New marriages bounce back buoyed by international couples

One in 10 couples who tied the knot in South Korea last year included a partner of foreign nationality. The growing number of international marriages helped the total number of newly married couples last year to rebound for the first time in 12 years. The number of international marriages stood at 19,700 in 2023, taking up 10.2 percent of the total number of newlywed couples -- 193,700 -- tallied last year, according to Statistics Korea on Tuesday. The number of international marriages grew by 1

March 19, 2024

Hyundai Motor Group continues to rack up EV accolades

Hyundai Motor Group has been winning dozens of awards with its diverse lineup of electric vehicles across the globe and is looking to continue adding more to its trophy collection. According to the South Korean auto conglomerate on Tuesday, the EVs of its three brands -- Hyundai Motor Company, Kia and Genesis -- have won 48 awards in 13 countries over the past six months. Of the awards, 41 came from North America and Europe. The Kia EV9, a large electric sports utility vehicle, led the pack, as

March 19, 2024

SK hynix becomes first to mass produce HBM3E chips

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, said Tuesday it has begun mass production of its latest HBM3E chips, the next-generation top-performing DRAM for artificial intelligence applications, solidifying its leadership position in the High Bandwidth Memory market. The chip maker said it will deliver the new chips to its clients at the end of this month after finishing the verification process. SK hynix is a major supplier to the US AI chip leader Nvidia but declined to revea

March 19, 2024

CJ CheilJedang showcases K-food innovations at US expo

CJ CheilJedang said Tuesday it participated in the 2024 Natural Products Expo West, the world's largest trade event in the food industry, to showcase its key products and K-food innovation overall. Held in Anaheim, California, the expo marked its 42nd anniversary, attracting around 3,000 companies and approximately 60,000 visitors over five days starting March 12. This year’s event focused on the latest trends in health and wellness, featuring new food products and nutritional supplem

March 19, 2024

Samsung Electro-Mechanics to release high-voltage MLCCs for EVs

Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced on Tuesday the launch of its latest high-voltage MLCCs tailored for electric vehicles, in response to surging demand from global automotive component manufacturers. MLCCs, or Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitors, play a crucial role in regulating the consistent flow of current in electronic circuits, particularly within automobiles, where each vehicle contains between 3,000 to 10,000 MLCCs. The company has unveiled five new high-voltage MLCCs, including three varian

March 19, 2024

LG Energy Solution makes breakthrough in battery lifespan

LG Energy Solution, in collaboration with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, has made a significant breakthrough in lithium metal battery technology that addresses key challenges regarding its lifespan and safety. This new technology was detailed in the science journal Nature Energy and represents a considerable leap forward in lithium metal battery research and development. Lithium metal batteries are noted for their theoretical capacity advantages over lithium-ion batter

March 19, 2024

[Photo News] MLB on Hyundai wheels

Hyundai Motor Group is supporting the Major League Baseball Seoul Series this week, the first MLB games to take place in South Korea, with an array of vehicles. According to the automaker on Tuesday, a total of 18 vehicles including six hydrogen-electric buses, three Ioniq 5s and three Ioniq 6s are being used for transporting the players and coaching staff of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. Hyundai will also reward an Ioniq 5 to the first batter to hit a home run during the back-to

March 19, 2024

Tuggle joins Goyang, Yourside in promoting pet-related industries

DAO Research Institute, operator of pet service platform Tuggle, signed a memorandum of understanding with the city government of Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and the Yourside volunteer group to collaborate on developing pet-related industries, officials said Tuesday. The memorandum was to ensure that the DAO Research Institute, Goyang Industry Promotion Agency, Goyang City Research Institute and Yourside will combine their resources to enhance their cooperation across various sections of the indu

March 19, 2024

S. Korea to provide W420tr in policy loans for carbon emission reduction by 2030

South Korea's financial regulator unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday to provide 420 trillion won ($315 billion) in policy loans by 2030 to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Seoul has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent from business-as-usual levels. "There exist concerns that the global competitiveness of our exporters may dwindle should we fail to take appropriate steps to meet the increasing emissions-related regulations in other countries," the Fina

March 19, 2024

Seoul shares open lower ahead of FOMC meeting

South Korean stocks started lower Tuesday as investors awaited the US Federal Open Market Committee's meeting this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 27.32 points, or 1.02 percent, to 2,658.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the US stock market closed higher, mainly led by tech shares, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq Composite advancing 0.82 percent. The FOMC is set to start its two-day rate-setting meeting Tuesd

March 19, 2024

Trump unlikely to unravel IRA: experts

Korean businesses are unlikely to face a massive challenge by possible shift in US trade policies resulting from the 2024 US presidential election but they should get ready for small hiccups, experts on international trade said on Monday. “From the US perspective, Korean companies are very important partners in trade and investment. … Since the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement has been revised in a way that satisfies US constituencies, there may be hiccups (in the trade relationship) a

March 18, 2024

Trade specialist named new CEO of Hyosung Heavy Industries

Hyosung Heavy Industries on Monday announced that it has appointed Woo Tae-hee, an international trade specialist who currently serves as the vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as its new CEO overseeing the company's heavy industry and construction businesses. Woo, 62, a graduate of Yonsei University's Department of Public Administration in 1984, obtained his doctorate in business from Kyung Hee University in 2011. After passing the public service examinatio

March 18, 2024

Renault to invest W118b in Busan plant

Renault Korea Motors on Monday announced a plan to invest 118 billion won ($88.5 million) in upgrading equipment at its Busan manufacturing plant over the next three years, signifying the French automaker’s efforts to produce hybrid and electric vehicles. Renault Korea Motors CEO Stephane Deblaise and Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon signed a memorandum of understanding at the Busan city hall earlier in the day. Renault said it plans to hire 200 new personnel at the Busan plant with the fresh i

March 18, 2024

[Herald Interview] ‘Meaty rice will become reality sooner than you think’

A Korean research team has recently unveiled a bowl of pink rice, a new lab-made hybrid rice, which they say could offer a cheaper and more sustainable source of protein not just for those on a vegan diet, but also for countries still reeling from food crises. “The lab-made beef rice could hit supermarket shelves sooner than you think if regulatory issues are cleared,” Hong Jin-kee, a chemical and biomolecular engineering professor at Yonsei University and the leader of the research

March 18, 2024

Celltrion's Zymfentra makes US debut

Korean biopharmaceuticals firm Celltrion announced Monday that its new autoimmune disease treatment Zymfentra has been launched in the US market. Zymfentra is a subcutaneous injection formulation of Celltrion's infliximab Remsima. In October last year, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Zymfentra (infliximab-dyyb) for the maintenance treatment of adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. "Infliximab is a well-established treatment

March 18, 2024

S. Korean stocks close higher ahead of US Fed meeting

South Korean stocks closed slightly higher Monday ahead of a US Fed meeting where investors believe signs of a possible rate cut down the road may emerge. The local currency lost ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 19.00 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 2,685.84. Trade volume was moderate at 401 million shares worth 9.35 trillion won ($7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 439 to 434. Institutions were the sole buyers, net purchasing 22

March 18, 2024

Igis to create fancy office complex in central Seoul

Local real estate asset manager Igis Asset Management is set to move forward with its plan to refurbish the office area near the Seoul Station, having recently acquired two office properties on the site. The asset manager announced Monday it had acquired Metro Tower (41,139.6-square-meters) and Seoullo Tower (27,897.5-square-meters) in the area, which connects with another property owned by the company, the Millennium Hilton Seoul. Through the project, the area, situated near the iconic Namsan,

March 18, 2024

Kumho Tire to make EV push with EnnoV rebrand

Kumho Tire recently introduced EnnoV, the company's newly branded lineup of tires designed specifically for electric vehicles, stepping up its game in the EV tire competition with Hankook Tire & Technology’s iON brand. The launch took place during the EnnoV Experience Day at the Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on March 15. EnnoV marks a significant rebranding effort by Kumho Tire, consolidating its EV-specific tires, including models su

March 18, 2024

Dyson founder visits Seoul for global debut of new hair dryer

James Dyson, the founder and senior engineer of UK home appliance giant Dyson, visited Seoul on Monday to unveil the company’s new hair dryer, the Dyson Supersonic Nural. The new hair dryer, which is designed to better protect hair and the scalp from heat, made its global debut in Korea, one of the brand’s top-selling markets. The 76-year-old Dyson founder showed his appreciation for the local market as he took the stage to introduce the new machine in person. “What we are tryi

March 18, 2024

K-water to share know-how with Vietnam

Korea Water Resources, the state-run water management agency, announced Monday that it has partnered with Vietnam’s National Center for Water Resources Planning and Investigation to address the country's water concerns and mitigate against climate change impacts. The collaboration was formalized through a memorandum of understanding signed at the International Conference on Water held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 15. Vietnam grapples with water scarcity as it is located downstream of t

March 18, 2024