Online mall SSG.com picks IPO managers as it eyes 2022 listing

SSG.com, the e-commerce arm of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group, said Wednesday it has selected managers for its initial public offering with a goal to make a market debut in 2022. According to the officials, the company chose Mirae Asset Securities and Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities as the lead underwriters of its IPO deal, with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. also joining as members of the underwriter group. The exact size of the deal and the date of listing

Oct. 27, 2021

Starbucks to provide free barista training to youth

Starbucks Korea will provide free barista training to as many as 200 young job seekers next year, as part of a government project to tackle youth joblessness. The coffee chain inked a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Wednesday to participate in the ministry’s “Youth Employment Support Project.”  The project aims to promote companies to provide work experiences and various job training programs for young job seekers. Starbucks is

Oct. 27, 2021

Nexon’s Blue Archive: Mobile game for anime fans by anime fans

Never trust a skinny chef. The sentiment behind this tongue-in-cheek reference to a chef’s inability to resist his own delicious food applies to most professions, including game developers. Nexon’s Blue Archive, an anime-style role-playing game, immediately stole the hearts of anime fans after its February release in Japan, even ranking as the most popular game on both Google Play and App Store. Perhaps the game’s success was a predestined one, considering it was developed b

Oct. 27, 2021

[Avertising Awards] Dunamu’s campaign promotes sound digital asset market, investor protection

We are honored to receive the 2021 Korea Herald Advertising Awards with our “Appropriate Digital Asset Investment Campaign” by the Upbit Investor Protection Center. The Appropriate Digital Asset Investment Campaign is very meaningful in that it is the first official activity of the tentatively named, upcoming Upbit Investor Protection Center and the industry’s first mass campaign efforts to enhance self-purification. As a leader in the digital asset market, Dunamu has put va

Oct. 27, 2021

Kolmar Korea inks deal to purchase stake in local beauty platform operator

Kolmar Korea, a cosmetics and health care company based in Seoul, has made a strategic investment in a beauty platform operator in a bid to target Millennial and Generation Z consumers in the local beauty market. According to its announcement on Wednesday, the company purchased an 11 percent stake in Pawcompany. Established in 2003, Pawcompany operates online beauty community Powder Room. The platform currently has 3.7 million members and has held marketing projects with 5,400 beauty firms t

Oct. 27, 2021

S. Korea approves phase 2, 3 trials of Genencell’s COVID-19 treatment

South Korean biotech firm Genencell said Wednesday that the company received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for mid- and late-stage trials of its COVID-19 treatment candidate ES16001. ES16001 is an oral COVID-19 drug candidate made with natural ingredients extracted from the leaves of Elaeocarpus sylvestris native to Korea. Genencell has developed the treatment candidate in collaboration with the College of Life Sciences at Kyung Hee University. Genencell currently plans

Oct. 27, 2021

Changes in share ownership show power transitions in chaebol: survey

Descendants of South Korea’s conglomerate founders have inherited more shares and strengthened their control on the companies in recent years, data showed Wednesday, indicating a generational power transfer within the family-controlled businesses. According to local corporate tracker CEO Score, of all family-owned shares from 60 conglomerates, the percentage of the children’s shares in value surged to 43.6 percent as of October, up 9.7 percentage points from 33.9 percent in 2019. T

Oct. 27, 2021

[Advertising Awards] SK Innovation’s ‘ESG’ campaign embeds future vision

MARKETING AWARDS / GOLD PRIZE SK INNOVATION By Lim Su-kil Head of SK Innovation Value Creation Center SK Innovation pursues the “Green Balance 2030” initiative to seek growth through an eco-friendly business management strategy. We would like to express our gratitude to all who supported the public relations campaign “SK Innovation Going ESG.” As the ESG paradigm is becoming mainstream across the globe, a company that neglects environmental issues, hesitates to walk t

Oct. 27, 2021

LG Chem to set up battery separator plant in Hungary with Japan's Toray

LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's leading chemical company, said Wednesday it will build a battery separator production plant in Hungary with Japanese chemical giant Toray Industries Inc. as part of efforts to expand its presence in the European market. Under the 50:50 joint venture deal, the two companies will invest over a combined 1 trillion won ($854.7 million), aiming for annual production of 800 million square meters of separators, the key component used in rechargeable batteries, by 2028, LG C

Oct. 27, 2021

[Newsmaker] Once promising testbed, Seoul now a doomed city for e-scooters

One by one, electric scooter operators are leaving South Korea, once hailed as a perfect testbed for last-mile mobility innovation. According to industry sources Wednesday, German e-scooter operator Wind, which entered the Korean market in 2019, recently called it quits. Another e-scooter firm Gcooter halted services starting this month in three districts of Seoul -- Yeongdeungpo-gu, Dongjak-gu and Gwanak-gu -- where e-scooters are most frequently towed. As to why they are packing their bag

Oct. 27, 2021

[Advertising Awards] Following footprint of batteries to trace beginnings of LG Energy Solution

CORPORATE PR AWARDS / GRAND PRIZE LG Energy Solution By Sung Hwan-doo Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Affairs Group I want to say many thanks to the judges and members of The Korea Herald for this award. This year, LG Energy Solution made a new leap forward. And we are extremely happy to receive the Corporate PR Grand Prize at this crucial time when we are conveying our image as a company to the public for the first time. The secondary cell business has undoubtedly become one of

Oct. 27, 2021

Seoul stocks slump as investors take profit amid earnings peak-out worries

South Korean stocks retreated Wednesday as investors attempted to cash in gains amid concerns that the corporate earnings may wane after a strong third quarter. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 23.59 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 3,025.49 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 598 million shares worth some 10.1 trillion won (US$8.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 626 to 232. Foreigners sold a net 2

Oct. 27, 2021

LG Display posts strong Q3 earnings on robust panel demand, OLED biz

LG Display Co., South Korea's major display panel maker, said Wednesday that its third-quarter net income surged 4,067.5 percent from a year earlier to 463.5 billion won ($396.1 million), largely driven by strong demand and profitability of its OLED business. Operating income jumped 221.8 percent to 528.9 billion won in the three months ending in September, 17.3 percent lower than previously expected. Sales rose 7.2 percent on-year to 7.22 trillion won. Continued growth in pandemic-led demand

Oct. 27, 2021

Samsung’s Lee plays role in early supply of Moderna vaccine

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was behind Moderna’s decision to supply the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines manufactured here to the Korean government, industry sources claimed Wednesday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Tuesday it had authorized the domestic supply of 2.4 million doses to be finished at Samsung Biologics’ factory in Songdo, Incheon, from next month. The biopharmaceutical affiliate of Samsung has a deal with the US vaccine firm to &ldqu

Oct. 27, 2021

Korea’s potential growth rate may hit zero in following decade: report

With South Korea’s economic engine sputtering, the country’s potential growth rate may fall to zero in the following decade, a study showed Wednesday. According to research published by the Korea Economic Research Institute, most of the country’s macroeconomic indicators on production, consumption and investment cast a gloomy outlook. The country’s potential growth rate -- the maximum rate Asia’s fourth-largest economy could grow without triggering inflation --

Oct. 27, 2021

Public buses to offer 5G Wi-Fi by 2023

Public Wi-Fi provided in intra-city buses will be getting four times faster as it will be upgraded to 5G network service from the current LTE. Starting with 100 pilot buses, which started boasting faster connections on Wednesday, 29,000 buses nationwide will have 5G connections by 2023, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The speed of Wi-Fi currently available on public buses has a maximum speed of 100Mbps as it relies on LTE networks. It will increase to 400Mbps with the rollout of

Oct. 27, 2021

[News Focus] Outstanding mortgages may top 1,000 trillion won in 2022

SEJONG -- There is a possibility that the outstanding mortgages in the nation will surpass 1,000 trillion won ($856 billion) for the first time as early as in the first half of next year, given the current growth pace. The outstanding mortgage loans -- issued to households for home purchase by financial services firms or state-run agencies -- reached the record-high of 948 trillion won as of June, according to the Bank of Korea and Statistics Korea. This was a 27 percent, or 207 trillion won,

Oct. 27, 2021

S&P raises Hanwha General Insurance credit outlook to stable

Global credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings said Wednesday it raised the credit outlook of Hanwha General Insurance from negative to stable, citing its prospects for future high earnings. The agency kept the insurance company’s credit rating at A, the same as estimates from last year. “We project Hanwha General Insurance, together with Hanwha Life Insurance, to strengthen their abilities to pay off debt through high earnings in the next two years. The affiliates will be abl

Oct. 27, 2021

Voices of caution as Cabinet endorses new emissions goal

South Korea’s Cabinet on Wednesday endorsed a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from the 2018 level by 2030, sharply increasing the previous goal, set last year, of a 26.3 percent cut.  In response to the new goal, conservative experts and industry insiders are voicing caution.  At a seminar hosted by the Federation of Korea Industries on Wednesday, Park Ju-heon, professor of economics at Dongduk Women’s University said the energy transition should be

Oct. 27, 2021

AeroK to hire new staff without hair and makeup rules

South Korean low-cost carrier AeroK says it is hiring flight attendants and forgoing any hair and makeup requirements. The Cheongju-based airline, which launched its first scheduled flight earlier this year, said there are also no requirements in terms of academic background, appearance and age in its recent job postings. “We will not be asking for a photo during the document screening process and will only ask for foreign language skills and extracurricular activities during the first p

Oct. 27, 2021