Health effects of aspartame unsettle Korea's makgeolli market

Reports that aspartame, a widely used artificial sweetener, could be reclassified as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization have sparked alarm among Korea's makgeolli makers and consumers. Makgeolli, or Korean rice wine, is one of the most popular alcoholic drinks here. In 2021, the makgeolli market was estimated at around 510 billion won ($392 million), with its exports reaching $15.8 million, up 26.8 percent from a year ago, according to data from the Food Information Stat

July 6, 2023

GS E&C to reconstruct apartment complex after parking lot collapse

GS Engineering and Construction will completely rebuild its apartment complex in Incheon after an underground parking lot collapsed in April due to poor construction. The apartment complex, being built by GS E&C and developed by Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), was set to be completed in October. GS E&C will tear down and reconstruct 17 apartment buildings for 1,666 households in Geomdan New Town in Incheon. The reconstruction will cost the builder around 500 billion to 1 trillion won

July 6, 2023

LG Energy Solution, Stellantis, Canadian gov’t agree on subsidies for battery plant

LG Energy Solution said Thursday it has come to an agreement with the Canadian government on the conditions of subsidies for the construction of a joint battery plant for electric vehicles with Stellantis. Nextstar Energy, a joint venture between LG Energy Solution and Stellantis, signed the final contract for the battery production plant in the Canadian province of Ontario. Meanwhile, the federal and local governments agreed to offer subsidies equivalent to those provided under the US’ In

July 6, 2023

[Herald Interview] Kakao Pay-Siebert mashup picks up speed

With the domestic market rapidly nearing saturation, going global has become a must for Kakao Pay, the online payment unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp. However, one of its key challenges is raising brand awareness among global users. In order to speed up the process, the company has recently decided to team up with US brokerage firm Siebert. With a goal to acquire a majority stake of up to 51 percent in Siebert with a total investment of approximately $77.38 million, Kakao Pay purcha

July 6, 2023

Hyundai Glovis, The Ocean Cleanup team up to tackle ocean plastic problem

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics affiliate under Hyundai Motor Group, announced Thursday that it has forged a partnership with The Ocean Cleanup, a Netherlands-based nonprofit organization, to join international efforts to remove plastic waste from the ocean worldwide. Under the partnership, Hyundai Glovis will utilize its vessels to gather information on marine waste. Special cameras will be attached to its vessels to identify the location and the size of the plastic waste. The information collect

July 6, 2023

STX to launch online B2B trading platform

Although various business models such as the business-to-consumer, or B2C, model have consistently trended in South Korea, they are not always an attractive choice for foreign investors for several reasons, such as the limited size of the domestic market, competition in logistics management and decreased profitability. As these issues are becoming widely recognized, there have been efforts from companies to revamp existing B2C platforms into global B2B, or business-to-business, platforms. As the

July 6, 2023

LG sets up R&D unit for TV business in Indonesia

LG Electronics said Thursday its home entertainment business division had set up its first research and development unit in Indonesia, completing a comprehensive business operation from product development to manufacturing and sales. The new facility spanning 40,000 square meters is located 3.5 kilometers from LG’s TV production plant in the Cibitung area,and some 40 kilometers from Jakarta where the tech giant operates a sales unit. LG said the new R&D unit will help not just improve

July 6, 2023

[From the scene] Posco to produce more EV materials

GWANGYANG, South Jeolla Province -- Safety guiding fences were set up at Posco’s electrical steel sheet plant in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, on Friday. The plant, which is in the final stages of phase one construction before its scheduled start for partial operations in October, signifies the South Korean steel giant’s will to bolster its eco-friendly vehicle materials business. “We are in the final stages of constructing the electrical steel sheet plant. Basically, all e

July 6, 2023

Samsung’s new foldable phones to be unveiled on July 26 in Seoul

Samsung Electronics on Thursday sent out invitations to the “Join the Flip Side” unpacking event for its new foldable smartphone series later this month in Seoul, marking the tech giant’s first Galaxy Unpacked on its home turf. Samsung will kick off the summer edition of its unveiling event at Coex, one of South Korea's largest convention and exhibition centers, in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, at 8 p.m. on July 26. The event will also be live-streamed on the company’s

July 6, 2023

Jinro named 2023 Supreme Brand Champion by British spirits publication

Jinro, one of the most popular Korean soju brands, has been named this year's Supreme Brand Champion by a British magazine, Jinro's maker said Thursday. Jinro won the accolade in the annual report issued by The Spirits Business, according to HiteJinro Co. This is the first time Jinro has won the supreme title. Jinro was named the local spirits brand champion in 2018 and 2021. Jinro brand includes plain soju products -- Chamisul and Jinro -- as well as flavored soju products. HiteJinro

July 6, 2023

Kumho Tire inks sponsorship deal with AC Milan

South Korean tire maker Kumho Tire said Thursday it has signed a sponsorship deal with AC Milan, the renowned Italian professional football club based in Milan, for five seasons through the 2027-28 Serie A season. The signing event was held at the club’s headquarters Casa Milan with top executives including Kumho Tire CEO Jung Il-taik and AC Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani in attendance. AC Milan, established in 1899, is one of the top European football clubs with a total of 19 league titles. Un

July 6, 2023

Regulator approves launch of new hydrogen power firm

South Korea's antitrust regulator on Thursday approved the launch of a hydrogen power company jointly established by SK Energy Co. and three other local partners, concluding the new firm is unlikely to impede competition within the market. The decision came after SK Energy earlier announced its plan to establish SL Energy Solution, in which it will hold a 29.9 percent stake, with LS Electric Co. also holding an equivalent stake. The newly established entity will primarily focus on generatin

July 6, 2023

Seoul shares open lower on China's export curbs, Fed minutes

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Thursday, dragged down by the fall in tech blue chips as China's export restrictions of metals used in semiconductors and others sapped investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 17.26 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,561.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics, the world's largest manufacturer of smartphones and memory chips, fell 0.4 percent. Chip giant SK hynix slid 1.6 perc

July 6, 2023

S. Korea removes tariffs on naphtha imports

South Korea has removed tariffs on imports of naphtha and crude oil used to produce the material, the finance ministry said Thursday, in line with efforts to support the local petrochemical industry. Under the measure, the tariffs on all naphtha imports will be lowered to zero through the end of 2023 immediately, compared with the current 0.5 percent, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Those on crude oil used to produce naphtha will also be lowered to zero for the amount not excee

July 6, 2023

S. Korea's overseas plant orders jump 40.2% in H1

Overseas orders for industrial plants won by South Korean builders spiked more than 40 percent on-year in the first half of 2023 on brisk demand from the Middle East and Africa, data showed Thursday. Local builders clinched $13.05 billion worth of plant orders from abroad in the January-June period, up 40.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the commerce ministry data. The first-half jump came as orders from Middle Eastern and African countries shot up from a year earlier. Plant orders fr

July 6, 2023

LGES, Stellantis reach agreement with Canada on subsidies for Ontario plant

LG Energy Solution Ltd. said Thursday its joint venture with Stellantis N.V. has reached an agreement with the Canadian governments on the terms of subsidies for the construction of its electric vehicle battery plant in Ontario. The binding agreement puts the construction of the battery module manufacturing facility in Windsor back on track immediately, the companies said, about two months after they suspended the project over a delay by the Canadian federal and local governments in setting the

July 6, 2023

Volvo Trucks chief visits Seoul

Volvo Trucks President Roger Alm visited South Korea to show the company’s commitment to cater to the fast-growing demand of electric commercial trucks in the nation’s logistics industry, the company said Wednesday. During a luncheon with corporate clients in a hotel in Seoul, Alm stressed the importance of the Korean market and pinned high hopes on its Korean unit in creating a strong foothold in the electric heavy-duty vehicles market. Aside from battery-powered trucks, the truckma

July 5, 2023

Proptech startup Urbanbase wins patent dispute

South Korean proptech startup Urbanbase said Wednesday it has won a patent dispute against its local rival Archidraw. Putting an end to their two-year legal battle, a Seoul patent court recently ruled in favor of Urbanbase, invalidating all patents previously registered by Archidraw. Urbanbase is an artificial intelligence-based tech firm equipped with 3D interior simulation and high-resolution 8K rendering technologies. It offers comprehensive furnishing services for both individual and corpo

July 5, 2023

[Herald Interview] Snowflake seeks to expand presence in Korea

US cloud software company Snowflake launched its Korean unit in 2021 with the aim of attracting big-name local companies such as Samsung and LG as lucrative corporate clients. In Korea, many large conglomerates operate their own IT solutions providers, but during these times of digital transformation and the development of artificial intelligence, it has become a lot trickier to store and process vast amounts of information and make the best use of them on their own. "With Snowflake&rsquo

July 5, 2023

Seoul shares end lower ahead of FOMC minutes release

South Korean stocks closed lower Wednesday with investors waiting for the release of the minutes of the US Federal Open Market Committee's June meeting this week. The local currency rose against the US dollar. After starting marginally higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index sank 14.31 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 2,579.00. Trading volume was moderate at 589.2 million shares worth 10.05 trillion won ($7.7 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 632 to 243. Fore

July 5, 2023