[Newsmaker] Wemix delisting sends shockwaves through crypto market

A Seoul court’s denial of an injunction against the delisting of Wemade's cryptocurrency wemix on Wednesday sent shock waves through the local virtual asset market. During this delisting process, wemix's market capitalization plunged by more than 380 billion won ($287.52 million). Wemix tokens were removed from the four crypto exchange platforms -- Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone and Korbit -- on Thursday at 3 p.m. The court's ruling came as Wemade filed a petition for a preliminary

Dec. 8, 2022

SK hynix develops world’s fastest server DRAM

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix said Thursday it has developed the world's fastest server memory module that has greatly improved the operation speed of existing module chips in the market. The new product, DDR5 Multiplexer Combined Ranks Dual In-line Memory Module, boasts a data transfer rate of a minimum 8 gigabits per second, almost 80 percent faster than the 4.8 gigabits of the current DDR5 chips. Developed in collaboration with global chip giants Intel and Renesas, SK hynix said their

Dec. 8, 2022

BMW likely to beat Mercedes-Benz in Korean sales after 7 years

German luxury carmaker BMW is highly likely to top import car sales in South Korea this year, seven years after it lost the No.1 title to its archrival Mercedes-Benz. According to recent data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, BMW sold 71,713 units in the January-November period, outpacing 71,525 unit sales of Mercedes-Benz. With a month left in 2022, industry watchers say BMW is highly likely to take back the No. 1 post this year. The two German brands are the m

Dec. 8, 2022

LG debuts air-purifying face mask

LG Electronics debuted its new air-purifying electronic mask in Korea on Thursday, becoming the first company to get approval for the sale of the mask in the country. Approved by the Korea Conformity Laboratories for its filtration capabilities, the company said the LG PuriCare mask had removed 99.9 percent of the 0.01 micrometer-sized impurities within the mask, allowing a clean supply of air for its wearer. Ergonomically designed to be tailored to the human's face structure, the mask mini

Dec. 8, 2022

Starbucks customers in Korea prefer iced drinks even in winter

Seven out of 10 Starbucks users in South Korea ordered iced drinks this year, the coffee chain said Thursday, with their craving for iced coffee and tea showing little sign of abating despite cold wave alerts more recently. According to a big data analysis by Starbucks Korea, purchases of iced drinks made up 76 percent of all Starbucks sales this year, a 12 percentage point growth from last year’s 64 percent. Even during the winter season between November 2021 and February 2022, the portio

Dec. 8, 2022

Coway launches choir of blind singers

South Korean home appliance maker Coway said Thursday it held an inauguration ceremony on Wednesday to kick off a choir group made up of blind singers at its headquarters in Seoul. Coway said the choir group project was part of its effort to promote employment for the disabled. It comes after the home appliance company signed an agreement with the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities in April to create sustainable jobs for the disabled. During the inauguration ceremony, Coway Vi

Dec. 8, 2022

MBK chairman named 'hero of philanthropy'

Seoul-based private equity house MBK Partners Founder and Chairman Michael Byung-ju Kim has been named one of the 15 “Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy” by US business magazine Forbes for the second year in a row. He was the only Korean to make this year’s top philanthropist list. Kim was one of only three people -- the other two being billionaire brothers Ronnie and Gerald Chan who are the co-founders of Hong Kong’s Morningside Group -- to be recognized for two consecu

Dec. 8, 2022

Seoul shares open lower after US losses

Seoul stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street, amid concerns that the US Federal Reserve may continue its aggressive monetary tightening following solid economic data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 1.05 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,381.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The unexpectedly strong US jobs report and service sector activity released early this week bolstered the case for the Fed to keep policy tightening to tame runaway inflat

Dec. 8, 2022

Workforce of tour agencies nearly halves over 3 years on pandemic

The workforce of major South Korean travel agencies has nearly halved over the past three years due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the number of tour firms also plummeting, industry data showed Thursday. The headcount of industry leader Hana Tour came to 1,204 as of the end of September this year, down 52.3 percent from three years earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Smaller industry players were also forced to furlough their employees or cut jobs in the w

Dec. 8, 2022

FSS inspects Payco’s signature key leakage case

South Korea’s top financial watchdog on Tuesday launched an on-site inspection of NHN’s mobile payment service Payco after news that its signature key was leaked broke the day before. This key is a tool that app developers use when registering and distributing their apps on app stores. It certifies that an app is developed by a certified company—in this case, Payco. Apps that used this signature key are considered safe and not detected as malicious by security programs. Back

Dec. 7, 2022

Court denies injunction against delisting of cryptocurrency Wemix

A Seoul court on Wednesday denied an injunction request filed by the operator of cryptocurrency Wemix to block the enforcement of crypto exchanges' decision to delist the coin. In late November, the Digital Asset eXchange Association -- an alliance formed by Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax -- announced they will terminate transaction support to the cryptocurrency operated by online games company Wemade, from Dec. 8. They said Wemade had provided false information on the planned numb

Dec. 7, 2022

S. Korea rolls out biotech plan

The Ministry of Science and ICT on Wednesday announced its midterm plan to nurture the local biotechnology industry, aiming to pour about 400 billion won ($303 million) annually from next year into securing key technologies in the field. South Korea will “implement the country’s cutting-edge digital technologies into the bio industry to increase the overall efficiency within the industry and related research,” said Lee Jong-ho, minister of science and ICT. The minister added th

Dec. 7, 2022

US ambassador visits Coupang fulfillment center in Daegu

Coupang, the South Korean e-commerce giant, on Wednesday showcased the investments and innovations it made over the past decade at its Daegu fulfillment center, one of Asia's largest. The event was attended by US Ambassador Philip Goldberg and Korean government officials, including the deputy mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City and officials from the Science and ICT Ministry. Kang Han-seung, the representative director of Coupang, and its Chief Administrative Officer Harold Rogers also joined

Dec. 7, 2022

Seoul shares down for 4th day amid U.S. rate hike woes

Seoul shares extended their losing streak to a fourth day Wednesday amid concerns the Federal Reserve may keep its aggressive monetary tightening following solid U.S. economic data. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 10.35 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,382.81. Trading volume was moderate at 323.9 million shares worth 5.9 trillion won ($4.5 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 540 to 311. Institutions and foreigners sold

Dec. 7, 2022

After server shutdown, Kakao pledges to triple investment over next 5 years

South Korean IT giant Kakao vowed Wednesday to triple its investment in efforts to set up more stable service operations after the company faced heat when its major services, such as KakaoTalk, were shut down due to a data center fire. “Kakao will invest more than three times the amount it invested in the past five years to secure human resources and develop technologies for service stabilization while implementing disaster recovery with a triple structure or higher over the next five year

Dec. 7, 2022

Vietnam’s industry minister urges resource investment from S. Korea

Nguyen Hong Dien, Vietnam’s minister of industry and trade, on Tuesday urged South Korea to invest in clean energy and mineral resource development, in a step toward strengthening the two countries’ bilateral ties. “In a few weeks, Vietnamese government will approve the country’s long-term eight master plans centering on renewable energy. We hope South Korean companies invest in mineral resource development here, that is essential to the energy industry,” the mini

Dec. 7, 2022

SK chief stresses ties with Japan to tackle geopolitical challenges

South Korea, the United States and Japan should work closely together to address geopolitical challenges pressing Northeast Asia and beyond, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said at a forum. Chey made the remarks at the 2022 Trans-Pacific Dialogue in the US, an annual gathering hosted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, an SK-affiliated think tank named after the chairman's father, SK Group founder Chey Jong-hyun. The three-day forum, which kicked off Monday, was attended by former an

Dec. 7, 2022

[Newsmaker] ‘Long live the bill’ in cashless society

Banknotes with higher face value have a longer life span, with highest denomination here of 50,000 won ($38) presumed to be used for more than 15 years, a central bank report showed Wednesday. The Bank of Korea announced the results of a study on the average life span of Korean banknotes, making a presumption based on a sample survey of the notes in circulation in 2022. The results showed 10,000-won and 50,000-won bills have much longer lifetimes than bills of a smaller face value. The lifetime

Dec. 7, 2022

LG Innotek becomes first to adopt plastic to ADAS lenses

LG Innotek said Wednesday it has successfully developed new types of high-performance hybrid lenses for autonomous driving that have reduced size and thickness while increasing price competitiveness compared to existing products in the market. Camera lenses are a key component of autonomous driving solutions as they help detect the driver’s movements, according to the company. LG Innotek has showcased two new hybrid lenses — one to be used in the Driver Monitoring System (DMS), and a

Dec. 7, 2022

Smilegate supports literacy education in Bhutan

Smilegate Foundation, the charity arm of South Korean gaming giant Smilegate, said Wednesday it has opened two new community learning centers on Nov. 28, to support literacy education for women and children in Bhutan. According to the foundation, the centers, which were built together with UNESCO and Bhutan’s Education Ministry, seek to provide women and children in remote areas with access to education, with the hopes of increasing their overall quality of life. The charity foundation ran

Dec. 7, 2022