New EU rules picked No. 1 ESG concern this year

Four out of six South Korean companies picked the European Union’s upcoming due diligence act as the No. 1 concern for their ongoing environmental, social and governance efforts this year, saying heightened regulations could pose a direct threat to export-driven companies that are not yet fully ready. A survey of 300 companies affiliated with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the nation’s biggest lobby, showed Sunday that 40.3 percent of the responding companies selected th

Feb. 5, 2023

LG unveils net-zero goals in first group-wide report

LG Group, the nation’s fourth-largest conglomerate, renewed its commitment to achieving net-zero goals by 2050 in a groupwide report on emissions reduction Sunday -- a first among major conglomerates in South Korea. In the report, titled "LG Net Zero Special Reporting: Placing the First Stepping Stone," the group outlines the plans and strategies LG companies will adopt to achieve the net-zero goals. Seven affiliates have signed on to the plan, including LG Electronics, LG Displa

Feb. 5, 2023

'Energy inflation' hits 25-year high in January

South Koreans have faced surging electricity, gas and heating bills, with the January inflation index hitting a new high since the 1998 financial crisis. According to the Korean Statistical Information Service on Sunday, the public utility price index -- calculated based on the consumer price index that is considered an inflation barometer -- logged 135.75 points in January, up 31.7 percent from the same month last year. This indicates the highest on-year inflation of monthly energy prices that

Feb. 5, 2023

[Herald Interview] Samsung bets big on cameras to fight Apple

SAN FRANCISCO -- Samsung Electronics unveiled the new Galaxy S23 smartphones, the latest lineup of its flagship S series, on Wednesday, putting much emphasis on enhanced camera functions -- a secret weapon to fight against its archrival, Apple. “We’ve enhanced our camera system that allows users to take the best photos and videos in any environment. … The Galaxy S23 series not only comes with a 200-megapixel sensor but also provides a satisfactory camera experience with more

Feb. 5, 2023

[Weekender] Humanlike AI chatbot ChatGPT takes world by storm

Artificial intelligence has become a part of our lives, sparking innovation around every corner. After Google DeepMind's AlphaGo surprised the world by winning a historic match against Korean Go grandmaster Lee Se-dol in 2016, the ability of a new humanlike chatbot has recently opened people’s eyes to how far AI has progressed. California-based startup OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public in November last year and gained over 1 million users within a week. The AI-powered chatbot is a

Feb. 4, 2023

Naver to introduce search GPT in first half of year

South Korean internet giant Naver said Friday it will launch its own generative pretrained transformer, or GPT, for search functions by the end of June, as OpenAI's artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT has been taking the tech world by storm. “We are gearing up to handle new search trends, such as the generative AI that is gaining a lot of attention now. And we plan to introduce our own upgraded version of SearchGPT in the first half of this year,” Chief Executive Officer Cho

Feb. 3, 2023

SK Bioscience expected to log 70% drop in profit as COVID vaccine demand dwindles

Korean biopharmaceutical firm SK Bioscience is expected to log a sharp decline in its sales and operating profit for 2022, as demand wanes for COVID-19 vaccines, its key source of revenue, according to a report from a local securities firm on Friday. The company’s annual sales for last year are expected to drop 49 percent on-year to 474.2 billion won ($385.7 million), while its operating profit is also expected to plunge 70.3 percent to 141 billion won, the report released by Meritz Securi

Feb. 3, 2023

SNT Dynamics inks automatic transmission deal with Turkey's BMC for tanks

South Korean auto parts manufacturer SNT Dynamics said Monday it signed an export deal with Turkish commercial and military vehicle manufacturer BMC to supply automatic transmissions to produce tanks for the Turkish government. BMC is the firm in charge of delivering 1,000 Altays, a Turkish battle tank, to the government starting from this year under a Turkish-Qatari partnership. The Altay project, pushed forward by the Turkish government, has faced supply issues in the past. BMC has been seekin

Feb. 3, 2023

Apple Pay can be launched in S. Korea: financial regulator

South Korea's financial regulator said Friday that local credit card firms can introduce Apple Pay, the long-awaited mobile payment service of US tech giant Apple Inc., as they have followed relevant procedures. There have been reports for months that Hyundai Card Co., a local credit card unit of Hyundai Motor Group, is in talks with Apple over the launch of Apple Pay that allows customers to make payments using iPhones and other Apple devices. Market watchers initially expected the service

Feb. 3, 2023

Citibank Korea to arrange syndicated loan for Posco's lithium salt lake project

Citibank Korea announced Friday that it signed a syndicated loan agreement with Posco Argentina to support the development of a salt lake with lithium reserves for Posco Holdings. As a joint mandated lead arranger, Citibank arranged a $412 million (505.4 billion won) syndicated loan for Posco Argentina with support from Korea Trade Insurance Corp. The agreement was reached on Jan. 25. “This deal is meaningful as it provides financing support for enhancing Korean companies’ competitiv

Feb. 3, 2023

Export slump to continue through H1; inflation to slow in H2: finance minister

  SEJONG -- South Korea's exports are anticipated to remain sluggish "at least" through the first six months of 2023, the finance minister said Friday, while inflation is expected to slow in the latter half. Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho made the remark ahead of a closed-door meeting with economy-related ministers, after South Korea reported sluggish export figures and worrisome inflation data for January earlier this week. "Exports have lost ground for four consecutive mont

Feb. 3, 2023

Seoul stocks open tad lower as investors digest Fed event

Seoul shares opened slightly lower Friday as investors digest the US Federal Reserve's latest rate decision earlier this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 2.98 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,465.9 points as of 9:23 a.m. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.25 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.11 percent. The Fed raised the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday (US time) as expected. Investors are weighing eas

Feb. 3, 2023

[Graphic News] Exports of soju up 13.2%

Exports of soju, South Korea’s traditional distilled liquor, increased 13.2 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, data showed, rebounding for the first time in three years. Outbound shipments of soju reached $93.3 million in 2022, rising sharply from $82.4 million tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. In terms of volume, exports advanced 12.7 percent to reach 67,104 metric tons, the data showed. Soju is a clear, distilled liquor made with grain

Feb. 3, 2023

S. Korea to sell W13tr won worth of Treasurys in February

South Korea plans to sell 13 trillion won ($10.6 billion) in state bonds this month, the finance ministry said Thursday. The ministry will issue 2.4 trillion won in Treasurys with a maturity of three years and another 2.1 trillion won in five-year government bonds in February, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It also plans to sell 2.3 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of 10 years, 1 trillion won in 20-year Treasurys and float 3.1 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of 30 y

Feb. 2, 2023

Seoul stocks end higher after Fed decision

Seoul shares closed higher Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street, after the Federal Reserve delivered a small rate hike while acknowledging progress in its battle against inflation. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 19.08 points, or 0.78 percent, to close at 2,468.88 points. Trading volume was moderate at 682.5 million shares worth some 9 trillion won, with gainers outnumbering losers 604 to 264. The Dow Jones Industrial Average clo

Feb. 2, 2023

Mask manufacturers face bankruptcy amid eased masking rules

The government’s decision to lift its indoor mask mandate has been welcomed by many, but it is being seen as a giant threat to the survival of mask manufacturers already struggling to stay afloat here. "We are just hanging in there,” Jung, an owner of a small mask manufacturing company, told The Korea Herald. “It will be difficult to hold out if the current situation continues.” Local manufacturers are now suffering from shrinking mask demand. Many manufacturers have

Feb. 2, 2023

US Fed hike, inflation create rate-setting challenge for BOK

Market expectation of a Bank of Korea rate freeze is growing, after the US Federal Reserve slowed its pace of interest rate increases for the second straight meeting on Wednesday. The US base interest rate climbed to 4.5-4.75 percent per annum as the Fed raised the key rate by 0.25 percentage point from the previous 4.25-4.5 percent at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday. The hike was in line with market expectations that projected the Fed would raise rates more slowly, afte

Feb. 2, 2023

Cosmetics sales pick up after mask rules eased

Sales of cosmetics products have seen a surge over the past week after the nation’s mask-wearing mandate was lifted here, according to data compiled by Shinsegae International, a local importer of foreign beauty brands, Thursday. US luxury makeup brand Hourglass posted a 149 percent jump in sales here from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1 right before and after eased masking rules, according to Shinsegae International. For the whole month of January, sales more than doubled compared to a year ago. The co

Feb. 2, 2023

[Photo News] Self-service bag drop

Korean Air said Thursday it is starting a “self-service” bag drop for domestic flights at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, as part of a growing trend within the global aviation industry but the first of its kind in South Korea. The air carrier said it plans to expand the service in phases after a six-month trial operation at the airport.

Feb. 2, 2023

[Photo News] Renewed sales push in Japan

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it will start operating at a shopping mall in Kyoto this week, making for its first in Japan outside Tokyo. The Hyundai Mobility Kyoto Shijo store allows visitors to experience the carmaker’s eco-friendly vehicles, including the hot-selling Ioniq 5 and the hydrogen-powered Nexo. The South Korean carmaker has been making a renewed push for a foray into the Japanese market, which has long remained untapped despite an aggressive overseas expansion in recent y

Feb. 2, 2023