[Weekender] Why soju price hikes are causing Koreans so much anguish

Rumors of soju price hikes have stirred public disquiet over the past couple of weeks here, intensifying to the extent that the government decided to intervene in the market. The fuss temporarily ended after Hite Jinro, the country’s largest soju maker, officially announced that it was not planning on any price hikes. “I felt bitter when I heard about possible price hikes in soju, which seemed to hold out well, while everything else is getting more expensive,” said Kim, a 29-

March 4, 2023

Medytox's BTX patent could face invalidation trial in US

A patent regarding Medytox’s botulinum toxin product can be embroiled in another legal dispute as its domestic rival Hugel filed for a patent invalidation in the US, according to industry sources on Friday. The patent, which could be considered for invalidation at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in the US, concerns a method for isolating Botulinum toxin from solution. Medytox applied for the patent in 2017, and the patent was issued in May last year. Hugel, however, argues that the paten

March 3, 2023

Celltrion Group’s retired founder Seo Jung-jin returns to management

Seo Jung-jin, the founder and the honorary chairman of Celltrion Group, will return to management after leaving the company in 2021, Celltrion announced Friday. On Friday, the biopharmaceutical group's key affiliates -- Celltrion Holdings, Celltrion, Celltrion Healthcare, and Celltrion Pharma held separate board meetings and recommended Seo as a candidate for director and co-chairman of the board of directors. Seo’s return will be determined at the four companies’ separate share

March 3, 2023

Competition heats up for first Hyundai factory job openings in decade

Tens of thousands of job seekers have flocked to the Hyundai Motor Group website after the carmaker announced it would recruit production line workers for the first time in a decade, the company said Friday. More than 30,000 people visited the carmaker's recruitment page on the first day of applications on Thursday, causing a server slowdown throughout the day, according to the company. On Friday, it took more than 20 minutes to load the webpage when The Korea Herald tried to access it arou

March 3, 2023

Seoul shares rise for third day amid eased rate hike worries

South Korean stocks closed marginally higher Friday, on growing hopes that the US Federal Reserve could go for smaller interest rate hikes despite data showing a resilient economy. The local currency gained sharply against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 4.22 points, or 0.17 percent, to finish at 2,432.07. Trading volume was moderate at 363.8 million shares worth 7.73 trillion won ($5.93 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 467 to 410. Federal Reserv

March 3, 2023

Samsung’s global DRAM market share inched up; revenue plummeted in Q4

As global chipmakers struggle with a severe market downturn, Samsung Electronics managed to maintain its market share while seeing a sharp loss in revenue, data showed on Thursday. According to market tracker TrendForce, global DRAM revenue fell by 32.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, when compared to the previous quarter, showing a decline similar to the 36 percent of the final quarter of the 2008 -- when the world was hit by a major financial crisis. The top three DRAM suppliers, Samsun

March 3, 2023

Naver's Webtoon ranked one of world's most innovative platforms

Webtoon, South Korean tech giant Naver’s digital comics platform, has been ranked No. 8 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2023. Fast Company is a monthly American business magazine that publishes an annual ranking of the most innovative companies, this year in 54 different industries and sectors. In the media sector, Webtoon was ranked top, followed by The New York Times. Fast Company said, “Webtoon pioneered a new way to experience dig

March 3, 2023

Number of startups drops 7.1 pct in 2022

The number of startups in South Korea fell more than 7 percent in 2022 from a year earlier amid a sluggish property market, government data showed Friday. A total of 1.317 million new companies were set up in the country last year, down 7.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups. The ministry attributed the decline largely to tougher rules for the home rental business, falling real estate transactions and low proper

March 3, 2023

FSC to expand information disclosure on banks' rate differentials

South Korea's financial regulator said Friday it will expand the disclosure of information on loan-deposit rate differences as part of efforts to promote competition in the banking sector amid criticism that it has been bent on making profits from the "interest business" without diversifying income sources. Banks have been providing information on deposit-loan spreads on new lending and savings since mid-2022 in a bid to enhance transparency in their operation and provide customer

March 3, 2023

S. Korea, China agree to increase flights to pre-pandemic levels

South Korean and Chinese aviation authorities have agreed to gradually increase the number of flights on their bilateral routes to pre-pandemic levels, the South Korean transport ministry said Friday. Seoul and Beijing have the rights to provide 608 flights a week on routes to each other's country, and they used to offer a combined 1,100 weekly flights before the COVID-19 hit the airline industry three years ago, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. "

March 3, 2023

KT, Intel join hands to launch world's first Wi-Fi 7

South Korean telecommunications giant KT said Thursday it is joining hands with Intel to introduce Wi-Fi 7 technology as the first network service operator. KT and Intel signed an agreement on Tuesday to work together to develop and promote Wi-Fi 7 technology, next-generation Wi-Fi standard, on the sidelines of this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the Korean telecommunications giant said. Wi-Fi 7 would pack more data into each transmission and raise the speed significantl

March 3, 2023

Seoul shares open higher on hopes of pause in Fed rate hikes

South Korean stocks opened marginally higher Friday, on growing hopes that the US Federal Reserve may not raise the interest rates as aggressively as expected. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 5.75 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,433.6 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said Thursday that he believes the Fed should go "steady" on interest rate hikes, a dovish remark from someone known as one of the most hawkish

March 3, 2023

Amorepacific pivots away from China

South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific is reconstructing its brand image in a bid to wean its sales off a dependence on China and ramp up its sales in North America and Europe. According to Amorepacific, the company on Wednesday released First Care Activating Serum VI, the six edition of Sulwhasoo's flagship serum. Sulwhasoo is Amorepacific's luxury skincare subsidiary brand that accounts for some 40 percent of the Korean beauty giant's total annual cosmetics sales. The company

March 2, 2023

Weak chip demand pushes economy recovery off track

  Sluggish demand for chips, the country’s key export item, continues to hinder Korea from getting the economy on a recovery track, the finance minister said Thursday, Asia’s fourth-largest economy logged a fall in exports for a fifth month in a row in February due to weak global demand for semiconductors amid an economic slowdown. “Without a rebound in the semiconductor industry, limits on export recovery are inevitable for the time being,” Finance Minister Choo Kyu

March 2, 2023

Seoul shares rise on China recovery hope

South Korean stocks closed higher Thursday, snapping a two-day losing streak, as data suggesting China's economic recovery from the COVID-19-driven slowdown helped spur investor appetite for risky assets. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 15 points, or 0.62 percent, to close at 2,427.85. Trading volume was moderate at 422.3 million shares worth 9.48 trillion won ($7.3 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 495 to 389.

March 2, 2023

[KH Explains] Would Renault-Nissan alliance affect Renault Korea?

Last month, auto giants Renault and Nissan announced that they were reshaping their decades-old strategic alliance, calling Europe a top priority market in their renewed green push. With an Asia strategy missing in the landmark deal, experts here warn that Renault Korea Motors could be downgraded as a production base for the French carmaker unless sizeable investments are made in developing its own new cars. Decades-old alliance reshaped On Feb. 6, Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan u

March 2, 2023

[Photo News] Smart cottage

LG Electronics introduces a new residential concept of its Smart Cottage, a small modular house equipped with LG's advanced energy and air conditioning technology and filled with differentiated premium home appliances. The smart cottage prototype unveiled has a two-story one-room structure. The living room and kitchen are in one space, and the toilet and powder room are separate.

March 2, 2023

SK Ecoplant's subsidiary sets up 4th plant in US

SK Ecoplant announced Wednesday that it has completed construction of its e-waste and waste battery recycling base in Las Vegas, through its overseas subsidiary TES. The 3,700-square-meter IT asset disposition plant in Las Vegas is TES' fourth US base, following others in Seattle, Atlanta and Fredericksburg, Virginia. IT asset disposition mainly refers to the complete destruction of information stored in IT assets, ranging from smartphones to data center equipment. TES is developing ITAD as

March 2, 2023

JB Financial names new CFO

JB Financial Group announced Thursday that it has named Senior Vice President Song Jong-keun as its new chief financial officer. An industry veteran, Song has extensive experience in finance and business management as well as a deep knowledge and understanding of the challenges facing the traditional banking industry, JB said. Born in 1965, he received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in international economics at Seoul National University before completing his MBA at the Unive

March 2, 2023

L&F wows investors with $2.9b Tesla deal

South Korean battery materials maker L&F is expected to continue growing after it recently wowed investors around the world by signing a $2.9 billion supply deal with US electric vehicle giant Tesla, according to analysts Thursday. L&F on Tuesday posted in a regulatory filing that it will provide high-nickel cathode materials to Tesla for two years from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2025. The two-year contract is almost four times bigger than L&F’s total sales of 971 billion won ($

March 2, 2023