[KH Explains] Missing pieces of 'value-up' program

The government’s measures aimed at increasing shareholder returns to boost Korea's undervalued stock market have sparked much debate on their effectiveness due to the lack of motivational drivers for companies to join the program. In the Corporate Value-up Program announced by the Financial Services Commission on Feb. 26, the government directed some 1,600 firms listed on the Kospi and Kosdaq markets to disclose their major investment indicators such as price-to-book ratio, and make p

March 10, 2024

EcoPro to inject W1.2tr in Pohang battery hub

South Korean battery materials maker EcoPro said Sunday it would invest 1.2 trillion won ($910 million) in its Pohang campus in North Gyeongsang Province this year to expand its comprehensive secondary battery supply chain, which covers everything from producing key components to recycling. The company plans to allocate 690 billion won to expanding its precursor plant, with additional funds directed toward increasing production of anode material at 32 billion won, lithium hydroxide production fa

March 10, 2024

LG, Qualcomm partner for EV battery monitoring

LG Energy Solution on Sunday announced a partnership with Qualcomm Technologies to develop an intelligent battery monitoring system for electric vehicles, aiming to simplify battery management for EV owners. This collaboration merges LG's expertise in battery management with Qualcomm's Snapdragon Digital Chassis platform, which is a comprehensive suite of automotive solutions including connectivity, digital cockpits and advanced driver assistance systems. The new battery management sys

March 10, 2024

Koreans lose appetite for fruits amid soaring prices

South Korea’s fruit consumption has diminished by almost 20 percent over the past 15 years amid supply shortages and soaring prices, government data found Sunday. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the nation’s per capita fruit consumption declined by 19 percent to 55 kilograms in 2022 after peaking at 67.9 kilograms in 2007. Tangerines and apples topped the per capita consumption with 11.8 kilograms and 11.0 kilograms, respectively, followed by pears (

March 10, 2024

Samsung’s H1 hiring season starts Monday

Samsung Group, South Korea’s top conglomerate, said Sunday that its official recruitment in the first half of this year will start Monday, with 19 affiliates joining the large-scale hiring of entry-level workers. The key affiliates include Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung Biologics, Samsung SDS and Samsung SDI, Samsung C&T, Samsung Life Insurance and The Shilla Hotel. Applicants are required to submit their applications via Samsung’s official recruitment website from

March 10, 2024

SK Ecoplant, Austria’s Therme to develop luxury resort in Songdo

South Korean energy and environmental solutions provider SK Ecoplant announced Sunday that it has partnered with the global wellness company Therme Group to develop a resort and spa in Incheon, Gyeonggi Province. The collaboration was formalized with a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony at SK Ecoplant's headquarters in Seoul on Friday, attended by SK Ecoplant CEO Park Kyung-il and Therme Group Chair Robert Hanea. The Austria-based Therme Group, famous for its innovative wellness r

March 10, 2024

[Photo News] Empowering women leaders

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong highlighted the need to nurture female leaders during the 2024 Shinhan SHeroes Conference held at the group’s headquarters in central Seoul on Friday. The conference celebrated the launch of the seventh class of Shinhan SHeroes, an in-house leadership training program for women. "Female leaders are individuals responsible for promoting diversity," Jin said. "Shinhan will train them to lead changes of the times." The program

March 10, 2024

[Photo News] Kia EV9 wins UK Car of the Year

Kia's EV9, a large three-row electric SUV launched globally last year, has been named the 2024 UK Car of the Year. The vehicle was recognized by a panel of 30 judges, mainly automotive journalists from publications such as TopGear and Autocar, for its spacious interior that can accommodate up to seven seats, a substantial 489-kilometer maximum driving range, and a sleek design both inside and out, along with its feature-rich information system. (Hyundai Motor Group)

March 10, 2024

Portion of foreign buyers hits record high in S. Korean real estate market in 2023: data

The portion of foreigners who bought real estate in South Korea last year hit a record high, led by Chinese buyers, court data showed Sunday. A total of 15,600 foreign nationals completed property purchases in 2023, accounting for a record 0.9 percent of the total land acquisitions, according to the data from the online real estate registry service run by the Supreme Court. The percentage of foreign buyers in the South Korean real estate market has been on a steady increase since the South Korea

March 10, 2024

A cryptocurrency mogul arrested in Montenegro faces extradition to South Korea after a court ruling

POGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — A Montenegrin court on Thursday ruled that cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon should be handed over to his native South Korea, the latest twist in the months-long legal procedure that followed the arrest of the Terraform Labs founder in the Balkan nation last year. The High Court handed down the ruling just days after an appeals court overturned its previous decision to extradite Kwon to the United States. Kwon, 32, was apprehended on an international arrest warrant

March 9, 2024

S. Korea, Japan discuss economic cooperation during vice-ministerial talks

South Korea and Japan held a vice-ministerial meeting Friday to discuss ways of cooperating on a wide range of economic and financial issues, Seoul's finance ministry said. South Korea's Deputy Finance Minister Choi Ji-young met with Japanese Vice Finance Minister Masato Kanda in Tokyo earlier in the day for the vice-ministerial finance dialogue, the second of its kind, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. During the meeting, the two sides discussed issues of mutual concer

March 8, 2024

Hanwha Ocean hints at entering drilling business

Hanwha Ocean, a South Korean manufacturer specializing in ships and LNG plants, has recently registered two trademarks for new entities, hinting at its expansion into maritime energy development, according to industry sources, Friday. The registration of these two trademarks -- Hanwha Drilling and Hanwha Haeun (the direct romanization of the Korean term for "shipping") -- indicates the company’s intention to broaden its scope from ship and maritime plant construction to maritime

March 8, 2024

Handok-Genexine’s long-acting growth hormone gets orphan drug status in Korea

South Korean pharmaceutical company Handok announced Friday that GX-H9, a long-acting recombinant human growth hormone it co-developed with Genexine, has won orphan drug designation from the country's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Handok said the designation for GX-H9, which it received on Monday this week, will help the company speed up the launch of the medicine. In Korea, when a drug qualifies for the orphan drug designation, the drug is eligible for conditional approval based on res

March 8, 2024

Shinsegae’s 55-year-old heir promoted to chair

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group said Friday that it has promoted Chung Yong-jin, the 55-year-old son of the conglomerate’s Chair Lee Myung-hee, to chair with a mission to address the challenges in the country’s retail sector. "The increasingly competitive retail market is facing a wide variety of crisis factors, making 'strong leadership' even more necessary than in the past,” said Shinsegae in a statement released Friday. The promotion came 18 years af

March 8, 2024

S&P cuts outlook on Mirae Asset Securities, Korea Investment & Securities

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday lowered the outlook for two major Korean asset management firms, Mirae Asset Securities and Korea Investment & Securities, from "stable" to "negative." The agency kept their long-term issuer credit ratings at BBB and short-term ratings at A-2. The negative outlook reflects the agency's concern that property risks could strain the asset quality and profitability of Korean securities firms over the next one to two years. "Headwin

March 8, 2024

JB acquires stake in Vietnam's fintech app Infina

JB Financial Group on Thursday said it will acquire a minority stake in Vietnam’s retail investing app Infina, in a bid to help the group’s securities affiliate expand its customer base in the Southeast Asian country. In a strategic partnership deal, the group will buy 3.9 percent of Infina's shares and increase its holdings to some 5 percent depending on the results of collaboration between its brokerage unit JB Securities Vietnam and Infina. JB Securities Vietnam, based in H

March 8, 2024

Moody's turns negative on Korean banks' ratings outlook

Ratings agency Moody's downgraded the outlook on the South Korean banks' credit rating to "negative" from "stable" Thursday, predicting their asset quality and profitability will weaken. The agency released a report on the Korean banking system and lowered the credit ratings outlook for the local banking sector to "negative." In its assessment, Moody's anticipated a deterioration in the business environment for domestic banks over the next 12 to 18 mo

March 8, 2024

Seoul shares close over 1% higher after Fed chief's dovish comments

South Korean stocks closed more than 1 percent higher Friday as investors cheered US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony hinting at a rate cut this year. The local currency gained against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 32.73 points, or 1.24 percent, to 2,680.35. Trade volume was moderate at 444.9 million shares worth 11.1 trillion won ($8.45 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 520 to 350. Foreigners bought a net 178 billion won worth of

March 8, 2024

Lotte Group CEOs gather for AI conference in digital push

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group Chair Shin Dong-bin is stepping up efforts to increase the group’s artificial intelligence capability. Lotte Group, on Friday, announced that the company held a conference on AI technology at Lotte World Tower on Thursday. Around 110 officials from the group and its affiliates joined the conference, including Lotte Group Chair Shin, his eldest son and executive Vice President Shin Yoo-yeol, and chief executive officers of the group’s key business

March 8, 2024

Samsung Display CEO named display industry association chief

South Korea will take back its sales lead in the global display market by 2027 with its technological edge, Samsung Display CEO Choi Joo-sun said Thursday upon his appointment as the new head of the Korea Display Industry Association. Choi vowed to boost the Korean industry's standing on the global stage through close collaboration with the government during his three-year term. "The Chinese government is spending a huge sum of money to foster its domestic display panel industry. So I

March 8, 2024