SK hynix raises $1b via industry’s first sustainability bond

SK hynix, a semiconductor manufacturer under SK Group, announced on Wednesday that it has successfully issued a Sustainability-Linked Bond worth $1 billion, making it the first global chipmaker to do so. SLB is a type of bond with interest rates that are adjusted depending on whether a company's environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) objectives are achieved. For this ESG requirement, the company aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 57 percent of its 2020 rate by 2026

Jan. 11, 2023

[From the Scene] Samsung spurring innovation from Silicon Valley

SAN JOSE, California -- At the heart of Silicon Valley, home to world's largest tech giants, stands a landmark 10-story building in the shape of a three-layer stack of NAND flash memory chips. The symbolic building is the headquarters of Samsung Electronics Device Solutions America, which oversees the production of semiconductors in the United States -- a market that takes up more than half of the global chip demand. Opening the US headquarters to Korean media on Saturday, Sue Kim, the he

Jan. 11, 2023

[Newsmaker] After 'giant' interest rate hikes, are savers better off?

When a small provincial branch of NongHyup Bank offered an online-exclusive installment savings plan with an annual interest of 8.2 percent in November last year, the news spread like wildfire among savvy savers. It sold like lottery tickets. Within hours, the bank sold 900 billion won ($707.8 million) of saving products, which was more than five times the size of the branch's total assets of 167 billion won. The problem was that the rural bank just wanted to attract just 10 billion won of fu

Jan. 11, 2023

[Herald Interview] Yuhan aims for bigger presence in US

SAN FRANCISCO – South Korean pharmaceutical giant Yuhan is seeking to increase cooperation with researchers and biotechnology firms based in the US, with hopes to benefit from the nation’s abundant human resources and research opportunities. “Yuhan might be a leading pharmaceutical company in South Korea, but in the US market, it is still an underdog,” said Yuhan USA CEO Yoon Tae-won during an interview held on the sidelines of the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, the la

Jan. 11, 2023

[Photo News] Future mobility in style

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday that the automaker has received 11 accolades from the 2022 Good Design Awards in the US. The South Korean auto giant took home three awards in robotics design with future mobility concepts that combine in-wheel motors, steering, suspension, braking system and environmental sensors into one structure.

Jan. 11, 2023

Samsung to unveil Galaxy S23 on Feb. 1 in San Francisco

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday sent out invites to its annual unpacking event for its new flagship Galaxy devices that will take place in San Francisco at 10 a.m. on Feb. 1. Entitled “Galaxy Unpacked 2023: Share the Epic,” the event will be held in person for the first time in three years since the pandemic. It will also be livestreamed from Seoul through Samsung’s newsroom and homepage, as well as its official YouTube channel, the officials said. “A new era of Galaxy i

Jan. 11, 2023

S. Korea's job additions hit 22-year high in 2022 on pandemic recovery

South Korea reported the largest job additions in more than 20 years in 2022, data showed Wednesday, as the country gradually returned to pre-pandemic normalcy. The number of employed people came to 28.08 million in 2022, up 816,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest number since 2000, when the nation reported an on-year increase of 882,000 jobs. Last year's reading also marked a significant rise from the 370,000 growth tallied in

Jan. 11, 2023

Seoul stocks open higher ahead of US inflation data

Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors expect the upcoming US consumer price index may provide signs of a slowdown in inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 15.24 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,366.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 0.6 percent to 33,704.1 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1 percent to 10,742.63. If Thursday's US inflation da

Jan. 11, 2023

Fila becomes first Korean fashion company to get DJSI listing

South Korean sportswear brand Fila Holdings said Tuesday it has become the first Korean fashion company to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, an accredited benchmark of a company’s commitment to environment, social and governance matters. Fila Holdings attributed its DJSI listing to its continuing efforts for sustainable management, from using recycled materials in its products to building a transparent supply chain system. The company has been expanding the proportion of

Jan. 11, 2023

Biotech firms flock to JPMorgan Healthcare Conference

Korea Herald correspondent SAN FRANCISCO -- The 41st Annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference kicked off on Monday in San Francisco. This year, three South Korean companies will give presentations, while many others will hold meetings to attract new partners and investors. Around 550 presenting companies have descended on the Californian city, in addition to thousands of investors and biotechnology executives from around the world. From Korea, Samsung Biologics, Lotte Biologics and SD Biosensor h

Jan. 10, 2023

Ex-GM Korea CEO found guilty of illegally outsourcing labor

Kazem was sentenced to eight months in prison and a two-year probation, while GM Korea was slapped with a 30 million won ($24,260) fine, according to the Incheon District Court. Four former and current executives of GM Korea and 13 CEOs of subcontractors who illegally outsourced their workers to the company were also found guilty on the same charges. The four current and former GM Korea executives were fined 7 million won each, and the subcontractor CEOs fined between 2 million - 5 million w

Jan. 10, 2023

[Photo News] One team

Poshmark CEO Manish Chandra (second from left), Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon (third from left) and employees of both companies pose for a photo at the US e-commerce company’s headquarters in San Francisco on Monday. The town hall meeting was the first gathering since Naver recently acquired Poshmark, the largest secondhand marketplace in North America, in a deal worth $1.31 billion.

Jan. 10, 2023

Seoul stocks up for fifth day amid Fed rate hike worries

Seoul shares ended higher Tuesday, extending their winning streak to a fifth day despite concerns over the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hikes following hawkish Fed officials' comments. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 1.12 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 2,351.31 points. Trading volume was moderate at 351.76 million shares worth some 6.6 trillion won ($5.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 441 to 398. Fe

Jan. 10, 2023

FSC chief rekindles debate over banks' business hours

Even though the government lifted tough social distancing rules last year, local banks are keeping their adjusted business hours, which were shortened to 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in 2021. As this shortened service time has been causing some inconvenience to local banks' clients, South Korea’s top financial regulator urged banks to return to normal business hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday. “Banks can stay in business only through building trust with the clients by responding to

Jan. 10, 2023

Ford switches to LG for Turkish battery plant

American carmaker Ford has selected LG Energy Solution as a new partner to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Turkey, scrapping its previous deal with SK On for the battery manufacturing project, according to industry sources here Tuesday. One source on condition of anonymity told The Korea Herald that the reason Ford decided to part ways with SK On was likely due to the battery maker’s relatively low yield rate. “SK On’s battery yield rate is estimated at a maximum of

Jan. 10, 2023

[Photo News] LG's new anti-aging device

LG Electronics on Tuesday launched a new skin care device called Pra.L DermaThera that uses ultrasonic control technology to help the skin produce collagen and improve elasticity. The latest addition to the tech giant’s popular Pra.L beauty device lineup is priced at 1.59 million won ($1,280).

Jan. 10, 2023

[Photo News] Lighter plastic for cars

LG Chem said Tuesday it has supplied metal-replaceable plastic to Mitsubishi for the Japanese carmaker’s three SUV models – the Outlander, Delica D:5 (pictured) and RVR. Using the lighter material, the company said, the plastic fender is about 4 kilograms lighter than the previous metal alternative of the same size, improving the fuel efficiency of the vehicles.

Jan. 10, 2023

Banking groups under pressure to boost dividend payouts

Bank stocks in South Korea have long been regarded as an unappealing option for investors. Against this backdrop, a local activist fund was launched Monday targeting seven large Korean lenders to whet investor appetite by shoring up dividends. Korean banks have strong fundamentals and enough capital to cushion against unexpected losses, but their dividend payout ratios remain much lower than those of their global peers, according to Lee Chang-hwan, CEO of Seoul-based private equity firm Align Pa

Jan. 10, 2023

KSOE to develop large-capacity fuel cell systems for ships

Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering said Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with two European partners to develop large-capacity fuel cell systems for ships and other power generation. The two partners include Germany’s Fraunhofer IKTS, the largest applied research institute in Europe, and Elcogen, a leading cell component manufacturer based in Estonia. Under the partnership, KSOE, one of the world’s largest shipbuilders and an HD Hyundai subsidiary, will des

Jan. 10, 2023

Posco International to build palm oil refining plant in Indonesia

Posco International, a trading and energy unit of Posco Group, said Tuesday it is building a crude palm oil refining plant in Indonesia, pinning high hopes on the huge potential across industries, including food, cosmetics and bioenergy. The decision comes after its board recently approved $200 million worth of funding from AGPA, the company’s Singapore unit, to launch the project. One of the possible plant sites is Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, considering it

Jan. 10, 2023