Nongshim launches bakery snack brand Petit Paris

Nongshim Co. said it launched a “bakery snack” brand named Petit Paris, starting with a bread roll snack that tastes like French toast. The largest instant noodle and snack company in South Korea said it will introduce more products under the new brand as it pioneers the market for snacks with a soft texture and taste similar to that of bakery products. “As there is high consumer demand for bread, cakes and cookies, we expect Petit Paris bakery snacks to be popular as well. T

March 30, 2022

Hyundai Mobis bolsters software prowess for future mobility

Hyundai Mobis, the parts-making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said Wednesday it aims to bolster its software prowess in preparation for the future of transportation where software will enrich driver and passenger experiences. As part of its efforts, the firm has launched a four-week training course called “Mobis SW Academy,” which focuses on automotive software engineering and embedded software technology crucial for developing automotive parts. Job seekers can join the program, a

March 30, 2022

Korea mulls bigger tax cut on fuel

SEJONG -- Economic policymakers are reportedly mapping out measures to ease the burden of households and microbusiness owners, as the nation’s gasoline and diesel prices have surged in the wake of spiking international crude oil prices. A core interest in the market is whether the Ministry of Economy and Finance will decide to expand the rate of tax cut on fuel from the current discount. A Finance Ministry official was quoted by a news provider on Wednesday as saying that the government

March 30, 2022

SK hynix mulls consortium for Arm acquisition

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, is considering coinvesting in the acquisition of United Kingdom-based semiconductor design firm Arm by taking part in a consortium, its co-chief executive officer Park Jung-ho told reporters Wednesday. “We are considering coinvesting in Arm with other companies,” Park said in a briefing. “Arm plays a very important role in the international semiconductor ecosystem, and the ecosystem will not allow a single entity t

March 30, 2022

KT to debut disinfection robots in April

South Korean telecom carrier KT, having already launched several robots for hotels and restaurants, is now posed to debut new robots fighting virus infections, laying a basis for its foray into the service robot and rental services business. During a media event held Wednesday, the company said it plans to sell or rent up to 4,000 disinfection robots from April until the end of this year, targeting hospitals, government buildings and welfare facilities. Its autonomous robots, which come in t

March 30, 2022

'AI technology to halve new drug development period'

The technology of artificial intelligence will be used in every step of developing drugs to cut the time it takes to discover a new drug in half, the newly appointed leader of the Korea AI Center for Drug Discovery and Development said Wednesday. “Starting from designing candidate substances, AI technology can set up clinical trials based on biometric data and minimize uncertainty, time and cost by deriving the optimal patient group,” said Kim Woo-youn, head of KAICD at the Korea P

March 30, 2022

Cha Medical to build world’s largest CGT manufacturing facility

Cha Medical and Bio Group has officially begun the construction of Cell Gene Biobank, which is expected to be world’s largest single facility in the business of contract development and manufacturing organization for cell and gene therapy, the company said Wednesday. According to the company, it has invested 300 billion won ($248 million) into building CGB that features 10 stories above ground and four below ground to cover a total floor area of 66,115 square meters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi P

March 30, 2022

Hanmi Global wins plant operation deal from SK Nexilis

South Korean construction management firm Hanmi Global said Wednesday that it has won an order from SK Nexilis to manage the copper foil making unit of SKC Group’s new plant in Poland that has an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons.  Located in an industrial complex in Stalowa Wola, southeastern Poland, the plant will start mass production of copper foils – a key material for anode of electric vehicle batteries – from as early as 2014.  Under the deal, Hanmi

March 30, 2022

Hyundai Glovis introduces firefighting system for vehicles onboard cargo ships

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics arm of Hyundai Motor Group, said Wednesday that it has established a firefighting plan for vehicles that are transported on cargo ships, a customized system to prevent risk of fire caught on electric vehicles on board a vessel. According to the company, it will place special equipment such as fire cover and water mist nozzle at all of its car-carrying ships. By putting this specially-coated cloth on a vehicle caught fire, the flow of oxygen will instantly stop and

March 30, 2022

Regulator OKs SK hynix's acquisition of Key Foundry

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has decided to approve the deal by the country's major chipmaker SK hynix Inc. to buy a local foundry firm, Key Foundry. In October, SK hynix said it inked a deal to acquire a 100 percent stake in the 8-inch wafer foundry manufacturer for 575.8 billion won ($474.85 million) in a move to boost its presence in the non-memory sector. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it has approved the deal, as the takeover is not expected to hamper competitio

March 30, 2022

GM to add Tahoe SUV to S. Korean lineup next month

GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., said Wednesday it will add the Tahoe full-size SUV to its lineup next month to meet a rising demand for SUVs amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic. GM Korea will begin the delivery of the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV to South Korean customers in April, making Chevrolet the first brand in South Korea among domestic and imported brands with an SUV portfolio that ranges from the small to extra-large segments, the company said in a statement. The all-w

March 30, 2022

Asset managers' net up 67.1% on increased commission revenue

Asset management firms in South Korea saw their 2021 combined net earnings jump 67.1 percent from a year earlier thanks to a rise in commission revenue, data showed Wednesday. The combined net income of 348 firms came to 2.16 trillion won ($2.01 billion) last year compared with 1.3 trillion won a year earlier, according to the preliminary data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The rise came mostly from an increase in commission revenue from their fund management and investment

March 30, 2022

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had increased 13.99 points, or 0.51 percent, to reach 2,755.06 as of 9:17 a.m. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.84 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.97 percent, as investors pulled hopes of easing geopolitical tensions amid the Ukraine-Russia peace talks. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics went up 0.28 percent, and No.

March 30, 2022

Huawei to place R&D first

Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies pledged to put research and development as a top priority to weather uncertainties and maintain its business continuity, as its R&D expense reached the highest in a decade last year. “Both our R&D expense quantity and R&D expense ratio reached a 10–year high last year,” Karl Song, vice president of corporate communications at Huawei, told reporters in Seoul Tuesday. “The harder things get, the more we are investing in

March 30, 2022

KRX delays lifting trading halt on Osstem Implant

The Korea Exchange said Tuesday that it had decided to postpone its decision on whether to allow Osstem Implant to resume trading, after hours of deliberation that failed to reach consensus on the fate of the company, which had reported insider theft amounting to 221 billion won ($181 million). The largest dental implant maker in the Asia-Pacific region, which used to trade on the tech-heavy Kosdaq board, reported the theft on Jan. 3 and the KRX suspended trading that day.  A month l

March 29, 2022

Posco launches control tower for carbon neutrality goals

Posco said Tuesday it has launched a new committee to act as a control tower that supervises carbon neutrality efforts across affiliates and makes timely decisions under its goal of going carbon neutral by 2050. “Posco requires a prompt decision-making process to proactively respond to global needs for carbon neutrality efforts, as well as to accelerate our production system based on carbon neutrality goals by 2050,” said Posco Vice Chairman Kim Hag-dong, who leads the new committe

March 29, 2022

[Herald Interview] Samsung CEO’s apology over GOS throttling not enough: US lawyer

A public apology delivered by a Samsung Electronics CEO earlier this month and a software update are not enough to conciliate customers’ anger, a US attorney claimed, urging the tech giant to provide compensation. Customers are disappointed largely because Samsung sold devices that are not what they meant to be and not as premium as they were promoted in terms of phone and battery performance, said David Buchanan, a partner at Seeger Weiss in New Jersey who is suing Samsung on behalf of

March 29, 2022

IMF suggests to Korea to keep tight mortgage policy

SEJONG -- The International Monetary Fund has recommended South Korea keep practicing policies for tight mortgage regulations, showing a substantial difference from policy directions suggested by the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration. In a report on its yearly consultations with Korean officials, the IMF recommended that the government draw up “measures to improve housing supply.” But the US-based organization suggested that Korea keep on practicing policies of conducting tight

March 29, 2022

Yoon reaches out to business leaders over labor unions

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is set to meet soon with the country’s largest group of trading companies, his transition team said Tuesday, in a move largely seen as stepping up efforts to rebuild ties with big businesses and win support for his economic plan for private sector-led growth. The meeting will follow Yoon’s gathering last week with chiefs of Korea’s six major business groups, such as the Federation of Korean Industries. It highlights Yoon’s push to reverse pr

March 29, 2022

With first kimchi factory in US, Daesang gears up for global expansion

South Korean food giant Daesang Group has completed construction of the first kimchi factory in the US, setting up an overseas base not only to penetrate the local market but also to expand exports to Europe and Oceania. Located in the City of Industry in LA, home to industrial facilities from overseas with business links to Asian countries, the factory can produce 2,000 metric tons of kimchi annually. The company has invested 20 billion won ($16.4 million) for building production lines and w

March 29, 2022