[Photo News] K-food made in Georgia

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (left) and first lady Marty Kemp (on the governor's left) visit CJ Foodville's Tous les Jours bakery store in central Seoul on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the governor met with CJ Foodville CEO Kim Chan-ho to discuss business cooperation regarding the company's $54 million bakery and food processing plant that is under construction in Gainesville, Georgia, set for completion by the end of 2025. (CJ Foodville)

June 19, 2024

Kakao Bank kick-starts overseas expansion with Superbank launch

Kakao Bank has yielded the result of its first overseas investment, as Indonesian digital bank Superbank officially launched Wednesday. With the launch, Superbank becomes the first bank concentrating on digital financial services in Indonesia, supported by major shareholders that include Korean internet-only lender Kakao Bank, Southeast Asia's biggest mobility application Grab, Indonesian media conglomerate EMTEK Group and Singaporean telecommunications giant Singtel. In September last year

June 19, 2024

Posco chief reaffirms commitment to EV transition

Posco Group Chairman Chang In-hwa stressed that the group will continue to focus on investing in its secondary battery materials business and expand the application of eco-friendly steel-making methods at a forum organized by World Steel Dynamics in New York, US, Posco Holdings said Wednesday. “The global auto industry will completely shift to electric vehicles in the end despite a recent slowdown. (Posco Group) sees the chasm as an opportunity to strengthen its business and to make new in

June 19, 2024

Daewoong's botulinum toxin Nuceiva hits Spanish market

Daewoong Pharmaceutical, South Korea’s leading drug company, said Wednesday its botulinum toxin product Nabota has been launched in Spain, one of Europe's largest aesthetic toxin injectable markets. According to Daewoong Pharmaceutical, its US partner Evolus, which has the exclusive right to import and sell Daewoong's botulinum toxin Nabota in the US, Europe and Canada, started to sell the botulinum toxin product under the brand name of Nuceiva, starting last week. “Evolus

June 19, 2024

Korea declares full-fledged war to combat low birth rate

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a "national emergency on population" Wednesday, rolling out measures to expand cash support for newborn babies and reverse the declining birth rate trend. "The population crisis caused by extremely low birth rates is the foremost and critical issue for South Korea," Yoon said, adding that the rapid population decline has now become a matter "prompting concerns about the very survival of South Korea." Yoon made the announcement during

June 19, 2024

Seoul shares up for 2nd day on tech stocks

Seoul shares advanced by more than 1 percent Wednesday as investors scooped up tech stocks following a rally on Wall Street. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 33.41 points, or 1.21 percent, to close at 2,797.33. The closing index marks the highest since Jan. 21, 2022, when the comparable reading was 2,834.29. Trade volume was heavy at 635.72 million shares worth 13.86 trillion won ($10.03 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 53

June 19, 2024

Calculation error opens path for SK chief's team to challenge ruling

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won’s high-profile divorce from his estranged wife Roh Soh-young took an unexpected twist after the Seoul high court made a rare rectification of a mistake in its ruling that ordered the chaebol chief to pay $1 billion in property division to the wife. On Monday, the appellate court corrected numerical errors in its written judgment for the divorce settlement of Chey and Roh, but upheld its overall ruling involving the record-high divorce settlement. Earlier in t

June 19, 2024

Energy storage tech of LG, Samsung shines at Interbattery Europe

LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI, two of Korea's leading battery manufacturers, are showcasing their latest energy storage solutions at Interbattery Europe 2024 in Munich, Germany, from Wednesday to Friday this week. The two firms are presenting a range of advanced products designed to meet the growing demand for energy storage systems in Europe and beyond due to the increasing reliance on renewable energy sources. An energy storage system is a large-scale setup designed to store and mana

June 19, 2024

Hyundai Mobis adopts sonic AI to assess quality

Hyundai Mobis, a South Korean auto parts developer under Hyundai Motor Group, said Wednesday that it has developed a sound-based artificial intelligence system that can determine the accuracy of product quality from sounds generated during inspection. It has applied the AI technology at its manufacturing site. According to Hyundai Mobis, a new technology called Acoustic AI has been installed at its Changwon plant in South Gyeongsang Province, which rolls out motor-driven power steering products.

June 19, 2024

Hana Financial head pitches to global investors in Hong Kong

Hana Financial Group Chairman and CEO Ham Young-joo met with overseas investors in Hong Kong via a two-day event to promote the banking group's strategies to elevate its corporate and shareholder values, the firm said Wednesday. At the event that took place Monday and Tuesday, Ham stressed how the market value of the financial group has increased since the announcement of the capital management and shareholder return plan in early 2023. It was the first global investor relations event for H

June 19, 2024

SKT-led quantum alliance named 'X Quantum'

SK Telecom, South Korea's largest wireless carrier by membership, on Wednesday unveiled the official name of its quantum alliance: X Quantum. In March, SK Telecom allied with six other companies -- Nokia, SOS Lab, Xgate, Wooriro, KCS and IDQ Korea -- to promote developments in the quantum ecosystem through exploring joint marketing and business opportunities. Regarding X Quantum, SK Telecom explained that it encompasses the identity of the “quantum frontier,” which plays a role

June 19, 2024

LG, ChargePoint join forces for EV charging biz

LG Electronics said Wednesday it has teamed up with ChargePoint, a leading provider of networked charging solutions for electric vehicles, to leverage their respective strengths for future innovations in EV charging. The two sides recently signed a memorandum of understanding for commercial EV charging in the US. Through the agreement, LG augments its existing client base by securing ChargePoint, which possesses an extensive portfolio of charging solutions, as a customer. ChargePoint has more th

June 19, 2024

SPC Group cleared of W64.7b antitrust fine

South Korean bakery giant SPC Group has been fully absolved of a 64.7 billion won ($46.8 million) fine, as the Supreme Court upheld a ruling in the company's favor in its lawsuit against the nation's antitrust watchdog for allegedly unfairly supporting its affiliates. The Supreme Court confirmed on Monday a lawsuit filed by five SPC Group affiliates, including SPC Samlip, against the FTC, to cancel the fine. In July 2020, the FTC claimed that SPC funneled a total of 41.4 billion won in

June 19, 2024

FSS chief calls for change in culture of banks to prevent financial incidents

The chief of the financial regulator on Wednesday stressed the need to change the very mindset of bank officials to prevent financial incidents such as incomplete sales. Lee Bok-hyun, head of the Financial Supervisory Service, made the remark in a meeting with the heads of 20 banks in South Korea. "To prevent financial accidents, including incomplete sales, a change in the mind and conduct of bank officials is most important," Lee told the meeting. "I ask the bank management to ac

June 19, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on tech gains

Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday as investors scooped up tech stocks following a surge in US chipmakers. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 28.31 points, or 1.02 percent, to 2,792.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 percent to 38,834.86, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.03 percent to 17,862.23. Nvidia Corp. surpassed Microsoft Corp. to become the world's most-valuable company for the first time. In Seo

June 19, 2024

HD Hyundai launches first of two corvettes for Philippine Navy

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has launched the Miguel Malvar, the first of two corvettes ordered by the Philippine Navy in 2021. A corvette is the smallest type of warship used for coastal patrols, surveillance and escort duties. The Miguel Malvar is scheduled for delivery to the Philippine Navy by 2025 after commissioning and final outfitting. The christening ceremony for the 3,200-ton vessel was held at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan headquarters on Tuesday. The event saw attendance fr

June 18, 2024

Seoul shares hit over 2-yr high on strong foreign buying

South Korean stocks closed higher to end at an over two-year high Tuesday as foreign investors scooped up blue chips after a tech-led rally on Wall Street. The local currency advanced slightly against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index increased 19.82 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 2,763.92, rebounding from a 0.52 percent drop the previous day. The closing index marks the highest since Feb. 20, 2022, when the comparable reading was 2,771.93. Trade volume was mod

June 18, 2024

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 to livestream Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony

As the Paris 2024 Olympics is set to hold its opening ceremony outside the confines of a stadium for the very first time, Samsung Electronics will install its flagship Galaxy S24 Ultra smartphones inside the city to broadcast the iconic event, the tech giant said Tuesday. Samsung, an official partner for the Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic events, announced that it will install more than 200 units of its most up-to-date smartphone at the bow and sides of each of the 85 vessels that will be carr

June 18, 2024

Air Incheon ascends to No. 2 air cargo carrier with Asiana deal

Korea's sole all-cargo airline Air Incheon has been named the preferred bidder for Asiana Airlines' cargo freighter division, paving the way for it to expand its business routes to the Americas and Europe. The purchase price is estimated to range between 450 billion won and 500 billion won ($325-million-$362 million). Air Incheon is to sign a stock purchase agreement by the end of July after two weeks of due diligence and contract discussions. If the deal closes by the first quarter of

June 18, 2024

HiteJinro eyes W500b in overseas soju sales by 2030

HiteJinro, the nation’s No. 1 soju maker, has set its goal of hitting 500 billion won ($362 million) in soju sales overseas by 2030, an ambitious three-fold growth from last year. The new growth vision, marking the company’s centennial this year, was unveiled June 12 at a press conference held in Hanoi, Vietnam. Vietnam is also the home to its first overseas soju plant set for completion by 2026. Located on an 82,000-square-meter site within an industrial complex in Thai Binh Provinc

June 18, 2024