There have been concerns over the supply of gas following the Israel-Hamas incident amid the lingering war between Russia and Ukraine, but the supply currently remains stable," Director-General for Resource Policy Ryu Peob-min said during a meeting with industry officials. "However, in

Nov. 21, 2023

Seoul shares open higher ahead of Nvidia results

Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors await earnings results from AI chip leader Nvidia and other US tech firms. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 19.92 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,511.12 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 percent to 35,151.04, and the tech-rich NASDAQ added 1.1 percent to 14,284.53. Nvidia is set to release quarterly results on Tuesday on the back of str

Nov. 21, 2023

[Herald Interview] ‘Battery expansion to prompt strong cobalt, lithium trading’

Korea is likely to see more activity in the metal derivative market amid the growth of battery metals trading, said a CME Group executive in charge of handling the firm’s global metals business. Jin Hennig, managing director and global head of metal products at CME Group, a leading financial derivatives exchange, said Korea can play a critical role in both metal trading and transactions as the overall market is growing at a fast pace. CME Group, as a derivative marketplace, offers futures

Nov. 21, 2023

Fire breaks out at SK On's plant during pilot run in China

A fire broke out at SK On's electric vehicle battery factory during a test run in China, but no fatalities were reported, the company said Monday. The blaze occurred at 2.50 p.m. (Chinese time) at the facility in Yancheng, eastern China, the company said in a statement. "No casualties have been reported, and we are investigating the cause of the fire and property damage," the company said. SK On is the battery-making arm of South Korea's leading energy firm, SK Innovation Co.

Nov. 20, 2023

Toss joins race for key payment gateway for tourists

In a bid to cater to more Korean tourists traveling abroad, major mobile payment providers are expanding their services to overseas destinations, with Toss being the latest addition to this trend. On Monday, Viva Republica, the operator of Korean fintech unicorn Toss, announced that its QR-based offline payment service is now available at Alipay+ merchants in 40 more countries for Korean tourists, in addition to China and Malaysia. This development closely follows Naver Pay's announcement o

Nov. 20, 2023

Seoul shares end higher amid US rate hike woes

Seoul shares closed higher Monday despite investor concerns over possible US rate hikes to tame high inflation. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.86 percent, or 21.35 points, to close at 2,491.20. Trade volume was moderate at 319.84 million shares worth 6.5 trillion won ($5.03 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 648 to 229. The Kospi opened nearly flat amid concerns of an additional US rate hike. The US Federal Reserve has be

Nov. 20, 2023

Hyundai Group launches women leadership program

Hyundai Group has kicked off its training program for nurturing aspiring female leaders who will guide the future of the conglomerate. The in-house leadership program will run for the next three years with 20 women leaders above the manager level selected by the group, it said on Monday. It will provide education programs to strengthen the capabilities of next-generation leaders such as an online course of master of business administration and design thinking, focusing on diversity, equity and

Nov. 20, 2023

[KH Explains] Kakao Mobility seeks breakthrough in Europe amid rising scrutiny at home

Kakao Mobility, the operator of South Korea’s leading taxi-hailing service Kakao T, seems to be seeking new opportunities in Europe as it faces growing scrutiny here. According to industry sources on Monday, the company is likely to submit its final bid to acquire a stake of around 80 percent in German mobility service provider FreeNow as early as this week. The exact deal size was not revealed, but sources predict it to amount to some hundreds of millions of dollars. If the company wins

Nov. 20, 2023

Korean ramen exports hit record high amid global K-culture boom

Korean exports of instant noodles have been continuing a winning streak, hitting the milestone of 1 trillion won ($777 million) for the first time. According to estimates from the Korea Customs Service on Monday, ramen exports reached $785.25 million for the January-October period this year, a 24.7 percent surge from the same period last year. The figure has already exceeded last year’s total exports of $765.41 million. Ramen exports have now shown annual growth every year since 2015. In t

Nov. 20, 2023

Samsung chief departs for Europe

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong took off to Britain over the weekend to join a presidential delegation, according to industry sources on Monday, as he faces a decisive ruling that could possibly lead to a leadership vacuum for the global tech giant. Lee is taking part in the presidential economic delegation involving other conglomerate chiefs including Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Euisun and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who doubles as the head of the

Nov. 20, 2023

[Photo News] LG ShoeCare for sneakerheads

LG Electronics displayed its LG Styler ShoeCase and ShoeCare at ComplexCon 2023, a curated festival of culture, fashion and music, held in Long Beach, United States in the weekends, the company said on Monday. The tech giant said Jeff Staple, the founder of menswear brand Staple Pigeon, visited its showroom set up at the festival where rare and unique sneakers are sold as special edition. LG Styler ShoeCase a space-friendly solution for shoe storage and showcasing sneakers. (LG Electronics)

Nov. 20, 2023

Hana rolls out first private-led venture fund of funds

Hana Financial Group on Monday announced the establishment of South Korea’s first privately led “venture fund of funds” with an investment of 100 billion won ($77.44 million). The announcement follows the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ proposal last year to expand funding for venture capital and boost the startup industry together with the private sector. The launch ceremony, which was attended by SMEs and Startups Minister Lee Young and Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham

Nov. 20, 2023

SK Telecom’s decadeslong support for T1 pays off

SK Telecom’s decadeslong involvement in Korean esports has once again reaped dividends -- at least in glory -- as its T1 won the 2023 League of Legends World Championship title for a fourth time Sunday, defeating Weibo Gaming of China. The top telecom carrier in terms of membership launched T1 in 2004 when the nation’s esports industry was still in its nascent stage, as part of efforts to better engage with younger generations. As LoL, the multiplayer online battle arena game, star

Nov. 20, 2023

Korea draws W1.5tr in investments from US tech firms

South Korea has secured investment commitments from four major US companies, including General Motors, totaling 1.5 trillion won ($1.16 billion), following President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to the US for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit last week. These investments, spanning the automotive and semiconductor sectors, are expected to significantly boost South Korea's exports and reduce imports, contributing to an estimated annual economic impact of over 4.5 trillion won. The Ministry of

Nov. 20, 2023

Hyundai, Kia eye record vehicle sales in UK

Hyundai Motor Group is expected to post record sales in the UK, the second-largest automotive market in Europe, this year, according to industry estimates Monday. The carmaker sold 173,428 vehicles in the UK in the January-October period this year, up 8.7 percent from the same period last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders said citing corporate filings. Its market share stood at 10.8 percent. If the current sales momentum continues, the carmaker said, its car sales are highly

Nov. 20, 2023

Seoul shares open nearly flat amid rate hike woes

Seoul shares opened almost flat Monday amid investor concerns over a continued US rate hike due to high inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 6.92 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,476.77 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.01 percent to 34,947.28, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ gained 0.08 percent to 14,125.48. The US Federal Reserve has been expected to end its hiking cycle, but San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary

Nov. 20, 2023

Understanding Vehicle Type Approval: The importance of expertise in automotive cybersecurity

In this second installment of our series on automotive cybersecurity, we delve deeper into the strategic approach to regulatory compliance, focusing on Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) and its challenges. Until five years ago, carmakers were hesitant to introduce cybersecurity measures in vehicles despite being aware of their necessity due to cost issues. However, when the European Union introduced cybersecurity regulations in 2022, it became virtually impossible to enter the European market without

Nov. 20, 2023

[Herald Interview] SK-backed Sapeon to take on Nvidia

Sapeon, a fabless startup backed by South Korean telecom-to-chip conglomerate SK Group, has come up with a more powerful and efficient artificial intelligence chip to compete head-on with US chip giant Nvidia, which enjoys a near monopoly in the soaring market for data center graphics processors. “We‘re focused on being very good at (developing) AI inference (neural processing units) and we’ll take a part of the expanding (AI chip market),” Sapeon Chief Technology Officer

Nov. 20, 2023

Qoo10 walks away from 11th Street stake sale deal

SK Square, SK Group’s investment unit, has scrapped negotiations with Singapore-based e-commerce giant Qoo10 on selling shares of its online retail platform operator 11Street, according to local retail industry sources, Sunday. SK Square is not expected to resume talks with Qoo10 and may search for other investors who are interested in making an investment in 11Street, the sources said. Since September this year, SK Square had been in talks with Qoo10 for sale of an 18.2 percent stake in

Nov. 19, 2023

[Hello Indonesia] Daewoo E&C eyes more infrastructure deals in Indonesia

Daewoo Engineering & Construction will beef up its presence in the Indonesian market where the country has high demand for infrastructure arising from capital relocation and economic development. “Indonesia has the largest construction market among (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states, thanks to its (population of) 270 million, large land size and over 5 percent annual economic growth rate,” said Han Seung, executive vice president of Daewoo E&C’s over

Nov. 19, 2023