[Newsmaker] Women make up just 24% of workforce at major companies

Only 1 out of 4 employees working at major Korean companies were women, with their average yearly income some 30 percent less than that of the men at the companies, according to a report from market tracker Korea CXO Institute. Korea CXO Institute analyzed the 15 South Korean companies with the highest sales across 10 different sectors, in a bid to gain insight into the gender ratio in the Korean workspace and the wage gap between Korean male and female employees. According to the results, the n

March 7, 2023

[K-Financiers] KB seeks firmer footing in Indonesia

This is the first installment of a series of interviews on chiefs who run overseas units of Korean asset management, banking and securities companies, examining their key strategies for global footprint expansion. -- Ed. KB Valbury Sekuritas, an Indonesian brokerage arm of the Korean banking giant KB Financial Group, seeks to seize opportunities in the fast-developing country by arming itself with digital innovation and integrated financial services. KB Financial Group has set its eyes on Indo

March 7, 2023

Mastern to expand middle market business in US

Mastern America, the US arm of Mastern Investment Management, said Tuesday it has signed a strategic alliance agreement with New York-based property tech firm Koriny to expand its presence in US middle market properties. Under the partnership, Mastern hopes to offer investors a chance to invest in the US middle market, which refers to a market for office, retail, industrial properties with a market value below about 100 billion won ($77 million). Koriny, which has its Korean office in Yeouido, w

March 7, 2023

Corporate Korea sees momentum in reviving ailing Japan business

Amid the budding efforts to patch up the rocky relationship between South Korea and Japan, major Korean firms are expected to see momentum grow for the revival of their ailing Japan business. Japan has long remained a graveyard for Korean companies, even for the most successful ones like Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, because consumers there are known to prefer local brands and like Sony and Toyota -- who also happen to be Korean brands' archrivals in almost all sectors globally. Ov

March 7, 2023

[Photo News] Kona Electric unveiled

Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday premiered the all-new Kona Electric, the automaker's latest addition to its expanding portfolio of all-battery electric vehicles, in a video on its YouTube channel. According to the carmaker, the latest EV can drive 410 kilometers or more on a single charge, the longest driving length among EVs in the same classification. Hyundai Motor plans to present the all-new Kona Electric for the first time in an offline setting at the upcoming Seoul Mobility Show schedu

March 7, 2023

Samsung’s retail store renamed as ‘Samsung Store’

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday its retail store brand Samsung Digital Plaza will be renamed as Samsung Store from Wednesday – the first revamp since the brand was launched in 2000. In addition to some 360 retail stores nationwide, all shops within department stores and large supermarket chains will also carry the new name, the company said. Samsung said the rebranding aims to liven up its corporate image by focusing more on younger brand names such as Galaxy, Bespoke, SmartThings and Lif

March 7, 2023

[Photo News] Korean debut

Alpha Motor Corporation, a US electric vehicle developer, will make its debut at the upcoming Seoul Mobility Show, which runs from March 30 to April 9 at Kintex in Gyeonggi Province, the event organizers said Tuesday. Established in 2020 in California by a group of automotive, IT and financial experts led by Korean-Americans, Alpha Motor will unveil its EV pickup trucks Wolf and Wolf Plus at the event.

March 7, 2023

SK Inc. Materials seeks expansion in US clean energy market

SK Inc. Materials, an advanced materials unit under South Korea’s SK Group, said Tuesday it is making an additional investment into 8 Rivers, a US clean energy tech firm specialized in developing carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). With the planned investment, the Korean firm is expected to become the largest shareholder of 8 Rivers. Under the renewed partnership, the two firms are set to further strengthen their existing ties on diverse clean energy products within the US. Fou

March 7, 2023

Kakao offers W1.25tr to buy SM shares

IT giant Kakao on Tuesday announced a tender offer for SM Entertainment’s shares held by minority shareholders at a price higher than what Hybe previously offered amid an intensifying race to win over the management rights of the K-pop powerhouse. Kakao and its subsidiary Kakao Entertainment offered 150,000 won ($115.55) per share with a goal to additionally secure up to 35 percent (some 8.3 billion shares) of SM Entertainment. This tender offer begins on Tuesday and ends on March 26. Th

March 7, 2023

[Photo News] AI robots on patrol

SK Telecom said Tuesday that it has teamed up with Neubility, a delivery robot developer, and SK Shieldus, a security services firm, to develop artificial intelligence-based self-driving patrol robots. The telecom giant said the robots are equipped with camera-based solutions instead of high-priced LiDAR sensors. The three companies agreed to sign a deal for the commercialization of the robots in the second quarter, with an aim to make their market debut later this year.

March 7, 2023

S. Korea's growth sharply slows in 2022 amid recession woes: BOK's preliminary data

South Korea's economic growth sharply slowed in 2022 as exports weakened amid growing recession woes stemming from aggressive monetary tightening at home and abroad, central bank data showed Tuesday. South Korea's gross domestic product -- a major gauge of growth -- expanded 2.6 percent in 2022, compared with a 4.1 percent advance tallied in the previous year, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The 2022 growth marked the slowest pace since 2020, when the economy contracted

March 7, 2023

Seoul stocks open lower on interest rate hike jitters

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, trailing behind lackluster trading on Wall Street, as investors brace for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index was down 1.9 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,460.72 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said Saturday that "there is more work to do" in the Fed's ongoing fight against inflation, suggesting t

March 7, 2023

SK Inc. to boost inclusivity of board, shareholder benefits

SK Inc., the investment arm of SK Group, said Tuesday it has finalized the agenda for the upcoming shareholders meeting this month, which aim to boost both the expertise and inclusivity of its board of directors as well as enhance shareholder benefits. The holding unit of the nation’s third-largest conglomerate said the board held a meeting a day earlier to approve the agenda items and appointed a financial services lawyer as the final candidate for its outside director. Hyun-ju Helen Pak

March 7, 2023

Posco to join recovery projects in typhoon-hit areas

South Korean steel giant Posco said Monday it is teaming up with North Gyeongsang Province for recovery efforts in the areas inflicted by Typhoon Hinnamnor last year. Officials of Posco and the local government signed an agreement in Andong, the provincial capital, earlier in the day, with Posco Vice Chairman Kim Hak-dong in attendance. Under the agreement, Posco will supply resources, including steel products, to be used in construction sites in Pohang and Gyeongju, the hardest-hit areas. Pohan

March 6, 2023

Seoul shares close over 1% higher on tech gains

Seoul stocks closed over 1 percent higher Monday to extend their winning streak to a fourth day on advances in chips, batteries and tech, as the US Federal Reserve may slow down its monetary tightening. The local currency rose against the US dollar for the fourth session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 30.55 points, or 1.26 percent, to a close at 2,462.62 points. Trading volume was moderate at 411 million shares worth 9.63 trillion won ($7.4 billion), with losers outnumberi

March 6, 2023

Hanwoo farmers feel pinch of inflation

Wholesale prices of hanwoo, or Korean beef, a highly coveted luxury food item among South Korean consumers, are estimated to drop further this year due to increased supply but sagging demand amid widespread inflation fears. According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute Monday, the wholesale prices of Korean beef for the first half of 2023 are expected to range from 16,500 ($12.73) to 17,500 won per kilogram. This range marks an average 20.9 percent decrease from the same period last year, when

March 6, 2023

Five Guys coming to Seoul in June

South Korean department store franchise Hanwha Galleria announced Monday that it is opening the first Korean store of US burger chain Five Guys in southern Seoul at the end of June this year. Five Guys is an American fast-food chain with over 1,800 stores across 23 countries. The upcoming Seoul opening is its sixth launch in Asia. The first Korean store, a two-story building with a total of 150 seats, will be located on a 618-square-meter site in the bustling Gangnam Station area in southern Seo

March 6, 2023

Finance Minister confident inflation will soon cool off

South Korea's efforts to combat high inflation are showing signs of progress as consumer prices marked their smallest on-year increase in February in nearly 10 months, according to Statistics Korea on Monday. The consumer price index, a key indication of inflation, rose by 4.8 percent on-year last month, marking a drop of 0.4 percentage point from 5.2 percent in January. It is the first time since April 2022 (4.8 percent) that the figure has fallen below 5 percent. “The consumer pri

March 6, 2023

Hybe's plan to take over SM via tender offer fails

K-pop powerhouse Hybe’s initial plan to gain stable management control over rival company SM Entertainment by buying more shares through a tender offer fall through. On Feb. 10, Hybe announced a tender offer for SM Entertainment’s shares held by minority shareholders. It offered 120,000 won ($92.60) per share with a goal to additionally secure up to 25 percent (5,951,826 shares) of SM Entertainment. The tender offer ended March 1. Hybe was only able to acquire 233,817 shares throug

March 6, 2023

Seoul-Tokyo trade talks to resume after 3 years

South Korea and Japan have agreed to hold talks to scrap Tokyo’s export restrictions on key industrial materials to Seoul, taking a step closer toward mending their soured bilateral ties over the years. Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Monday it is starting negotiations with its Japanese counterpart to ease export curbs that were imposed in 2019 in an apparent retaliatory measure against a court ruling in favor of Korean victims of forced labor during Japan&rsquo

March 6, 2023