Seoul stocks snap 5-day winning streak on tech, auto losses; Korean won at 9-month high

Seoul stocks snapped their five-day winning streak Monday, weighed by losses in major tech shares ahead of the US central bank's rate-decision meeting and exports data from Asia's fourth-largest economy. The Korean won rose to the highest in nine months against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 33.55 points, or 1.35 percent, to close at 2,450.47 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 460 million shares worth some 8.7 trillion won ($7.1 billi

Jan. 30, 2023

KT&G joins hands with Philip Morris to speed up overseas expansion

In a bid to expedite its foray into the global market and ramp up its sales, South Korean tobacco company KT&G on Monday clinched its first-ever long-term contract with Philip Morris International to supply the global tobacco giant with its products. Under the 15-year sales and purchase agreement, KT&G said it will be supplying PMI with its heat-not-burn cigarette brand "lil" products, along with future e-cigarette products that will be developed in the future. Meanwhile, under

Jan. 30, 2023

Samsung SDI hits W20tr in sales for first time

Samsung SDI said Monday it posted record-high earnings in both sales revenue and operating profit last year, largely driven by the surge in sales of value-added battery products. Revenue skyrocketed 48.5 percent to 20.1 trillion won ($16 billion) last year, while its operating profit jumped 9 percent to 1.8 trillion won. It is the first time sales have reached the 20 trillion won mark. Operating profit soared to new heights as well, surpassing the 1 trillion won mark for the second consecutive

Jan. 30, 2023

LG Innotek aims high with new chip substrate plant

LG Innotek said Monday it will ramp up development of its flip chip ball grid array packages, or high-density package substrates to secure a top position in the market. "FC-BGA is a sector LG Innotek can excel in, as the company has been leading the global substrate material market with its unrivaled technology and productivity," said LG Innotek's president and CEO, Jeong Cheol-dong. "We will create differentiated customer value so the company can lead the global FC-BGA marke

Jan. 30, 2023

‘Responsibility’ beats ‘professionalism’ in conglomerates’ hiring priorities

Demonstrating a sense of responsibility during a job interview will boost one’s chance of getting hired by large companies in Korea, a report from business lobby group Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry showed Monday. Since 2008, the quinquennial report has been mainly looking into job recruiting announcements and websites of the top 100 local companies in terms of sales to find out trends in qualification that they seek in their applicants. “As the job market is expected to tu

Jan. 30, 2023

GM to debut all-electric Cadillac Lyriq in Korea this year

General Motors will launch its first Ultium platform-based electric sport utility vehicle, the Cadillac Lyriq, in South Korea later this year to expand its EV lineup in the country, the automaker announced Monday. Ultium refers to Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution established in 2019 to set up and operate battery cell manufacturing facilities in the US. The two share three EV battery plants, the first of which began operating in Ohio last year. The second and third

Jan. 30, 2023

Paris Baguette opens 100th franchise store in US

Korea’s leading bakery franchise Paris Baguette has launched its 100th franchise store in the US, stepping up its overseas business, its operator SPC Group said Monday. Reaching the milestone with the opening of "Paris Baguette Red Bank" in New Jersey, the company aims to introduce 1,000 stores across the US market by 2030. According to the food company, Paris Baguette plans to sign 160 additional franchise deals this year. Entering the US in 2005, Paris Baguette has worked on en

Jan. 30, 2023

[Newsmaker] Why is Samsung starting a legal fight against smartphone repair shops in US?

Samsung Display has recently filed a complaint against 17 smartphone repair shops in the US over their use of “illegal” panels that it says infringed its highly sophisticated OLED patents, according to industry sources Monday. The display-making unit of Samsung Electronics is a market leader making almost 70 percent of OLED panels used in high-end mobile devices, including Samsung Galaxy and Apple iPhone smartphones. Sources say the company seems determined to offer no leniency for

Jan. 30, 2023

Tax revenue up 15% in 2022

South Korea's tax revenue rose 51.9 trillion won ($42 billion) in 2022 from a year earlier on the back of an increased collection of corporate income taxes, coupled with revitalized consumption, the finance ministry said Monday. The government collected 395.9 trillion won in taxes last year, up 15.1 percent from the 344.1 trillion won tallied in 2021, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. In 2020, the tax revenue fell by 7.9 trillion won due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandem

Jan. 30, 2023

Exports of passenger cars hit record high in 2022

South Korea's exports of passenger cars rose 15 percent on-year in 2022 to reach a record high, data showed Monday, on the back of robust shipments of eco-friendly models. Carmakers shipped passenger cars worth a combined $49 billion in 2022, up from $42.6 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. The number of cars shipped reached 2.31 million units, also rising 10.1 percent on-year, the agency added. South Korea's imports of passenge

Jan. 30, 2023

Seoul stocks open lower ahead of Fed meeting

Seoul stocks opened lower Monday, as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 10.32 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,473.7 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed up 0.95 percent Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 finishing up 0.08 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively. Signs of slowing US inflation hi

Jan. 30, 2023

[Photo News] New year's trekking

S-Oil CEO Hussain A. Al-Qahtani and some 100 company staff participate in a new year's trekking event at Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. During the event, the CEO urged united efforts for the successful completion of the Shaheen Project, the refiner's $7 billion mega project building a large-scale petrochemical plant in Ulsan by 2026.

Jan. 29, 2023

Transport costs to climb after steep rise in utility bills

As South Koreans are still trying to process the shocking heating bills they received this month, taxi and public transport fare hikes await. In some regions, water and sewer fees, as well as volume-based waste disposal fees, are also slated to rise. In Seoul, the base fare for a midsized sedan cab will jump by 1,000 won (81 cents) to 4,800 won from 4 a.m. on Wednesday, the first hike in four years. The distance covered with the initial fare will be reduced from the current 2 kilometers to 1.6 k

Jan. 29, 2023

Hana to seek more M&As overseas

Hana Financial Group has announced plans to strengthen the company's global and digital sectors, while improving financial services in 2023. The financial holding firm, whose business spans from bank and card services to securities, shared its vision for the new year at an event held at Kyung Hee University in Seoul on Saturday. More than 4,000 employees from 15 affiliates -- including Hana Bank, Hana Securities, Hana Card and Hana Capital -- took part in the event, with Chairman Ham Young-

Jan. 29, 2023

Oriental Brewery outpaces rivals in beer sales

South Korea’s largest beer maker Oriental Brewery led last year’s domestic beer market, as the spirits market began to see signs of recovery after years of pandemic disruptions. During the January to November period last year, OB topped beer sales here with a whopping 53.7 percent market share, the firm said in a Jan. 19 press release. During the summer season, when competition in the market is extremely severe, the company posted a 53 percent growth in sales from June to August year

Jan. 29, 2023

[KH Explains] In land of Hyundai-Kia, smaller carmakers struggle for survival

SsangYong Motors, Renault Korea Motors and GM Korea are facing another challenging year ahead, with market leader Hyundai Motor Group’s big sales push showing little signs of abating. Hyundai and its smaller affiliate Kia, driven by demand for their full electric models, sold 688,884 and 541,068 vehicles, respectively, at home last year. Their market share stood strong at almost 90 percent in a market with a total of 1.39 million unit sales, excluding some 300,000 import car sales. For t

Jan. 29, 2023

Banks' working hours to return to normal

With the Korean government lifting the indoor mask mandate, major banks are to normalize their operating hours to 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday. Major commercial banks, including KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, Woori Bank and NH NongHyup, are to normalize their operating hours from the current 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. as the government has lifted the indoor mask mandate, one of the last remaining pandemic restrictions. Major savings banks have also joined the move. Ban

Jan. 29, 2023

Samsung hires ex-Ericsson execs to boost network business

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics has hired two experts from Swedish telco Ericsson to reinforce its network business. According to industry sources on Sunday, Samsung recently established a task force under its network business division to oversee a new business strategy. For the task force chief, the company hired Henrik Jansson, formerly the strategic sourcing manager for Ericsson. The company also recruited Jo Mi-sun who served as the head of sustainability and corporate responsibi

Jan. 29, 2023

S. Korea's imports of wine up 3.8 % in 2022

South Korea's imports of wine rose 3.8 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, data showed Sunday, as more people enjoyed consuming alcoholic beverages at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The total value of wine imported by South Korea last year came to $581.2 million, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service, after hovering above the $500 million level for the first time in 2021. Market watchers said the increase in the consumption of wine came as the prolonged pandemic has

Jan. 29, 2023

Samsung Biologics 2022 earnings hit all-time high with W3tr sales

Korean contract manufacturer Samsung Biologics' earnings in 2022 hit all-time high, mainly because its biopharmaceutical unit was included in the consolidated financial result after a full acquisition early in the year. Its sales almost doubled to 3 trillion won ($2.4 billion) from 1.56 trillion won in 2021, according to its regulatory filing on Friday. It logged 983.6 billion won in operating profit, up 83 percent from 537.3 billion won a year earlier. The dollar figure above has been calc

Jan. 27, 2023