Samsung Fire & Marine convenes global insurance conference in Incheon

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, the nation's leading non-life insurer, gathered insurance experts from inside and outside the country to share insights about the industry and Korea's insurance landscape at the Korea International Insurance Conference. The inaugural event, held Tuesday and Wednesday at the Mohegan Inspire Resort in Yeongjongdo, Incheon, marked the first global insurance conference in Korea, according to the Samsung Group subsidiary. "With the insurance industr

June 6, 2024

[Bio USA] Yoon’s security aide spotted at Bio USA

By Kim Hae-yeon Korea Herald correspondent SAN DIEGO -- President Yoon Suk Yeol’s security aide was spotted on Tuesday at Bio USA, the biotech industry’s largest gathering being held in San Diego, immediately prompting media scrutiny about the purpose of the rare visit. Wang Yun-jong, the third deputy director of the presidential National Security Office, stayed at the site for about 30 minutes. He was accompanied by Choi Sun, a presidential secretary for biotech policy, and other

June 5, 2024

KLCA supports listed firms to offer corporate information in English

The Korea Listed Companies Association said Monday it has launched guidelines for listed firms to offer their corporate information in English and increase accessibility for foreign investors. The guidelines offer a standardized form for articles of incorporation, including key details about a company, the general purpose of the corporation, the type and number of shares, the board election process and more. The association has shared the standard form for articles of incorporation since 1980 bu

June 5, 2024

Celltrion’s Vegzelma gobbles up 12% market share in Japan

South Korea’s leading biosimilar company Celltrion said Wednesday that its Vegzelma, a bevacizumab biosimilar referencing Roche's anticancer drug Avastin, has secured 12 percent share in the Japanese market. Since its launch in January last year, Vegzelma has seen fast growth despite the biosimilar being the latest launched among four bevacizumab biosimilar products in Japan. Celltrion said it was able to ramp up sales of Vegzelma by cooperating with Japanese distribution partners.

June 5, 2024

Seoul shares rise over 1% on US rate cut hopes

South Korean stocks rose more than 1 percent Wednesday backed by gains of chip and battery shares amid hopes for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 27.40 points, or 1.03 percent, to close at 2,689.50. Trade volume was heavy at 871 million shares worth 13.4 trillion won ($9.76 billion), with gainers far outpacing losers 642 to 226. Foreign investors bought shares worth a net 589 billion won, while

June 5, 2024

Korea, Africa set the stage for shared growth, sustainability

Business leaders and government officials from South Korea and African nations gathered to fortify practical cooperation involving complementary skills and resources to enrich their decadeslong friendship. Some 400 people took part in the 2024 Korea-Africa Business Summit in Seoul on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Korea-Africa Summit being attended by delegations from 48 African nations, including 25 heads of state. Under the theme “The future we make together: Shared growth, sustainabi

June 5, 2024

[Hello India] Krafton eyes bigger footing in India

Krafton, the developer of the popular shooting game PUBG: Battlegrounds, is looking to go beyond the boundaries of its main sector -- developing and publishing games -- in India in the long term as the company is focused on becoming a local publisher offering popular games in the world’s most populous country. “The biggest goal for now is to become a true local publisher that publishes games beloved by the Indian game market besides BGMI,“ said Sohn Hyun-il, CEO of Krafton Indi

June 5, 2024

Act-Geo founder arrives in Seoul to explain oil find

Following the recent announcement that South Korea may have discovered up to 14 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves off its southeastern coast, Vitor Abreu, the owner of Act-Geo, the firm responsible for the discovery, arrived in Seoul on Wednesday to elaborate on these findings. Abreu landed at Incheon Airport earlier in the day to meet with government and industry officials. According to industry sources, he is to hold a press conference in Sejong City on Friday to address questions regard

June 5, 2024

42dot gets $185m from Hyundai-Kia to boost hiring

Hyundai Motor and Kia are investing some 253 billion won ($185 million) in 42dot, the global software center within Hyundai Motor Group, to aggressively recruit top-tier talent and accelerate the group's software-defined vehicle strategy. On Tuesday, Hyundai and Kia announced through Korea's Financial Supervisory Service that their boards had approved a capital increase, with Hyundai contributing over 152 billion won and Kia adding more than 101 billion won. This investment is based on

June 5, 2024

LG CNS debuts new ERP solution at SAP conference

LG CNS said Wednesday that it debuted its new enterprise resource planning solution at the SAP Sapphire 2024 trade show, which kicked off in Orlando, Florida, Monday. PerfecTwin ERP Edition is an automated testing solution based on actual transaction data. It is specifically tailored for SAP’s enterprise resource planning software to integrate and manage all enterprise operations. The latest solution stands out from traditional methods that verify errors using small data samples, the compa

June 5, 2024

Doosan Bobcat to produce mini excavators in India

South Korean construction equipment maker Doosan Bobcat said Wednesday that it has recently completed the expansion of its production lines for mini excavators in Chennai, India. After nine months of construction, the 11,300-square-meter manufacturing facility has been added to the Chennai plant that was built in 2019. With plans for equipment installation and operational stabilization, the production lines are expected to become fully operational next year. Currently, the plant’s key prod

June 5, 2024

LG Energy Solution, Analog Devices team up for BMS innovation

LG Energy Solution said Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with American semiconductor manufacturer Analog Devices, Inc. to enhance battery management technologies for electric vehicles. Over the next two years, ADI will supply high-performance battery management integrated circuits, or BMIC, while both companies develop algorithms to measure the internal temperatures of EV battery cells accurately. Analog Devices specializes in impedance measurement technologies. Impedance, t

June 5, 2024

Undervalued no more: Jusung Engineering to spin off chip business

Jusung Engineering, the first-generation chipmaking equipment firm in Korea, has decided to spin off its lucrative semiconductor equipment business into a new entity with hopes of elevating its undervalued market cap. Noting how the company has been suffering from undervaluation, Hwang Chul-ju, the founder and chairman, said the latest decision will boost the value of its chip business, the No. 1 at home. “The company is just way too undervalued when it has proprietary technologies used in

June 5, 2024

[Bio USA] Cha Biotech's Matica Bio sets sights on CGT market growth

SAN DIEGO -- Matica Biotechnology, the US subsidiary of CHA Biotech, which operates CHA University's medical centers in South Korea and internationally, has announced endeavors for significant expansion of its cell and gene therapy (CGT) CDMO orders in particular, setting itself apart from most antibody production-based CDMOs in Korea. At the firm's press conference during the Bio International Convention held in San Diego on Tuesday, Matica Bio CEO Paul Kim emphasized the anticipated

June 5, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on hopes for Fed rate cut

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Wednesday backed by gains of chip and battery shares amid hopes for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.42 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,669.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the US stock market closed slightly higher on softer-than-expected labor market data that bolstered hopes for an interest rate cut by the Fed. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 1.99 percent f

June 5, 2024

Korea's economy grows 1.3% in Q1, matching earlier estimate: BOK

South Korea's economy grew at the fastest pace in over two years in the first quarter of the year as the recovery in exports continued and private spending remained firm, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's real gross domestic product -- a key measure of economic growth -- increased 1.3 percent on-quarter in the January-March period, matching an earlier estimate, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The first-quarter expansion compares with the 0.5 percen

June 5, 2024

[Bio USA] Biotech firms compete to fill void of Chinese rivals at Bio USA

The Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency together with the Trade Ministry opened its Korea Pavilion at the Bio International Convention on Monday to support small to mid-sized firms in attracting new business partners. This year is the largest-ever operation of a Korean pavilion with 26 participating firms and two institutions installed in the pavilion zone. Among some 20,000 industry officials participating globally, over 1,000 are affiliated wit

June 5, 2024

S. Korean toilet paper firm sold to Indonesian firm

Monalisa Co., a major South Korean toilet paper company, said Tuesday it has been sold to Indonesian paper-manufacturing company Arch Peninsula SDN.BHD. NHPEA Tissue Holdings AB, the largest shareholder of MSS Holdings Co. which has Monalisa as a major affiliate, signed an agreement Saturday to sell its entire stake in MSS to the Indonesian firm, Monalisa said in a regulatory filing. The share purchase agreement will be finalized when the seller and the buyer satisfy each other's precedin

June 4, 2024

Owner of US-based geoscience firm headed to S. Korea for discussions on oil exploration project

The owner of US-based geoscience research company Act-Geo said Tuesday he was traveling to South Korea to discuss Seoul's newly envisioned offshore oil and gas exploration project on the east coast. On Monday, President Yoon Suk Yeol said South Korea will push to embark on the project in the East Sea after a study suggested significant oil deposits may be buried in the deep sea off the coast of Yeongil Bay in Pohang, about 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The decision came after the gov

June 4, 2024

FSS chief vows to normalize PF, stock short sales in his final year

Lee Bok-hyun, head of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service, reaffirmed his commitment to resolving ongoing issues, including real estate project financing risks and overhauling the short-selling system, and pledged to accelerate the digitization of finance during the remainder of his term. "Reflecting on the past two years, despite the challenges posed by rising inflation and interest rates, I believe we worked tirelessly to achieve stable financial conditions and foster compas

June 4, 2024