Seoul shares dip over 1% on tech losses

South Korean stocks tumbled more than 1 percent Monday led by sharp losses in semiconductor and tech shares ahead of a US rate-setting meeting. The local currency gained ground against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 26.56 points, or 1.02 percent, to finish at 2,574.72, erasing the previous session's 1.1 percent jump. Trading volume was moderate at 408.4 million shares worth 8.6 trillion won ($6.5 billion), with decliners outpacing winners 548 to 330. Offsho

Sept. 18, 2023

ACE Engineering gains foothold in US

ACE Engineering, the nation's energy storage system supplier, said Monday it has successfully participated in RE+ 2023, celebrating the launch of “Big Rock 1” project with key players of the renewable energy industry. Held from Sept. 11-14 in Las Vegas, RE+ 2023 is North America's largest renewable energy convention. ACE Engineering showcased its exhibition booth there along with 1,300 global companies and 30,000 attendees. Having more than 30 meetings with renewable ener

Sept. 18, 2023

SK, Netflix settle yearslong legal battle over net usage fees, vow to work together

SK Broadband Co., a major South Korean internet service provider, said Monday that it will end a yearslong legal battle over network usage fees against US streaming giant Netflix. “We agreed to withdraw all disputes in the interests of the greater success of both companies, reflecting the common intention of putting values on customers first,” an SK Broadband official said without giving details of the agreement. “But our position on the necessity of network usage fees remains

Sept. 18, 2023

S-Oil donates to dedicated firefighters

South Korean oil refiner S-Oil said Monday it has donated 470 million won ($354,000) to dedicated firefighters, under a partnership with the National Fire Agency and Korea National Council on Social Welfare. This year’s donation will be used for the treatment of injured firefighters as well as scholarship funds for the children of firefighters who died on duty, the company said. Grants will also be given as awards for selected "Hero Firefighters." The donation ceremony was held a

Sept. 18, 2023

[Test Drive] Volvo C40 Recharge introduces one-pedal driving

GANGNEUNG -- Manual cars, typically older models, have three pedals: an accelerator, a brake and a clutch. Automatic vehicles have two pedals: an accelerator and a brake. Battery electric vehicles still come with the same two pedals. The C40 Recharge, Volvo’s EV crossover, however, has taken it a step further, presenting an opportunity to essentially drive with only one pedal. The Korea Herald had the chance to test the C40 Recharge from Gangeung to Goseong in Gangwon Province as part of a

Sept. 18, 2023

Kolon’s spunbond nonwoven fabrics earn EPD certification

Korean chemical and textile company Kolon Industries said Monday that its two spunbond nonwoven fabric products, Finon and Finon Eco, were certified by the international standard for Environmental Product Declaration, a first within the industry here. The company said it also received endorsements from two European certification bodies -- the EPD International AB in Sweden and the DP Norge in Norway. The EPD system provides a comprehensive assessment of a product's environmental impact. It

Sept. 18, 2023

STX Green Logis unveils vision for ‘Korean DHL’

STX Green Logis, the South Korean shipping and logistics company that made its stock debut on Friday, renewed its vision on Monday to become the Korean version of German logistics giant DHL. In August, the company spun off from Korean trading company STX to maximize its specialty in the logistics sector and increase operational efficiency overall. On its first day of trading, shares closed at 32,600 won ($24), a 29.8 percent surge from the initial public offering price. For its plans going forwa

Sept. 18, 2023

[Photo News] Hana concert tints weekend in green

K-pop girl band IVE performs during the Hana Playlist Concert held at Yonsei University in Seoul, Sunday. Other singers in the lineup included singer and producer Psy, folk duo MeloMance, ballad singer Sung Si-kyung and K-pop boy band Zerobaseone. The two-day event was hosted by Hana Financial Group as part of its ongoing cultural projects aimed at raising its brand awareness. (Hana Financial Group)

Sept. 18, 2023

Toss Bank unveils foreigner-friendly ID verification service

In a bid to attract more foreign clients, Toss Bank, a Korean internet-only bank, introduced a new service on Monday to make it easier for foreigners to verify their identity. The new service extracts facial features from the photo on foreign resident registration cards and compares them to photographs in a database of the Ministry of Justice to verify the authenticity of the foreign resident registration. “When we tried to verify the authenticity of foreign resident registration cards usi

Sept. 18, 2023

Art Token joins hands with Anicube for K-art's global expansion

Non-fungible token platform company Art Token said Monday that it recently joined hands with Anicube Entertainment, a music metaverse platform company, in a move to drive the global expansion of Korean digital art content. The latest partnership was inked at Art Token's headquarters in Gangnam, southern Seoul earlier last week, with top executives including Art Token CEO Hong Ji-sook and Anicube Content Market Business Head Lee Cheol-jae in attendance. Under the agreement, Art Token aims

Sept. 18, 2023

[Photo News] EVs in NYC to promote Busan Expo bid

Hyundai Motor Group’s latest electric vehicles – the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Genesis G80 EV – reading “Busan is Ready” are displayed in downtown New York City on Sunday. With graphics designed by graffiti artist Jay Flow, the cars are scheduled to drive around the city’s landmarks during this week’s UN General Assembly to promote Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. (Hyundai Motor Group)

Sept. 18, 2023

[Photo News] New Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO

Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Mathias Vaitl, whose official term as CEO started earlier this month, speaks at the awards ceremony for the “Korea TechMasters” technical skills competition held at the Mercedes-Benz Korea Training Academy in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. The German carmaker’s two separate automotive training programs, Ausbildung and Automotive Mechatronic Traineeship, also kicked off this year’s sessions a day prior. (Mercedes-Benz Korea)

Sept. 18, 2023

[KH Explain] KB's chair candidate hopes to break out of pod

KB Financial Group is often referred to as a "big fish in a small pond," given its position as Korea's largest financial holding firm with a weak global presence. The group's new chairman candidate, Yang Jong-hee, aims to change this. According to KB, Yang’s global expansion plan focuses on two key areas: Normalizing KB's money-losing Indonesian subsidiary, Bank KB Bukopin, and further strengthening KB's Cambodian unit, KB Prasac Bank, which is already doing

Sept. 18, 2023

S. Korea's 2023 tax revenue estimate revised down to 341.4 tr won

South Korea's finance ministry said Monday it has revised down its annual tax revenue estimate to 341.4 trillion won ($256.7 billion), mainly due to weak corporate earnings and a slump in the property market. The latest revision is down 59.1 trillion won from its previous outlook of 400.5 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. To tackle the decline in tax revenue, the government also unveiled plans to utilize surplus resources, including those from the foreign excha

Sept. 18, 2023

Imports of Japanese seafood dip for fifth month in Aug.

South Korean imports of Japanese seafood fell for the fifth consecutive month in August on concerns over Japan's release of treated radioactive water, government data showed Monday. Seoul imported $7.81 million worth of fishery products from the neighboring country last month, down 34.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. August posted the largest on-year decline this year, and last month's import value was the smallest monthly figure in t

Sept. 18, 2023

Seoul shares open lower ahead of Fed meeting

South Korean stocks started weaker Monday as investors take a cautious approach ahead of a US rate-setting meeting later this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 10.44 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,590.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Federal Reserve will hold the Federal Open Market Committee on Tuesday and Wednesday and likely hold key rates steady. But the market expects the US central bank may deliver one more rate hike this year, given the solid economic r

Sept. 18, 2023

Experts call for more incentives for high-tech companies to reshore

Experts gathered at the National Assembly to call for fortifying reshoring policies, or policies that will support high-tech Korean companies to bring outsourced overseas operations back to Korea, as a part of the national agenda, amid increased demand to ramp up domestic economic security. "The United States-China conflict and the consequent supply chain collapse experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic have raised awareness of the notion that reshoring for Korean high-tech industries shou

Sept. 17, 2023

Indonesia-Korea collaborative platform to empower farmers

A business collaboration platform that will bridge 62 million Indonesian farmers to Korean scientists and global investors has been launched to support them in garnering cutting-edge skills like meta farming and carbon trading, as the two countries work to champion sustainability in the digital economy. The Green Digital Economy Platform (GDEP), spearheaded by HumanX, a global partnership promoting human-centered technology, was officially unveiled on Friday under the endorsement of Indonesi

Sept. 17, 2023

Kakao Pay down for hours Sunday due to service outage

Kakao Pay, the online payment unit of Korean tech giant Kakao, experienced another service disruption for some five hours on Sunday due to a delayed firewall replacement. Last Monday, Kakao Pay initially announced that it would be replacing its firewall from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Sunday. However, due to an unexpected delay, its key services such as processing payments, sending money and asset management became unavailable on Sunday morning. Kakao Pay’s new announcement on Sunday morning said

Sept. 17, 2023

LG CNS, XYZ Robotics push for e-commerce logistics robot biz

South Korean IT solutions provider LG CNS said Sunday it has teamed up with a Chinese artificial intelligence-powered robotic solutions firm to carry out joint projects in domestic e-commerce logistics centers. The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding to integrate Shanghai-based XYZ Robotics’ robot solutions with LG’s robotic integrated operations platform. Additionally, all robot solutions provided by the newly integrated platform will be offered via the robot as a service

Sept. 17, 2023