Korean users spend less time on Twitter taken over by Musk

South Korean users spent less time on Twitter compared to the month before billionaire Elon Musk took over the social media platform in a drama-plagued $44 billion deal, industry data showed Monday. According to local data tracker Mobile Index, the average time a local user spent on Twitter was 43.94 minutes for the four weeks of Oct. 28 to Nov. 24, down from 45.9 minutes marked a month prior to the highly publicized purchase. The number of daily active users on the platform in that period, howe

Nov. 28, 2022

Industry minister, BOK chief discuss economic situation

Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang met with Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong on Monday and discussed the economic situation amid high inflation and interest rates, the industry ministry said. During their first one-on-one meeting, the officials reviewed difficulties in the real economy weighed down by high prices, interest rates and the weak local currency, and agreed on close consultations to help overcome challenges, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korean compani

Nov. 28, 2022

S. Korea seeks to change dividend-linked rules to attract more foreign investment to stock market

South Korea will push to change regulations in a way that would allow investors to know how much they would receive in dividends before buying stocks in a bid to attract more foreign investment in the local equity market, a senior official of the country's top financial regulator said Monday. Under the current rules, listed companies determine who will receive dividends in late December first before setting the amount in March and then pay out dividends to investors in April the following y

Nov. 28, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on China uncertainties

South Korean stocks started off lower Monday, as the continued COVID-19 lockdowns and unrest at an iPhone factory in China weighed on big tech stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 30.16 points, or 1.24 percent, to 2,407.70 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US tech-rich Nasdaq ended lower Friday, with Apple Inc. dipping 2 percent, after media reports it would see a cut in iPhone shipments due to a workers' protest at a main factory in China run by Foxconn. Beiji

Nov. 28, 2022

S. Korea to reduce bond issuance of state-run firms, stabilize market

South Korea plans to reduce the issuance of bonds by state-run companies, the finance ministry said Monday, in line with the country's efforts to stabilize the bond market hit by uncertainties. The plan was announced during an emergency meeting of economy-related ministers in Seoul earlier in the day, presided over by Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. "Under cooperation with the banking sector, we will seek to have state-run organizations

Nov. 28, 2022

[Photo News] Hyundai Motor winning WTCR championship

Nov. 27, 2022

Hyundai Steel outpaces rivals in ‘world-class’ product certifications

South Korea’s second-largest steelmaker Hyundai Steel said Sunday that its submerged arc welding A671/A672 had been recognized as a World Class Korean Product. With the new addition, Hyundai Steel now boasts a total of 12 World Class Korean Products. The number is the largest among its peers in the steel-making industry, a feat that the company has maintained for 18 consecutive years. The World Class Korean Products scheme, jointly certified by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy an

Nov. 27, 2022

Posco wins Asia's first ResponsibleSteel accreditation

South Korean steel giant Posco said Sunday its production plants in Pohang and Gwangyang have received the ResponsibleSteel accreditation, becoming the first Asian company to win the honor. ResponsibleSteel, a nonprofit organization set up in 2016, awards steel businesses with accreditation for fulfilling some 370 criteria, including enviornmental, social and governance efforts. The review process also includes a third-party evaluation. After nine months of evaluation and inspection, Posco&rsq

Nov. 27, 2022

Breaking the glass ceiling: Chaebol groups make breakthrough with female leaders

A wind of change may be blowing at the nation’s male-dominant corporate culture, with more women getting promoted to take top seats amid year-end reshuffles. LG Group last week tapped two female CEOs to lead its key affiliates – Lee Jung-ae for its retail arm LG Household & Health and Park Ae-ri for its advertising unit G II R. It was the first time not just for LG, South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate, but for one of the nation’s top five chaebol groups, to appo

Nov. 27, 2022

Possible Wemix delisting prompts jitters in crypto market

South Korea’s top five crypto exchanges' decision to delist the token issued by Wemade’s blockchain platform has sent another shock wave through the digital currency market here that is still reeling from the earlier terraUSD-luna crash. The Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) comprising Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax announced Thursday they would halt trading of Wemix tokens on their platforms from Dec. 8. DAXA cited that the gaming giant’s blockchain platform

Nov. 27, 2022

Victorinox partners with Off-White to roll out limited edition knife

Swiss watch-to-knife manufacturer Victorinox said Sunday it is collaborating with Italian street fashion brand Off-White to launch a limited edition multi-tool. The limited edition Swiss Army knife is a flagship product of “Equipment,” a special lineup showcased by Off-White in collaboration with South Korean men’s fashion brand Post Archive Faction. The Italian firm had welcomed Victorinox to collaborate on the knife as part of the project. The tool’s design is based on

Nov. 27, 2022

[Herald Interview] Line Man Wongnai aims to go beyond Coupang in Thailand

With coronavirus pandemic reaching its endemic phase, South Korea’s food delivery platforms may be losing their growth momentum. But Thailand is fast rising as a market filled with new business opportunities for e-commerce startups. Located in the heart of Southeast Asia, the country’s food delivery market is thriving with a surge in smartphone users and one of the leading players is Line Man Wongnai, the popular food delivery platform operated under Line Corp. “The fact th

Nov. 27, 2022

Ex-Agency for Defense Development aircraft system expert joins Plana as vice president

Plana, a South Korean startup dedicated to building vertical takeoff and landing aircraft powered by hybrid e-powertrains, said Friday that Dr. Kim Hyun-soon from Agency for Defense Development has joined the company as vice president. Kim, who is an R&D expert in developing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems, spent over 25 years developing aerospace and UAV systems at the state-run agency. Kim will also head Plana’s research center. With Kim joining the team, the company would ac

Nov. 25, 2022

Truckers' strike cripples shipments in cement, steel industries

The nationwide strike by truck drivers caused supply disruptions across the cement and steel industries on Friday, with other sectors like auto and petrochemicals feared to bear the brunt if the protest prolongs. Cement factories were unable to ship most of the daily supply of 200,000 tons the previous day as bulk cement tanker drivers joined the strike, the cement industry association said Friday. The strike delayed the cement deposit work at construction sites across the country, and the ready

Nov. 25, 2022

Seoul stocks end lower on lingering recession woes

Seoul stocks closed slightly down Friday as traders took a wait-and-see stance amid persistent uncertainties over monetary tightening and the global economic outlook. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 3.47 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 2,437.86. Trading volume was light at 430.8 million shares worth 5.98 trillion won ($4.51 billion), with gainers slightly outnumbering losers 445 to 398. Foreign and institutional investors bough

Nov. 25, 2022

Yoon warns of using executive order to force striking truckers to return to work

President Yoon Suk-yeol warned the government could use an executive order to force striking truckers to return to work. Yoon issued the warning in a Facebook post late Thursday night after thousands of members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union, under the wing of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, launched a nationwide strike to demand the extension of a freight rate system guaranteeing basic wages. The strike is the second of its kind in five months and threatens to disrupt supply c

Nov. 25, 2022

Seoul shares open lower amid lingering recession concerns

Seoul shares opened lower Friday, as traders took a wait-and-see stance amid persistent uncertainties over monetary tightening and global economic outlook. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.5 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,434.83 as of 9:15 a.m. While traders are increasingly looking to less aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve as inflation data shows signs of slowing, upward momentum in global stock markets is lacking. China's worsening COVID-19 situation is

Nov. 25, 2022

[Herald Interview] Public Procurement Service helps firms eyeing overseas procurement market

As South Korea is seeing a widening trade deficit on sluggish global demand amid an economic slowdown, finding new markets for export has become ever more important. The Public Procurement Service, which procures, supplies and manages goods and services for public organizations, also supports Korean companies to tap into the overseas procurement market, the size of which amounted to $12.8 trillion in 2020. “The overseas procurement market is a huge market that companies must aim to become

Nov. 25, 2022

LG taps two female CEOs in unprecedented move

South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate LG has tapped two female CEOs in its groupwide year-end reshuffle that ended Thursday. Consumer goods arm LG H&H named Executive Vice President Lee Jung-ae as the new chief executive officer, replacing Cha Suk-yong after nearly 18 years of service. Lee is one of two female CEOs to have been nominated for the first time in LG's history. Since joining LG H&H in 1986, the 59-year-old Lee has been dedicated to consumer goods marketing, and

Nov. 24, 2022

SK invests in cultured salmon, extends sustainable food biz portfolio

SK Inc, the strategic investment arm of SK Group, said Thursday it invested in a food-tech startup specializing in cultured salmon, in a bid to diversify its investment portfolio in food business. The holding unit of the nation's third-largest conglomerate said it invested 10 billion won ($7 million) in Wildtype, a United States-based producer of cultured salmon. Cultured salmon is salmon that is cultivated in pilot labs with real animal cells, with mixture of nutrients, sugars, salts, amino aci

Nov. 24, 2022