[Photo News] Genesis promotes Busan's expo bid

A Genesis G80 sedan, wrapped with the promotional designs for Busan’s Expo bid, is displayed at Hyundai Motor Studio in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Hyundai Motor Group said the special exhibition will be held until Nov. 28 when the host country of the 2030 World Expo is decided during the general gathering of the Bureau International des Expositions in Paris. (Hyundai Motor Group)

Oct. 17, 2023

Seoul shares open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 19.23 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,455.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading. U.S. stocks closed higher as investors bet on big tech, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average advancing 0.93 percent and the Nasdaq Composite rising 1.2 percent. In Seoul, tech and battery shares led the bullish opening. Top-cap Samsung Electronics added 0.74 percent and i

Oct. 17, 2023

[Graphic News] Smartphone shipments in S. Korean market fell 13.2% in Q2

Smartphone shipments within the domestic market declined over 13 percent on-year in the second quarter, recent data showed, as demand remained sluggish due to the economic downturn with high interest rates and inflation. The total number of smartphones shipped came to approximately 2.8 million units for the April-June period, down 13.2 percent from a year ago, as “demand for smartphones continued to slow down amid economic uncertainties,” the Korea branch of International Data Corpor

Oct. 17, 2023

HiteJinro to produce soju in Vietnam

South Korean liquor giant HiteJinro said Monday it is building the company's first overseas manufacturing plant in Vietnam, riding high on the growing popularity of the nation's distilled spirit abroad. According to HiteJinro Singapore, the company confirmed a sublease agreement with the Green I-Park Industrial Complex in Vietnam's Thai Binh province to establish HiteJinro’s new soju manufacturing plant at the site. HiteJinro Singapore is HiteJinro’s affiliate newly es

Oct. 16, 2023

Celltrion partners with US pharmacy chain for Yuflyma sales

Celltrion Healthcare, Celltrion's distribution unit, said Monday it has signed a deal with US specialty pharmacy chain CarePartners Pharmacy to sell its Humira biosimilar Yuflyma in the US market. CarePartners Pharmacy is a national pharmacy that distributes medications across all 50 states and Washington DC, focusing on several niche programs, including autoimmune therapies. Under the contract, Yuflyma will be distributed to drug stores operated by CarePartners Pharmacy nationwide, startin

Oct. 16, 2023

HD Korea Shipbuilding to build world's first ammonia-powered vessel by 2026

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the shipbuilding unit under HD Hyundai, announced Monday that it is set to construct two of the world’s first ammonia-powered medium-sized vessels, with targeted delivery by 2026. The company said it has decided to adopt a dual-fuel engine using both ammonia and liquefied petroleum gas for two ship orders made by Belgian shipping firm Exmas in March. The ships, slated for construction at the Hyundai Mipo Shipyard in Ulsan, measure 45,000 cu

Oct. 16, 2023

Beef prices have soared 100-fold over 50 years : data

The cost of daily necessities in South Korea has surged over the past 50 years amid the nation's rapid economic growth and soaring inflation, revealed data released Monday. According to data compiled buy the Korea Price Research Center, a 1 kilogram cut of Korean beef that would have cost 1,366 won in 1974 now costs 145,900 won ($108), while the price of pork rose from 700 won per kilogram to 31,800 won during the same period. Beef and pork experienced the steepest price hikes of 100-fold a

Oct. 16, 2023

SK to hold CEO meeting in Paris

SK Group will hold its annual CEO meeting – one of the biggest gatherings of its top executives – in Paris this week to discuss its management strategies amid the backdrop of rising global uncertainties, according to industry sources on Monday. About 30 CEOs, together with Chairman Chey Tae-won, Executive Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won and SK Discovery Vice Chairman Chey Chang-won, will participate in this year’s three-day seminar starting later Monday. It marks the first time in 1

Oct. 16, 2023

Korea extends fuel tax cut scheme until year's end

The Korean government will extend the current tax cut imposed on fuel until the end of the year, considering the escalated volatility in international oil prices following the renewed Israel-Hamas conflict, the Finance Ministry announced Monday. Fuel tax reductions -- namely a 25 percent cut for gasoline as well as 37 percent cuts for diesel and butane -- which were to end in October, will last two more months through the end of this year, the ministry said. Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho assess

Oct. 16, 2023

Posco Future M achieves 100% recycling of refractory waste

South Korean chemical and battery materials manufacturer Posco Future M has achieved 100 percent recycling of refractory waste, gaining a foothold in green transformation, the company said Monday. Usually, in the shape of bricks, refractories are solid materials that can withstand high temperatures, preventing the heat of metal from damaging the steelmaking furnaces. Posco Future M used to bury refractory waste in landfills, as recycling was only limited to refractories made of renewable sources

Oct. 16, 2023

Doosan Robotics to supply chicken-frying robots to Kyochon

Doosan Robotics, South Korea’s largest collaborative robot manufacturer under the conglomerate Doosan Group, said Monday it will supply chicken-frying collaborative robots to fried chicken franchise Kyochon F&B. Under the deal, Doosan will install its first collaborative robot at Kyochon F&B headquarters in Osan, Gyeonggi Province within this month, with plans to do so at other Kyochon franchise stores nationwide. Doosan Robotics co-CEOs Park In-won and Ryu Jung-hoon, Kyochon F&

Oct. 16, 2023

FSC lays out plan to boost pet insurance enrollment

The Financial Services Commission, Korea's top financial regulator, unveiled plans on Monday to increase the pet insurance enrollment rate, currently at approximately just 1 percent in a country with some 8 million pets. "The pet insurance enrollment rate in the US is approximately 2 percent, while in Japan, it exceeds 12 percent. Our goal is to position ourselves between these two countries,” Shin Sang-hoon, head of the insurance department at the FSC, emphasized during a press

Oct. 16, 2023

[Photo News] LG promoting world food day

LG Electronics said Monday it is displaying a promotional video, spreading the message of water conservation and fighting hunger, at New York's Times Square and London's Piccadilly Circus in celebration of this year's World Food Day on Oct. 16. The video, produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, will be screened for 13 days until Sunday on LG screens at the two landmarks. (LG Electronics)

Oct. 16, 2023

SK Ecoplant recycles over 6,000 tons of batteries

SK Ecoplant announced Monday that its Singaporean unit TES-AMM has processed and recycled over a cumulative 6,000 metric tons of discarded batteries. Electronic waste recycling company TES has been processing and recycling lithium batteries retrieved from mobile devices including smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Considering that the batteries in such devices weigh about 50 grams, the total processed amount is equivalent to some 120 million units of devices, the company estimated. Rare metals s

Oct. 16, 2023

[Photo News] Up to date

South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group said Monday that it has crafted next year's braille calendars for the blind and visually impaired, continuing the company's social contribution activity for a 24th consecutive year. According to Hanwha, the group made 40,000 calendars this year, with employees participating in the process last week. With this year's edition, the accumulated number of braille calendars made by Hanwha since 2000 stands at 920,000. (Hanwha Group)

Oct. 16, 2023

Seoul shares open lower ahead of earnings season

South Korean stocks started a tad lower Monday as investors took a cautious approach ahead of the earnings season. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.06 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,450.09 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most of the major publicly traded companies report their quarterly earnings starting next week, with market heavyweights SK hynix and Samsung Electronics slated for Oct. 26 and Oct. 31, respectively. Battery shares led the decline, with industry leader L

Oct. 16, 2023

Wage talks between Kia, labor union fail again

The labor union of Kia Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Sunday it has failed to settle wage talks with the company again, raising the possibility of it staging a partial strike starting later this week. Unless the two sides resume negotiations and reach an agreement by Tuesday, the union is expected to go on an eight-hour strike from Tuesday to Thursday and a 12-hour walkout on Oct. 20 as planned. The move by Kia's union came as unionized workers of Hyundai Motor Co.

Oct. 15, 2023

FTA with UAE could boost Korean automakers

South Korea signed a bilateral free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates Saturday, hoping to provide a tailwind for Korean automakers' outbound shipments and to help securing stable source for crude oil. The two countries concluded talks towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, a kind of FTA that covers trade in services and investment and regulatory aspects, as well as goods. Under the deal, Korea will remove tariffs on 92.8 percent of all items traded, and the UAE will

Oct. 15, 2023

[KH Explains] Amazon's cloud industry plans raise fears of monopoly in Korea

Not satisfied with its dominant position in the Korean market, Amazon Web Services, the cloud business arm of US tech giant Amazon, appears to be attempting to occupy an even greater presence here with an aggressive investment strategy, putting domestic companies under growing pressure. According to a recent announcement made by AWS in Seoul, it plans to invest 7.85 trillion won ($5.88 billion) in Korea’s cloud computing infrastructure by 2027. The amount is about triple its previous 2.73

Oct. 15, 2023

Over 90% of fines for illegal short selling imposed on foreign firms

More than 90 percent of all fines for illegal short selling of stocks have been issued to foreign financial firms, government data showed, amid calls from Korean retail investors for stricter regulation. According to Financial Services Commission data submitted to Rep. Yun Ju-kyung of the ruling People Power Party, the regulator dealt with 45 cases of illegal short selling in the first eight months of the year, with total fines exceeding 10.7 billion won ($7.9 million). Of the 45 cases, 23 invol

Oct. 15, 2023