New council aims to boost Korean liquor exports

The National Tax Service announced Tuesday that it has launched the K-Liquor Promotion Council to boost exports of alcoholic beverages produced by small and mid-sized firms. "Imports of alcoholic beverages have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but exports of locally produced alcoholic beverages have had difficulties in entering the foreign markets,” the National Tax Service explained the background behind the launch of the council. According to the NTS data, imports of alcoholi

April 11, 2023

IBK chief vows to double overseas profits by 2025

State-run Industrial Bank of Korea aims to double its overseas profits in the next three years by establishing entities in Vietnam and Poland, its president said Tuesday. “We will expand our (global) network ... such as converting the Vietnam branch into an entity and setting up a new entity in Poland to support small- and mid-sized firms entering overseas markets,” IBK President and CEO Kim Sung-tae said during a press conference held to mark his first 100 days in office. By 2025,

April 11, 2023

Chanel picks Korea to sell watches online for 1st time

Chanel Korea has launched an online pop-up store to sell luxury watches, marking the first time the French fashion house is selling its high-priced luxury goods online, excluding beauty products. The online store will be running on SSG.com, an e-commerce platform owned by Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group. Chanel plans to sell seven watch products -- including the J12 Cybernetic, Boy Friend CyberData and J12 Interstellar -- through the store, named the “Chanel Interstellar Capsule Collec

April 11, 2023

Seoul shares up for 3rd session amid expectation for less aggressive US rate hike

South Korean stocks rose by almost 1.5 percent to close up for a third consecutive session Tuesday, driven by bullish chemicals and auto shares, amid growing expectations the US Federal Reserve will go easy on its aggressive rate hikes. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 35.78 points, or 1.42 percent, to close at 2,547.86. Trading volume was high at 756.6 million shares worth 13.9 trillion won ($10.5 billion), with gainers outs

April 11, 2023

Hyundai to inject W24tr for EV supremacy

Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday it will shell out 24 trillion won ($18.1 billion) to boost its electric vehicle production at home by 2030, aiming to become one of the top three carmakers globally in terms of EV sales. As part of the carmaker’s ambitious EV push, Kia broke ground to build the nation’s first EV-only production plant later in the day. “Kia’s EV plant is the first domestic production facility Hyundai will be building in 29 years. The government as a tea

April 11, 2023

Google fined W42b for abusing market dominance

South Korea’s antitrust regulator said Tuesday it is imposing a fine of 42.1 billion won ($32 million) on Google LLC, Google Korea and Google Asia Pacific, along with a corrective order, for abusing their market dominance to solidify the No. 1 position in the local mobile gaming app market. The move came as the US platform giant pressured South Korean mobile game publishers to launch their new games through Google Play exclusively, prohibiting them from releasing their content on the One S

April 11, 2023

KOTRA vows all-out efforts to meet $685b export goal

The CEO of the state-run trade promotion agency KOTRA on Tuesday vowed the agency would try its best to reach South Korea’s export target of $685 billion this year. “We will strive to provide support to Korean firms, even if it results in just one additional dollar of exports," Yu Jeoung-yeol said during a press conference held in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. Yu’s announcement came after the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said last week that it held a meeting in

April 11, 2023

[KH Explains] Samsung Pay safe 'for now' as Apple Pay enters Korea

Following the initial buzz surrounding Apple Pay's launch in Korea, users have began to discuss the service's limitations. "Why bother launching a service that customers can't use? I only find it (Apple Pay) useful for paying at convenience stores," said a comment on Asamo, a Naver blog for Apple enthusiasts. On the blog, another commenter even derisively dubbed Apple Pay "convenience store pay." Korea was never expected to be an easy market for Apple Pay, part

April 11, 2023

Nuri rocket’s 3rd launch set for May 24

The third launch of Nuri, the Korean homegrown space launch vehicle, has been set to take place on May 24, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Tuesday. According to the ministry, the Nuri rocket, also known as the Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II, will blast off from the launch pad at 6:24 p.m. at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. The preliminary launch period will be from May 25 to 31. The ministry said that the Nuri rocket had completed the process of assembling the f

April 11, 2023

BOK freezes rate once again

The Bank of Korea kept the base rate unchanged for a second consecutive time, as inflation appears to be somewhat on the wane while the economy remains slow. The central bank decided to hold the rate at 3.5 percent at its rate-setting meeting on Tuesday, matching market expectations that the BOK's rate hike cycle of 1 1/2 years has come to a halt. “Inflation is projected to continue slowing down although it will remain above the target level for a considerable time. Uncertainties su

April 11, 2023

Renault Korea sponsors French photographer to capture Busan’s charm

Renault Korea Motors said Tuesday that it is sponsoring a photo exhibition of Thomas Goisque, a world-renowned French travel photographer, as part of its ongoing efforts to support Busan’s bid to host the 2030 Expo. The exhibition kicked off Monday at the France Art Space in Busan, with Renault Korea CEO Stephan Deblaise, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon and Goisque, the photographer, in attendance. During his stay in Busan, Goisque also will shoot photos across the nation’s largest port

April 11, 2023

Samsung Display to supply OLED panels for Ferrari cars

Samsung Display, the display arm of Samsung Electronics, has clinched a deal to supply organic light emitting diode panels for Ferrari’s next generation automobiles, the company said on Tuesday. Samsung Display CEO Choi Joo-sun and Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna agreed for the Korean display maker to supply the OLED panels and support the luxury automaker’s latest effort for digital transformation, the company said. “Based on our extensive expertise in OLED technology, we are po

April 11, 2023

[Photo News] Korea-Japan business exchanges

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (center), who is also chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, poses with senior officials of KCCI and its Japanese counterpart, the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in Seoul, Monday. The two business groups held a working-level meeting for the first time in six years, following a Korea-Japan summit in Tokyo last month.

April 11, 2023

LG CNS, Microsoft bolster ties in AI, cloud tech

South Korean IT solutions provider LG CNS said Tuesday it is bolstering ties with US tech behemoth Microsoft to accelerate collaborations in artificial intelligence, the cloud-based digital transformation, known as DX for short, and other joint projects. According to the company, CEO Hyun Shin-gyoon met with Microsoft Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Judson Althoff at the US company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, last Thursday (local time) to attend a high-leve

April 11, 2023

Seoul shares open higher amid hope for less aggressive US rate hike

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, led by chemical and steel gains, amid growing expectations the US Federal Reserve will go easy on its aggressive rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 12.54 points, or 0.5 percent, to trade at 2,524.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market watchers are increasingly betting the Fed will raise the interest rate by 0.25 basis point at the end of its policy meeting in May, following US jobs data pointing to robust

April 11, 2023

Big firms' borrowing costs soar in 2022 on high interest rates

Large South Korean firms saw their interest expenses spike more than 50 percent in 2022 from a year earlier due to rising interest rates, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The combined interest cost of 377 out of the country's top 500 firms by sales stood at 39.9 trillion won ($30.2 billion) last year, up 50.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Leaders Index. The surge came as South Korea's central bank has remained hawkish in an effort to curb persistently high inflation. T

April 11, 2023

Exports down 8.6 % during first 10 days of April

South Korea's exports fell 8.6 percent on-year in the first 10 days of April, data showed Tuesday, due to the continued downcycle in the global chip industry. The country's outbound shipments stood at $14 billion in the April 1-10 period, compared with $15.3 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports shed 7.3 percent on-year to $17.4 billion during the cited period, resulting in a trade deficit of $3.41 billion. In March, outbound shipments fe

April 11, 2023

S. Korea not likely to enjoy strong trade surplus with China anymore: Choo

South Korea's trade surplus with China is expected to be weaker than in the past down the road, although it is unlikely to result in a deficit, the finance minister has said. "It is clear that China will not give our economy a chance to rebound as quickly as it has in the past," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during a meeting with South Korean reporters in New York on Monday. Exports to China, South Korea's top trading partner, plunged 33.4 percent on-year in March to re

April 11, 2023

Hackers steal W20b worth of coins from crypto exchange

Hackers stole more than 20 billion won ($15 million) worth of cryptocurrencies from GDAC, a South Korean crypto exchange, the company said Monday. The attack occurred at around 7 a.m. Sunday, resulting in the transfer of digital assets, including over 60 bitcoins and 350 Ethereum tokens, to unidentified wallets. The stolen cryptocurrencies were valued at 20.27 billion won, accounting for about 23 percent of total assets under GDAC's custody. GDAC said some of the assets appear to have bee

April 10, 2023

[Photo News] LG at Milan Design Week

LG Electronics’ Objet Collection OLED TV, in collaboration with the Dutch luxury furniture and interior brand Moooi, is displayed at Milan Design Week 2023, the world’s largest design fair that kicks off in the northern Italy city next week.

April 10, 2023