The labor union of the state-run Seoul Transportation Corp., the main operator of the Seoul Metro public transit network, began a walkout at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, as the union refused to accept management's plan to downsize. On the sidelines of the subway union's industrial action that kicked off for the first time in six years, the union also held a rally near Seoul City Hall at 10:40 a.m., with some 6,000 people taking part. The strike is to cause the transit network of South Korea&

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2022

South Korean startup Qraft Technologies is one of the companies that has spearheaded the introduction of artificial intelligence in finance here. Since it was founded in 2016, the Seoul-based startup has proved the efficiency of AI when it comes to executing optimal equity asset allocation. The SoftBank-backed company operates four exchange-traded funds -- QRFT, AMOM, NVQ and HDIV. These funds are currently trading on, and have exposure to, North American stock bourses including the New York Sto

Market Nov. 29, 2022

The government on Tuesday ordered some 2,500 cement cargo truck drivers at over 200 companies across the nation to stop their strike and return to work on the sixth day of the walkout, taking an unprecedented move as the supply crisis deepens. The order came into effect immediately after the Cabinet meeting presided by President Yoon Suk-yeol for cement truckers took place in the morning. Those who refuse to comply with the order will be subject to a suspension of their trucker license, as well

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2022

  President Yoon Suk-yeol could issue an order to force truckers to return to the workplace, as he pledged Monday to take a hard-line stance on their strike, blasting them for causing serious supply chain disruptions nationwide. Yoon's office said in a statement that a Cabinet meeting will take place Tuesday to review the feasibility of the order, which has never been issued in Korea's history. Failure to comply with the order would be subject to a punishment of at most three years in jail

Social Affairs Nov. 28, 2022

South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate LG has tapped two female CEOs in its groupwide year-end reshuffle that ended Thursday. Consumer goods arm LG H&H named Executive Vice President Lee Jung-ae as the new chief executive officer, replacing Cha Suk-yong after nearly 18 years of service. Lee is one of two female CEOs to have been nominated for the first time in LG's history. Since joining LG H&H in 1986, the 59-year-old Lee has been dedicated to consumer goods marketing, and

Technology Nov. 24, 2022

The long-awaited bill to revise the Insurance Business Act is reigniting debate over Samsung’s ownership structure, under which its insurance arm is the largest shareholder of Samsung Electronics. The National Assembly on Tuesday for the first time put forward the revision bills in the parliament's National Policy Committee. The bills, proposed in June 2020 respectively by main opposition Democratic Party lawmakers such as Rep. Park Yong-jin and Rep. Lee Yong-woo, were the first bills to b

Technology Nov. 24, 2022

Business tycoon Elon Musk's confirmation that South Korea is among the top candidates for Tesla's second electric vehicle production plant in Asia highlights the robust automotive parts ecosystem in Korea for cutting-edge autonomous driving technology, as well as the brand's popularity here. All eyes are on whether the fourth-largest economy in Asia could outdo other regional candidates such as Japan and Indonesia, which have richer EV consumer bases than Korea. On Wednesday, President Yoon Suk-

Technology Nov. 23, 2022

South Korean battery material supplier LG Chem announced Tuesday plans to build a $3.2 billion facility to manufacture 120,000 metric tons of cathode materials used for electric vehicle batteries annually in Tennessee, the United States. Once construction of the facility on the 1.7-square-kilometer land is completed by 2027, the plant will be able to power batteries mounted on 1.2 million pure electric vehicles that can run 500 kilometers on a single charge. Construction is set to start in the

Technology Nov. 22, 2022

South Korean memory chip manufacturer SK hynix has reached a compromise with Yeoju city over a dispute surrounding the chipmaker's right to use freshwater for new fabrication plants in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the government announced Monday. The settlement, with a memorandum of understanding signed on Monday at the National Assembly, opens the doors for SK hynix to proceed the chip cluster project as planned by 2027 on the 4.15 square-kilometer site, which would cost at least 120 trillion won

Technology Nov. 21, 2022

Ryu Young-sang (left), chief executive officer of South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom, poses for a photo with NTT Docomo CEO Motoyuki Ii at a signing ceremony on Friday in Seoul. SK Telecom announced Monday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with its Japanese counterpart to seek a strategic partnership in the fields of the metaverse, sixth-generation telecommunication infrastructure and media content development.

Technology Nov. 21, 2022

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics was ranked the highest in United Kingdom-based market research firm YouGov's annual Global Best Brand Rankings in 2022, data showed Sunday. Of 380 brands in 38 markets including the United States, the UK, China, India and South Korea, Samsung scored 127 points overall to take the top notch, followed by Google's 106 points, YouTube's 85 points, Netflix's 59 points and Shopee's 51 points. The score was based on YouGov's esti

Technology Nov. 20, 2022

Expat communities in South Korea are rallying behind grieving families of foreign victims of the Itaewon tragedy for whom bringing their loved one home is another ordeal fraught with administrative, financial and language barriers. As of Thursday, only four of the 26 foreign nationals who died in the Oct. 29 crowd crush in Itaewon had been repatriated. Three more are expected to return home Friday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. South Korea has pledged to treat all 156 victims equ

Social Affairs Nov. 3, 2022

  Sixteen affiliates of South Korea's No. 1 business conglomerate Samsung have seen a drop in stock market cap by 129.36 trillion won ($90.78 billion) combined during the period of January to October, data showed Tuesday. This means nearly 20 percent of the market cap of the affiliates has evaporated compared to the end of 2021, according to the stock market data compiled by business intelligence Leaders Index. As a result, Samsung's 16 affiliates saw a total market cap of 541.8 trillion wo

Technology Nov. 1, 2022

South Korean memory chip maker SK hynix said it is not pursuing a plan to acquire a minority stake in the United Kingdom-based semiconductor intellectual property firm Arm, a filing showed Monday. "(SK hynix) has put various strategic options on the table to strengthen our competitive edge and enhance shareholder value, but we hereby notify that there is no ongoing process for consortium-based acquisition of Arm as of now," read the firm's recent filing with the Financial Supervis

Technology Oct. 31, 2022

South Korean electronics giants are facing calls to accelerate renewable transition and set up climate goals across the supply chain, despite earlier pledges to go carbon neutral across their operations. In a report Friday by environmental group Greenpeace and grassroots organization Stand.earth, Korean electronics goods sellers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics were ranked "F" in terms of progress toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, on the scale of "A" to "F.

Technology Oct. 28, 2022