KB, KCCI join hands to offer special loans to SMEs

KB Financial Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry jointly to provide special loans for small and medium-sized enterprises making environmental, social and corporate governance efforts. KB Financial Group Vice Chairman Yang Jong-hee and Woo Tae-hee, executive vice chairman of the KCCI, gathered at the KCCI headquarters in Seoul on Thursday to sign the memorandum. "Based on this MOU, KB Financial Group plans to provide various and ex

March 16, 2023

7 companies to recall over 8,800 vehicles over faulty parts

Hyundai Motor Co., BMW and five other companies will voluntarily recall over 8,800 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. The seven firms, which also include Mercedes-Benz Korea, Jaguar-Land Rover Korea, GM Asia-Pacific regional headquarters, Suzuki and Bike Korea, are recalling 8,875 units of 27 different models, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The recalls are due to software problems with the electronic steering system i

March 16, 2023

Seoul stocks open lower on Credit Suisse rout

Seoul stocks opened sharply lower Thursday on worries that global investment bank Credit Suisse's fiasco may spread to other financial institutions. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 24.03 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,355.69 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investors remained worried that Swiss-based Credit Suisse, hit by scandals and losing confidence from investors, may face further uncertainties down the road. On Wednesday, Seoul stocks rebounded from the af

March 16, 2023

Posco pledges W4b to compensate wartime forced labor victims

Posco, the country's leading steelmaker, said Wednesday the company will donate 4 billion won ($3 million) to a state-led fund to compensate the victims of forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea. The 4 billion won is part of the 10 billion won it pledged to contribute to the public fund in 2012. Earlier this month, the Foreign Ministry announced it would collect “voluntary” donations from local companies to the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization, an

March 15, 2023

LG Innotek CEO wins Gold Tower award

LG Innotek CEO Jeong Cheol-dong received the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit, the highest honor in the field awarded by the South Korean government, at the annual Trade Day ceremony Wednesday for his notable contribution to the national economy. Jeong was honored for his part in strengthening the competitiveness of the national industry by securing proprietary technologies in materials and parts, developing new technologies, leading process innovation and localizing equipment over t

March 15, 2023

HD Hyundai chairman wins top industrial honor

HD Hyundai Chairman Kwon Oh-gap on Wednesday received South Korea’s highest state industrial award -- Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit -- for his achievements as a business leader in enhancing the country’s shipbuilding industry and promoting the culture of giving. The award ceremony took place during the ceremony of the 50th Commerce and Industry Day organized by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy. The event was held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry

March 15, 2023

Fundamentals in focus as Samsung CEO signals continued investment

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- While forecasting a grim business outlook amid a global economic downturn, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee vowed to overcome difficulties by focusing on the "fundamentals" and to maintain investment, during this year's annual shareholders meeting Wednesday. “We expect this year to be more difficult than ever, as management uncertainties surrounding the company would continue. But even in these situations, we were able to overcome

March 15, 2023

Korea Ginseng Corp. opens R&D center in US

Korea Ginseng Corp., the country’s leading ginseng manufacturer, said Wednesday it set up a research and development center in California in a bid to continue its development of Korean ginseng customized for the US market and ramp up its sales overseas. KGC said with the new R&D center it plans to research ways to improve the functions of its flagship red ginseng products sold in the US -- including boosting the products' capability to improve consumers' immunity, reduce fati

March 15, 2023

Hyundai Elevator joins bid for smart city project in Indonesia

Hyundai Elevator said Wednesday it is joining a government-led consortium to participate in bidding to win a megacity project in Indonesia, which ranges from construction to mobility and smart city solutions. The consortium, named One Team Korea, is led by Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong, with a total of 22 companies joining across industries. As part of the team, Hyundai Elevator said it has joined hands with its sister firm Hyundai Movex in a bid to offer its elevator

March 15, 2023

HanmiGlobal secures new housing deal for Saudi project

South Korean construction management firm HanmiGlobal announced Wednesday that it has signed a new project management deal to oversee the construction of some 20,000 housing units for workers for Saudi Arabia’s Neom City project. The latest deal comes following another deal it struck for building 50,000 homes in the workers’ residential complex in November last year. The combined size of the two deals is worth about 15 billion won ($11.5 million), with the 70,000 homes set to be buil

March 15, 2023

[Photo News] For Busan's expo bid

Posco International CEO Jeong Tak (second from bottom right), who heads Posco Group's task force for promotional activities for Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, holds a meeting with Uzbek government officials in Fergana, Uzbekistan, Monday.

March 15, 2023

Samsung to spend W60tr for balanced growth in rural areas

Key tech companies of Samsung Group, South Korea's largest conglomerate, will invest a combined 60.1 trillion won ($46.1 billion) over the next decade for the country’s manufacturing business in rural areas to pursue balanced regional development. This equates to about 10 percent of the South Korean government’s budget of 638 trillion won for this year. The spending plan by Samsung’s affiliates, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electr

March 15, 2023

[KH Explains] SVB collapse eases pressure on BOK

  The abrupt fallout from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse has led to raised bets that the US Federal Reserve will be less aggressive in raising interest rates, lifting the burden on the Bank of Korea, which was under pressure from the widening key rate gap. Prior to the banking crisis that hit the financial market on Friday, the market had been expecting the Fed to raise the base rate by 50 basis points this month. Fed chair Jerome Powell had been giving hawkish guidance in past weeks, war

March 15, 2023

[Exclusive] CJ crafting fish-shaped Korean-style dumplings

CJ CheilJedang is developing a new Korean-style dumpling, or "mandu," in the shape of "bungeoppang" -- a popular fish-shaped waffle generally filled with red bean paste or cream -- as the food giant looks to expand its future portfolio, according to a source familiar with the matter, Wednesday. The source told The Korea Herald that the food giant has recently completed an internal review of the bungeoppang mandu product in a pop-up store format at the company’s headquar

March 15, 2023

[Photo News] Kia EV9 unveiled

South Korean automaker Kia on Wednesday unveiled the official design of the Kia EV9, a large all-electric sport utility vehicle. Kia said it will release detailed information about the Kia EV9 later this month and debut the car at the upcoming Seoul Mobility Show on March 31-April l9 at Kintex in Gyeonggi Province.

March 15, 2023

Hyundai becomes world’s third-largest carmaker

Hyundai Motor Group has become the world’s third-largest carmaker in terms of sales, an impressive feat after more than two decades when, in 2000, the South Korean auto giant made it to the global top 10 list. According to its regulatory filing Wednesday, the carmaker sold a total of 6.8 million vehicles last year, the third highest after Toyota’s 14.8 million units and Volkswagen’s 8.5 million units. The sales figure outpaced Renault-Nissan Alliance's 6.2 million unit

March 15, 2023

Seoul stocks open higher on eased US banking, inflation jitters

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as concerns eased over the collapse of US banks, which jolted the global financial market this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 29.14 points, or 1.24 percent, to 2,378.11 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Tuesday, the key stock index closed down nearly 3 percent, the biggest daily loss this year, amid lingering uncertainties about the fallout from the collapse of two US banks. US stocks also rebounded from their tr

March 15, 2023

Posco Chemical to present full battery components lineup at Seoul battery fair

Posco Chemical Co., a leading South Korean manufacturer of secondary battery materials, said Wednesday it is showcasing a full lineup of its cathode and anode products and related technologies at an international battery show this week. Posco Chemical will present high-nickel cathodes, a key component that determines the power of lithium-ion cells for electric vehicles, as well as cathodes for lithium iron phosphate batteries and cobalt-free cells at InterBattery 2023, set to kick off in souther

March 15, 2023

Job additions smallest in 2 years in Febuary amid economic slowdown

South Korea's monthly job additions slowed for the ninth consecutive month in February, data showed Wednesday, amid forecasts the job recovery will lose steam this year amid the economic slowdown. The number of employed people came to 27.71 million in February, up around 312,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Excluding those aged 60 and above, however, the figure moved down 101,000 over the period. The February figure marked a decrease from 411,000

March 15, 2023

S. Korea, Dutch trade ministers pledge to bolster ties on chips

Trade ministers of South Korea and the Netherlands on Tuesday agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation on various industries, especially in the semiconductors amid growing pressures from the US to curb investment in China. South Korean Minister for Trade Ahn Duk-geun met with Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher to exchange views on the two countries' partnership on economic security. They agreed to further strengthen complementary c

March 14, 2023