Seoul shares open lower on US losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street amid lingering concerns over the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 14.42 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,223.44 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.15 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite went down 0.68 percent, as investors await a jobs report for September due Friday (US time), wh

Oct. 7, 2022

GS Energy, Posco to work together on used battery recycling

Energy-to-construction conglomerate GS Group said Thursday it has signed an agreement with South Korea's top steel maker Posco to establish a joint venture for battery recycling business to create synergy in the rapidly expanding industry. Named Posco-GS Eco Materials, the joint venture will be 51 percent owned by Posco Holdings and 49 percent owned by GS Energy. It will be established within this year. Posco and GS said they saw new business opportunity amid shifting industry ecosystem and

Oct. 6, 2022

PK Valve develops Korea’s first valve for liquified hydrogen

PK Valve & Engineering, a subsidiary of STX, which specializes in industrial valves, said it has developed the country’s first valves for liquefied hydrogen after three years of research and development. The “3-inch Globe valve for liquefied hydrogen,” made of 316L stainless steel, can be directly applied to containers that store liquefied hydrogen at minus 253 degrees Celsius. Hydrogen liquefies at the extremely low temperature of minus 253 degrees, and constantly gasifies

Oct. 6, 2022

Korea braces for oil price spikes following OPEC+’s output cut

SEJONG -- South Korea’s economic policymakers are likely to adopt another round of contingency plans to minimize possible instability in consumer prices, as the OPEC+ has decided to curb oil production. The oil cartel’s decision comes after some local policymakers and market insiders claimed that Korea’s inflation was considered to have peaked in July, when consumer price growth posted 6.3 percent. At a meeting in Vienna on Wednesday, the OPEC+ publicized its plan to reduce c

Oct. 6, 2022

Seoul shares rise for 3rd day on tech gains, foreign buying

South Korean stocks made solid gains Thursday as investors picked up big-cap tech shares on hopes for a recovery in a semiconductor industry cycle. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 22.64 points, or 1.02 percent, to end at 2,237.86, extending its winning streak to a third consecutive session. Trading volume was moderate at 631.62 million shares worth 6.67 trillion won ($4.75 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 776 to 118. Foreigners bought shares worth 252.05 bill

Oct. 6, 2022

Chaebol chiefs on overseas business trips amid parliamentary inspection

A parliamentary inspection of the Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee kicked off Thursday to question businesses over their mishaps or irregularities that undermined public safety, but hearing sessions went on without business chiefs in attendance. The initial list of requested witnesses submitted by the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea included 96 business executives in total, but only four appeared as witnesses on the day. Business tycoons w

Oct. 6, 2022

Korea posts biggest drop in dollar reserves since 2008 as won plunges

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves shrank by nearly $20 billion in September, the biggest monthly decline in 14 years, as authorities double down on efforts to prop up the quickly depreciating won that is now at a 13-year low against the US dollar. According to Bank of Korea data on Thursday, the reserves stood at $416.77 billion at the end of September, down $19.66 billion from $436.43 billion in August. That is the largest monthly dip since October 2008, when reserves fell by $27.4

Oct. 6, 2022

[Newsmaker] Why SK chief calls K-food the next big thing

In a surprising move, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has recently stepped up as an evangelist for hansik, or Korean food, even though his sprawling energy-to-chip business has no food subsidiary. Last month, he hosted a banquet at a fancy hansik restaurant in New York to invite a dozen UN ambassadors and introduced them Korean cuisine and its unique ingredients. He even appeared in a TV show as a main host to discuss ways to nurture K-food as a potent industry that appeals to the global audience

Oct. 6, 2022

Samsung has no plan to cut chip production

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chip maker, has denied any plans to reduce production of memory chips, amid widespread fear of an economic slowdown and falling chip prices. “We have no plan to do so for now,” Han Jin-man, senior vice president of Samsung’s memory chip business division, told reporters at a tech forum on Wednesday in San Jose, California, in response to a question about potential production reduction plans. Han’s remarks come as Sam

Oct. 6, 2022

After months of shutdown, Hyundai's Russia woes deepen

  Half a year has passed since Hyundai Motor Group suspended operations of its Russian plant over global logistics issues, without a clear vision for a breakthrough while global competitors have already exited the market. But market experts say Hyundai simply leaving Russia is not an answer, due to massive investment and significant market share. According to a report recently released by Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Russia shipped zero cars in August, as opposed to the

Oct. 6, 2022

Five Guys burger chain coming to S. Korea

Hanwha Galleria, the retail arm of Hanwha Solutions, will open the first branch of US fast food chain Five Guys in Seoul early next year, the company said Thursday, a day after its executive publicized it through his personal social media account. On Wednesday, Kim Dong-sun, head of strategic management at Hanwha Galleria, uploaded a photo of himself on Instagram shaking hands with William Peecher, director of international expansion at Five Guys Enterprise, with a hashtag that translates to &ld

Oct. 6, 2022

Financial regulator considers disclosing IDs of short-selling abusers

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Thursday that it is actively considering to disclose the identity of illegal short sellers amid growing criticism that the practice has been disrupting the local stock market. The remark comes amid growing anger from retail investors that have been witnessing the value of their stock investments dropping sharply in recent months. Many are blaming illegal short selling, claiming that they are the victims in a market vulnerable to such practices by

Oct. 6, 2022

Imported car sales rise 17% in Sep. amid chip shortage

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rose 17 percent last month from a year earlier despite the extended chip shortage, an industry association said Thursday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles stood at 23,928 units last month, up from 20,406 units a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models last month were the BMW 520 sedan, Mercedes-Benz's E 250 sedan and Volkswagen's ID.4 all-electric SUV

Oct. 6, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on tech gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday despite overnight US losses, on the back of solid gains in big-cap tech shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 18.93 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,234.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.14 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite went down 0.25 percent, following strong gains of the previous two sessions. Some expect a softer tone from the Federal Reserve on moneta

Oct. 6, 2022

Foreign reserves shrink at fastest pace in 14 yrs in September amid strong dollar

South Korea's foreign reserves shrank at the fastest pace in about 14 years last month as authorities unloaded dollars to stall the local currency's excessive slide against the greenback, central bank data showed Thursday. The Bank of Korea (BOK), however, dismissed worries that the country's foreign reserves might not be sufficient enough to defend the won down the road and brace for a financial crisis. The country's foreign reserves had stood at $416.77 billion as of end-Se

Oct. 6, 2022

Seoul says Biden’s letter promises more talks on inflation act

US President Joe Biden sent a letter to President Yoon Suk-yeol in which he addressed Seoul’s concerns over the Inflation Reduction Act, the presidential office said Wednesday, adding that it sees Washington as demonstrating a “clear will to be considerate to Korean businesses.” A presidential official said Biden’s letter was written based on the two leaders’ discussions on the IRA during their multiple meetings in New York and London last month. Biden has promised

Oct. 5, 2022

Heads of Samsung, SoftBank meet in Seoul

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son held talks on Tuesday over ways for a strategic alliance between the chips-to-mobile giant and SoftBank-backed chip intellectual property giant Arm, according to industry sources on Wednesday. The meeting at Samsung Electronics’ Seoul office was also accompanied by Samsung’s co-CEO Kyung Kye-hyun, who oversees semiconductor business, and mobile business chief Roh Tae-moon, as well as Arm CEO R

Oct. 5, 2022

Hyundai Department Store to compensate staff, partners for Daejeon outlet fire

Hyundai Department Store said Wednesday it would compensate staff and partner companies suffering from a business void at Daejeon Hyundai Premium Outlet that caught fire last week that left seven deaths. The company will give 2.5 million won-3.5 million won ($1,760-$2,470) to around 1,000 managers and salespeople whose work has been suspended due to the post-fire shutdown. Refusing to disclose the exact number of staff and managers, a Hyundai Department Store official said “we will come up

Oct. 5, 2022

Lone Star, other investor-state disputes cost Korea W68.5b

South Korea has spent nearly 68.5 billion won ($48.1 million) in total to fight and settle investor-state dispute settlements since 2013,#including its battle with US-based private equity firm Lone Star, data showed Wednesday. The majority of the money was spent to hire overseas attorneys or pay compensation in a total of 10 cases overseen by the US-based International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes and other dispute settlement bodies, data from the Ministry of Justice, National T

Oct. 5, 2022

Sales of instant noodles surge to W1.3tr

  As time spent at home increased during the coronavirus pandemic, domestic sales of Korean instant noodles surged to 1.3 trillion won ($917 million) as of August, data showed Wednesday. According to data from market tracker Nielsen IQ Korea, combined sales of four local ramen makers -- Nongshim, Samyang, Ottogi and Paldo -- jumped 4.6 percent from last year’s 1.2 trillion won between January and August. In terms of market share, Nongshim sat atop with 55.7 percent, followed by Ottogi

Oct. 5, 2022