S. Korea mandates flexible pricing in supply deals to protect SMEs

Incorporation of the price adjustment clause, or PAC, in consignment production contracts made between suppliers and subcontractors were mandated starting Wednesday for the first time in South Korea. The PAC, which requires suppliers to adjust the price of materials they provide to subcontractors in accordance with variations in raw material costs, aims to alleviate subcontractors' losses under the current fixed-price contract system. Under the current system, small and medium-sized consign

Oct. 4, 2023

Celltrion's Humira biosimilar receives FDA approval for new doses

Celltrion announced Wednesday that the company received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for two more dose versions of its Humira biosimilar Yuflyma, for 20 and 80 milligrams. Yuflyma is a copycat version of AbbVie’s blockbuster drug Humira, used to treat many inflammatory conditions in adults such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. With the FDA’s latest approval, Celltrion is now able to sell three different dose versions of Yuflyma in the US. The 40 m

Oct. 4, 2023

Samsung Biologics raises annual estimated earnings to W3.6t

Samsung Biologics has raised the full-year earnings estimate in its company guidance again to 3.6 trillion won ($2.6 billion) for this year, up some 20 percent from last year, according to its regulatory filing released on Wednesday. It was the second time this year for Samsung Biologics to increase the estimate of its annual earnings. Earlier in April, the company raised its estimated earnings from sales to 3.52 trillion won. “(Samsung Biologics) has readjusted (the estimated earnings in

Oct. 4, 2023

Questions raised over Taihan Cable’s quality control

South Korean electric wire and cable manufacturer Taihan Cable & Solution has faced challenges of quality control after using impure copper from a new supplier in its production process, industry sources said Wednesday. For approximately three weeks -- from early last month to Sept. 24 -- the company’s Dangjin plant in South Chungcheong Province had shut down its copper rod manufacturing. Copper rods are a basic metal element in cable production. The melting furnace was reportedly clog

Oct. 4, 2023

1 in 4 foreign workers earn more from unemployment benefits than from work

More than 1 in 4 foreign recipients of unemployment benefits received more last year in unemployment benefits than from the wages they earned before their employment ended, Ministry of Employment and Labor data showed. According to Labor Ministry data submitted to Rep. Kim Sang-hoon of the ruling People Power Party on Wednesday, of 12,100 foreign recipients of unemployment benefits last year, 3,200 (26.4 percent) received more from the scheme than from their previous wages. Rep. Kim expressed

Oct. 4, 2023

[Photo News] Whiskey in vogue

(From left) Richard Quinn, an English fashion designer and a brand collaborator for Pernod Ricardo Korea; Frantz Hotton, CEO of Pernod Ricardo Korea; Mathieu Deslandes, head of Royal Salute; and Miguel Pascual, chief financial officer of Pernod Ricardo, pose for a photo to celebrate the global debut of the second edition of Royal Salute 21 Year Old Richard Quinn in Seoul on Wednesday. The whisky’s world premiere comes against the backdrop of significant growth in high-end wines and whiskie

Oct. 4, 2023

SK On marks 2nd anniversary with twofold revenue, capacity growth

SK On, South Korea’s leading global EV battery manufacturer, reported Wednesday an approximate twofold rise in quarterly revenue and global battery production capacity over the last two years, as the company marks its second anniversary this month. Having spun off from the energy company SK Innovation to focus on the battery business in October 2021, SK On has more than doubled its quarterly revenue from 1.665 trillion won ($1.22 billion) in the last quarter of 2021 to 3.696 trillion won (

Oct. 4, 2023

Hanwha seeks bigger presence in burgeoning global robotics market

Hanwha Group, South Korea's seventh-largest conglomerate, officially launched its robotics firm Hanwha Robotics on Wednesday, aiming to take the lead in the burgeoning global robotics market. Hanwha Corp./Momentum and Hanwha Hotels & Resorts set up a joint venture for Hanwha Robotics, holding 68 percent and 32 percent of the shares in the new entity, respectively. Hanwha Corp./Momentum will acquire 28,293,195 shares of Hanwha Robotics, valued at about 42.4 billion won ($31.8 million). K

Oct. 4, 2023

S. Korea, UAE hold formal talks for free trade deal

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have launched formal negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement, Seoul's industry ministry said Wednesday. The two nations agreed in 2021 to push for forging a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and the first round of talks kicked off in Seoul on Monday for a four-day run, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The CEPA is a type of FTA, which emphasizes a broader scope of economic cooperation and exchanges on top

Oct. 4, 2023

Industrial output rises 2.2% in August on chip recovery

South Korea's industrial output rebounded in August from a month earlier on the back of a robust recovery in the chip sector, data showed Wednesday. The industrial output advanced 2.2 percent in August from the previous month, after slipping 0.8 percent in July, according to Statistics Korea. It was the sharpest growth since a 2.3 percent rise tallied in February 2021. The rebound came after the country's industrial output, retail sales and facility investment all lost ground at the sa

Oct. 4, 2023

Korean Air to submit new merger plan to ease antitrust concerns

The high-profile merger between South Korea’s top two air carriers is likely to meet a watershed moment later this month as Korean Air is reportedly scheduled to submit an aggressively revised version of its acquisition proposal for Asiana Airlines to the European Commission to effectively ease the regulator’s antitrust concerns. According to local reports Tuesday, Korean Air’s revised proposal will include the company's sale of the entirety of Asiana Airlines' cargo

Oct. 3, 2023

Samsung chief explores new growth drivers in Middle East

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong traveled to key locations of Samsung's business in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel during the six-day Chuseok holiday in South Korea to explore new business opportunities in the region, the tech giant said. Lee’s latest trip to the Middle East came nearly 10 months after he visited the construction site of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates in December last year as his first official overseas trip as the executive chair

Oct. 3, 2023

SKT’s AI-based veterinary service to debut in Japan

SK Telecom said Tuesday that it has forged a business partnership with Japan’s leading pet insurance company Anicom Holdings, as it eyes global expansion with X Caliber, its flagship artificial intelligence-based medical service for pets. The Tokyo-based pet insurance company owns a top market share of 46 percent alongside running various subsidiaries engaged in diverse pet-related businesses, including an electronic chart solution company and an animal hospital operator. Under the agreeme

Oct. 3, 2023

Household debt to GDP at highest level

South Korea's household debt-to-gross domestic product ratio increased the most last year from 2017 among 26 nations that provided such data, despite financial authorities taking various measures to curb it. According to the International Monetary Fund's Global Debt Database, the ratio reached 108.1 percent last year, an increase of 16.2 percentage points from 92 percent in 2017. South Korea is the only country among the 26 countries included in the data set where private sector debt &

Oct. 3, 2023

[Photo News] LG OLED TV at Frieze London

Media artist Quayola’s animated painting, titled “Jardins d’Ete” ("Summer Gardens"), is played on the iconic Piccadilly screen in London. As part of its ongoing art projects, LG Electronics said its organic light-emitting diode TVs will be used to display the Italian artist’s digital paintings referencing the late works of French impressionist Claude Monet during the upcoming Frieze London art fair that takes place Oct. 11-15. (LG Electronics)

Oct. 3, 2023

Shin-Hanul 2 nuclear reactor on test run for full operation next year

The Shin-Hanul 2 nuclear reactor in southern South Korea began a six-month test operation this month to go into full operation next March, according to a state-run nuclear power agency Monday. The 1.4 gigawatt reactor in the coastal county of Uljin, some 215 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was loaded with fuel and entered into testing last week, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said. If the test run goes without a hitch, the reactor is expected to be put into full operation in around March as

Oct. 2, 2023

Post-pandemic Chuseok to revive overseas travel, gift giving

In the upcoming Korean Thanksgiving holiday of Chuseok, the first since the official end of the three-year pandemic, South Koreans are eyeing travel to Japan while giving fruit as gifts, a recent analysis showed Tuesday. According to a big data analysis on social media of 2023 Chuseok trends conducted by KPR digital communication lab, there is a growing interest in overseas travel as well as gifts that reflect consumers' personal values. The data revealed an increase in keyword searches rel

Sept. 29, 2023

Whisky imports surge 40% through August, suggesting record-breaking year

South Korea's whiskey imports surged by 40 percent year-on-year through August, signaling the potential for record-breaking annual inbound whiskey shipments this year. Whiskey product imports totaled 22,799 tons in volume from January to August this year, marking a significant increase from 16,267 tons recorded during the same period in 2022, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. If the current import trend continues, this year's volume is likely to surpass the 2002 record

Sept. 29, 2023

Long Chuseok holiday to boost domestic trips

South Koreans are more likely to travel domestically than abroad during the upcoming six-day Chuseok holiday, the longest in six years, a recent survey showed Wednesday. According to a weekly survey on travel plans and patterns conducted by the research firm Consumer Insight, among respondents going on trips during the Chuseok break, 16 percent plan to go on domestic trips while 4 percent plan to travel abroad. The survey was conducted on some 2,000 Koreans between two to five weeks before the C

Sept. 28, 2023

Korea Post names new president

The state-run Korea Post said Tuesday that Rep. Cho Hae-keun of the ruling People Power Party has been named president of the national postal service. An expert in administration, Cho studied his undergraduates in the field at Sungkyunkwan University and went on to earn a master’s degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University in the US. After passing the 38th Civil Service Exam, he first embarked on his career in the public sector in 1995 and held several posts at Korea Post,

Sept. 27, 2023