[Newsmaker] Korea celebrates Kimchi Day on Nov. 22

Nov. 22 is Kimchi Day, a day dedicated to the savory Korean soul food that Koreans take great pride in. The South Korean government designated Kimchi Day to celebrate and promote the salted and fermented vegetable that is known for its various health benefits and is made in most Korean homes around this time of the year. Gimjang, the process of making large quantities of kimchi before winter, has long been a major annual event in Korean households and neighborhoods where family members, relative

Nov. 17, 2022

Saudi crown prince's visit brings $30b in business deals

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Seoul on Thursday to hold talks with President Yoon Suk-yeol and top business leaders, initiating a slew of agreements worth an estimated $30 billion between the two countries. The crown prince’s trip to Seoul is his first in three years. In a closed meeting held earlier in the day, Yoon and the crown prince agreed to develop bilateral relations into a “future-oriented strategic partnership” and

Nov. 17, 2022

S-Oil makes $7b Shaheen petrochemical project official

South Korean oil refiner S-Oil, owned by Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, on Thursday confirmed its $7 billion massive project of building a large-scale petrochemical plant in the nation’s southeastern city of Ulsan. The so-called “Shaheen Project” is the largest investment made in Korea by Aramco that holds 63.4 percent shares in the refiner. The announcement comes as Saudi Arabian Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman was visiting Seoul to hold talks with President Yoon Suk-yeol and b

Nov. 17, 2022

[Photo News] Hyundai FIFA Museum in Qatar

(From left) Former Swiss professional soccer player Pascal Zuberbühler, former Italian professional soccer player Gianluca Zambrotta, former Uruguayan professional soccer player Diego Forlan, Director of the FIFA World Football Museum Marco Fazzone, Hyundai Motor India, M.East & Africa Strategic Region Executive Vice President Kim Un-soo, and former Korean professional soccer player Park Ji-sung pose in front of the Hyundai Motor's FIFA Museum in Doha, Qatar, during its opening cer

Nov. 17, 2022

S. Korea may delay imposing capital gains tax on stocks

South Korea’s financial authorities on Thursday were mulling a delay on the adoption of the law to levy a capital gains tax on stock investment slated to start next year. In a morning meeting, the regulator Financial Services Commission met with market analysts from 10 local brokerages to address the effects of the new tax system on the market, according to industry sources. The move was widely received by onlookers as a sign that the authorities are actively considering the delay of the

Nov. 17, 2022

Coway to build solar power plant to bolster ESG initiative

South Korean home appliance maker Coway said Thursday it will begin constructing a solar power plant on the roof of its global sleep technology subsidiary iOBED's factory, located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in December. The construction is set to be completed in March 2023. The solar power plant will begin operation in the first half of 2023, and is estimated to have an annual generation capacity of 800 kilowatt hours, according to the home appliance company. The plant will become the fift

Nov. 17, 2022

Conglomerates asked to pledge big for Busan Expo bid

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday said it has set a goal to collect a combined 31 billion won ($23.4 million) from the nation’s top 10 chaebol groups in an aim to support Busan’s bid for the 2030 World Expo. According to the largest business lobby here, the “special membership fees” were decided based on discussions with the companies during a general assembly in September, with their asset value being the key criteria. Samsung Group has pledged to p

Nov. 16, 2022

Businesses demand more migrant workers to relieve labor shortage

Small and medium-sized businesses in South Korea are demanding more foreign workers than the government plans to bring in next year to plug the growing skills shortage, data showed Wednesday. According to a survey conducted this month by the Korea Enterprises Federation, one of the five major business lobby groups, 55 percent of the 307 companies -- comprising those with fewer than 300 employees -- welcomed the government plan to add a 110,000-strong foreign workforce next year, a roughly 50 per

Nov. 16, 2022

[Photo News] Genesis X Convertible Unveiled

Hyundai Motor Group unveiled the Genesis X convertible, a concept for the luxury brand's first full-electric convertible car, in Malibu, California, Wednesday, prior to the LA Auto show that kicks off Friday.

Nov. 16, 2022

Volkswagen debuts new Golf GTI in Seoul

Volkswagen Korea debuted the new Golf GTI, the eighth-generation of the German carmaker’s gasoline-powered hot hatch, in Seoul on Tuesday before its official launch next month. Since its debut in 1976, the Golf GTI has been recognized as a reasonably priced sports car that popularizes the new car segment “hot hatch.” The upcoming Golf GTI is equipped with the EA888 2.0-liter inline 4-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine with a maximum horsepower of 245 and a maximum torque of

Nov. 16, 2022

US delays decision on Korean Air-Asiana merger

South Korea’s largest air carrier Korean Air’s buyout of Asiana Airlines faced yet another hurdle, as the US antitrust regulator decided to conduct a more thorough investigation before granting approval of the merger. The US Federal Trade Commission was expected to announce its decision this week, but informed Korean Air on Wednesday it would need more time for a thorough evaluation, according to the Koran air carrier. In March, the US antitrust watchdog evaluated that when merged

Nov. 16, 2022

Losing on home turf: Korea’s kimchi trade deficit returns

South Korea’s imports of kimchi, a staple of almost every meal, reached an all-time high last month, with soaring ingredient costs driving up prices of domestically made kimchi amid inflation fears. In October, kimchi shipments from overseas surged by 50.9 percent compared to a year earlier to $17.02 million, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. The figure showed a 16.2 percent increase from the previous month. It is the first time monthly imports surpassed the $17 million m

Nov. 16, 2022

Hyundai Glovis, Lion Group team up for smart logistics solutions

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics arm of Hyundai Motor Group, said Wednesday that it is entering the Malaysian logistics market in a strategic partnership with local logistic giant Lion Group, as part of efforts to expand its presence in Southeast Asia. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding, under which the Korean firm will apply its smart logistic solutions to enhance efficiency of Lion's logistics operations overall. Established in 1930, Lion Group is one of the largest conglom

Nov. 16, 2022

Yido, Full Swing join hands to renew brand awareness

Yido, a South Korean firm that specializes in integrated management for infrastructure and golf courses, said Wednesday that it has signed a strategic partnership with US sports virtualization hardware and software company Full Swing to expand their presence in the Asian market. Established in 1986, Full Swing is the industry's top golf simulator maker and the official licensed simulator of the PGA Tour. The company’s launch monitor was co-developed with Tiger Woods to enhance accur

Nov. 16, 2022

Singapore, Germany forge stronger ties to bolster supply chains

SINGAPORE -- Germany and Singapore bolstered their partnership for supply chain diversification, stressing pipeline expansion instead of decoupling with China. The move comes as the European Union member nation, among many other key economies, has been burdened with the task of cutting back their reliance on China. “Reducing risky, one-sided dependencies when it comes to certain raw materials or critical technologies will play an important role in the National Security Strategy that we a

Nov. 16, 2022

SK Signet to produce ultrafast EV chargers in US

South Korean manufacturer of electric vehicle chargers SK Signet said Wednesday it will start producing ultrafast 350-kilowatt electric vehicle chargers in the US from the second quarter of 2023. The plan comes after the company, an affiliate of the nation's second-largest conglomerate SK Group, revealed in October it was investing $15 million to acquire a new manufacturing facility in Plano, Texas. The plant, located on a 495,867-square-meter site, can produce 10,000 EV chargers with capac

Nov. 16, 2022

S. Korea's kimchi imports hit new high in Oct.

South Korea's imports of kimchi touched an all-time monthly high in October amid runaway inflation in the country, government data showed Wednesday. Inbound shipments of the spicy Korean traditional side dish stood at a record $17.02 million last month, up 50.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. It was also up 16.2 percent from the previous month and marked the first time for South Korea's monthly kimchi imports to surpass the $17 million

Nov. 16, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on profit-taking, geopolitical woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, despite overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors moved to lock in profits amid renewing geopolitical concerns in Europe. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 10.98 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,469.35 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.17 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.45 percent, after the United States' producer price index, a measure of wholesa

Nov. 16, 2022

Microsoft CEO discusses cooperation with SK, NCSoft chiefs

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday met with chiefs of SK Group, South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate, and NCSoft, the country’s game giant, to discuss future cooperation. According to industry sources familiar with the matter, Nadella sat down with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, SK Square CEO Park Jung-ho and NCSoft CEO Kim Taek-jin in Seoul. The Microsoft chief’s meeting with SK leaders was a sign of the continued partnership between the two sides. In 2019, Park, who

Nov. 15, 2022

Import price growth slows as BOK readies rate hike

South Korea’s import prices rose annually at their slowest pace in 15 months in October, fueling speculation over an inflation peak ahead of the central bank’s rate hike next week -- the last one for the year in the face of 24-year-high inflation. Preliminary data from the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday that import prices rose 19.8 percent, at the slowest rate since July 2021, though they edged up for the second straight month in October on higher energy import costs. The depreciating

Nov. 15, 2022