Hyundai Mobis Q1 net jumps 62% on high-margin parts

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's leading auto parts maker, said Wednesday its first-quarter net profit jumped 62 percent from a year earlier on increased sales of high-margin components. Net profit for the three months ending March 31 rose to 841.8 billion won ($629 million) from 520.9 billion won during the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. "The quarterly bottom line was buoyed by the increased production of modules and key components as the global chip shorta

April 26, 2023

SK hynix suffers record loss in Q1, eyes recovery in Q2

In the wake of escalating competition between the US and China, SK hynix said it is reviewing plans for future operation of its manufacturing facilities in China, as it announced its worst operating profit losses on Wednesday. “We are looking at various factors of long-term geopolitical risks, market demand and operation efficiency to comprehensively review the future operation of our manufacturing plant in China,” Kim Woo-hyun, chief financial officer for SK hynix, said on the ear

April 26, 2023

Seoul shares open nearly flat after sharp slide

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday, as big-cap shares rebounded from recent deep losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 1.37 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,487.65 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares fell on renewed concerns about the banking sector instability after the First Republic Bank reported a drop in deposits in the first quarter and its stock sank nearly 50 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.02 percent, while the tech

April 26, 2023

Big firms' R&D spending rises 14% in 2022 despite lower earnings

Major South Korean firms' spending on research and development swelled 14 percent in 2022 from a year earlier despite sharply decreased operating income amid an economic slowdown, a market tracker said Wednesday. Combined R&D expenditures by 231 out of the country's top 500 companies came to 68.4 trillion won ($51 billion) last year, up 8.4 trillion won from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. The tally covers businesses that have disclosed their R&D expenditures over the p

April 26, 2023

Samsung SDI, GM to build $3 bln EV battery plant in US

Samsung SDI Co. said Tuesday it is pushing to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing facility in the United States in a joint venture with General Motors Co. The South Korean battery maker unveiled the plan in a regulatory filing, under which the two companies have agreed to invest more than $3 billion in constructing a plant with an annual capacity of over 30 gigawatt hours (GWh). The location of the plant has not been decided yet, it said. The company aims to commence commercial

April 25, 2023

Hyundai Motor outpaces Samsung in quarterly earnings for 1st time

Hyundai Motor, the flagship unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said Tuesday it posted record operating profits of 3.6 trillion won ($2.7 billion) in the first three months of this year, outpacing Samsung Electronics in quarterly earnings for the first time. The auto giant reported surprising earnings in the first quarter, with operating profits jumping up 86.3 percent on-year. During the same period, Samsung Electronics posted 600 billion won in operating profits. It is the first time that Hyundai

April 25, 2023

Seoul shares down for 4th day ahead of earnings season

South Korean stocks ended markedly lower Tuesday, led by big-cap tech losses, as investors took to the sidelines awaiting major corporate earnings reports. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 34.48 points, or 1.37 percent, to close at 2,489.02, extending its losing streak to a fourth session. Trading volume was a bit heavy at 875.67 million shares worth 13.46 trillion won ($10.1 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 641 to 248.

April 25, 2023

Samsung, Posco join forces to tackle business uncertainties

South Korean steel giant Posco said Tuesday it had signed its first ever long-term agreement with Samsung Electronics in a bid to expand technical cooperation between the two industrial giants and to jointly seek new business opportunities. According to Posco, its Vice Chairman Kim Hak-dong and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee visited Samsung's headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, to iterate the specifics of the three-year agreement the two companies signed in March. &quo

April 25, 2023

[Herald Interview] Ballantine’s master blender on new whisky expression full of memories

Sandy Hyslop, the master blender behind Ballantine’s, visited South Korea to celebrate the global launch of the first edition of Pernod Ricard's premium whisky series, the 40 Year Old Masterclass Collection. Marking his 40 years in the industry this year, Hyslop is widely known as the master blender of Ballantine’s, the Glenlivet and Chivas Regal. His job is to check the quality of what distilleries produce every single week, create new whiskies and manage the continuity and fla

April 25, 2023

[Herald Interview] 2023 Procurement Expo to fuel post-pandemic growth

The Public Procurement Service is gearing up to host the Korea Public Procurement Expo 2023, an annual event which will serve as a platform for companies to showcase their products and technologies and broaden their global footprint in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The 23rd Korea Public Procurement Expo boasts the largest-ever turnout with over 560 companies and upwards of 1,000 booths,” PPS administrator Lee Jong-Wook said in an interview with The Korea Herald. The Public

April 25, 2023

S. Korean economy rebounds as consumer spending picks up

South Korea’s economy showed a slight sign of recovery, with 0.3 percent growth in the first three months of 2023 on the rebound of private consumption as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes. The country’s gross domestic product -- the value of all goods and services created -- grew 0.3 percent in the January-March period, showing signs of recovery from the minus 0.4 percent of the previous quarter. It showed a 0.8 percent increase from the same period of 2022, data from the Bank of Korea sh

April 25, 2023

LG Energy Solution to set up W600b advanced production line at Ochang plant

LG Energy Solution said Tuesday it will set up an advanced production line at its Ochang plant in a bid to supply more certified battery prototypes to global electric carmakers. Under a 600 billion won ($450.7 million) investment, the battery maker plans to build what it calls a “mother" production line, where a battery cell prototype can be mass-produced, in its Ochang plant located in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The existing pilot line manufactures such prototypes but do

April 25, 2023

Apple still in need of Korea-made displays despite production push

US tech giant Apple will likely continue its reliance on Korean-made displays, although it has been making a “sweeping effort” to develop its own components for more direct control over its designs, a report showed Tuesday. According to a report released by the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion, Apple is expanding its use of in-house components such as chips and displays in its flagship iPhones as part of a strategy to maintain its dominance in the m

April 25, 2023

Korea Customs Week 2023 to go beyond borders for global cooperation

South Korea's customs agency Korea Customs Service said Tuesday that it will host an international conference in Seoul starting from Wednesday, under the theme of global cooperation and digital customs. Taking place between Wednesday to Friday, Korea Customs Week 2023 will be the first large-scale international customs conference held by the agency. The event will be attended by customs authorities from 75 countries, with 600 domestic and overseas entrepreneurs and officials, including the

April 25, 2023

Are Koreans really fat?

For 27-year-old Choi, the main focus in her life recently has been getting her weight down. The after-work dinners at her new job and frequent dates with her new boyfriend have resulted in her tipping the bathroom scale into the above-55-kilogram range for the first time in her life, prompting her to panic-buy a gym membership, exercise equipment and organic meal kits. “I just feel so big since I’ve put on the extra weight. I want to get my weight down to below 50 kilograms,” s

April 25, 2023

Meritz ascends to become No. 3 financial group

Meritz Financial Group on Tuesday completed the process of incorporating its nonlife insurance and brokerage affiliates into the group, making it the third-largest financial conglomerate in Korea. After the consolidation, the group's market capitalization is expected to extend to over 9 trillion won ($6.73 billion). Only KB Financial Group (19.85 trillion won) and Hana Financial Group (12.31 trillion won) are estimated to have higher market capitalizations. The group's decision to in

April 25, 2023

Seoul shares open nearly flat ahead of earnings season

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Tuesday, following a three-day losing streak, as investors await first-quarter corporate earnings reports. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 1.64 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,521.86 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares ended mixed as big tech earnings season approaches. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.29 percent. This week, South Korean chip giants Samsun

April 25, 2023

S. Korean economy avoids recession in Q1; outlook dims amid weak exports

South Korea's economy narrowly avoided a recession in the first quarter of the year after a contraction the previous quarter, central bank data showed Tuesday. The economy grew 0.3 percent in the January-March period from the previous quarter, according to the preliminary data compiled by the Bank of Korea. The first-quarter expansion follows a 0.4 percent on-quarter contraction the previous quarter. Technically, two consecutive quarters of economic contraction are judged to be a recession.

April 25, 2023

Coupang couriers launch labor union, claiming decline in working conditions

Delivery workers of e-commerce giant Coupang's subcontractors have set up a labor union, calling for better working conditions amid the company’s rapid growth in recent years. According to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the major umbrella confederations of unions here, the new labor union held a launching ceremony at the company’s logistics center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday. This labor union primarily includes delivery workers at subcontracted comp

April 24, 2023

LG Innotek wins Edison Award for ultraslim TV technology

LG Innotek announced Monday it won the 2023 Edison Award in the commercial technology category for its ultrathin Nexlim magnetic component, which plays a crucial role in developing slim high-definition TVs. The world's thinnest magnetic component is used in TV power modules and vehicle chargers for voltage regulation and signal filtering. It improves energy efficiency in electronics and electric vehicles by reducing heat-induced power loss. LG Innotek started related research in 2017 as it

April 24, 2023