Hanwha Ocean scores Korea’s 1st US warship maintenance deal

Hanwha Ocean has secured Korea’s first warship maintenance project from the United States Navy, pioneering the market for the country’s maritime defense industry. According to Hanwha Ocean on Thursday, the company landed a depot maintenance contract for the US Navy’s 40,000-ton-class auxiliary ship. The company explained that the project was only open to those who had signed a master ship repair agreement (MSRA) with the US Naval Supply Systems Command. Hanwha Ocean announced i

CompaniesAug. 29, 2024

Hyundai, Kia secure financial edge with 'triple A' credit ratings

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia have paved the way for their future investment plans as they recently received triple 'A credit' ratings from the leading credit rating agencies in the world. Hyundai and Kia -- Hyundai Motor Group's two automakers -- stand as one of the only four auto brands worldwide to have all A credit ratings from Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's along with Toyota, Honda and Mercedes-Benz. The Korean automakers said they plan to speed up the pus

CompaniesAug. 29, 2024

GS Group establishes cultural foundation to boost art

South Korean energy, retail and construction conglomerate GS Group announced Thursday that it has officially launched the GS Cultural Foundation, a move aimed at enriching the nation's cultural and artistic landscape. Chaired by GS Group Chairman Huh Tae-soo, the board comprises prominent figures including Kang Sue-jin, artistic director of the Korean National Ballet, Eugene H J Bang, former head of DBS Bank Korea, Rha Wan-bae, former vice chairman of GS Energy, and Lee Joon-myung, an attor

IndustryAug. 29, 2024

LG Chem opens CS center in Ohio

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading chemicals company, announced on Thursday the official opening of its new Customer Solution Center in Ravenna, Ohio, as part of its strategy to expand its presence in North America. The 8,300-square-meter, three-story facility is designed to provide comprehensive technical support to customers across the region, including product development, quality enhancement and productivity enhancement for LG Chem’s customers and suppliers. The center, which began c

IndustryAug. 29, 2024

Dong-A Pharm's eye supplement for kids releases new flavor

South Korean drugmaker Dong-A Pharmaceutical said Thursday the company launched a new flavor of eye health supplement containing perilla herb for kids -- Minimax LAB Eyes Solution. According to a study released in 2017, researchers found that Perilla frutescens reduce near point of convergence values, which are indicators of eye fatigue. To evaluate the effects of Perilla extract, the research team divided 30 Korean participants into two groups, giving the extract to only one group. However, due

IndustryAug. 29, 2024

Seoul shares fall over 1% on Nvidia's underwhelming earnings result

South Korean shares dropped more than 1 percent after opening Thursday, taking a cue from Wall Street losses prompted by an underwhelming earnings result by global artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 31.62 points, or 1.18 percent, to 2,658.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight in the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.39 percent, with the S&P 500 losing 0.6 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq compos

MarketAug. 29, 2024

Nearly 60 pct of big firms have no plan or undecided over hiring in H2: survey

Nearly 60 percent of big companies in South Korea have either not yet established a recruitment plan for the second half of the year or do not plan to hire at all, a poll showed Thursday. According to the survey carried out by polling agency Research & Research on the country's top 500 companies by sales from Aug. 5-19, 57.5 percent of responding firms said they have yet to come up with recruitment plans or don't plan to hire new college graduates during the remainder of the year.

EconomyAug. 29, 2024

'Hyundai Way': Auto giant's W121tr plan aims to seize mobility market lead

Hyundai Motor Company is making a bold move towards the future with an investment of 120.5 trillion won ($90.3 billion) over the next decade. This investment is designed to keep Hyundai agile as mass adoption of electric vehicles remains uncertain. Key initiatives include the introduction of advanced hybrid systems, an expanded range of hybrid vehicles, and a new category of vehicles -- extended range electric vehicles, or EREVs -- that combine the strengths of both internal combustion engines a

MobilityAug. 28, 2024

Korea's economy to stop growing without drastic labor change: FKI

South Korea’s economy is expected to stop growing and hit a negative mark in less than 40 yeares if a plunging birth rate and rapidly aging population continue, according to the Federation of Korean Industries on Wednesday. The FKI, a major economic organization, projected that the potential growth of Asia’s fourth-largest economy would sink to minus 0.1 percent in 2061 and afterward. However, the expansion of the labor supply could drive up the potential growth of Asia’s fourt

EconomyAug. 28, 2024

CJ Olive Young's discount event start Friday

South Korea's largest beauty retailer CJ Olive Young said Wednesday the company will reduce the price of over 10,000 products by up to 70 percent for a week from Friday. The company has opened doors for the nation's smaller cosmetic makers. Olive Young plans to offer large discounts on numerous Korean beauty products, with medium-sized brands making up 80 percent of them. In June, cosmetic products from small and medium-sized enterprises ranked first to tenth in sales. During the event

IndustryAug. 28, 2024

Halt to daytime trading of US stocks leaves investors in limbo

South Korean investors remain unable to promptly respond to changes in the US stock market, as local brokerage firms' suspension of their trading service during the Korean daytime is expected to continue. Following the shutdown fiasco from the market meltdown earlier this month that led to the cancellation of orders worth 630 billion won ($471 million) in trades here, 19 brokerage houses have temporarily suspended the daytime trading service of US shares from Aug. 16. Blue Ocean ATS is the

MarketAug. 28, 2024

Naver, Kakao strive to combat deepfake porn spreading online

The rise of explicit and nonconsensual deepfake pornography illegally being shared online is prompting Korean platform operators to boost their surveillance while delaying generative AI services. Naver, the country's No. 1 search engine, said Wednesday it is running Clova GreenEye 2.0 on its platforms to identify harmful and sexually explicit images using the image analysis solution based on its AI model's vision technology. While the solution is not specifically made to scan for deepf

IndustryAug. 28, 2024

Samsung SDI, GM push ahead with $3.5b joint battery plant in US

Samsung SDI and General Motors reaffirmed their commitment to the growth of the electric vehicle market despite the recent slowdown as they finalized the agreement to establish a joint battery plant in the United States on Tuesday. According to Samsung SDI, key representatives from the Korean battery maker and the US automaker attended the signing ceremony at Samsung SDI’s office in Seoul to complete the agreement. Samsung SDI and GM reached an initial agreement in April last year to form

MobilityAug. 28, 2024

Seoul shares end nearly flat ahead of Nvidia earnings result

South Korean shares closed almost flat Wednesday ahead of US tech giant Nvidia's closely watched earnings announcement. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 0.58 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 2,689.83. Trade volume was moderate at 276.4 million shares worth 10.4 trillion won ($7.77 billion). Losers, however, outnumbered winners 625 to 260. Institutions sold a net 33.9 billion won worth of shares, while individuals and f

MarketAug. 28, 2024

Korean Air ups commitment to newer, safer airplanes

Korean Air is significantly increasing its investment in a younger, safer and more passenger-friendly fleet, reflecting the carrier's commitment to enhancing its services and providing travelers a broader range of options. According to recent Transport Ministry data, the average age of Korean Air’s fleet is 11 years and four months, making it the youngest among the top five airlines in the country. This achievement is part of the airline's ongoing strategy to introduce new aircra

CompaniesAug. 28, 2024

LG Innotek seeks leadership in parts for future mobility

LG Innotek said Wednesday that it has applied for some 3,500 patents related to automotive parts over the past five years, seeking leadership in the field of futuristic mobility. Almost 40 percent of the patents are for electric vehicles, one of the company’s new growth drivers. They cover diverse EV and autonomous driving technologies, including LiDar sensors, cameras, lighting and communication modules. LG Innotek said it is also accelerating efforts to secure standard patents as they ar

IndustryAug. 28, 2024

APR's Medicube seeks bigger footing in US, Canada

South Korean beauty tech company APR, known for its Medicube brand, announced Wednesday that it has signed a supply agreement with The TJX Companies, a global retail giant operating nearly 5,000 stores across nine countries, including the United States and Canada. With this agreement, Medicube's popular skin care products and AGE-R beauty devices will now be available in TJX-owned stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls, both well-established names in the North American retail landscape. The prod

CompaniesAug. 28, 2024

One Store goes global with Taiwan launch

Korean mobile app store operator One Store said Wednesday that it aims to expand globally with Taiwan being the first strategic market. “Our hyper localization strategy involves partnering with local companies globally to tailor services specifically for each region, aiming to compete with global monopolies on a global scale," CEO Chun Dong-jin said during a press conference in Seoul, earlier in the day. "One Store aims to become the most competitive app market globally by 2030.&

IndustryAug. 28, 2024

Woori to reenter insurance market after 11-year hiatus

Woori Financial Group has finalized a deal to acquire Tongyang Life Insurance and ABL Life Insurance, marking its reentry into the insurance sector after 11 years. The group announced Wednesday that its board of directors has resolved to incorporate Tongyang Life Insurance and ABL Life Insurance as subsidiaries and has signed the stock sale agreements. Woori will acquire a 75.34 percent stake in Tongyang Life for 1.28 trillion won ($958 million) and the entirety of ABL Life for 265.4 billion won

IndustryAug. 28, 2024

Shinhan Bank offers AI interpretation service for foreigners

Shinhan Bank, one of South Korea's five major commercial banks, is enhancing services for foreign customers with the introduction of a new speech-to-text interpretation service at its brick-and-mortar branches. On Wednesday, the bank announced the launch of its "Banking for Everyone" service, designed to assist foreign customers facing communication challenges due to language barriers or disabilities. The service converts spoken language into text for both bankers and customers vi

IndustryAug. 28, 2024