[World Cup] Hwang Hee-chan awarded Budweiser's Player of the Match

South Korean midfielder Hwang Hee-chan was awarded Player of the Match by US beer brand and official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Budweiser, following Korea’s Saturday match against Portugal, Korean distributor Oriental Brewery said Sunday. South Korea pulled off a dramatic 2-1 victory against powerhouse Portugal, securing its place in the knockout stage. Hwang scored the last goal of the match in the 46th minute of the second half, assisted by Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min. In rec

Dec. 4, 2022

S. Korea's 2022 exports likely to mark on-year growth but pace to slow down

South Korea is expected to post a growth in 2022 exports from a year earlier, but it is unlikely to meet its yearly target of $700 billion in outbound shipments due to sluggish sales of key items, like mobile devices and ships, government data showed Sunday. Exports of 15 major products, including semiconductors, ships, cars and petrochemicals, for the first 11 months of 2022 amounted to $490.6 billion, up 7.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry

Dec. 4, 2022

Exports of agro, food goods hit new high in 2022

South Korea's exports of agricultural and food products jumped to touch a new record high in the first 11 months of this year, government data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of agricultural and food goods came to $8.08 billion in the January-November period, up 4 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the agriculture and fisheries ministries. Exports of instant noodles surged 14.5 percent on-year to $696 million in the cited period, the ministry said. Outbound shipment

Dec. 4, 2022

Antitrust chief warns of strict response to unionized truckers for hindering on-site probe

South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Friday that it would deal sternly with the nation’s unionized cargo truckers for hindering an on-site probe into its head offices as their walkout continues over a week. Investigators of Fair Trade Commission visited the union's headquarters in Seoul and Busan to see whether its members had forced other workers to stop their transport duties or join the strike. Deterred by union members to enter the offices, the FTC Chairman Han Ki-jeong

Dec. 2, 2022

Hahn & Co. acquires SKC's industrial film biz for $1.2b

South Korea’s largest private equity firm Hahn & Company said Friday it has completed the acquisition of the industrial film business of SK Group affiliate SKC in a deal worth 1.6 trillion won ($1.2 billion). The latest deal is the largest merger and acquisition closed in the country this year amid M&A jitters globally. The company said SKC’s industrial film business has full potential as its products are widely used in advanced technologies for the display, mobile and se

Dec. 2, 2022

Court starts reviewing Wemix delisting injunction

A Seoul court on Friday started reviewing a preliminary injunction requested by game publisher Wemade to withdraw the decision from South Korea’s top five crypto exchanges to delist Wemix, a token issued by the game company's blockchain platform. This petition for a preliminary injunction was filed on Monday after the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) comprised of five crypto exchanges -- Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax -- announced on Nov. 24 they would halt trading

Dec. 2, 2022

Hanwha Aerospace to lead homegrown space rocket project

Hanwha Aerospace, the space business arm of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha, has been tapped as the company to lead the project of upgrading the homegrown Nuri rocket and launching it four more times through 2027, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said Friday. According to Hanwha Aerospace’s regulatory filing, the company on Thursday signed a contract worth approximately 286 billion won ($220 million) with the state-run institute. The official selection came about two months after th

Dec. 2, 2022

S. Korea's consumer prices up 5% on-year in November, lowest in seven months

South Korea's on-year growth in consumer prices sharply slowed in November from a month earlier at the lowest level in seven months, data showed Friday, hinting the country's inflationary pressure has passed its peak. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 5 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a 5.7 percent growth tallied in October, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest on-year increase since 4.8 percent tallied in April. Consumer

Dec. 2, 2022

Seoul shares open lower after Fed-driven rallies

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, as investors took a breather after recent rallies fueled by optimism that the US Federal Reserve may slow the pace of interest rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 21.94 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,457.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Latest US data showed its manufacturing contracted last month for the first time in 2 1/2 years, with a measurement of consumer spending having risen at a slower-than-expected pace in Octo

Dec. 2, 2022

Delayed supplies caused by truckers' strike amounts to 1.6 tln won: gov't

Over one trillion won worth of financial damage has been caused by the ongoing unionized truckers' strike in the past week, affecting the cement, steel, oil and other industries, the South Korean government on Thursday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said shipments delayed due to the walkout that started nationwide on Nov. 24 has amounted to some 1.6 trillion won ($1.23 billion). Amid concerns that transport disruptions could escalate further, the Trade Ministry is reviewing o

Dec. 1, 2022

Posco shares surge after union’s departure from hard-line labor group

Shares of Posco companies fluctuated Thursday after one of its two unions decided to leave the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, considered one of the most hard-line labor groups here, via ballot a day earlier. In a ballot held for three days, almost 70 percent of the Posco unionists voted in favor of the departure. The KMWU falls under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the nation’s largest and most powerful labor group. Following the news, Posco Steeleon, a steel plate producer,

Dec. 1, 2022

SK carries out modest reshuffle amid lingering uncertainties

SK Group, the nation’s second-largest conglomerate, appears to be seeking stability rather than drastic changes in the face of economic uncertainty, as it carried out a modest year-end leadership reshuffle across affiliates. SK Supex Council, the group’s top decision-making body, said its Chairman Cho Dae-sik will extend his two-year term again for a fourth time since he took the post in a unanimous vote among council members in 2017. The council, however, replaced the heads of the f

Dec. 1, 2022

Korean crypto exchange operators see Q3 earnings shrink

Korean cryptocurrency exchange operators have suffered setbacks in earnings in the third quarter, as investors' appetite for virtual assets fizzled following a string of incidents revealing their risks. According to Dart, the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure board, the net profit of Dunamu, the operator of Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, marked 159.98 billion won ($123 million) during the quarter that ended in September. Although this was an i

Dec. 1, 2022

[Photo News] Instant icon of the year

Hyundai Motor’s N Vision 74, a high-performance hydrogen fuel cell hybrid concept, has been awarded the Instant Icon Award by TopGear.com, the top UK motoring website, the South Korean carmaker said Thursday. Its sibling Kia also won the award for manufacturer of the year.

Dec. 1, 2022

Korean won strengthens after US Fed hints at smaller rate hike

The South Korean won rose to a four-month high on Thursday, as the US Federal Reserve hinted at a possible slowdown of its aggressive rate hikes. The Korean currency strengthened to 1,299.7 won against the greenback as of closing time, back below 1,300 won for the first time in four months. “The time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday at an economic forum. The Fed has hiked interest r

Dec. 1, 2022

Top 10 chaebol groups still reliant on internal trade

South Korea’s top 10 chaebol groups are still reliant on internal transactions -- a frequent target of antitrust scrutiny -- with their combined trade volume making up more than 10 percent of their total sales. According to the Fair Trade Commission on Thursday, transactions among affiliates of the nation’s 10 largest conglomerates stood at 156 trillion won ($120 billion) last year, a 15.1 percent jump from a year ago. The steep increase was due to their overall sales growth. The rat

Dec. 1, 2022

Samsung chief's public image improves: poll

One month after Lee Jae-yong was promoted to the top post at Samsung Electronics, South Koreans are found to have a more favorable view of him than before, data showed Thursday. According to research firm Data&Research, a total of 18,335 online posts, excluding news reports, featuring the phrase “Chairman Lee Jae-yong” have been published in the month since his promotion to chairman on Oct. 27. The figure almost doubled from 9,764 posts a month earlier. During the same period, Le

Dec. 1, 2022

Hyundai Heavy to showcase sustainable maritime future at CES

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries will showcase its vision for a sustainable maritime future at the Consumer Electronics Show 2023, the firm said Thursday. CES, the world’s largest technology exhibition, is held in Las Vegas during the first week of January each year. This will be the shipbuilder’s second time taking part in the event. In this year’s exhibition, Hyundai Heavy Industries said it will exhibit its future maritime strategy with a focus on “Oce

Dec. 1, 2022

Hyundai E&C starts sales of new apartment complex in Incheon

South Korean builder Hyundai E&C said Thursday it has begun selling flats at its newly constructed apartment complex in Namdong-gu, Incheon. Named “Hillstate Incheon City Hall Station,” the apartment complex can house a total of 746 households in flats that range in area between 39 and 84 square-meters. Houses in that range were found to be in highest demand, according to the construction company. Hyundai E&C said regulations concerning real estate subscriptions and housing l

Dec. 1, 2022

S. Korea's exports log steeper on-year fall in November

South Korea's exports fell for the second consecutive month on-year in November and the decline accelerated from the previous month due to the global economic slowdown and logistics disruptions over a truckers' strike, the trade ministry said Thursday. The country also suffered a trade deficit for the eighth straight month on high global energy prices, ringing an alarm over its growth momentum. Outbound shipments fell 14 percent on-year to come to $51.91 billion last month, following a

Dec. 1, 2022