Barenbliss works with Korean experts to create skin brightening products

South Korean cosmetics brand Barenbliss said Friday that it has been working with top researchers to launch its new product line, “Meta Glow Series,” last month. Barenbliss has been operating its own research center, Barenbliss Skinlab, which has the necessary analytical facilities to test product safety and efficacy, the company said. The lab is headed by Yoon Myeong-seok, a professor of chemical and bio-engineering at Gachon University, and the Vice President of Cosmax R&I

July 22, 2022

Samsung weighs building 11 more chip plants in US over next two decades

Samsung Electronics Co. floated an idea of investing nearly $200 billion to build 11 more chip plants in the United States over the next two decades, documents filed with the state of Texas showed Friday. The proposed investment is described in South Korean tech giant's applications filed with the Taylor and Manor school districts, seeking tax breaks for the potential construction of 11 new chip fabrication facilities in the state -- nine in Taylor and two in Austin. Samsung already has a g

July 22, 2022

Tale of 2 tournaments for S. Korea at East Asian football competition

After only one match each, the ongoing East Asian football competition has been a tale of two tournaments for the South Korean men's and women's teams. The women's team, coached by Colin Bell, suffered a 2-1 loss to Japan to open the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship in Japan on Tuesday. With that, hopes of ending a 17-year title drought at the EAFF event all but evaporated. The men's side, with Paulo Bento in charge, blanked China 3-0 in their f

July 22, 2022

Shinhan Financial Group Q2 net income up 4.8% to W1.33tr

Shinhan Financial Group Co. on Friday reported its second-quarter net profit of 1.33 trillion won ($1 billion), up 4.8 percent from a year earlier. Operating income for the April-June period was 1.74 trillion won, up 3.3 percent from a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose 123.1 percent to 18.66 trillion won. The earnings beat market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 1.28 trillion won, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the fina

July 22, 2022

Hyundai Mobis Q2 net income up 15% to W769.7b

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's leading auto parts maker, said Friday its second-quarter net profit rose 15 percent from a year earlier on shareholding gains from its affiliates. Net profit for the three months ended in June climbed to 769.7 billion won ($587 million) from 669.6 billion won in the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. "Equity gains from affiliate Hyundai Motor Co. gave a boost to the bottom line in this past quarter," a company spokesman said

July 22, 2022

Seoul shares open slightly higher on US gains

South Korean shares opened slightly higher Friday, following overnight Wall Street gains, amid lingering concerns over a global economic recession. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 2.09 points, or 0.09 percent, to trade at 2,411.25 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Foreigners and retail investors went on a buying mode, while institutions sold shares. Overnight, US stocks rose on the back of tech gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.51 percent, and the tech

July 22, 2022

Producer prices grow for 6th month in June on high energy, service costs

South Korea's producer prices gained for the sixth straight month in June, driven by rising prices of oil, coal and services, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 120.04 last month, up 0.5 percent from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, the index spiked 9.9 percent, marking the 19th consecutive month of on-year rises. Energy and raw material prices re

July 22, 2022

Matica Biotechnology aims to reach W1tr annual sales by 2030

Matica Biotechnology, local firm Cha Biotech’s US subsidiary, has set out a goal of posting 1 trillion won ($761 million) in annual sales to become a global top five contract development and manufacturing organization business in cell and gene therapy by 2030, the company said Thursday. “The global cell and gene therapy CDMO market is expected to reach 25 trillion won by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate of over 20 percent,” said Song Yun-jeong, CEO of Matica Biotechnol

July 21, 2022

SK Inc. to provide interim dividend for 5th consecutive year

SK Inc., the investment arm of SK Group, on Thursday, said it has decided to give interim dividends for the fifth year in a row, showing its continued commitment to its shareholders. According to SK Inc., the board of directors agreed to pay interim dividends of 1,500 won ($1) per share, the same amount as the last year. The total amount of the interim dividends payout is estimated at 85 billion won. The company said it has steadily increased the annual dividend payment amount from 208.7 bil

July 21, 2022

Home prices drive household wealth

South Korean household wealth jumped 8 percent on-year, with net worth per household estimated at 544.7 million won ($415,593) thanks to a surge in house prices, a Bank of Korea report showed Thursday. Real estate made up 75 percent of household wealth. The net worth of households, nonprofit organizations, financial and nonfinancial companies and the government came to 19,000 trillion won, up 2,030 trillion won, or 11.4 percent, from the previous year. That is the biggest annual increase since

July 21, 2022

NCSoft’s Universe attracts with its exclusivity

Online game developer NCSoft’s K-pop fan community platform Universe is garnering attention with its exclusivity and communicative functions, the company said Thursday. Launched last January, Universe is currently functioning as a global K-pop fandom platform where fans can watch original content starring their favorite artists and communicate directly with them. Universe provides a variety of exclusive features such as web entertainment shows, music videos and audio for its users. As o

July 21, 2022

Seoul shares up for 2nd day on US rallies, tech gains

South Korean stocks ended higher Thursday, as US rallies and eased concerns over high global energy prices boosted investor sentiment. The Korean won gained ground against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 22.31 points, or 0.93 percent, to close at 2,409.16, extending the winning streak to the second consecutive session. It is the highest figure since June 28, when the KOSPI closed at 2,422.09. Trading volume was small at 290.45 million shares worth 6.19 trillion

July 21, 2022

Yoon to expand tax breaks for companies, salaried workers

SEJONG -- The Yoon Suk-yeol administration on Thursday unveiled a new batch of measures aimed at revamping the taxation system, including expanding corporate tax breaks and relieving the tax burden on individuals. It is the first time in 15 years for the government to push to cut income taxes to support middle- and low-income people. To encourage companies to invest and create more jobs, the government plans to slash the corporate tax ceiling to 22 percent of earnings from the current 25 percen

July 21, 2022

Samsung SDI to invest W1.7tr in 2nd plant in Malaysia

Samsung SDI held a ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday for its new cylindrical battery-making plant in Malaysia. The company will invest 1.7 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in the new battery factory to have its construction finished by 2025 in response to the growing demand for cylindrical batteries. Starting from 2024, a year before the factory’s scheduled completion, the battery maker will manufacture cylindrical batteries known as 21700, which are a 21-millimeter-wide and 70-millimeter-

July 21, 2022

Hyundai Oilbank ditches IPO

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group’s refining affiliate Hyundai Oilbank has withdrawn its application for an initial public offering with local bourse operator Korea Exchange, the firm said Thursday. The decision, which was reached Wednesday, comes after a general evaluation of the recent stock market conditions and stock price trend of other refineries, according to Hyundai Oilbank. “In the current market situation where it is difficult to be recognized properly by our excellent perfo

July 21, 2022

S. Korea targets W340tr investment for chip supremacy

The South Korean government on Thursday vowed financial and regulatory support to pave the way for the chip industry’s investment of 340 trillion won ($259 billion) over the next five years and nurturing more than 150,000 skilled workers in the field. As chips are increasingly being perceived as key economic security assets around the world, South Korea -- home to the world’s top two memory chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix -- has also come up with a more comprehensive r

July 21, 2022

‘No-spend challenge,’ a growing trend in S. Korea

Kim Ji-yeon, a 29-year-old elementary school teacher, stopped eating out during weekdays and started to eat lunch at a school canteen. Instead of going to cafes after lunch, Kim drinks instant coffee in her office. It has been two weeks since she has not spent any money during weekdays. “I first heard about the ‘no-spend challenge’ on Instagram, and thought it was a good way to save money. I was able to save around 200,000 won ($153) in two weeks.” Kim is one of the gr

July 21, 2022

[Photo News] Return to work

Flight attendants are seen at Incheon Airport Terminal 2 on Thursday, as the gradual increase in the number of international flights has prompted airline employees to return to work. According to the aviation industry, Korean Air employees’ leave of absence rate this month recorded less than 20 percent. Flight attendants all over the airport industry have been on extended leave due to a pandemic-induced hiatus, but employees have been sequentially coming back since the beginning of this ye

July 21, 2022

KB Financial Group releases sustainability report highlighting green financing

South Korea’s KB Financial Group on Thursday released its annual sustainability report for 2021 sharing its achievements in and insights on environmental, social and corporate governance. The report includes KB’s experience in dealing with key ESG issues such as climate change, green financing and diversity alongside the firm’s stance on corporate governance, ESG management and social responsibility. In October 2021, KB was officially endorsed by the Science Based Targets

July 21, 2022

Borrowers in their 40s, 50s face higher loan default risk

South Koreans in their 40s and 50s now face higher chances of loan default and delinquency, with those who took out loans from more than one financial institution increasing by nearly 100,000 from last year, data showed Thursday. This has spurred concerns that a significant number of borrowers in those age groups could be taking out additional money to repay existing debts, with aggressive rate hikes in recent months requiring them to pay more in interest. Borrowers in their 40s and 50s who

July 21, 2022