Trade Ministry teams up with overseas institutes for industrial innovation

South Korea has tentatively chosen some of the top universities and institutions worldwide for technology partnerships, aiming to acquire advanced technologies that can assist domestic companies. The Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy announced six institutes as preferred bidders out of 30 universities and institutes from nine countries that applied for the partnership, on Friday. The six bidders include five US-based institutes and universities -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale

April 5, 2024

Seoul shares dip 1% on dashed rate-cut hopes

Seoul shares dipped 1 percent Friday as investors were disappointed with hawkish comments by Federal Reserve officials ahead of US jobs data. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 27.79 points, or 1.01 percent, to close at 2,714.21. The main index has fallen 1.2 percent this week. Trade volume was moderate at 615.09 million shares worth 11.16 trillion won ($8.2 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 633 to 244. Institutions and foreig

April 5, 2024

Samsung's insurance arm ends bancassurance sales over low profitability

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, the nation's leading non-life insurer, has ceased selling insurance products through bank channels, commonly known as "bancassurance." As of January, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance has halted all new sales through banks, following a consistent decline in sales through this channel, according to an official from the company. This decision comes after 21 years since the company first introduced bancassurance in 2003. Bancassurance allows ins

April 5, 2024

Samsung Bioepis begins phase 3 clinical study for its Keytruda biosimilar

Samsung Bioepis, Samsung Group’s biosimilar arm, announced Friday that the company had started a phase 3 clinical study for SB27, a Keytruda biosimilar. Keytruda is an immuno-oncology drug developed by MSD, a US multinational pharmaceutical company. Indications for the drug include non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), melanoma and neck cancer. According to MSD's earnings release, global sales of Keytruda in 2022 were estimated at $20.9 billion. Samsung Bioepis will recruit 616 patients

April 5, 2024

SPC chairman arrested over anti-labor allegations

Hur Young-in, the chairman of South Korean bakery giant SPC Group, was arrested on Friday for allegedly forcing workers to quit their labor union. The Seoul Central District Court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for the 74-year-old chairman on suspicion of violating the Trade Union Act, citing concerns that Hur may try to destroy evidence. With the warrant, prosecutors will take the chairman into custody and investigate if Hur was involved in anti-labor practices for a maximum of 20 days. Hur

April 5, 2024

LG Electronics expects Q1 profit to drop 11% despite robust sales

LG Electronics said Friday it expected its first-quarter operating earnings to decline more than 10 percent on-year despite the company strong overall sales of its home appliances. LG estimated that its operating profit for the January-March period came in at 1.33 trillion won ($983.2 million), down 11 percent from a year ago, according to the company’s earnings guidance. But this was still above the consensus of 1.28 trillion won predicted by local analysts, as provided by the market inte

April 5, 2024

Kia to invest W38tr through 2028 with focus on automation

Kia on Friday unveiled a plan to invest 38 trillion won ($28.1 billion) through 2028 in an investor relations event held at Conrad Seoul, vowing to lead the global auto industry’s automation. According to the Korean automaker, 65 percent of the large-scale investment will be injected into automation, 19 percent will be used for developing purpose-built vehicles, which were redefined as "platform beyond vehicles" at CES in January, 8 percent will be spent on the transition to soft

April 5, 2024

Hanwha Aerospace conducts spinoff to focus on defense industry

Hanwha Aerospace, the defense arm of South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate Hanwha Group, said Friday it will segregate its non-military businesses into a newly established corporation, aiming to focus on its defense business operations. According to Hanwha Aerospace’s announcement Friday, Hanwha Aerospace will spin off a new entity, tentatively named Hanwha Industrial Solutions. This new corporation will take over Hanwha Vision, specializing in artificial intelligence solution

April 5, 2024

Samsung Electronics anticipates tenfold profit surge in Q1 amid chip market rebound

Samsung Electronics predicted a more than tenfold increase in its operating profit for the the January-March period, signaling a dramatic resurgence in its semiconductor business on rebounding demand for memory chips. Samsung’s first-quarter operating profit is estimated to hit 6.6 trillion won ($4.89 billion), up 931.3 percent from a year ago, according to its earnings guidance. The amount surpassed the consensus of 5.26 trillion won predicted by local analysts, as provided by the market

April 5, 2024

[Photo News] Samsung's AI refrigerator takes center stage in Times Square

Samsung Electronics said Friday that it had launched an outdoor advertising campaign in Times Square, New York, featuring a video that creatively highlights the inside features of the new Samsung Bespoke Refrigerator with AI Family Hub. The company unveiled its 2024 line of Bespoke AI products in Seoul, Paris and New York, alongside the launch of video advertising campaigns. Meanwhile, in collaboration with the upcoming Disney and Pixar’s animation "Inside Out 2," Samsung plans

April 5, 2024

EV sales drop 25% in S. Korea in Q1; hybrid car sales jump

Electric vehicle sales in South Korea plunged 25 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, while gasoline hybrid model sales jumped 46 percent during the same period, according to a market tracker Friday. From January to March, the country's EV registrations fell to 25,550 units from 34,186 in the same period of last year as global EV sales growth slows, CarIsYou said in a statement. It is the first time for the first-quarter EV sales to fall compared to a year earlier, the statemen

April 5, 2024

Seoul shares open lower on dashed hopes for early rate cut

Seoul shares opened lower Friday as investors were disappointed with hawkish comments by Federal Reserve officials. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 23.64 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2,718.36 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.35 percent to 38,596.98 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 1.4 percent to 16,049.08. Fed officials said the US central bank needs time to be confident on inflation before starting to cut rates a

April 5, 2024

Koglo.com CEO talks on entrepreneurship in uncertain times

Business leaders in the era of growing economic uncertainty and rapid technological change must look for new opportunities and prospects for innovation, according to Lee Keum-ryong, chairman of Koglo.com, an online platform connecting US companies with their Korean partners. “If you notice a change early enough, it can become an opportunity for your business. But if you see the change late, it may jeopardize your business as well,” Lee said at the fifth edition of The Korea Herald&rs

April 4, 2024

aT honored by New York Festivals for ESG efforts

The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. on Thursday said it has been recognized by the US-based New York Festivals Advertising Awards for its environmental, social and governance efforts, marking the first time a Korean government agency has won in the ESG category. The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., also known as aT, is a government agency entrusted with promoting the trade, export and marketing of Korean foods and beverages worldwide. The agency said it won the ESG manage

April 4, 2024

Seoul shares rebound on tech gains, revived rate-cut hopes

Seoul shares rebounded sharply Thursday from the previous session's dip on tech, auto gains and revived optimism for the US Federal Reserve to cut rates this year. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 35.03 points, or 1.29 percent, to close at 2,742.00. Trade volume was moderate at 468.06 million shares worth 11.64 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 465 to 416. Foreigners bought a net 588 billion won worth

April 4, 2024

IBK Venture Investment to inject W500b into startups

IBK Venture Investment, an investment arm of the state-owned Industrial Bank of Korea, pledged to inject 500 billion won ($370 million) into local startups over the next three years at an event in Seoul on Thursday. The investment unit, the ninth subsidiary under the IBK Financial Group, was founded in December with an initial capital of 100 billion won to fund early-stage startups. It was licensed as a new technology venture capital business in March, according to the lender. While IBK Venture

April 4, 2024

LG Energy Solution breaks ground on $5.5b Arizona battery complex

LG Energy Solution has started construction on its second stand-alone battery manufacturing complex in the United States, located in Arizona, with a groundbreaking ceremony and stakeholder meeting on Wednesday. Announced last year, the $5.5 billion project will stand out as the first of its kind in North America, dedicated entirely to the production of cylindrical batteries for EVs and lithium iron phosphate pouch-type batteries for energy system solution applications. The company aims to comple

April 4, 2024

[Photo News] Promoting Korea's shipbuilding capabilities

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries on Thursday invited government officials from nine countries to observe its submarine and battleship building technologies as it hosted a delivery signing ceremony of the third Batch-1 3000t submarine Shin Chae-ho at its headquarters in Ulsan. The Korean shipbuilder said the international guests from Australia, Canada, Peru, the Philippines, Poland and the US had a closer look at not only the submarine but also at the Jeongjo the Great Aegis destroyer and the Chungnam

April 4, 2024

Shinhan Bank secures 10% stake in India’s Credila

Shinhan Bank, a major commercial lender in South Korea, is bolstering its footprint in India through a strategic share acquisition of the local student loan provider, Credila. The bank announced Thursday that it successfully secured an equity investment agreement with Mumbai-based HDFC Credila Financial Services the previous day. As per the agreement, Credila will undergo a capital increase, with Shinhan Bank injecting around $180 million through the acquisition of new shares. This transaction w

April 4, 2024

[Exclusive] Spelling errors call space agency's foreign talent search into question

Multiple spelling errors have been found in the Korea AeroSpace Administration’s English-language job application, raising questions about the country’s professionalism and sincerity in recruiting professionals from overseas to its soon-to-be-established space body. KASA’s English job application, which can be downloaded from the new space body’s official website, on Wednesday showed that all four documents contained the same spelling mistake in the name of the agency. Th

April 4, 2024