KCCI chief willing to join Yoon’s corporate agenda setting

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who doubles as head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on Wednesday showed high expectations about the private sector playing a bigger role in the agenda-setting process of the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government. “I think it may be the time to rethink the role of the private sector,” Chey told reporters in an interview marking his first anniversary as the chief of the nation’s largest business lobby. “In the past, the governm

March 24, 2022

Posco breaks ground on lithium plant in Argentina

Posco Holdings said Thursday that construction of a plant in Argentina kicked off to commercialize lithium, a key material for electric vehicle battery production.  With the lithium extraction plant in Argentina and Posco’s mining rights in the South American country, the company will be able to entirely manage production of lithium hydroxide, which is used in the production of cathode material for lithium-ion EV batteries. Lithium is extracted from brine or seawater, which is rich

March 24, 2022

Seoul shares down on high global oil prices, Ukraine woes

South Korean stocks fell to end its two-day winning streak Thursday as investors weighed a fresh spike in global oil prices and lingering geopolitical concerns surrounding Ukraine. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 5.39 points, or 0.20 percent, to close at 2,729.66 points. Trading volume was moderate at 927.75 million shares worth some 11.48 trillion won ($9.42 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 479 to 361. The Seoul s

March 24, 2022

[From the Scene] Has frenzy for Chanel died down? Shoppers say rarity factor has faded

Until just a couple of months ago, long lines in front of department store entries connected to Chanel were crowded with shoppers eager to grab bags priced at some 10 million won ($8,200). Some brought their own chairs for a more comfortable wait, while others set up tents to stay warm the night before. But the desire to get hold of luxury fashion items accentuated with the signature Chanel mark, however, appears to be losing steam. It seems an “open run,” a local shopping term refe

March 24, 2022

BOK chief nominee vows balanced policy against growing inflation risks

South Korea’s central bank chief nominee Rhee Chang-yong on Thursday pledged to carry out a balanced monetary policy as the nation deals with a growing economy and inflation risks. Rhee, director of the Asia and Pacific department at the International Monetary Fund, and tapped by outgoing President Moon Jae-in as the next Bank of Korea governor, expressed concerns of existing external uncertainties -- including the Russia-Ukraine crisis -- that have been fueling high inflationary pressure

March 24, 2022

SK Biopharmaceuticals working on seizure detection device: CEO

SK Biopharmaceuticals is in the process of developing a new device that can record brain activities to sense signs of seizure as part of the company’s efforts in strengthening its digital therapeutics, CEO Cho Jeong-woo said Thursday. “The drive for digital therapeutics means that we are working on developing AI-driven platforms for new drugs based on the data that we have compiled over the last 30 years of our expertise in (central nervous system),” said Cho in an online pre

March 24, 2022

SK ecoplant to break ground on Norway’s biggest road project

SK ecoplant, the construction arm under SK Group, will kick off a $2.2 billion road construction project in Norway this year, becoming the first South Korean builder to enter the Nordic market. The company said Thursday it has recently signed a financial close and a concession agreement with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration for building the Rv555 Sotra Connection, a four-lane road that connects Bergen and Oygarden. The Public Private Partnership (PPP) deal marks the largest single con

March 24, 2022

SPC opens two more Paris Baguette stores in Indonesia

SPC Group said on Thursday it has opened its third Paris Baguette store in Jakarta, Indonesia, and will open a fourth one in nearby Bekasi later this month. The latest bakery cafe opening comes just four months after the South Korean bakery giant opened its first Paris Baguette store in Indonesia in November last year in Jakarta’s Ashta District 8 shopping mall. The third store is located in the center of the ground floor of Pondok Indah Mall, one of Jakarta’s five largest premium

March 24, 2022

LG Energy Solution commits $2b for North America expansion

South Korea’s battery maker LG Energy Solution on Thursday announced plans to build a 4.8 trillion-won ($4.1 billion) lithium-ion battery plant in Ontario, Canada with carmaker Stellantis and a 1.7 trillion-won cylindrical battery plant in Arizona, a first of its kind in the United States. To support the plan, LG Energy Solution approved a combined capital commitment of $2 billion over the course of the construction, which gained board approval Wednesday, showed filings with the Financial

March 24, 2022

Samsung chief’s mother sells stakes to pay taxes

Hong Ra-hee, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s mother, reportedly sold her shares in the company worth 1.3 trillion won ($1.06 billion) in a block trade Wednesday, the latest stake sale by the Samsung family being carried out apparently to pay inheritance taxes. According to industry sources on Thursday, Hong entrusted the sale of her 0.33 percent stake in Samsung Electronics to KB Bank in September last year and the stake was sold in a block deal through Morgan Stanley an

March 24, 2022

Court temporarily suspends punishment imposed on Hana chairman-nominee

The Seoul High Court on Thursday temporarily suspended the punishment imposed by financial authorities on Hana Financial Group Chairman-nominee Ham Young-joo for improper sales of derivatives-linked products. The decision follows Ham’s move last week to file an appeal against a lower court’s ruling that found him guilty of the charges. The Seoul High Court accepted an injunction to delay the implementation of the Financial Services Commission’s punishment, imposed in 2020,

March 24, 2022

FSS chief urges insurers to beef up loss reserves amid growing uncertainty

South Korea's financial regulator called Thursday for local insurers to increase their loan loss reserves as part of efforts to better cope with potential risks facing the industry amid increasing financial market uncertainty. Jeong Eun-bo, head of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the call in a meeting with top officials of insurance firms in Seoul and voiced worries that there are signs for a "perfect storm," citing the US's move to tighten monetary policy and the fallout

March 24, 2022

Hyundai Motor chairman reelected as executive director

Shareholders of Hyundai Motor Co. have reelected Chairman Euisun Chung as executive director for another three years, the company said Thursday. Chung will begin his extended director role on April 1 to lead the South Korean automotive group's transition into the provider of future mobility solutions, such as autonomous driving and electric vehicles, Hyundai said. The chairman's three-year directorship at Hyundai Mobis Co. ends in February 2023. He is expected to be reelected as executive direct

March 24, 2022

Posco breaks ground on lithium plant in Argentina

South Korean steel giant Posco said Thursday it has broken ground on a lithium hydroxide plant in Argentina. The $830 million project calls for the establishment of the plant near the Salar del Hombre Muerto salt lake in northern Argentina, with an annual production capacity of 25,000 tons of lithium hydroxide. The plant is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024, and the capacity is enough to meet demand from 600,000 electric vehicles, according to Posco. The annual output will be ex

March 24, 2022

S. Korea's snack exports hit record high last year

South Korea's exports of snacks hit a record high last year on the back of demand by stay-at-home consumers amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of the Korean pop culture, customs data showed Thursday. Exports of snacks came to an all-time high of $466 million last year, up 13.1 percent from a year earlier and extending their gains to the second straight year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Snack shipments also rose 16.6 percent to $75 million in the first tw

March 24, 2022

[Graphic News] Grain import prices soar 47% over 2 years

　South Korea’s import prices of grain has jumped nearly 50 percent over the past two years to a near nine-year high amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Prices of imported grains came to $386 per ton in February, up 26 percent from a year earlier and 47.4 percent from two years earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. 　The February per-ton import price represented the highest level since it reached $388 in May 2013. 　Last mon

March 24, 2022

IMF director calls new BOK chief nominee an outstanding institutional leader

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday hailed the nomination of a South Korean IMF official, Rhee Chang-yong, to be the head of South Korea's central bank, calling him an outstanding leader and champion of analytical rigor. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Rhee will step down as director of the Asia and Pacific Department (APD) early next month to be considered for his new role as governor of the Bank of Korea. "Since joining the Fund in February 2014,

March 24, 2022

SK E&S acquires US EV charging platform operator

SK E&S Co., the natural gas provider under South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Thursday it has acquired a US electric vehicle (EV) charging platform operator as part of its push for green energy business. The acquisition of EverCharge Inc., a California-based startup, also included the takeover of its management, the company said in a release, without disclosing the details of the transaction. SK E&S said in a regulatory filing that it is investing $400 million in its US subsidiary

March 24, 2022

Seoul stocks open lower on Wall Street tumbles, inflation woes

South Korean shares opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, led by declines in big-cap tech and auto shares, amid rising woes over inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had shed 18.15 points, or 0.66 percent, to reach 2,716.90 as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, the US stock market tumbled amid renewed concerns over rising energy prices and inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.29 percent, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.23 percent. On

March 24, 2022

Nat'l brand positively impacts foreign buyers' purchases of Korean goods: poll

Nearly 7 in 10 foreign buyers think that South Korea's national brand is having a positive impact on their purchases of products from Asia's fourth-largest economy, a poll showed Thursday. According to the survey of 213 foreign buyers, 72.9 percent of the respondents replied that their imports of South Korean goods have been affected positively by the country's national brand. Slightly over 25.4 percent said South Korean products remind them of high quality, followed by reasonable prices with 16

March 24, 2022