Hyundai Elevator announces winners of elevator design contest

Hyundai Elevator, South Korea's largest elevator manufacturer, on Wednesday unveiled the six winners of its design contest for the future of elevators. A total of 347 individuals and teams from six different countries joined the contest, the manufacturer said. The six countries were South Korea, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Turkey. Participants with different backgrounds, ranging from children to professional designers, submitted their works, in which they showed their own vision

Dec. 1, 2022

Finance minister renews call for truckers to return to work

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho on Thursday reiterated his call for local truckers to return to work, stressing that their strike is causing severe damage to the country's economy, already hurt by uncertainties. The remark came after South Korea invoked a return-to-work order on truckers of the cement industry earlier on Tuesday, as thousands of truckers have been on strike since last week, demanding the government guarantee what they call a "wage for safe operation." "If (the

Dec. 1, 2022

Seoul shares open sharply higher on Powell remarks

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Thursday, boosted by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks signaling smaller rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 24.23 points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,496.76 shortly after the opening bell. It briefly breached the 2,500-point mark. Speaking at a Brookings Institution event Wednesday, Powell indicated the Fed could slow down the pace of its rate hikes, cementing the view that the central bank will go with a 50 ba

Dec. 1, 2022

Oriental Brewery's Cass tops beer market in October

Oriental Brewery's flagship beer brand Cass secured the top market share in the domestic beer market in October and seeks to continue its momentum via various promotions related to the World Cup, said the country's largest beer maker Wednesday. According to market research firm Nielsen Korea, Cass logged the largest market share in the off-trade market for the beer industry in October. Off-trade market refers to retail outlets such as hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores and

Nov. 30, 2022

Land Ministry, Truckers fail to compromise again

    Representatives of the truckers’ union and government officials failed to reach a compromise again in their second round of talks on Wednesday amid a week-long strike by unionists that inevitably could impact an array of industries. Starting from Nov. 24, Cargo Truckers Solidarity has been staging a walkout mainly to call for a permanent guarantee of minimum freight rates, which is to expire at the end of this year. The minimum freight rate policy was created to prevent truck

Nov. 30, 2022

Chinese beer imports make strong comeback

Among imported beers, Chinese brands were imported the most to South Korea according to data on Tuesday -- successfully reclaiming the top position after weathering dwindling profitability for years due to a nationwide reluctance to use Chinese products during the pandemic. According to data from the Korea Customs Service, $31.16 million of Chinese beer was imported into the country in October -- the highest total for imported beer from one country for the month. The data shows a drastic recover

Nov. 30, 2022

Samsung foldable phone sales for corporate use double

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday sales of its foldable phones for corporate use more than doubled on-year, partly because more companies have adopted remote working policies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. From January to October, sales of Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip phones jumped by 105 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, the world's largest smartphone maker said. The Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4 -- the latest versions rolled out this year -- led to t

Nov. 30, 2022

Taking Korea-Vietnam ties to next level in 30th year

Over the last three decades Korea and Vietnam have been major trade partners, played critical roles in one another's industrial supply chain and provided cultural inspiration to each other. To this day, there are countless Korean corporations searching for business and investment opportunities in Vietnam, and seeking to adapt to the shifting dynamics caused by Vietnam's exponential growth and modernization, as well as demographic and behavioral changes. These agenda will be on the tabl

Nov. 30, 2022

Foreign investors snap up tech shares

Foreign investors purchased a net of more than 6 trillion won ($4.5 billion) worth of shares on South Korea's stock market in October and November as they picked up chips and other related tech shares, the Korea Exchange's data showed Wednesday. According to the securities exchange operator, foreign investors purchased net 6.78 trillion-won worth of shares on the benchmark Kospi from Oct. 1 to Nov. 29, while they sold 30 billion won on Kosdaq. The Kospi purchase was heavily focused on

Nov. 30, 2022

Hyundai Glovis taps financial specialist as new CEO

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics affiliate under South Korean automobile giant Hyundai Motor Group, has tapped Lee Kyoo-bok, an executive with the carmaker, as the company’s next CEO, officials announced Wednesday. Lee, who was also promoted to the group’s executive vice president with the CEO appointment, has served as the head of the carmaker’s sales office in Europe and chief financial officer of the US manufacturing corporation. As an expert in strategic planning for overseas sa

Nov. 30, 2022

Hyundai Motor's creative chief promoted to president

Luc Donckerwolke, Hyundai Motor Group’s executive vice president and chief creative officer, has been promoted to the group’s president, the South Korean auto giant announced Wednesday. Donckerwolke, a Belgian native, has led the growth of the carmaker’s brand identity in the global market since he joined the company in 2016. Hyundai Motor said Donckerwolke has initiated the direction for the company’s various creative projects, including the establishment of Genesis Hous

Nov. 30, 2022

Korean Air offers lie-flat seats for smaller A321neo planes

  Korean Air, South Korea’s largest air carrier, will begin offering lie-flat seats in smaller aircraft -- its recently received Airbus 321neo -- in December, the company said Wednesday. With the introduction of the A321neo, Korean Air will become the country’s first air carrier to have lie-flat seats in a narrow-body aircraft. The A321neo, a single-aisle airplane with 182 seats, will operate on short-haul routes to China, Japan and Southeast Asia, according to Korean Air. Short

Nov. 30, 2022

Samsung to expand 5G network solution supply to Japan's NTT Docomo

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it will boost the supply of 5G network solutions to Japan’s No. 1 mobile operator NTT Docomo. After being chosen as a 5G network solution provider for Docomo in March, Samsung will provide additional 5G network radio units, which can send out major frequency bands operated by the Japanese mobile operator. Docomo has nearly 84 million users across the neighboring country as of March. The Japanese telecom company launched 5G services in March 2020. With str

Nov. 30, 2022

Seoul shares open lower ahead of Fed chief's speech

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, as investors were cautious ahead of an upcoming speech by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which may offer clues on the future direction of interest rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 11.68 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,421.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Powell is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook at a Brookings Institution session later this week, at which he will likely give a guideline on when th

Nov. 30, 2022

Industrial output falls by most in 30 months in October

South Korea's industrial output fell by the most in 30 months in October, data showed Wednesday, with retail sales also losing ground amid the prolonged economic uncertainties. Industrial production declined 1.5 percent on-month in October, following a 0.4 percent on-month decrease the previous month, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the largest drop since the 1.8 percent decrease tallied in April 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The output also fell for the

Nov. 30, 2022

[Global Finance Awards] ‘Invigorating the economy with creative, innovative financial engineering models’

By Yoo Chang-jo Professor of marketing at Dongguk University The Korea Herald presents the Global Finance Awards upon recognition that, for the Korean economy to grow in this age of cutting-edge technology, it is essential to build a financial ecosystem that meets global standards and raises the competitiveness of the country’s financial industry. The purpose of these awards is to encourage financial institutions that continue to challenge themselves and innovate to provide better financ

Nov. 29, 2022

Daewoo E&C gets recognition at Good Design Award 2022

South Korean builder Daewoo E&C said on Tuesday its design prowess has been recognized again with a prestigious design award, continuing its winning streak through its brands, including their flagship apartment brand Prugio. The company said two of its entries won Bronze Prizes at the Good Design Award 2022 -- an esteemed design award ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which was held annually since 1985, under the Industrial Design Promotion Act. The awarded archi

Nov. 29, 2022

Hyundai Motor, SK On team up to boost EV production in US

Hyundai Motor Group and SK On have teamed up to beef up production of electric vehicle batteries in the US, a fast-growing market that offers hefty incentives to only locally produced electric vehicles and batteries. The new partnership comes after the South Korean auto giant suffered subsidy cuts to its popular electric vehicles, including the Ioniq 5, in the all-important US market following the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act that took effect in August. The "US-first

Nov. 29, 2022

[Global Finance Awards] Kyobo Life Insurance tops sustainability ranking for 13 straight years

Kyobo Life Insurance has been continuously incorporating sustainable development concepts into its business strategies and the effort has been acknowledged in an industry-wide index for its socially responsible efforts. The firm topped the 2022 Korean Sustainability Index among local insurance companies on Thursday, marking its 13th consecutive year of securing the top place since 2010. The KSI is a standard for measuring corporate sustainability based on ISO 26000, a global social responsibilit

Nov. 29, 2022

[Global Finance Awards] SC Bank Korea accelerates sustainable management drive

Standard Chartered Bank Korea has become the only commercial bank in South Korea to receive an A+ rating in corporate governance for four consecutive years, the firm said. The latest A+ rating was given last week by the Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability, an expert nonprofit group founded in 2002 that carries out ESG evaluations and policy research. “A healthy corporate governance system is the foundation of what makes sustainable management possible, and it is the

Nov. 29, 2022