[Photo News] LG's charitable giving

LG Group said Sunday it has donated 12 billion won ($9.2 million) to the Community Chest of Korea as part of its year-end charitable giving. LG Corp. President Ha Beom-jong (center left) and Cho Heung-sik (center right), chairman of the Community Chest of Korea, pose for a photo during the ceremony held at the charity’s Seoul office Friday.

Dec. 11, 2022

Hana looks to nurture future CEOs

Hana Financial Group said Sunday it has provided support totaling 150 million won ($115,000) for 18 startup projects launched by college students. The program, Hana Social Venture University, is part of the group’s outreach that aims to support young students to find jobs or launch their own businesses. Since July, 292 potential startups consisting of 550 university students from 10 different schools have taken part in the program, which offers eight weeks of training, one-on-one consultin

Dec. 11, 2022

Korea’s patent chief named among most influential IP experts

South Korea’s intellectual property agency chief has been chosen as one of the 50 most influential people from the intellectual property industry this year by UK magazine Managing IP. Korean Intellectual Property Office Commissioner Lee Insil was named on the list released Tuesday, which also included US President Joe Biden and World Trade Organization Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Lee was the only Korean IP expert to win the feat this year. The IP chief has been recognized for her

Dec. 11, 2022

Will Apple Pay contend in land of Samsung Pay?

Apple Pay’s long-awaited South Korean debut seems imminent, even as local partner Hyundai Card’s lips appear tightly sealed. On Friday, a photo went viral on Asamo, a Naver blog for Apple products users. It showed a kiosk machine at Kimganae, a local gimbap chain, with a sign that read “Payment with Apple Pay.” Many blog readers did not hide their excitement. “Finally, Apple Pay in Korea,” a user commented on the post. “If it works in Kimganae, I gues

Dec. 11, 2022

Vietnam at the center of Samsung’s renewed R&D push

HANOI, Vietnam – Gone are the days when Vietnam served as a cheap manufacturing base for global companies. Samsung Electronics, among others, have more recently been investing heavily to nurture a new research hub there. Ahead of the opening of its new research and development center later this month, the South Korean tech giant held its recruitment test, called Global Samsung Aptitude Test, three times this year alone -- a massive hiring drive that is rare both at home and abroad. “

Dec. 11, 2022

24 Korean firms named to Dow Jones’ sustainability index

A total of 24 Korean companies have been added to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) this year, the Korea Productivity Center said Sunday. The selected domestic companies include SK Telecom, LG Electronics, Kia, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, S-Oil, Shinhan Financial Group, KB Financial Group and Samsung SDI, according to the public institution. The DJSI World is part of a larger family of Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) launched in 1999 as the first global sustai

Dec. 11, 2022

Forest Ministry strives for ecological restoration in DMZ

The Korea Forest Service said on Sunday it would establish its third comprehensive forest management plan in a bid to ramp up its attempts to advance the ecology in the Demilitarized Zone that divides South and North Korea. The five-year plan, set to be enacted in January, aims to enhance the biodiversity within the forest and expand the role of the DMZ as a carbon sink. Carbon sinks are areas that store carbon-containing chemical compounds for an indefinite period and remove carbon dioxide from

Dec. 11, 2022

Wemix launches buyback program after delisting fiasco

After being pulled off from the country’s major crypto exchange platforms, Wemix decided to repurchase some $10 million worth of its digital assets and remove them from circulation to increase the value of the token. Wemix was pulled off from Korea’s top crypto exchanges under the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) on Thursday, following a Seoul court’s dismissal of an injunction against the delisting of the cryptocurrency. DAXA owns the nation’s top five crypto excha

Dec. 9, 2022

Foreign investors continue rush to local securities: BOK

Foreign investors remained net buyers of local securities, recording a net inflow of $2.74 billion (3.56 trillion won) in local securities in November, data from the central bank showed Friday. According to the Bank of Korea’s report on the international finance and foreign exchange market, foreigners purchased a net $2.1 billion worth of shares and $630 million worth of bonds in Korea in November, continuing the buying rush from the month before. The figure adds up to a total of $8.05 bil

Dec. 9, 2022

Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 wins Japan’s import car of the year

Hyundai Motor Group's Ioniq 5 electric vehicle has won the title of the best import car of the year in Japan, the automaker said Friday. It is the first time the South Korean automaker has made it onto the award-winning list of the Japan Car of the Year Award. Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 outranked BMW’s iX, Land Rover’s Range Rover, Renault’s Arkana and other distinguished car models. The award’s executive committee said Ioniq 5 was well-received for its innovative des

Dec. 9, 2022

Seoul shares end higher ahead of key US inflation data

South Korean stocks ended higher Friday, snapping a five-day losing streak, as foreigners and institutions picked up oversold shares amid uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy direction. The Korean won sharply strengthened against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 17.96 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,389.04. The main index fell 2.6 percent this week through Thursday. Trading volume was moderate at 309.52 million shares worth 7.09 trillion

Dec. 9, 2022

Over half of EU citizens have positive view of S. Korea: study

More than half of European Union citizens hold a positive attitude toward South Korea, according to a study presented by Han Jeong-hun, a professor of Korean politics at Seoul National University Wednesday. According to the study, 55.3 percent of EU citizens said they had a positive view of South Korea, while another 18 percent said they had no opinion. Meanwhile, 26.8 percent said they had a negative view. However, when asked about how interested they were in Korea, only 38.6 percent responded

Dec. 9, 2022

Hyundai Motor and SK On to invest $4b for EV battery plant in Georgia

South Korea’s leading carmaker Hyundai Motor Group and SK Group’s battery-making arm SK On are set to invest $4 billion to build a joint battery production plant in Georgia, US state officials said Friday. Construction is expected to be completed in 2025. The two companies had signed a business agreement late November on building a joint facility in Bartow County, about 100 kilometers northwest of Atlanta. The batteries produced at the plant will power Hyundai Group’s electric

Dec. 9, 2022

Seoul shares open higher after US gains

Seoul stocks opened higher Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street, as investors await key US inflation data this week for clues as to whether the Federal Reserve could scale down its aggressive monetary tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.72 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,375.80 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Kospi rebounded after a five-day slide. Stronger-than-expected US jobs report and service sector activity released earlier this week weighed on consumer se

Dec. 9, 2022

S. Korea posts current account surplus for second straight month but sharply smaller than year earlier

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the second consecutive month in October, but the amount was much smaller than the previous year amid expanded imports and outbound travel, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus came to $880 million in October, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the second straight month of a surplus, though the surplus was nearly halved from the previous month's $1.58 billion. It also re

Dec. 9, 2022

[Graphic News] Overseas card spending continues to grow on soaring outbound travel

South Koreans’ overseas card spending continued to grow in the third quarter as outbound travel spiked bolstered by eased pandemic curbs, central bank data showed. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, came to $3.81 billion in the July-September period, up 4.1 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. Compared with a year earlier, consumption jumped 32.6 percent. The latest data marked the se

Dec. 9, 2022

Hyundai Steel to develop anti-flood door for manufacturing facilities

Hyundai Steel on Thursday said the company has forged a new alliance to develop anti-flood measures that will protect its manufacturing facilities. On Wednesday, representatives from Hyundai Steel, Hyundai Engineering, Haejeon Industry and the Korean Society of Steel Construction signed a memorandum of understanding, according to the steelmaker. Choi Ju-tae and Park Chan-woo, senior managing directors at Hyundai Steel and Hyundai Engineering, joined the signing ceremony held in Hyundai Steel

Dec. 8, 2022

Korea vows to ease regulatory hurdles for foreign firms

The South Korean government pledged to make pan-governmental efforts to lift some of the regulations on businesses as part of its drive to draw more foreign-invested companies, the Trade Ministry said Thursday. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, foreign investments play a major role in the Korean economy. Korea received $21.52 billion worth of foreign direct investment commitments from January to September this year, up 18.2 percent from the same period of the year before

Dec. 8, 2022

Jin Ok-dong tapped as chairman candidate for Shinhan Financial

Shinhan Bank President Jin Ok-dong, 61, has been appointed as the final candidate for the new chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea's No. 2 bank by total assets, Thursday. The group said that nonexecutive directors of the group unanimously voted for Jin at a candidate recommendation meeting held at the firm's headquarters in central Seoul. Other candidates were Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung and Shinhan Card CEO Lim Young-jin. Though it was rumored that cur

Dec. 8, 2022

Citibank named best international bank in Korea

Citibank Korea has been honored with the Best International Bank in Korea for 2022 award by Asiamoney, a monthly financial magazine published in Hong Kong. Asiamoney said it selected Citibank Korea for the award as the bank has been “a trusted financial partner to corporate clients, offering innovative and comprehensive solutions with Citi’s global expertise and network despite the significant challenges of the global economy.” “Thanks to the passion and devotion of all o

Dec. 8, 2022