Seoul shares open lower on tech, auto losses

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday despite overnight gains on Wall Street as big-cap tech stocks started off weak. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 24.58 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,767.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street closed higher, mainly driven by megacap tech shares' performance. But Micron Technology declined after earnings results failed to meet investors' expectations. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.74 pe

June 27, 2024

Kumho's EV tire wins acclaim in Europe

South Korean tire maker Kumho Tire said Wednesday its electric vehicle tire product, Ecsta HS52, has been recognized for its high-quality technology by the European automotive magazines ADAC and Auto Bild. ADAC and Auto Bild are two of the most influential automotive magazines in Europe and globally, known for their content on cars and related products, as well as their extensive performance testing. Kumho Tire’s Ecsta HS52 received a "good" rating from ADAC in their summer tire

June 26, 2024

SK Pharmteco in talks to sell Virginia plant to Novo Nordisk

SK Pharmteco, a contract development manufacturing organization affiliated with SK Group, is considering selling its manufacturing plant in Virginia to Danish pharmaceuticals company Novo Nordisk, according to industry sources Wednesday. The Petersburg, Virginia plant is an active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing facility that encompasses over 600,000 square meters and has 188 cubic meters of capacity. SK Pharmteco has operated the facility since it acquired it from Ampac Fine Chemicals i

June 26, 2024

[Best Brand] Brand power for evolving-market

Brand power refers to the influence the name holds over the spending behavior of consumers, which can also be used to predict future spending patterns. Merely offering a good-quality product based on decades of expertise no longer entices the fickle consumers. This, on the other hand, also means there is more opportunity for lesser-known products with innovative marketing strategies to quickly advance into markets once dominated by conventional brands. Since 1994, The Korea Herald has been relea

June 26, 2024

JungKwanJang to hit Sprouts Farmers Market shelves in US

Korea Ginseng Corporation announced Wednesday that it has signed a contract with US supermarket chain Sprouts Farmers Market to distribute its health supplement products under its red ginseng brand JungKwangJang in the US. Sprouts Farmers Market is a supermarket chain headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The company offers a wide selection of natural and organic foods at its 415 offline stores in the US, and its annual sales reach some 9 trillion won ($6.4 billion), according to KGC. “Improv

June 26, 2024

Seoul shares end higher driven by tech gains

Seoul shares closed higher Wednesday as big-cap tech shares gained ground tracking a US tech rebound. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index increased 17.66 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,792.05. Trade volume was moderate at 524.6 million shares worth 11.02 trillion won ($7.9 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 510 to 355. Foreigners purchased 502.6 billion won worth of shares, offsetting retail investors and institutions' sale o

June 26, 2024

Parties rush to roll out competing chip bills with heftier incentives

South Korea’s rival parties are introducing stronger chipmaking support bills to boost the domestic semiconductors industry, sharing the consensus that existing policies are not sufficient for Korean chipmakers to compete against global rivals backed by massive financial grants. On Tuesday, Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea introduced a bill that involves a whopping 100 trillion won ($72 billion) subsidy program. Kim's proposal seeks to extend an exis

June 26, 2024

Mirae Asset Securities bolsters global expansion with India, Europe push

Mirae Asset Securities, South Korea's largest stock brokerage company, has been achieving feats in global markets through localization schemes coupled with strategic takeovers of local players. As of March this year, it operates a total of 12 overseas subsidiaries, spanning the US, Brazil, the UK, Greece, Mongolia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. In recognition of Mirae Asset Financial Group’s robust global growth, Chairman Park Hyeon-joo is to receive the I

June 26, 2024

Leadership change looms at SK Square

SK Square, the investment arm of SK Group, is preparing for a leadership change as part of a drastic operational restructuring across SK companies, according to industry sources on Wednesday. The company plans to hold a board meeting in the coming weeks to appoint a new CEO following its current chief Park Sung-ha’s pending departure. Han Myung-jin, former chief strategy officer of SK Telecom, is cited as one of the CEO candidates, sources said. Park, who took office in March last year, ha

June 26, 2024

Mirae Asset Global Investments' global assets exceed W340tr milestone

Mirae Asset Global Investments' assets exceeded 340 trillion won ($244.7 billion), with over 40 percent being managed on behalf of overseas clients, boasting extensive overseas footholds buoyed by its signature exchange-traded funds. In 2003, the firm’s aggressive market expansion began with Mirae Asset Group founder and Chairman Park Hyeon-joo’s long-term vision to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with global investment banking groups like Goldman Sachs and Merrill. “Over the p

June 26, 2024

[Photo News] OB cheers for Korea

Oriental Brewery CEO Ben Verhaert (center, second row), along with former Korean Olympic medalists, cheer for the national team during a special ceremony held at a Seoul hotel on Wednesday, a month ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics. OB's flagship beer brand Cass plans to carry out marketing activities throughout the Olympics in Korea and abroad. (Oriental Brewery)

June 26, 2024

Hyundai Movex hits W300b in overseas orders this year

Logistics solution provider Hyundai Movex has secured some 300 billion won ($215 million) in cumulative overseas orders this year, indicating robust future growth prospects through global business. On June 18, Hyundai Movex signed a price-adjustment contract with Australia's Sydney Metro to install platform screen doors and mechanical gap fillers, increasing the total order value to 77.5 billion won from the 35.7 billion won contract signed in December 2022. The company will install 360 scr

June 26, 2024

[Photo News] EV partnership

Posco Future M and General Motors' Korean office celebrated the launch of the Cadillac Lyriq, an all-electric midsize luxury sport utility vehicle, in front of the Posco Group headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. Top officials from the Korean battery materials producer and American automaker, including Yoo Byeong-og (second from right), CEO of Posco Future, and Hector Villarreal (second from left), chief of GM Korea, celebrated the companies' collaboration in crafting the luxury EV with

June 26, 2024

Posco boasts full value chain for secondary batteries

GYWANGYANG, South Jeolla Province -- South Korean steel giant Posco announced Tuesday that it has successfully established a full value chain for secondary battery materials and components. “We anticipate that as the (electric vehicle) market grows, the value of raw materials within the battery supply chain will increase, and thus we plan to accelerate investments focused on high-profit raw materials,” said Baung Jin-chul, vice president of Posco Holdings, during a press conference h

June 26, 2024

New Galaxy foldable phones to debut in Paris on July 10

Samsung Electronics plans to unveil its highly anticipated next-generation Galaxy Z series infusing Galaxy AI at the upcoming event titled "Galaxy Unpacked 2024: Galaxy AI is Here” in Paris on July 10. The Korean tech giant released a teaser trailer through its YouTube channel on Wednesday, offering a tantalizing glimpse into the event that will be broadcast globally. The 15-second clip features iconic imagery of the Eiffel Tower, the Galaxy AI logo and a silhouette of Samsung’s

June 26, 2024

SK On wins lithium supply deal with ExxonMobil

SK On said Wednesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with US oil and gas company ExxonMobil to secure lithium supply. The agreement was finalized Monday at the Fastmarkets Conference, the world's largest conference for lithium and battery raw materials, in Las Vegas. SK On is to receive up to 100,000 tons of lithium produced by ExxonMobil using Direct Lithium Extraction technology from a lithium brine in Arkansas. Under the objective to supply lithium for 1 million electric veh

June 26, 2024

[From the Scene] Posco sets path to green metal production

POHANG, South Gyeongsang Province -- A significant experiment is underway at Posco's massive steel-making complex in Pohang, the industrial heart of South Korea, ushering eco-friendliness into the steel industry. A four-story structure, with its safety fences painted in vivid yellow, houses electrode rods and storage for raw ironmaking materials. On Monday, the electric smelting furnace (ESF), which is usually housed within this structure, was temporarily laid out for overhaul separately as

June 26, 2024

[Photo News] Filipino mogul visits Doosan

Doosan Enerbility said Wednesday that Manuel Velez Pangilinan (right), chairperson of Meralco, the biggest electric power distribution company in the Philippines, had visited its headquarters in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The Filipino mogul and his delegation checked out Doosan Enerbility's production capabilities at the latter's nuclear power plant, gas turbine plant and forging shop. Doosan said Pangilinan's visit is expected to expand and strengthen cooperation for en

June 26, 2024

S. Korea to provide W17tr of policy financing for chip industry investment

The finance ministry said Wednesday it will provide low-interest loans of 17 trillion won ($12.22 billion) next month for corporate investment in the semiconductor industry and will push to extend tax benefits for investment in strategic technologies. It is part of execution plans for the comprehensive support package worth 26 trillion won announced by President Yoon Suk Yeol last month and designed to support the key industry amid intensifying global competition. Under the plan, the government

June 26, 2024

S. Korea to allow foreign investors' Korean won overdrafts, ease FX regulations

South Korea will allow offshore investors' overdrafts of the Korean currency over the course of foreign exchange transactions and will ease relevant regulations in an effort to improve their access to bond trading and promote investment, the finance ministry said Wednesday. It is part of the government's planned revision to the Foreign Exchange Transactions Regulations, which come along with the envisioned implementation of omnibus accounts by clearing houses Euroclear and Clearstream

June 26, 2024