Fadu’s controversial IPO raises tech listing concern

The controversy surrounding fabless startup Fadu’s initial public offering has led the Korea Exchange, the country’s sole bourse operator, to implement tighter regulations on its listing track for tech firms. Fadu, established in 2015, went public on the tech-heavy Kosdaq in early August through the KRX’ special technology-growth track, which provides relaxed IPO rules for tech firms. The company’s corporate value at the time of the listing was believed to be around 1.5 t

Nov. 19, 2023

G-Star 2023 explores untried genres, subculture scene

BUSAN -- Key game industry players, such as NCSoft and Netmarble, showcased their latest projects at the G-Star 2023 game exhibition held in Busan last week, delving into unexplored genres with high production values and top-notch graphics The event, hosted by the Korea Association of Game Industry and the Busan IT Promotion Agency, featured a record number of 3,328 booths with participation from 1,037 companies across 42 countries. Notably, NCSoft made a significant return after an eight-year

Nov. 19, 2023

Alternative nicotine products lead to reduction in smoking rates: report

Alternative nicotine products can have a "significant" impact on reducing smoking rates as demonstrated by case studies in Japan and Sweden, a report showed Friday. In a policy paper dubbed “Safer Nicotine Works,” Tholos Foundation said it has found that alternative nicotine products, ranging from snus, nicotine pouches and gum to vapes and tobacco heating products, help people quit smoking cigarettes. Japan saw smoking rates, those that smoked cigarettes daily, decline fro

Nov. 19, 2023

NCSoft to tear loose from Lineage: CEO

BUSAN -- NCSoft CEO Kim Taek-jin declared the company's strategic shift from its traditional roots in Lineage, its series of massively multiplayer online role-playing games -- or MMORPGs -- to diverse gaming genres, responding to a downturn in earnings and a shift in gamer preferences. The CEO made this announcement during an unexpected appearance at the company's booth at G-Star 2023 gaming expo held last week in Busan. "Our objective is to delve into a multitude of gaming genres

Nov. 19, 2023

Zepeto metaverse plans to support Apple Vision Pro

BUSAN -- Naver Z, the metaverse subsidiary of South Korean internet giant Naver, is planning a version of Zepeto for Apple's first wearable headset device, embracing the US tech behemoth's concept of spatial computing. “We are preparing to showcase something special for headsets such as Apple's Vision Pro," Lee Seung-won, Nazer Z's developer relations director told The Korea Herald during a marketing talk at G-Star Game Conference 2023, part of the G-Star gaming ex

Nov. 19, 2023

EcoPro, SK Ecoplant to build EV battery recycling plant in Hungary

EcoPro said Sunday it has joined hands with SK Ecoplant and its electronics waste recycling subsidiary, TES, to set up an electric vehicle battery recycling plant in Hungary. EcoPro CEO Song Ho-jun, SK Ecoplant CEO Park Kyung-il and TES CEO Terence Ng participated in the signing ceremony held at SK Ecoplant’s headquarters in Jongno, Seoul, Thursday. By 2025, the three companies will build recycling facilities in Hungary -- the first project under a business agreement made in March targetin

Nov. 19, 2023

S. Korean battery makers' R&D investment up 12.5% in Jan.-Sept.

South Korean battery makers' combined research and development investment this year has climbed over 12 percent on-year despite a slowdown in global demand for electrified vehicles, industry data showed Sunday. According to latest quarterly reports of LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co. and SK On Co., their combined R&D investment during the January-September period amounted to 1.78 trillion won ($1.38 billion), up 12.5 percent from 1.58 trillion won for the same period of last yea

Nov. 19, 2023

Trump vows to kill Asia trade deal being pursued by Biden if elected

Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, said on Saturday that he would kill off a Pacific trade pact being advanced by US President Joe Biden if he were to win the 2024 election and return to the White House. Speaking to supporters in Iowa, Trump said he was against the regional trade deal being negotiated by the Biden administration with 13 other countries, arguing that it would hollow out US manufacturing and trigger job losses. Talks on the trade sections of

Nov. 19, 2023

OpenAI CEO's ouster was over "breakdown of communications," not "malfeasance" -memo

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's firing was over a "breakdown in communication between Sam and the board," and not "malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices," Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap wrote in an internal company memo Saturday morning, viewed by Reuters. The board of OpenAI, the company behind hit product ChatGPT, on Friday pushed out its high-profile CEO Altman, sending shock waves across the tech industry. Th

Nov. 19, 2023

Samsung family pays tribute to late founder

Samsung Group commemorated the 36th anniversary of the death of Lee Byung-chull, the founder of Korea’s largest conglomerate, in a memorial service Friday. Lee's relatives, including former Leeum Samsung Museum of Art Director Hong ra-hee, Lee's daughter-in-law, and his two granddaughters Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun, who are presidents of Hotel Shilla and Samsung C&T, respectively, paid tribute to the late founder, gathering at Hoam Art Museum in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. C

Nov. 17, 2023

Prosecutors seek 5-year sentence for Samsung chief over fraud connected to 2015 merger

The prosecution on Friday demanded five years in prison for Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on charges of stock price rigging and accounting fraud connected to the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates. Prosecutors also requested a fine of 500 million won ($387,000) for Lee during the final hearing at the Seoul Central District Court. Lee is charged with stock price rigging, breach of duty and accounting fraud in the course of the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung

Nov. 17, 2023

KB approves of Yang Jong-hee as its new chief

KB Financial Group’s shareholders approved of Vice Chairman Yang Jong-hee's appointment as the next chairman during a special shareholders' meeting at its headquarters in Seoul on Friday. The financial group's shareholders overwhelmingly supported Yang's appointment, with 97 percent of votes in favor. "Despite various challenges in the domestic economy and financial industry, there are high expectations from shareholders for KB Financial Group. I am aware of this a

Nov. 17, 2023

IMF raises South Korea's inflation forecast to 3.6% for 2023

The International Monetary Fund has upwardly revised its inflation forecast for South Korea to 3.6 percent for this year and 2.4 percent for next year, and advised the country to maintain its current interest rate policy to ensure price stability. In the IMF’s annual report released by the Finance Ministry on Friday, the IMF projected a 3.6 percent inflation rate for this year, which is 0.2 percentage points higher than the 3.4 percent projected in the IMF's October report. The IMF�

Nov. 17, 2023

Yoon attends IPEF summit to discuss regional economic collaboration

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework summit in San Francisco on Thursday, where leaders of the 14 member countries discussed strengthening regional economic cooperation. Yoon is in the US for a three-day trip to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and took part in other multilateral and bilateral meetings, including the IPEF summit hosted by US President Joe Biden. In 2022, the Biden administration launched the IPEF in an effort to str

Nov. 17, 2023

Hyundai Motor becomes first brand to sell cars on Amazon

Hyundai Motor will become the first automaker to sell cars on Amazon, the company said, announcing a strategic partnership with the US e-commerce giant at a motor show Thursday. The two companies unveiled their plan at the 2023 Los Angeles Auto Show in a joint showcase, with Jose Munoz, global chief operating officer at Hyundai Motor Company, and Marty Mallick, Amazon’s vice president for Worldwide Business and Corporate Development, delivering the presentations. “This ideal partners

Nov. 17, 2023

SK hynix wins 2023 R&D 100 Awards

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, won this year’s R&D 100 Awards, also known as "the Oscars of innovation," with its cutting-edge Key Value Computational Storage Drive (KV-CSD), the company said Friday. Among the 100 winners of the 2023 R&D 100 Awards, which recognizes the most promising products or technologies that will bring change to the industry, SK hynix marked its name in the IT/Electrical category. “Once commercialized, KV-CSD wil

Nov. 17, 2023

S. Korean shares snap 3-day winning streak amid eased US rate hike woes

South Korean shares closed lower Friday to end their three-day winning streak amid speculation that the Federal Reserve may end its aggressive rate hike campaign on eased inflation woes. The local currency closed unchanged against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 18.33 points, or 0.74 percent, to close at 2,469.85. Trade volume was slim at 382.7 million shares worth 7.9 trillion won ($6.13 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 614 to 269. Foreigners sold a

Nov. 17, 2023

LG celebrates 1st baseball championship in 29 years with discounts

LG group on Friday has kicked off promotional discounts across its affiliated companies in commemoration of its professional baseball team winning its first championship in 29 years, cutting the price in various forms related to the magic number 29. LG Twins, an affiliate of the LG Group, won Game 5 of the Korean Series against KT Wiz on Monday to clinch its first title since 1994. LG Electronics, the flagship corporation of the group, will be giving 29 percent discounts starting 10 a.m., next T

Nov. 17, 2023

S. Korea, US explore ways to expand ties in energy, supply chains

South Korea and the United States discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation in the energy and supply chain sectors this week, the industry ministry said Friday. Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu and Jose Fernandez, US under secretary of state, hosted the clean energy business roundtable on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The Carbon-Free Energy Initiative of Korea and the US Clean Energ

Nov. 17, 2023

S. Korea imposes 72% temporary anti-dumping duties on Egyptian white cement

South Korea has begun imposing temporary anti-dumping duties of 72.23 percent on white Portland cement imported from Egypt, officials said Friday. The finance ministry began levying the duties on white cement from Egypt on Wednesday to be effective for four months after the Korea Trade Commission under the industry ministry announced its preliminary anti-dumping findings against the imports and recommended the imposition in September. The anti-dumping deposit is meant to prevent potential damage

Nov. 17, 2023