Posco chief clinches second term in office

Choi Jung-woo, incumbent chairman of Posco Group and CEO of steelmaker Posco, extended his leadership as shareholders approved his reappointment Friday. The steelmaker held its 53rd annual proxy meeting at its headquarters in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu to vote on six major agenda topics, including the reappointment of the current chief. “I will further enhance production efficiency by maximizing the use of artificial intelligence amid challenging management situations,” Choi said

March 12, 2021

Hanmi's lung cancer treatment receives fast track designation from US FDA

Hanmi Pharmaceutical said Friday that its non-small cell lung cancer treatment Poziotinib has received the fast track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration. Hanmi added that its US partner Spectrum Pharmaceuticals would submit the new drug application to the FDA by the end of this year. Fast track designation from the US FDA is one of the measures designed to support development and expedite the review of drugs that show promise in treating serious and address unmet medical ne

March 12, 2021

SK hynix receives approval from US foreign investment watchdog

SK hynix, South Korea‘s second-largest chipmaker, announced Friday that the company has received approval from the US foreign investment watchdog for acquiring Intel’s NAND business. Upon the approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, SK hynix said it has completed all foreign investment screening procedures the US requires. Earlier, the company had obtained the approval of the US Federal Trade Commission, late last year. SK hynix said the company wo

March 12, 2021

Hanjin Transportation to buy back w20b of its shares

Hanjin Transportation Co., a South Korean logistics company, said Friday it will buy back 20 billion won ($17.7 million) worth of its shares to improve shareholder value. Hanjin's board of directors approved the plan to buy its shares for six months ending on Sept. 12, the company said. Hanjin said the company made the decision as its shares were believed to be undervalued despite its robust earnings last year. "The parcel delivery business improved profitability thanks to a sharp hike i

March 12, 2021

DSME scores major oil tanker deal worth 1.1 trillion won

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering said Friday that it had signed orders worth 1.95 trillion won ($1.73 billion) to build 10 very large crude carriers, signaling an uptrend in the nation’s shipbuilding industry. The announcement comes nearly three months after a letter of intent was signed in December. The completed vessels will be delivered to buyers in Asia, Europe and the Americas by the second half of 2023. The dual-fueled VLCCs, which use both diesel and natural gas, joi

March 12, 2021

DL E&C inks deal on modernization of Russian refinery

Major South Korean builder DL E&C Co. said Friday it has signed a 327.1 billion-won ($290 million) interim deal to upgrade an oil refinery in Russia. Under the deal with Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft, DL E&C will build a plant for adding and cracking hydrogen at Gazprom Neft's refinery southeast of Moscow. Completion is scheduled for the second half of 2024, and the two sides plan to seal a formal contract within three months, DL E&C said. Gazprom Neft is a subsidiary of Russi

March 12, 2021

Ridi’s global webtoon app logs success in North America

South Korea’s leading content provider Ridi Corp. said Friday that its global webtoon service Manta has achieved 300,000 accumulated downloads on the back of its popular response in the North American market. The online cartoon app, which provides various genres at a set monthly price, kicked off in North America in November last year, and soon rose to become the second most popular cartoon app on the Google app store in the US. The top title was “Under the Oak Tree,” a roman

March 12, 2021

Posco chief wins 2nd term amid push for EV business

Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo won a second term to lead the South Korean steel giant for another three years, Posco said Friday. The decision at the company's annual shareholders meeting came as Posco has been pushing to boost production capacity of key components for electric vehicle batteries as part of a diversification strategy. Earlier this week, Posco International Corp. said its steel processing unit, Posco SPS, will produce 10,000 tons a year of fuel-cell bipolar plates by 2027, which

March 12, 2021

Woori Card issues $200m worth of ESG bonds in Taiwan

Major South Korean card issuer Woori Card Co. said Friday it has floated $200 million worth of environment, social and governance (ESG) bonds in Taiwan to help support small member stores. The five-year Formosa bonds carry an annual interest rate equal to the yield on five-year US Treasurys plus a spread of 1 percent, and will be listed simultaneously on the Singapore Exchange and the Taipei Exchange. Formosa refer to bonds issued in Taiwan but denominated in a currency other than the Taiwanes

March 12, 2021

LG, Luxoft launch joint venture for automotive solutions

LG Electronics Inc. said Friday its joint venture with Swiss-based software firm Luxoft has been launched as the South Korean company eyes to expand its presence in automotive solutions. Their joint venture Alluto is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and will provide solutions for digital cockpit, in-vehicle infotainment, passenger-seat entertainment and ride-hailing systems based on LG's webOS Auto platform, according to the company. LG and Luxoft, now owned by US IT service firm DXC

March 12, 2021

S. Korea's consumer price growth likely to pick up in Q2: official

South Korea's vice finance minister said Friday that the growth of the country's consumer prices is likely to temporarily pick up in the second quarter, affected by hikes in food and oil prices. First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-beom said prices of crude oil, raw materials and grains are showing signs of rising amid a global economic recovery. "Conditions for consumer prices trends in the second quarter look tough," Kim said at a meeting with government officials on inflation. Th

March 12, 2021

LG Energy Solution to invest w5tr to expand US battery production capacity

LG Energy Solution Ltd. said Friday it will invest 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) by 2025 to expand its battery production capacity in the United States to meet growing demand in the key market. The battery subsidiary wholly owned by LG Chem Ltd. said the investment will increase its US manufacturing capacity to 75 gigawatt hours (GWh) and help create 10,000 jobs, including 6,000 subcontractors. LG Energy Solution operates a lithium-ion battery factory in Michigan and is building a new factory

March 12, 2021

Land minister says will take responsibility for LH employees' land speculation

Land Minister Byeon Chang-heum said Friday he will come up with measures to prevent employees at public developers from making speculative land purchases and could step down if his role falls behind public expectations. Byeon made the remark after a joint investigation team found that Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) employees allegedly bought land for speculation in two cities, south of Seoul, before it announced a major public housing development project. The minister has faced criticism as

March 12, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US stimulus, ECB intervention

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as investor sentiment was boosted by the passing of the$1.9 trillion US stimulus package and the European Central Bank's move to slow the early rise in long-term borrowing costs.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 30.5 points, or 1.01 percent, to 3,044.2 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Samsung Electronics added 1.1 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix added 2.19 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor moved up

March 12, 2021

S. Korean e-commerce giant Coupang makes US debut at NYSE

WASHINGTON -- South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. made a splash in its landmark debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday at an initial public offering price of $35 each. The IPO price is higher than an earlier proposed range of $32 to $34. With 130 million shares offered, Coupang raised $4.6 billion in public offering. According to Yahoo Finance data, the company's value stood at around $88.65 billion after its first closing, making it one of the most valuable startups in the Un

March 12, 2021

Samsung to launch Galaxy A32 smartphone in S. Korea this week

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it will launch another budget smartphone model in South Korea this week as the global tech giant eyes beefing up its handset sales against rivals. The Galaxy A32 will be released in South Korea on Friday with a price tag of 374,000 won ($330). The budget smartphone is already available in select markets in Europe and India. The LTE-supporting model comes with a quad rear-camera setup with a 60-megapixel (MP) main shooter, 8MP ultra wide lens, 52MP depth sen

March 11, 2021

Legal risks mount for Samsung’s jailed chief

The trial of Samsung Group’s de facto chief, Lee Jae-yong, resumed Thursday, increasing legal risks for the country’s biggest conglomerate as the court examines his role in the 2015 merger of two business units within the group. The Seoul Central Court held a second session to set a preliminary date for the trial of 12 Samsung executives, including the imprisoned Samsung Electronics vice chairman, who is the only son of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee. The session was

March 11, 2021

KAI to develop AR/VR jet training system

Korea Aerospace Industries said Thursday it will utilize virtual and augmented realty technologies in its jet trainer system. 　 South Korea’s sole aircraft developer will develop the live-virtual-constructive system, which offers live maneuvering simulation, war game and virtual and constructive trainings. KAI has supplied 50 sets of training systems to 16 countries. Since 2016, the company has conducted and commissioned independent research and developed ways to integrate jet, simula

March 11, 2021

Lotte Card launches new financial services

Credit card firm Lotte Card said on Thursday that it has launched LOCA MONEY, a group of financial services covering short-term and long-term loans and “over-the-limit,” credit card services. The company said the brand focused on financial services is the first of its kind in the credit card industry. All of the newly launched services are branded under the LOCA MONEY name, including the LOCA MONEY-short term loan, and LOCA MONEY-long-term loan. With LOCA-prime, the card issuer w

March 11, 2021

Posco chief seeks reappointment despite brawls

For Posco Group, South Korea’s sixth-largest conglomerate in assets, the core agenda of its shareholders’ meeting this week is whether incumbent chief Choi Jung-woo will succeed in extending his term in office, in spite of growing political pressure and labor backlash. Signaling the start of the proxy season this month, the group’s flagship steelmaker Posco will hold its 53rd annual shareholders’ meeting at its headquarters in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu at 9 a.m. Friday

March 11, 2021