SMEs Ministry boosts partnerships with UAE on startups

South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Monday it has forged a partnership with the United Arab Emirates to boost cooperation in nurturing startups. The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with the UAE’s Ministry of Economy to step up as a major partner country for Dubai’s Entrepreneurial Nation 2.0 project. The state-led project aims to nurture 8,000 small and medium-sized firms and 20 unicorns that is worth more than 1 trillion won ($810 million) in corpora

Jan. 16, 2023

[Photo News] Back to normal

Asiana Airlines workers on Monday add more seats to an A330 aircraft that has been used as a cargo airplane during the coronavirus pandemic. The airliner said it has completed renovation work on a total of seven A350 and A330 airplanes in preparation for a recovery in international travel. Despite pandemic disruptions, the company could earn additional revenue worth 370 billion won ($300 million) from cargo shipping.

Jan. 16, 2023

Number of fake banknotes hits record low

The number of counterfeit South Korean banknotes touched a record low in 2022, amid a surge in cashless transactions fueled by the coronavirus pandemic, the Bank of Korea said Monday. The number of counterfeit banknotes identified stood at 150 last year, down from the previous record low of 176 a year before. Last year’s number was the lowest ever since the central bank started compiling related data in 1998. The BOK attributed the drop to a decline in face-to-face transactions via non-cas

Jan. 16, 2023

SK, UAE sovereign wealth fund to create carbon credit market

SK Group, South Korea’s semiconductor-to-telecommunications conglomerate, said Monday it had signed a partnership deal with the United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund to tackle climate change together by establishing a carbon credit market in Asia. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who doubles as chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, signed a memorandum of understanding with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, CEO and managing director of the Mubadala Investment Compa

Jan. 16, 2023

Seoul shares open higher on eased US inflation woes

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, following the gains on Wall Street last week amid eased inflation in the United States that raised hopes for the Federal Reserve to slow its interest rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 7.36 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,393.45 in the first 15 minutes of trading. All major US stock indexes closed higher Friday, with the S&P 500 and tech-rich Nasdaq hitting the highest level in a month, buoyed by expectations the Fed c

Jan. 16, 2023

Naver aims to improve Poshmark tech amid market jitters

South Korean internet giant Naver on Friday unveiled a slew of new projects aimed at giving Poshmark, the US reselling platform it acquired early this month, a technological edge and returning it to profit. Naver took over Poschmark for $1.31 billion on Jan. 6, in its largest-ever deal. As their first collaboration, called "Posh Lens," Naver will be providing Poshmark with the internet firm's visual search technology to allow users to be able to find products they want by taking p

Jan. 15, 2023

Will Woori Financial chief seek third term?

As Woori Financial Group is set to hold its meeting for selecting the next chairman candidates on coming Wednesday, eyes are now on whether the current head Son Tae-seung will be able to secure a reappointment for a third term. Son’s second term ends in March. A Woori Financial Group official told The Korea Herald on Friday that Son is included in the “long list” as a candidate for chairman of Woori Financial Group. “After the meeting on Wednesday, final candidates will b

Jan. 15, 2023

[NEWS ANALYSIS] Market expects near end of key rate hike cycle

After Korea’s central bank delivered yet another rate hike, market participants have begun to anticipate the end of the monetary tightening cycle is near. Seeking to fight inflation, the Bank of Korea continued a streak of seven consecutive rate hikes, jacking up the key rate by another 25 basis points on Friday. With the latest hike, the base rate has reached 3.5 percent, the highest figure in more than 14 years, since the rate stood at 4 percent in November 2008. The rate hike will lea

Jan. 15, 2023

LG to ramp up dryer production in US

LG Electronics said Sunday it has added a new production line for dryers at its Tennessee plant in the US, with aims to ramp up production of premium home appliances and bolster its responsiveness to market demand. Adding to the existing two production lines for washers built in 2018, a total of three lines will be operated at the plant to produce front- and top-loading washing machines and dryers. Its production capacity is expected to reach 1.2 million washing machines and 600,000 dryers per y

Jan. 15, 2023

Chaebol leaders join Yoon's trip to UAE, WEF

Top executives of Samsung, SK and Hyundai are accompanying South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on his state visit to the United Arab Emirates as well as to the World Economic Forum, as part of an official business delegation aimed at boosting economic cooperation. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun are among the chiefs of 100 South Korean companies making up the business delegation, according to industry source

Jan. 15, 2023

[From the scene] Hyundai crashes Ioniq 5 to demonstrate EV battery safety

HWASEONG, Gyeonggi Province -- Despite burgeoning demand for electric vehicles, one key concern among consumers is the huge high-voltage battery pack carries a fire risk. In an apparent move to ease such concerns and show off its latest safety technology, Hyundai Motor Group conducted a rare crash test of its bestselling Ioniq 5 EV in front of the media Thursday. During the test performed at the carmaker’s Namyang Technology Institute in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, the Ioniq 5, built

Jan. 15, 2023

Orchestra Private Equity to acquire KFC Korea for 60 billion won

Orchestra Private Equity, a private equity firm based in Singapore, has signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire chicken franchise KFC Korea, according to industry sources on Friday. Under the deal signed on Thursday, Orchestra PE will purchase a 100 percent stake in KFC Korea from KG Group, a chemical-to-steel company based in Seoul. The transaction has an estimated worth of 60 billion won ($48.3 million) to 70 billion won. KFC Korea has been on sale for a year by KG Group which took ov

Jan. 13, 2023

LG, Honda set up $4.4b joint battery venture in US

LG Energy Solution and Honda have completed the establishment of a joint venture to build a battery manufacturing plant in the US, officials announced Friday. The joint venture, tentatively named L-H Battery Company, marks the first collaboration between a South Korean battery maker and a Japanese automaker. Friday’s official announcement was a follow-up to the two companies’ previous agreement in August. According to the announcement, the two companies will invest a total of $4.4 bi

Jan. 13, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group develops healing mobility for child abuse victims

Hyundai Motor Group has applied digital therapeutics technology into an automobile for victims of child abuse to have an in-the-car treatment experience. According to the South Korean automaker Friday, the healing vehicle named “iCAREcar” has been developed with Hyundai Motor’s minivan Staria and its interior has been optimized to offer psychological counseling inside the car. Under the theme of "Heals on Wheels," the group's latest social campaign project was co

Jan. 13, 2023

Global chipmakers to invest over $300m in AI-designed chips this year

The world’s leading semiconductor companies will likely spend more than $300 million in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) to help design semiconductors faster this year as a global chip shortage continues to put a strain on demand, Deloitte Korea said Friday in its report. According to the report, global chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics, Intel and Qualcomm are expected to invest this amount in AI design tools for chips. By growing 20 percent annually for the next three

Jan. 13, 2023

SK pharmteco pushes back IPO plan until 2024

SK pharmteco, a California-based contract development and manufacturing organization under Korean conglomerate SK Inc., is expected to postpone its initial public offering at least until 2024 due to market volatility, top officials from the firm and SK affiliates said Wednesday. The year of 2024 will be “the earliest possible period” to reconsider the company's stock market debut, said SK pharmteco CEO Joerg Ahlgrimm. SK's CDMO unit initially planned to go public on Korea

Jan. 13, 2023

BOK raises rate for 7th consecutive time to 3.5 percent

The Bank of Korea continued a streak of seven consecutive rate hikes, making the base rate stand at 3.5 percent. The central bank announced Friday it has raised the benchmark rate by 25 basis points, deeming that inflation has yet cooled down. With the hike, the base rate has reached 3.5 percent, the highest figure in more than 14 years, since the rate stood at 4 percent in November 2008. Prior to the bank’s aggressive policy cycle, the benchmark rate stood at 0.5 percent in July 2021. &ld

Jan. 13, 2023

S. Korea to have 30% of businesses utilize AI technologies by 2030

South Korea plans to have 30 percent of local companies adopt artificial intelligence technologies by 2030 to beef up competitiveness of local industries, the industry ministry said Friday. The target marks a sharp rise from the current estimate of 1 percent, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "In a mid-and-long term perspective, (the government) plans to proactively find and foster future industries and seek a great transformation that can fundamentally revamp the cou

Jan. 13, 2023

Concerns loom for S. Korean economy on weak consumption, exports: Green Book

The South Korean economy is feared to face a bumpy road ahead on high inflation, slowing domestic consumption as well as sluggish exports, the finance ministry said Friday. "Recently, the South Korean economy's inflation continued to stay at a high plateau, and the recovery of domestic consumption has slowed. The weak economic sentiment has continued on weak exports as well, leading to concerns over an economic slowdown," the Ministry of Economy and Finance said. It was the eighth

Jan. 13, 2023

SK Energy joins hands with state-run power supplier for future car charging stations

SK Energy Co., a major South Korean oil refiner, said Friday it is joining hands with a state-run electric power supplier to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure at traditional gas stations across the country. SK Energy will work with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. to build "energy super stations" that provide both refueling of internal combustion engine vehicles and charging of EVs, in a move to facilitate the adoption of the eco-friendly car charging system, SK said in

Jan. 13, 2023