[From the Scene] McDonald's Korea retraces 35-year journey at special book talk

McDonald's Korea on Monday held a special book talk event in Jung-gu, Seoul, to delve into "McDonald's 35 Years of Brand Story in Korea," the two-volume series published last month for the fast food chain's 35th anniversary in Korea. During the event, author Kang Han-ki and McDonald's Korea's Senior Director of Corporate Relations Shim Nari, who spearheaded the development of the book, shed some light on the book's development. “Such a project usuall

Aug. 16, 2023

Hyundai takes over GM plant in India

Hyundai Motor Company on Wednesday signed a deal to acquire General Motors’ auto manufacturing plant in Talegaon, in the western state of Maharashtra, India, further strengthening the South Korean automaker’s will to expand its market share in the world’s third-largest car market. Hyundai said the two sides decided to not reveal the amount of the acquisition. According to Hyundai, it will be able to fully acquire the rights to the GM site once it obtains the Indian government&r

Aug. 16, 2023

Government to boost exports with W23tr financial support plan

In a bid to bolster the competitiveness of the country's exports, which form the foundation of Korea's economy, the government has introduced an additional 23 trillion won ($17.18 billion) financial support plan, building upon a prior 16.7 trillion won initiative in funds for export enterprises. The "Comprehensive Export Finance Support Plan" comes after the fourth meeting on export strategy convened by President Yoon Suk Yeol in February. "Korea's exports have face

Aug. 16, 2023

[Photo News] Diary-keeping air purifier

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said Wednesday that a research paper about an air purifier that generates a diary, developed by a team led by industrial design professor Nam Taek-jin, has become Korea's first to win an honorable mention at this year's ACM Designing Interactive Systems conference. The air purifier, named Areca, shows how future objects could potentially have feelings and consciousness with the development of artificial intelligence. (KAIST)

Aug. 16, 2023

SK On pledges W1.5tr to ramp up Korean production

SK On announced Wednesday a 1.5 trillion won ($1.1 billion) investment in expanding the battery production capacity by adding a third plant in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. Marking the South Korean battery maker’s largest investment in the country, the expansion will bring up the Seosan site’s total annual production capacity to about 20 gigawatt-hours by 2028, enough to be supplied to 280,000 electric vehicles. The company will break ground for the third plant this year, aimin

Aug. 16, 2023

Mirae Asset acquires Australia's No. 1 robo-adviser

Mirae Asset Global Investments announced Wednesday that it has acquired Australia’s No. 1 robo-adviser Stockspot. The Korean assets management firm said it will secure a 53 percent stake in the company in a deal worth 28 million Australian dollars ($18 million), with plans to increase the stake in the future in phases. Founded in Sydney in 2013, Stockspot is the leading online investment adviser, ranking atop the robo-adviser sector in Australia with a base of 13,000 clients and some 650

Aug. 16, 2023

SK Telecom, OpenAI to host hackathon

SK Telecom, South Korea's leading telecommunications carrier, said Wednesday that it will host a hackathon event with California-based startup OpenAI next month in Seoul to discover talent who are likely to lead the future artificial intelligence industry. Prompter Day Seoul 2023 will run under the theme of developing services that can help humanity through AI. Planners, developers and designers who are interested in generative AIs can participate in the competition to develop services and

Aug. 16, 2023

Binggrae Melona becomes hot seller overseas

Binggrae, the nation’s largest snack maker, said Wednesday that it posted record sales of 77.5 billion won ($57.9 million) in overseas markets in the first half of this year. The figure is a 27 percent jump from a year ago and has more than doubled over the past five years. Binggrae attributed the upbeat earnings to its ice cream brands, especially its bestselling fruit-flavored ice cream Melona. Of the total earnings, 60.1 percent, or 46.6 billion won, came from ice cream sales. Melona al

Aug. 16, 2023

[Photo News] Catering for Jamboree Scouts

Ourhome CEO Koo Ji-eun (center) greets World Scout Jamboree participants at the food company’s headquarters in Seoul, Monday. Ourhome, the official sponsor of food services during the youth event, said Wednesday some 500 UK Scouts were invited to participate in diverse events, including Korean food cooking classes and playing traditional games. "We fully prepared ourselves so that the Scouts who visited Korea can leave the country with good memories, and I am proud to see that the Sco

Aug. 16, 2023

[Photo News] Batik-themed Ioniq 5

Indonesian Ambassador to Korea Gandi Sulistiyanto (second from left) poses with Hyundai Motor’s Ioniq 5 Batik edition during the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show held in Jakarta on Thursday. The car is a special edition of Hyundai’s flagship electric compact inspired by Indonesia’s traditional dyeing technique, commemorating the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties between South Korea and Indonesia. The South Korean carmaker is the largest EV producer in Indonesia. (Cou

Aug. 16, 2023

ECCK picks ex-Beiersdorf executive as new president

The European Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Wednesday it has appointed Stefan Ernst, a former executive of global skin care company Beiersdorf A.G., as its next president. Ernst will succeed Christoph Heider, who has led the chamber for the last 10 years, the ECCK said. Ernst will officially take office on Oct. 1. Ernst, a German, is known for his decadeslong experience in marketing and general management at global companies, including Beiersdorf and Accenture Song. Ernst spent a considerable

Aug. 16, 2023

Container freight rates for major destinations down in July

Outbound container shipping costs for major destinations, including the United States and the European Union, fell in July from a month earlier, data showed Wednesday. The average rate for a 40-foot container from South Korea to the US west coast came to 4.37 million won ($3,265) in July, down 5 percent from the previous month, the data from the Korea Customs Service showed. Rates for the US east coast fell 1.9 percent to 4.65 million won on-month in July, with those for the EU routes moving dow

Aug. 16, 2023

Samsung to manufacture AI chips for Groq at Taylor fab

Samsung Electronics Co. will supply next-generation artificial intelligence semiconductors to US AI solutions firm Groq, the US company has said. The California-based fabless said Sunday it contracted with Samsung Foundry to "solidify Groq's product roadmap with a US-based foundry services provider." Groq's new chips will "be designed in partnership with Samsung's Foundry Design Service team and manufactured by Samsung on its SF4X process (4nm)," referring to S

Aug. 16, 2023

Seoul shares open lower on woes over Fed's rate hike, Chinese economy

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, on concerns about the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening and China's economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 23.96 points, or 0.92 percent, to 2,547.24 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks fell on Tuesday after retail sales grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 0.7 percent in July, which could prod the Fed to continue its aggressive monetary tightening pol

Aug. 16, 2023

[Photo News] Red dot award winner

Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday that its Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands won a total of seven Red Dot Design awards, one of the most prestigious design awards globally. The carmaker’s Genesis exhibition booth during the Seoul Mobility Show held earlier this year, seen in the photo, was one of the seven winners. (Hyundai Motor Group)

Aug. 15, 2023

SPAC listing market stable after rules eased: KRX

The Korea Exchange, the nation’s sole bourse operator, said Tuesday that the stock market for special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, remains stable after price fluctuations in the first months of eased regulations. A SPAC is a publicly traded shell corporation that is formed to raise capital through listings to acquire or merge with an existing company. Most SPACs make their debut at the public offering price of 2,000 won ($1.50) per share as mergers and acquisitions could be d

Aug. 15, 2023

Lotte chairman highest-paid chaebol leader in H1

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin was the highest-paid business leader in Korea for the first half of this year, regulatory filings posted Monday by major firms in Korea showed. Shin received total compensation of 11.2 billion won ($8.37 million) from the retail giant's six affiliates in the January-June period, up from 10.2 billion won tallied a year earlier. He maintained the highest-paid business leader title for a second consecutive year. The wage reflects Shin's management perf

Aug. 15, 2023

[KH Explains] Chinese server robots gobbling up Korean market

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, local restaurants and hotels have been increasingly adopting server robots, and almost seven out of 10 are believed to be from China. According to industry estimates, there were about 5,000 server robots last year, a surge from some 3,000 units in 2021. This year, the figure is expected nearly to double to 10,000 units. In a recent report, the Korean Association of Robot Industry said China-made robots made up about 70 percent of the total number of server robots

Aug. 15, 2023

Chip inventory of Samsung, SK hits W50tr

Samsung Electronics’ chip division and SK hynix have seen their inventories surge in the first half of this year, surpassing a combined 50 trillion won ($37.3 billion), according to the semi-annual reports released by the two firms on DART, the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure board Tuesday. Samsung's device solutions division in charge of the tech giant's chip business saw total assets on its inventory jump 15.9 percent on-year to 33.7 trillion at the e

Aug. 15, 2023

[KH Explains] Samsung, LG to make motor show debuts next month

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will attend IAA Mobility 2023, a major global automotive fair, for the first time next month, signifying the South Korean electronics giants’ emphasis on the automotive electronic components market. IAA Mobility, which is set to take place in Munich, Germany, from Sept. 5 to 10, will draw not only some of the top global automakers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz but also IT and chip giants like Amazon, Meta and Qualcomm. Hyundai Motor Group said it is n

Aug. 15, 2023