OK Savings Bank’s ‘Pak Se-ri tournament’ to kick-off Friday

Female golfers will gather Friday to play in a Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association tournament hosted by OK Savings Bank, which returned this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The KLPGA’s OK Savings Bank Pak Se-ri Invitational – which takes its name after the legendary South Korean golfer – is scheduled from Friday to Sunday at Sejong Silkriver Country Club & Gallery in the city of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Some 120 playe

Sept. 16, 2021

Samsung Display’s 90Hz OLED panel featured in ASUS’ new laptops

Samsung Display on Thursday said it began supplying the 90-hertz organic light-emitting diode panels for laptops of Taiwanese brand ASUS, as demand for higher-end laptop screens grow amid the pandemic. The display panels are to be featured on ASUS’ 14-inch Zenbook and Vivobook Pro series, it said. The supply marks a successful commercialization of laptop-sized OLED displays with a refresh rate of 90 hertz, which makes moving images on laptop screens look more natural. It is ideal for u

Sept. 16, 2021

[Herald Interview] Design at heart of Samsung’s evolution to better satisfy consumers: exec

In the field of consumer electronics, Samsung Electronics has taken strides design-wise. Following the success of the trendy and ingenious Bespoke home appliance lineup, its latest smartphone releases, Galaxy Z Fold3 and Flip3, became a hit among design-conscious consumers, heralding a new era of foldable devices. Behind the feats is the company’s dual focus on technology and design, or its strenuous effort to mingle the two worlds, with the aim of bringing real benefits to consumers

Sept. 16, 2021

SK Innovation wins shareholder approval for battery unit split-off

Shareholders of SK Innovation on Thursday approved a plan to split off the battery business, the company said With the endorsement, which was made at a general shareholders’ meeting held earlier in the day, SK Innovation, a refinery-to-battery subsidiary of South Korea‘s No. 3 conglomerate, will split into two entities, which will be respectively in charge of battery and petrochemical businesses. The new entities will be officially launched Oct. 1, according to the company. SK

Sept. 16, 2021

[Market Eye] Hyundai Motor’s succession plan a headache to Hyundai Card

With the independence of Hyundai Motor Group’s financial arms looking increasingly likely, concerns are growing that they will face higher debt financing costs as a result. The prospects have been raised amid signs of governance restructuring for Hyundai Motor Group to allow a full-fledged family succession that would consolidate Chairman Chung Euisun’s control. A carve-out of financial arms is essential to Hyundai Motor Group’s transformation into a holding firm under Korea

Sept. 16, 2021

Genesis to implement face recognition tech in GV60 for first time

Genesis will implement face recognition technology on its GV60, the brand’s first electric sport utility vehicle planned, Hyundai Motor, the firm behind the automobile brand, said Thursday. According to the automaker, the new technology dubbed Face Connect will allow drivers to control a car -- opening the door and starting the car -- using their biometric data instead of a smart key. This would allow the driver to close the car with the smart key inside, or not need to carry keys at a

Sept. 16, 2021

Only six Korean firms among ‘top 500 global leaders,’ FKI says

Only six South Korean companies made it on the list of the world’s top 500 global leading firms, compiled by the Federation of Korea Industries, the business lobby group said in a report Thursday. The list is made by its affiliate research body based on operating profits and sales revenue data from S&P Capital IQ, an international market research and information provider. A total of six companies -- Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics, Posco and Kepco &ndas

Sept. 16, 2021

KB-Shinhan green fund to finance renewable energy project in Sweden

  A green fund jointly invested in by two South Korean banking giants -- KB and Shinhan-- will partly finance a renewable energy project in Sweden, officials said Thursday.  The financial holding firms invested a combined 80 billion won ($68.4 million) in the Global Green Energy Partnership Fund set up in April last year. Korea Midland Power, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Sprott Korea Investment also joined the fund designed to facilitate development of renewable energy across

Sept. 16, 2021

Xiaomi looking to expand presence in S. Korea with new tablet

Xiaomi Corp. said Thursday its new tablet PC will go on sale in South Korea next week as the Chinese tech giant eyes to expand its presence here. Xiaomi Pad 5, which was first unveiled in China last month, will be available on South Korean online retailers from next Thursday with a price tag of 449,000 won ($380). This is the first time since 2014 Xiaomi is releasing a new tablet product in South Korea. The company said it decided to sell the new tablet in the country to meet growing demand

Sept. 16, 2021

S. Korea considering extending tariffs on PET film from Taiwan, Thailand, UAE

South Korea's trade watchdog said Thursday it has decided to recommend the government extend anti-dumping duties on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film imported from Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, citing substantial damage to the local industry. The Korea Trade Commission said it has advised the finance ministry to set duties of 3.19 percent to 60.95 percent on PET film coming from the countries for the next five years. The country already had been applying tariffs of around

Sept. 16, 2021

Naver's cloud unit aims for No. 3 in Asia Pacific region by 2023

The cloud affiliate of South Korea's leading internet portal operator, Naver Corp., said Thursday it aims for the No. 3 position in the Asian Pacific region by 2023. "We aim to reach the No. 2 position in the country, and No. 3 in Japanese and Southeast Asian markets by 2023," Jang Beom-sik, an official of Naver Cloud, said during an online conference. "We aim to secure the new growth engine by investing 80 percent of our annual sales into technology and human resources." N

Sept. 16, 2021

LG Electronics completes 1st phase of smart home appliance factory upgrades

LG Electronics Inc. said Thursday the first phase of home appliance manufacturing facility upgrades at its main production base in South Korea has been completed as the company aims to improve productivity with a better automation system. The tech giant said its reconstructed production building at LG Smart Park in Changwon, 400 kilometers south of Seoul, started its initial stage operations.  LG earlier announced it will invest a total of 800 billion won ($683 million) to upgrade its C

Sept. 16, 2021

Banks' loan delinquency rate rises in July

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans rose in July due to an increase in overdue corporate loans, the financial regulator said Thursday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.27 percent at the end of July, up from 0.25 percent the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the rate was down 0.09 percentage point in July. The delinquency rate for corporate loans rose 0.03 percentage poi

Sept. 16, 2021

Korea's public account turns to deficit in 2020 on COVID-19 spending

South Korea's public account surplus turned to deficit in 2020 as the government increased fiscal spending to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. In 2020, the country's public account deficit came to 50.6 trillion won ($43.3 billion), according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The deficit compared with a 14.7 trillion won surplus in 2019, when the country's public account balance continued to stay in the black for the fifth consecut

Sept. 16, 2021

Samsung to hold developer conference online next month

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday its technology conference will take place online for the first time next month amid the pandemic. The South Korean tech giant said it decided to hold the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) on Oct. 26. The event was canceled last year due to COVID-19 concerns. The SDC, which started in 2013, is an annual event that brings thousands of developers, content creators and designers to discuss future technologies and services. Samsung has been also unveiling its

Sept. 16, 2021

LG Uplus seeks to boost smart factory biz

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Thursday it aims to increase sales from its smart factory solutions business by sevenfold within five years as part of its broader push to boost its enterprise-focused services. The telecom operator has recently been developing industrial solutions that use its 4G and 5G networks to automate workload and improve safety. The carrier said in an online briefing its smart factory solutions are currently used in 150 locations across the co

Sept. 16, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding develops carbon dioxide storage technology

D aewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Thursday it has developed a technology to store carbon dioxide captured in ship engine emissions. The technology developed in cooperation with a local ship part supplier, HI AIR Korea Co., will help ships in operation reduce their carbon dioxide emissions to brace for environment regulations by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), DSME said. The IMO aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions from international shipping by more

Sept. 16, 2021

Fishery good exports up 18% through Aug.

South Korea's exports of fishery products rose nearly 18 percent on-year in the first eight months of 2021 amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of fishery products reached $1.74 billion over the January-August period, compared to $1.48 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The ministry attributed the growth to more people visiting restaurants around the globe compared to the previous year, which boosted the demand for seafood

Sept. 16, 2021

Trade between Seoul, London remains bullish on bilateral FTA

South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday it has been maintaining robust trade with Britain on the back of their free trade agreement (FTA), which was revamped earlier this year, despite London's divorce with the European Union. South Korea and Britain held their first meeting of the trade committee of goods virtually to discuss a wide array of commerce issues and follow up on the bilateral FTA, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries implemented the pact i

Sept. 16, 2021

Shareholders approve SK Innovation's battery biz spin-off

SK Innovation Co. said Thursday it has received shareholders' approval to split off its battery unit to focus on new growth drivers. With the approval, the refinery-to-battery subsidiary under South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate, SK Group, will be split into two entities that are respectively in charge of its battery and petrochemical businesses. The new entities will be officially launched Oct. 1. SK Innovation will serve as a holding firm in charge of developing its eco-friendly business port

Sept. 16, 2021