Retailers cancel Halloween-themed events

Retailers called off a series of Halloween-themed marketing events following an overnight crowd surge that killed at least 153 people, among some 100,000 who turned up for Halloween festivities in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in central Seoul, late Saturday. Many retail companies here had planned to use Halloween to promote their products catering to young consumers, but events have quickly been canceled following the government’s announcement of a national mourning period throu

Oct. 30, 2022

Apologizing CEOs: New law that holds chiefs accountable for accidents has become biggest fear

Bowed heads, a mumbled apology and camera flashlights. The public apology issued last week by the head of South Korean food and beverage giant SPC was any businessperson's worst nightmare. Chairman Hur Young-in of the food and bakery giant apologized for the death of a 23-year-old worker who was crushed by a sauce mixing machine at a factory affiliated with SPC during an overnight shift. The chairman does not just face public humiliation and a nationwide boycott of his company’s product

Oct. 30, 2022

Budweiser to hold World Cup festival in November

US beer brand and official sponsor of the FIFA Qatar World Cup Budweiser is hosting a World Cup viewing event in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, in November, Korea distributor Oriental Brewery said Friday. Attendees can watch South Korea’s national football team play its group matches against Uruguay, Ghana and Portugal on Nov. 24, Nov. 28 and Dec. 2, respectively. The game will be streamed on a large screen, and cultural events including music and dance performances will be held on the sidel

Oct. 30, 2022

Nexon's Dungeon & Fighter Mobile: unique but true to original PC version

South Korean game developer Nexon's mobile game Dungeon & Fighter Mobile has been ranked within the top 10 for sales in the country’s two largest application markets -- Google Play and Apple’s Appstore -- for seven consecutive months since its launch in March. The game is a mobile adaptation of the company’s hit PC game released 17 years ago that recorded 850 million registered users worldwide and $18 billion in accumulative sales. The PC version also became the only S

Oct. 30, 2022

Hyundai Motor chief requests Slovakia’s support for Busan’s Expo bid

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun visited Slovakia to request its support for South Korean port city Busan’s bid to host the World Expo in 2030, to the auto giant said Sunday. Chung visited Slovakia on the leg of his European trip to meet country leaders. He met with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala last week. Slovakia holds a significant status as the chair country of Visegrad Group, a cultural and political alliance of four Central European countries that also includes Czec

Oct. 30, 2022

Korean electronic firms lag behind in renewable transition

South Korean electronics giants are facing calls to accelerate renewable transition and set up climate goals across the supply chain, despite earlier pledges to go carbon neutral across their operations. In a report Friday by environmental group Greenpeace and grassroots organization Stand.earth, Korean electronics goods sellers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics were ranked "F" in terms of progress toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, on the scale of "A" to "F.

Oct. 28, 2022

Seoul shares fall on lackluster tech earnings, Fed policy uncertainties

South Korean stocks snapped a two-day gaining streak to close lower Friday, as investor sentiment was hurt by lackluster earnings and dim guidance from major US tech companies, and uncertainties over the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, analysts said. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 20.38 points, or 0.89 percent, to 2,268.40. Trading volume was moderate at 420.3 million shares worth 8.15 trillion won ($5.73 billion) with

Oct. 28, 2022

Hyundai Motor chief asks Czech PM to support Busan 2030 Expo

Chung Euisun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, visited the Czech Republic to ask for the country's support for Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo, according to the carmaker on Friday. In the meeting with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Chung explained Busan’s competitiveness and the port city’s future vision for hosting the global event. “Busan Expo seeks nature-friendly life and technology innovation to prepare for a sustainable future and resolve global issue

Oct. 28, 2022

Daewoo E&C breaks ground for $500m commercial project in Vietnam

South Korean builder Daewoo E&C held a ground-breaking ceremony of Vietnam Hanoi Starlake B3CC1 Complex, a $500 million development project that involves two multipurpose 35-story buildings in the Vietnamese capital, on Wednesday. Spanning over 211,462 square meters of floor space, the complex will comprise a hotel and offices. Korean hotel chain Hotel Shilla will be responsible for the operations of the envisioned hotel. Dignitaries including Daewoo E&C CEO Baek Jung-wan and Hanoi Peopl

Oct. 28, 2022

Real estate speculation by foreigners on rise in S. Korea

South Korea will continue to look into suspicious real estate transactions by foreigners as a recent investigation found increasing illegalities involving foreigners' home purchases, the land ministry said Friday. The portion of suspicious home purchases by foreigners rose to 1.21 percent, or 6,772 cases, out of the country's total 560,000 suspicious cases this year through September, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The portion is already higher

Oct. 28, 2022

BOK announces rate-setting meeting schedule for next year

The Bank of Korea will hold its rate-setting meeting a total of eight times in 2023, with the year's first gathering of monetary policymakers set for Jan. 13, the central bank said Friday. The meeting will also be held Feb. 23, April 13, May 25, July 13, Aug. 24, Oct. 19 and Nov. 30, according to the schedule uploaded on the website of the BOK. The BOK's rate-setting meeting draws keen attention as it determines the level of its key policy rate that serves as a benchmark for market rat

Oct. 28, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on dim US tech earnings, Fed uncertainties

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, weighed by lackluster earnings and forecasts from major US tech companies, with uncertainties hanging over the Federal Reserve's next move for monetary policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 3.7 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,285.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks ended mixed Thursday amid mixed economic data and earnings reports that included downbeat forecasts by big tech companies, including Meta Platforms, Fa

Oct. 28, 2022

S. Korean GDP growth sags as exports falter

The South Korean economy grew at its slowest pace in a year in the third quarter despite beating market expectations, as poor net exports offset consumption and investment, the Bank of Korea’s advance estimate showed Thursday. The country’s gross domestic product -- the value of all goods and services created -- grew 0.3 percent in July-September from the previous quarter, slowing from a 0.7 percent gain in April-June. Annually, the economic output posted a 3.1 percent increase in Ju

Oct. 27, 2022

Hyundai Motor Group to promote Busan’s 2030 Expo bid in Latin America

Hyundai Motor Group will launch promotional activities in Latin America to support South Korean port city Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo, the carmaker said Thursday. According to the company, Hyundai Motor President and CEO Chang Jae-hoon will visit three Latin American countries – the Bahamas, Chile and Paraguay – and meet high-level government officials to explain Busan's competitiveness and the port city’s future vision for hosting the global event. The Latin

Oct. 27, 2022

Daewoo E&C submits letter of intent to acquire Kaduna refinery rehabilitation project in Nigeria

South Korean builder Daewoo E&C and its Nigerian counterpart signed a letter of intent to rehabilitate an oil refinery in the African country with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in attendance. The letter of intent signed by the Daewoo E&C CEO Baek Jung-wan and the Group CEO of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Mele Kyari is aimed at reoperating the Kaduna refinery located at Chikun, Kaduna, Nigeria, capable of producing up to 110,000 barrels of petroleum per day. The plant h

Oct. 27, 2022

Samsung's operating profit falls 30% amid grim outlook

Samsung Electronics' operating profits dropped by more than 30 percent on year, despite record sales, amid the weakening business environment in the semiconductor sector. According to Samsung Electronics on Thursday, the company logged 76.78 trillion won ($54 billion) in sales and 10.85 trillion won in operating profits in the third quarter. The company’s device solutions unit, which is in charge of Samsung’s chip businesses, saw its operating profits almost halve to 5.12 trillion wo

Oct. 27, 2022

Home prices fall to continue into 1st half of 2023: KDI

SEJONG -- Negative growth in the nation’s home prices expanded during the third quarter, compared to the previous quarter, in the wake of rapid rate hikes, the Korea Development Institute said Thursday. The state-run think tank, in its recent report, predicted the decline in home prices will continue through the first half of next year. But it raised a possibility of a different phase starting from the second half of 2023. It said the average trading price of homes in the Greater Seoul a

Oct. 27, 2022

Science Ministry mulls guideline for Kakao to compensate free-service users

The Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday that it is mulling writing a guideline on how tech giant Kakao should compensate its free-service users who suffered damages during its service outage earlier this month. The government hopes that the guideline, which would be the first of its kind, would help expedite the compensation process under a "first compensate" principle, a ministry official told Yonhap. This comes after Kakao Chief Executive Officer Hong Eun-taek said the company

Oct. 27, 2022

Lee Jae-yong’s succession completes generational shift in Korea's chaebol circle

Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong’s promotion to executive chairman on Thursday completes the generational power shift among South Korea’s four major chaebols. Lee, 54, is a third-generation chaebol scion, like Hyundai Motor's Chung Euisun who is two years younger. SK's Chey Tae-won is the eldest son of the group founder's brother, while LG's Koo Kwang-mor is a fourth-generation chaebol leader. Chey, 61, assumed the top position at the relatively early age of 38, after his fath

Oct. 27, 2022

Why Poland is buying S. Korean jets, tanks, howitzers

The South Korean defense industry sold over 21 trillion won ($14.7 billion) worth of defense systems and weapons to Poland this year, double that of Seoul's total defense exports in last year alone. The value of the deals clinched by top defense companies Hanwha Defense, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Hyundai Rotem this year was two times more than the $7.2 billion in weapons South Korea exported globally in 2021, according to market data and news reports. The order list includes 4

Oct. 27, 2022