Gaon Cable makes Canadian debut with utility deal

Gaon Cable has entered Canada’s power infrastructure market for the first time, extending its North American business beyond private industrial projects into public electricity grids. The Korean cable-maker said Wednesday it had supplied medium-voltage cables to a major public utility in western Canada. The deal broadens Gaon Cable’s regional customer base, which has largely centered on private facilities such as artificial intelligence data centers and semiconductor plants. Gaon Cable said its

Sept. 9, 2026

At HIT Forum, PM calls for ‘irreplaceable Korea’

Korea's export-led growth continues at a brisk clip this year, and the government moves in tandem to advance capital market innovation, Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said at the latest edition of The Korea Herald's HIT Forum on Tuesday. In a video message marking the forum's opening, Han called the theme, "Korea Premium: Connecting Korean Opportunities with Global Capital," well-timed and parallel to the direction the government hopes to take the market. "Forecasts point to Korea's economy growi

Sept. 9, 2026

Seoul shares open higher on chip gains despite Middle East tensions

Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday, as gains in major chipmakers offset lingering concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East and rising oil prices. After opening 0.26 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index extended gains, trading 65.98 points, or 0.93 percent, higher at 7,019.5 as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, US stocks ended lower amid heightened Middle East tensions and rising oil prices, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index bucked the trend, gaining 1.3 pe

Sept. 9, 2026

S. Korea adds 184,000 jobs in Aug., highest number in 5 months

South Korea added 184,000 jobs in August from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, marking the highest growth in five months. The number of employed people came to 29.15 million in August, compared with 28.96 million a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marked three consecutive months of gains and comes despite the manufacturing sector remaining sluggish. Job growth turned positive again in June after declining by 40,000 in May, the first dr

Sept. 9, 2026

[Graphic News] Gimbap prices rise faster than other dining-out staples

Gimbap prices are rising faster than dining out as the costs of rice, eggs and seaweed continue to climb. According to the Korea Consumer Agency, the average price of a roll of gimbap in Seoul reached 3,838 won ($2.77) in June, up 5.9 percent from a year earlier. It marked the sharpest increase among the eight popular dishes surveyed, followed by samgyeopsal at 4.3 percent, kalguksu at 3.6 percent, and naengmyeon and samgyetang at 2.8 percent each. The increase was driven largely by higher ingre

Sept. 9, 2026

Samsung, Mistral AI team up on smarter chipmaking

Samsung Electronics is teaming up with French AI startup Mistral AI to build customized artificial intelligence models for chip design and manufacturing, deepening a relationship backed by Samsung’s investment in the European AI heavyweight. The strategic partnership will focus on deploying AI across Samsung’s semiconductor operations, including chip design, process optimization and engineering workflows. Samsung plans to integrate Mistral AI’s language models into its chip business and tailor t

Sept. 9, 2026

Science ministry to inject $3.49 bl for AI model

South Korea's science ministry plans to invest 4.7 trillion won ($3.49 billion) for a project to develop a homegrown artificial intelligence (AI) model that will be on par with global frontier models, government officials said Tuesday. The science ministry plans to form an independent fund to that end, according to the officials. The money will be included in the 9.4 trillion-won AI budget proposed by the ministry in its 2027 budget request. Exact details of the project have yet to be decided, a

Sept. 8, 2026

Hanwha Ocean clinches $505 million frigate project from Thai Navy

Hanwha Ocean Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, has won a 680 billion-won ($505.17 million) contract to build one frigate for the Royal Thai Navy, Thai media reports and industry officials said Tuesday. The procurement includes value-added tax, other applicable taxes, transport and all expenses, Thai media reported. The size of the contract could expand to around 4 trillion won should the South Korean shipbuilder win follow-up orders, industry officials said. In 2013, Hanwha Ocean secured a contra

Sept. 8, 2026

Hyosung bets on AI power boom with US grid expansion

Hyosung Heavy Industries is expanding its US power infrastructure business as demand from AI and data centers continues to grow. The company is combining its local manufacturing base with its expertise in power equipment and grid technologies. Rising power demand and aging grid infrastructure are driving major investments in the US power network. At the center of Hyosung’s technology strategy is the solid-state transformer, or SST, which the company sees as a key component of power systems in th

Sept. 8, 2026

Samsung poised to benefit from memory crunch: report

Samsung Electronics is expected to fare better than most smartphone makers as rising memory prices squeeze the global handset market, while its semiconductor business continues to benefit from the same supply shortage, according to a report from Mizuho Securities. The Japanese brokerage forecast global smartphone shipments at 1.15 billion units in 2026, down 9 percent from a year earlier. It expects Samsung shipments to remain broadly flat at 240 million units. Major Chinese vendors are projecte

Sept. 8, 2026

Korean game firms diversify global push in Germany, Japan

Korean game companies are ramping up efforts to better target global gamers by strategically and selectively taking part in international game conventions: showcasing big-budget PC and console titles at Gamescom in Germany while promoting subculture, anime-linked titles at Tokyo Game Show. For this year’s Gamescom, held Aug. 26 to 30 in Cologne with exhibition space selling out for the first time, Korean companies arrived with games aimed at Western tastes. Krafton set up a standalone booth to f

Sept. 8, 2026

S&P sees more SK hynix buybacks, warns of higher dividend bar

SK hynix could announce another share buyback of up to 40 trillion won ($28 billion) in the fourth quarter, as the AI memory boom fuels record shareholder returns from Korea’s two largest chipmakers, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. “We think that there will be more buybacks that will get announced in Q4,” Mohammad Hassan, S&P’s head of Asia-Pacific equities dividend forecasting, said in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Thursday. “It would be on the lower end of maybe 2

Sept. 8, 2026

Samsung, ASML deepen partnership to advance high-resolution chip tech

Samsung Electronics and Dutch manufacturer of chip equipment ASML said Tuesday they would expand their long-standing partnership on next-generation lithography technologies critical to producing advanced AI chips. The expanded partnership between South Korea’s largest chipmaker and ASML focuses on high numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet lithography and advanced photomask solutions, areas expected to become increasingly important as chipmakers push the limits of semiconductor scaling. As part

Sept. 8, 2026

Seoul eyes $22.3b Texas gas project as first under $350 US investment pact

South Korea is considering spending $22.3 billion on a natural gas power project in Texas, which would mark the first investment under its $350 billion commitment to the US, according to government sources Tuesday. The project proposed for Encinal, Texas, would build a 6.3-gigawatt gas-fired power plant in Texas to meet surging electricity demand fueled by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers and advanced semiconductor facilities in the state. The industry ministry had rep

Sept. 8, 2026

Posco injects W480b to expand premium auto steel production

Posco said Tuesday it will invest 480 billion won ($357 million) to expand production capacity for premium automotive galvanized iron and secure a competitive edge in the next-generation mobility market. Earlier in the day, the Korean steelmaker broke ground on the eight continuous galvanizing iron production line (8CGL) at its Gwangyang Steelworks in South Jeolla Province. Capable of producing 450,000 metric tons annually, the line will focus on manufacturing high-grade hot-dip galvanized steel

Sept. 8, 2026