58 more firms added to antitrust watch list

SEJONG -- South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has added 58 new businesses to the list of companies affiliated with large business groups under tight supervision. The total number of affiliates on the Fair Trade Commission watch list reached 2,887 as of end-October, compared with 2,886 tallied three months earlier. Over the period, 57 companies were removed from the list following a merger, separation and other issues. SK Group added 11 additional companies under its wing, foll

Nov. 8, 2022

MSCI chairman says S. Korea needs more 'action' to join MSCI's watch list of developed markets

South Korea needs to show significant action to make MSCI's watch list of countries with developed market status, the chief of the global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International has said. Every June, the MSCI reclassifies its watch list of advanced markets, based on the countries' economic development, size and liquidity of equity markets, and market accessibility for foreign investors. If South Korea is added to this watch list, it would then be eligible for a review to jo

Nov. 8, 2022

Seoul shares open higher ahead of US inflation data

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, as investors await the release of US inflation data due out later this week that could offer clues about the Federal Reserve's path forward in its interest rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.79 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,382.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks ended higher Monday, on the eve of the midterm elections, with the prospect of the Republicans likely to control at least one cham

Nov. 8, 2022

Sept. current account turns to surplus, sharply drops on-year amid high import, travel bills

South Korea posted a current account surplus in September, swinging from the previous month's shortfall, but it was much smaller than a year earlier as import bills remained high and outbound travel grew due to eased pandemic-related curbs, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's current account surplus came to $1.61 billion in September, compared with a deficit of a revised $3.05 billion a month earlier, which marked the first shortfall since April, according to the preliminar

Nov. 8, 2022

FSS plays down spillover risk amid shrinking liquidity

South Korea’s financial watchdog said Monday preparations are underway to deal with shrinking liquidity but the recent signs of credit strains are not a prelude to a full-blown crisis, such as the 1997 Asian financial crisis or the 2008 global financial crisis. A default reported by a state-backed local developer in early October had led to signs of a decline in liquidity in the bond and short-term money markets, prompting the government to inject at least 50 trillion won ($35.8 billion) i

Nov. 7, 2022

SK Telecom CEO vows all-out transformation to become AI leader

South Korea’s largest telecommunications carrier SK Telecom will undergo a head-to-toe transformation to become a leading artificial intelligence company, the CEO said Monday. “We will leap into SKT’s version of a distinguished AI company that combines AI with connective technologies based on our main business of telecommunications,” said SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang in a town hall meeting with employees to mark the one-year anniversary of his inauguration. In order to u

Nov. 7, 2022

Biz groups step up pressure for corporate tax breaks

Major business lobby groups on Monday urged the National Assembly to swiftly approve a corporate tax reduction bill that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration introduced in July to help local businesses better respond to widespread fears of an economic recession on time. The nation’s six business groups, led by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, released a joint statement contending that the new measure should be implemented within this year for it to be effective by the second half of

Nov. 7, 2022

Digital capability guarantees stable tax revenue: NTS chief

SEJONG -- The chief of Korea’s tax administrative agency said Monday that the transition to a non-face-to-face economy during the COVID-19 pandemic further increased the importance of digital-based tax administration. National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Chang-ki stressed the digitization of tax administration during the second South Korea-South and Central Americas Digital Tax Administration Forum, which kicked off on the day and is scheduled to run through Thursday at a hotel in Seoul.

Nov. 7, 2022

ASML CEO to visit Seoul next week

Dutch chip equipment giant ASML Holding’s CEO Peter Wennink will visit South Korea next week to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the company’s new Korean headquarters, located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, that aims to bolster responsiveness to local client demands. Korea is home to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the world’s top two memory chipmakers, which take up more than 30 percent of ASML’s total sales. For the new facilities, the Dutch firm will spend a to

Nov. 7, 2022

Unity poised to help creating innovative games

Unity Technologies, developer of world-leading 3D graphics engines, discussed ways to improve the optimization and convenience for creators using its game-making tools at its annual Unite conference, the company’s Korea branch said Monday. The in-person Unite 2022 conference took place in Austin, Brighton in England, Copenhagen in Denmark, Montreal and San Francisco on Tuesday as it was also virtually open for all developers across the world. Headquartered in the US, Unity operates the wor

Nov. 7, 2022

Naver CEO voices confidence in data backup

Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon on Monday underscored the IT giant’s data stability, pointing out that the company’s services are being provided soundly. “Established in 2013, data center Gak (Chuncheon) plays a linchpin role in offering (Naver’s) various services stably. With the high level of data backup and mirroring measures, we were able to normalize our services within a few hours in the wake of the recent fire at (SK C&C’s) data center,” said Choi in a conf

Nov. 7, 2022

Hyundai Glovis to enter EV battery recycling market

Hyundai Glovis is entering the fast-growing recycling market for used electric vehicle batteries by developing a renewable energy complex and power grid models in Shinan-gun, South Jeolla Province, the company said Monday. Joining hands with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Sinan County Office and LS Electric, the company will set up energy storage systems using used batteries next year to help the eco-friendly transition of the county’s fuel-based power plant. Glovis said its ESS technolo

Nov. 7, 2022

Hanwha to complete on-site inspection on DSME this month

South Korea's defense-to-energy conglomerate Hanwha Group is expected to complete on-site inspection on Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering this month, with plans to finish the acquisition process within the first half of next year, industry sources said Monday. Hanwha began inspection on DSME last month, but had extended the original four-week long period to six weeks, citing its need to thoroughly analyze DSME’s status and competitiveness in the market. The shipbuilder has

Nov. 7, 2022

Daesang to launch JV in Poland for kimchi production

South Korea's leading kimchi maker Daesang said Monday it signed an agreement with a Polish food company to establish a joint venture to sell kimchi in Europe. Named "Daesang ChPN Europe," the joint venture will be 76 percent owned by Daesang and 24 percent owned by Charsznickie Pola Natury (ChPN), a Polish food product distributor. The new entity will be launched in January, next year. With this joint effort, Daesang said its popular kimchi brand Jongga will be able to enter the

Nov. 7, 2022

US expansion matter of when, not if: Samsung Biologics

  Samsung Biologics, the world's leading contract development and manufacturing organization by production capacity, is reviewing overseas expansion options with a determined will to set up a production foothold in the US in the future. "The US expansion is happening eventually. It's not about 'if.' It's about 'when,'" James Park, Samsung Biologics’ chief business officer, told a group of reporters last week at the Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Frankfurt, Germ

Nov. 7, 2022

Naver Q3 net income down 28.2% to W231.6b

Naver Corp. on Monday reported its third-quarter net income of 231.6 billion won ($163.2 million), down 28.2 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 330.2 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 349.8 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 19.1 percent to 2.05 trillion won. The earnings fell behind market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 298.8 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax,

Nov. 7, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on tech, auto gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on strong advances by tech and auto heavyweights. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had increased 14.59 points, or 0.62 percent, to 2,363.02 points as of 9:15 a.m. Tech and auto giants led the KOSPI's hike after a media report that the chair of Boeing Co. met with top officials of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group and Hanwha Solutions to discuss new business cooperation. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.18 percent. To

Nov. 7, 2022

[Exclusive] Legoland Korea operator confident on future investment

Legoland Korea Resort, a theme park in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province that opened in May in partnership with a local developer, does not plan to cut back on its operations and will fund any further expansion itself, regardless of the developer’s recent default, the UK-based attractions operator Merlin Entertainments told The Korea Herald last week. “Any plans Merlin has for future investment are wholly financed by itself,” a spokesperson for Merlin said in an email. But whether th

Nov. 6, 2022

LS Electric seeks to bolster cooperation with Thailand

South Korean power solutions producer LS Electric said Friday that a Thai delegation, led by Ambassador to Korea Witchu Vejajiva, recently visited its smart factory in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and discussed ways to bolster business cooperation. During the visit on Thursday, the ambassador was accompanied by Nithi Patarachoke, president of Siam Cement Group, Thailand’s second-largest business group specializing in construction, chemistry and packaging. The Cheongju factory prod

Nov. 6, 2022

Core consumer inflation hits 21-year high

The core consumer price index, an inflation barometer that measures consumer prices excluding food and energy, has increased by the largest margin in 21 years. Statistics Korea’s all items index logged 106.09 as of October this year, up 3.5 percent from the previous year’s January-to-October period. It was also the largest jump on year in 14 years. The index is an OECD standard for core inflation, which excludes food and energy because those prices are more volatile due to seasonal a

Nov. 6, 2022