Korea launches global green industries conference in Busan

The annual Global Green Hub Korea 2024 conference, organized by the Environment Ministry in collaboration with the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute, commenced Wednesday at BEXCO, Busan. Scheduled activities over the three-day conference include a panel discussion on international green goals, private export counseling sessions, briefings on overseas green projects and meetings focused on intergovernmental cooperation, according to Environment Ministry officials. The globa

Sept. 4, 2024

[Photo News] Supporting Korea-US-Japan dialogue

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun (center) speaks during the second Trilateral Executive Dialogue, or TED, a leadership seminar between South Korea, the United States and Japan, held at Grand Hyatt Seoul on Wednesday. Hyundai Motor Group sponsored this year's TED, which gathered some 100 key figures from the three countries’ governments, assemblies and corporations to discuss strategic trade and investment, biotechnology security, energy cooperation, and the role of tec

Sept. 4, 2024

GS E&C keen to improve profitability, spur growth

South Korea’s leading construction company GS Engineering & Construction is ramping up efforts to enhance financial stability and spur growth in key growth drivers. Currently, GS E&C is exploring various strategic options, including stake sales in its subsidiaries such as GS Inima Environment and GS Elevator, as part of efforts to secure cash for growth. GS Inima Environment, a global water treatment and purification company based in Spain, is a notable asset within GS E&C�

Sept. 4, 2024

Nvidia sell-off drags down Samsung, SK hynix shares

Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix saw their stock prices tumble Wednesday, following a plunge in Nvidia shares overnight. Nvidia, the world's leading graphic processing unit supplier, continues to experience increased volatility as it faces an antitrust probe and growing fears that the recent artificial intelligence bubble may be about to burst. Having the GPU giant as a major client for advanced AI chip components, it is inevitable for the nation’s top two chipmakers

Sept. 4, 2024

Seoul shares fall over 3% on concerns of economic slowdown

South Korean shares dipped to a month low Wednesday as concerns of an economic slowdown weighed down investor sentiment. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 83.83 points, or 3.15 percent, to close at 2,580,80. Trade volume was heavy at 448.8 million shares worth 11.2 trillion won ($8.35 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 859 to 51. Foreign investors offloaded 986 billion won worth of local shares, becoming net seller

Sept. 4, 2024

Banks, blue-chips tipped for Value-up Index

With South Korea's sole bourse operator set to introduce this month a stock index comprised of Korean companies well complying with the government-led corporate value-up program, the market expects bank shares and large-cap stocks to make the list. As part of the value-up program announced earlier this year, Korea Exchange is to launch the Korea Value-up Index in September, enlisting “best practice” companies to boost the appeal of the local stock market. Though the bourse opera

Sept. 4, 2024

[KH Explains] Marrying your virtual partner? Era of AI companionship dawns

Every morning, Jung-in wakes up to her AI boyfriend Tae-joo's video call, telling her she has 30 minutes to prepare for work before her bus comes. As she hurries out the door, Tae-joo smiles and calls out, "Take your umbrella with you, it's raining today!" Tae-joo in real life has fallen into a coma, and Jung-in restored her comatose boyfriend as an astronaut in this virtual world called Wonderland. With AI Tae-ju always accessible inside her smartphone and TV screens, Jung-i

Sept. 4, 2024

LG Innotek to showcase next-gen chip substrates at KPCA 2024

LG Innotek said Wednesday it is showcasing its innovative semiconductor substrates at this week's KPCA Show 2024, held at the Songdo Convensia in Incheon, from Wednesday to Friday. The KPCA Show is the largest annual exhibition of printed circuit board and electronic packaging, hosted by the Korea PBC and the Korea Printed Circuit Association for 21 years. LG Innotek plans to unveil its package substrate and tape substrate products along with high-value semiconductor substrates, called Flip

Sept. 4, 2024

Incheon Airport, Trip.com join hands to win back Chinese tourists

Incheon International Airport Corporation said Wednesday it has signed a mutual partnership with Trip.com Group, a global one-stop travel service provider, to lure more Chinese travelers to Korea. The signing event was attended by Lee Hag-jae, president and CEO of Incheon International Airport, and Edison Chen, vice president of global destination marketing and public relations at Trip.com Group, at the Inspire Entertainment Resort in Incheon on Tuesday. Under the agreement, the two companies

Sept. 4, 2024

SK chief discusses chips, energy, AI cooperation with US senators

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won discussed ways to bolster economic cooperation between South Korea and the United States with a group of US senators on Tuesday in Seoul and asked them for bipartisan efforts to support Korean companies, the Korean conglomerate said Wednesday. “SK Group has been setting up semiconductor ecosystems in both Korea and the US, and through this, we will be able to contribute to strengthening the two countries’ (artificial intelligence) leadership,” sai

Sept. 4, 2024

SK Telecom, Perplexity team up for AI-powered search engine

SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest wireless carrier by membership, announced Wednesday a partnership with Silicon Valley-based AI search unicorn Perplexity to revolutionize traditional keyword-based search into a more dynamic, conversational experience. With the conversational AI market projected to expand from $13.2 billion in 2024 to $49.9 billion by 2030, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas and its sole Korean partner SK Telecom revealed their collaborative ambitions at a joint press confere

Sept. 4, 2024

Golfzon launches hybrid indoor golf course in China

Golfzon, Korea's leading screen golf operator, said Wednesday that it launched its new City Golf hybrid indoor course in Tianjin, China. This new platform offers an 18-hole golf experience by merging virtual screen golf with actual greens, under the motto "a premium golf course that can be enjoyed in cities." City Golf allows players to tee up and approach shots on a screen, after which the screen opens to enable play on real greens. Depending on the hole, players can also make ap

Sept. 4, 2024

Celltrion's Stelara biosimilar receives approval in UK

South Korean biosimilar giant Celltrion announced Wednesday that Steqeyma, the company's biosimilar referencing Stelara, has been approved in the UK, following earlier approvals by Korea, Canada and the European Commission this year. According to the company, Steqeyma has received approval from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency for its uses in all indications of reference product Stelara, including psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative coli

Sept. 4, 2024

S. Korean shares open sharply lower on Wall Street losses

South Korean shares opened sharply lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 60.72 points, or 2.28 percent, to 2,603.91 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1.51 percent to close at 40,936.93, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 3.26 percent. Tech giants, including Nvidia and Intel, led the decline as the lower-than-expected US manufacturing purchasing managers index (

Sept. 4, 2024

Foreign reserves up for 2nd month in Aug. on weak dollar

South Korea's foreign reserves increased for the second straight month in August on the back of the increased value of non-US dollar assets and investment gains, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's foreign reserves had come to $415.92 billion as of end-August, up $2.41 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The central bank attributed the increase to a rise in the converted value of non-dollar assets amid the weak greenback an

Sept. 4, 2024

BOK chief says time to consider rate cut as inflation cools

Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said Tuesday the time has come to "sufficiently consider" a rate cut as the nation's consumer inflation cooled. "In terms of stability of consumer prices, it is time to sufficiently consider lowering a benchmark interest rate," Rhee told reporters at a forum in Seoul. Rhee said the central bank would review an "appropriate timing" for a rate cut, in his strongest signal yet about a policy pivot. In a meeting of the parliamen

Sept. 3, 2024

Posco invests $40m to enhance graphite supply chain

Posco International, the trading and energy arm of Posco Group, announced Tuesday that it has signed a $40 million contract with Australian mining company Black Rock Mining to secure natural graphite, a key material for secondary batteries. The signing event was held on the sidelines of the joint annual meeting between the Australia-Korea Business Council and the Korea-Australia Business Council in Perth, Australia, Tuesday. The event was attended by Korea’s Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo, A

Sept. 3, 2024

AmCham partners with Tools for Humanity for privacy protection

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea joined hands with Tools for Humanity, the developer of Worldcoin, to stress the importance of personal data protection in the era of artificial intelligence. On Tuesday, the two entities signed a memorandum of understanding at a ceremony held in Seoul, agreeing to launch the “#IAmHuman” campaign here, highlighting the importance of safeguarding personal identity within an AI-driven economy. “The partnership is focused on promoting the p

Sept. 3, 2024

Agriculture expo offers glimpse into the future of rural areas

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will open “Korea Agri Expo 2024,” the largest agricultural exposition in the country, at aT Centre in Seoul on Thursday for a four-day run. Marking its sixth year, this annual event has been a platform for showcasing the diverse value and growth potential of agriculture and rural regions since its inception in 2019, ministry officials said Tuesday. Last year's exposition drew significant interest, attracting approximately 94,00

Sept. 3, 2024

Daewoo E&C, CSCEC team up for global infrastructure projects

Daewoo Engineering & Construction said Tuesday it has signed a strategic partnership with China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the world’s largest construction company by revenue, to team up on international projects. The signing event was held Monday at the CSCEC’s headquarters in Beijing, where Daewoo E&C Chairman Jung Won-ju and CSCEC International Operations Chairman Gao Bo were present. Founded in 1957, CSCEC has held the top position in US weekly ENR's

Sept. 3, 2024