LG Energy Solution secures mass supply of lithium from Australian firm

LG Energy Solution said Tuesday that it had struck a deal to secure a large-scale lithium supply with Australian mining firm Liontown Resources, bolstering its global supply chain of key raw materials for electric vehicle batteries. According to the Korean firm, the contract guarantees about 1.75 million tons of lithium spodumene concentrate over the next 15 years. The supply is enough to produce batteries for approximately 5 million EVs with a range of at least 500 kilometers per charge. LG Ene

July 2, 2024

LS Cable wins W1tr submarine cable deal in California

LS Cable & System said Tuesday that it has signed a deal worth 100 billion won ($72 million) with LS Power Grid California, a transmission network operator in the US. LS Power Grid California, a subsidy of LS Power -- a New York-based energy and power infrastructure operation and investment company -- will be a key partner in the venture. With the contract, LS Cable & System will be the first supplier of submarine cables to the western region of the US. The newly secured deal involves th

July 2, 2024

KITA opens Dallas center to boost business ties with US

The Korea International Trade Association announced Tuesday the opening of its new US office in Dallas, Texas. The opening event held on Monday was attended by 50 dignitaries and representatives from both governments and related businesses, including KITA Chairman Yoon Jin-sik, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson and Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Houston Jung Young-ho. The Dallas center, which aims to support trading issues of Korean firms from their market entry to building local

July 2, 2024

Seoul shares start lower despite US gains

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Tuesday despite overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 7.76 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,796.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street closed slightly higher, while investors awaited US labor market data and the Federal Reserve minutes due later this week to seek clues about the interest rate outlook. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq went up 0.

July 2, 2024

Inflation slows to 11-month low of 2.4% in June

South Korea's consumer prices slowed to an 11-month low in June, though prices of fresh food items and petroleum products remained high, data showed Tuesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 2.4 percent on-year last month, compared with a 2.7 percent on-year rise a month earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the third consecutive month that the price decelerated and stayed below 3 percent, and June's figure marked the lowest level since July 2023,

July 2, 2024

Samsung Electronics union in South Korea declares strike

A workers' union at Samsung Electronics in South Korea said on Monday it would launch a general strike until its demands for better pay and time off were met, warning of more damaging action against the country's most powerful conglomerate than its one-day walkout last month. The National Samsung Electronics Union, whose roughly 28,000 members make up over a fifth of the firm's workforce, is planning to begin the strike on July 8, asking the company for commitments such as improve

July 1, 2024

Business arrears of self-employed hits all-time high in Q1: report

The amount of overdue business loans taken by self-employed business owners in South Korea surpassed 10 trillion won ($7.2 billion) for the first time ever in the first quarter of this year, marking the highest figure ever since the government started tallying the figure in 2009. Overdue business loans of self-employed business owners were an accumulated 10.8 trillion won as of late March, according to a report the Bank of Korea submitted to Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the main opposition Democratic Par

July 1, 2024

Celltrion's Stelara biosimilar recommended for EU approval

Celltrion said Monday that CT-P43, its ustekinumab biosimilar referencing Stelara, received an approval recommendation from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use. Stelara is Janssen's top-selling drug for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The global market for ustekinumab last year was estimated at around $20 billion, Celltrion added. “CHMP’s recommendation plays a decisive role in the EMA&

July 1, 2024

Antitrust watchdog to sanction AliExpress for violating e-commerce laws

The Fair Trade Commission has launched formal proceedings to sanction Chinese e-commerce giant AliExpress for alleged violations of e-commerce laws. According to industry sources on Monday, the FTC recently issued a review report outlining sanctions against AliExpress for failing to report its basic business information to the government. Under the Act on the Consumer Protection in E-Commerce, operators of e-commerce platforms must report their business name, email address, internet domain name

July 1, 2024

Global memory chip market picks up amid AI boom

The global memory chip market is picking up on the back of the artificial intelligence boom, with the chip price expected to rise in the second half of this year, according to industry sources on Monday. In the wake of a recovery in demand for server and AI chips, such as High Bandwidth Memory chips, the average sales price of DRAM chips is forecast to increase by 8 to 13 percent in the July-September period when compared to the previous quarter, TrendForce, a Taiwan-based chip market tracker sa

July 1, 2024

Seoul shares up for 2nd day ahead of key events

South Korean stocks finished a tad higher Monday as investors took a breather ahead of the release of the Fed minutes and the second-quarter earnings guidance of Samsung Electronics. The local currency fell against the US dollar on the first day of won-dollar transactions being extended until 2 a.m. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 6.49 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,804.31. Trade volume was slim at 452.5 million shares worth 9.8 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with losers beati

July 1, 2024

SK On enters emergency mode amid sluggish performance

SK On, the battery unit of South Korean chip-to-construction conglomerate SK Group, said Monday it will freeze the annual pay of all executive-level officials until it turns to profit, declaring emergency management amid its sluggish performance. The company decided to drastically revamp all working processes, including resource distribution, to improve operational efficiency in response to the changing industry environment as global electric vehicle markets are in a stagnation phase, known as t

July 1, 2024

Korea’s chip exports reach all-time high in June

South Korea’s semiconductor exports soared to a record high in June, backed by strong global demand, data from the Trade Ministry showed Monday, helping the country's exports to continue their upward trajectory. The country’s total exports stood at $57.07 billion in June, jumping 5.1 percent on-year, and imports came to $49.07 billion, shedding 7.5 percent on-year. As a result, Korea posted a trade surplus of $8 billion, marking a ninth consecutive month of surplus. The surplus

July 1, 2024

Nine One Hannam sets record for highest apartment price ever

The record for the most expensive apartment ever sold in South Korea was broken in June, according to government data tracking real estate transactions. The country's new most expensive apartment is a 273.94-square-meter first-floor unit at Nine One Hannam in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, which sold for 20 billion won ($14.5 million) on June 4. Nine One Hannam is known to be home to celebrities and business moguls, including RM and Jimin of K-pop group BTS and G-Dragon of Big Bang. Completed

July 1, 2024

Hyundai Motor takes aim at Southeast Asia

Hyundai Motor Group is looking to spearhead the burgeoning auto markets within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, based on its established footings in a number of countries in that region, the South Korean auto conglomerate said Monday. According to the automaker, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Indonesia, the conglomerate’s first vehicle manufacturing plant in the ASEAN region, rolled out 22,520 units in the first quarter of this year to reach an overwhelming operation rate

July 1, 2024

Kyobo Life chief honored for ethical entrepreneurship at Geneve Forum

Kyobo Life Insurance CEO and Chairman Shin Chang-jae's ethical business practices received global recognition at the Geneve Entrepreneurship Forum on Thursday. The leading life insurer in South Korea said Monday that Shin was awarded the Global Ethics & Stakeholder Commitment Award at the annual entrepreneurship forum held at the International Labor Organization headquarters in Geneva. Each year, the International Council of Small Business gathers distinguished entrepreneurs, legislator

July 1, 2024

[Photo News] Kia for kids

Kia said Monday that it opened up a mobility career experience center at KidZania, a work-experience theme park where children can try various real-life jobs, in Busan. Kia's mobility career experience center consists automotive research facilities, test course of driver's license and driving tracks where young visitors can get a chance to check out different occupations in the mobility sector. The automaker's job world for kids marked the second edition after it set up the previo

July 1, 2024

KT&G shares ESG achievements in 2023 report

South Korea’s top tobacco maker KT&G on Monday released its 2023 business report, renewing its commitment to advancing its carbon neutrality goals and improving corporate governance. The report, an amalgam of its annual strategic reports and publications on activities tied to environmental, social, and governance, outlines a quantitative account of the company’s eco-friendly management vision and advancements in corporate governance. “Our ESG capabilities are the driving fo

July 1, 2024

Hanwha Aerospace aims to achieve W2.9tr in sales of aviation engine parts by 2032

Hanwha Aerospace Co. said Sunday it aims to generate 2.9 trillion won ($2.08 billion) in sales from the global aviation engine components business by 2032, with a target to secure capabilities for developing its own engine technologies for fighter jets. "Hanwha Aerospace has been actively promoting its global engine parts business, with Hanwha Aerospace USA (HAU) playing a key role," said Park Myong-hwan, chief financial officer at HAU. "We aim to achieve 2.9 trillion won in sales

July 1, 2024

Hanwha Ocean wins over W2tr orders for eight vessels

Major South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean Co. said Monday it has won orders totaling 2.15 trillion won ($1.55 billion) for eight carriers from two Middle Eastern shippers. Hanwha Ocean will build four liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships for one undisclosed Middle Eastern shipper at a cost of 1.43 trillion won and four very large crude carriers (VLCCs) for another at 719.6 billion won, the company revealed in a regulatory filing. So far this year, Hanwha Ocean has bagged $5.3 billion worth of ord

July 1, 2024