KB's chair candidate: Keeping Indonesian unit afloat is key mission

Yang Jong-hee, the final candidate for the chairman position and current vice chairman of KB Financial Group, on Monday vowed to prioritize revitalizing the group's money-losing Indonesian subsidiary. He picked Bank KB Bukopin as one of the three critical tasks he would resolve if he takes the top seat of the Korean banking conglomerate in November. "Even within our domestic market, the process of acquiring troubled companies and restoring them requires time. When undertaking similar p

Sept. 11, 2023

Dong-A Otsuka’s mineral water wins Monde Selection gold award

Dong-A Otsuka, the nation’s leading beverage maker, said it launched a special edition of its mineral water brand Masinda, which won a gold award in the Monde Selection 2023 with a renewed packaging. Employees of Dong-A Otsuka gathered to celebrate the launch of Monde Selection special edition, featuring a golden sticker on the package, for its mineral water at the company’s office in Seoul on Friday. Monde Selection is an annual noncompetitive award that certifies the quality of foo

Sept. 11, 2023

LG Innotek chief vows to reduce single-use plastic waste

LG Innotek CEO Jeong Cheol-dong joined the “Zero Disposables Challenge,” an environmental initiative launched by the Ministry of Environment in February to encourage the use of reusable items in public, the firm said Monday. The campaign typically involves CEOs posing for a photo, signaling their commitment to slashing single-use plastic waste. The photo is then posted on social media platforms, with the CEO naming the next participant. Since its launch, a number of key business le

Sept. 11, 2023

SKC to buy stake in US chip packaging startup Chipletz

SKC Co., a South Korean manufacturer of secondary battery parts and advanced materials, said Monday it is acquiring a stake in a US semiconductor packaging startup as it accelerates the drive for chip post-processing. The investment in Chipletz, an Austin-based fabless company, will give SKC an approximately 12 percent stake in the US firm through a Series B funding, the Seoul-based company said in a release. SKC did not disclose the amount of the investment, citing the terms of the agreement. C

Sept. 11, 2023

Seoul Fintech Week to bring together global fintech experts in Seoul next month

The Seoul city government will hold a global financial technology conference next month, bringing together fintech experts from around the world to discuss the digitalization trend in the financial industry, officials said Monday. The 2023 Seoul Fintech Week will kick off on Oct. 4 for a three-day run at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul under the theme "How Fintech Will Transform Our Lives," city officials said. Fintech experts from around the world, including the United States

Sept. 11, 2023

Construction orders hit $22b overseas

South Korean construction companies have secured new orders worth $21.9 billion in overseas markets between January and August, according to the International Contractors Association of Korea, Sunday. The association said the total value of construction orders made overseas during the eight-month period was up by 19.9 percent on-year. It is also the first time that the value has surpassed $20 billion since 2018, when overseas construction orders in the January-August period were worth a combined

Sept. 10, 2023

HDC Shilla Duty Free store greets first Chinese group tour

Some 700 Chinese tourists visited the Shilla I'Park Duty Free Shop in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Friday, marking the first group visit to a domestic duty-free store in six years, according to the store operator HDC Shilla Duty Free on Sunday. Following a tour of Gyeongbokgung, South Korea's iconic ancient palace, the group visited the store to enjoy some shopping. They also got the opportunity to try various Korean cuisines at food and beverage stores within the I'Park shopping ma

Sept. 10, 2023

[Photo News] Hana's global one team

Hana Financial Group’s Vice Chairman Lee Eun-hyung (center) and some 30 employees from its overseas affiliates pose for a picture as part of the six-day global workshop held last week at Hana Global Campus in Cheongna, Incheon. Under the theme “All Connected in Hana Global,” this year’s workshop aimed to solidify a sense of belonging among its overseas workers while introducing them to the group's current performance, future vision and sustainability managment projec

Sept. 10, 2023

KB chooses Yang Jong-hee as top chairman candidate

KB Financial Group, Korea's top financial holding company, has selected Vice Chairman Yang Jong-hee as its next chairman candidate. Yang's selection is considered to be a reflection of the importance the Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee places on Yang's extensive background in both the banking and non-banking sectors. This development came on Friday, following comprehensive two-hour interviews --conducted by the committee of the group -- with three finalists. "Yang

Sept. 8, 2023

Korea to build 120MW data center in Pohang

South Korea will build a 120-megawatt data center with an investment of 1.5 trillion won ($1.12 billion) in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province by 2027, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Friday. According to the ministry, SK Ecoplant, DCT Telecom and KB Asset Management signed a memorandum of understanding to invest the 1.5 trillion won to build the global data center campus as well as the related undersea fiber-optic cables and a landing station that serves as a connection between t

Sept. 8, 2023

Orion scores W110b dividend from Vietnamese subsidiary

South Korean confectionery manufacturer Orion said Friday it will receive a cash dividend of 110 billion won ($82.5 million) from its Vietnamese subsidiary for the first time since its establishment in 2005. According to Orion, the company collected 50 billion won in dividends from Orion Food Vina Co., its wholly owned Vietnamese subsidiary, at the end of August. This marks the first time that Orion has brought dividends into its head office in Korea from its Vietnamese subsidiary. Orion said

Sept. 8, 2023

Lotte Homeshopping conducts first voluntary redundancy program

Lotte Homeshopping, the TV channel of South Korean retail giant Lotte, initiated its first voluntary redundancy program amid spluttering financial performance, according to a company official on Friday. From Thursday to Wednesday, the company will allow employees aged 45 or older who have worked for Lotte Homeshopping for five years or more to apply for the program. The employees who voluntarily resign will be compensated with about two years' annual salary, along with reemployment suppor

Sept. 8, 2023

Hanwha Ocean wins green tech certifications at global gas fair

Major South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean Co. said Friday it has won a series of certifications for eco-friendly technologies from major global maritime rating agencies at an ongoing world gas industry exhibition. Hanwha Ocean, formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., has obtained an approval in principle for the hold of a 70,000-cubic-meter liquefied carbon dioxide carrier from Norwegian accredited registrar and classification society DNV. The capacity of Hanwha Ocean's

Sept. 8, 2023

After record earnings, large-scale walkout looms at Chanel Korea

After recording its best earnings last year, Chanel Korea is under mounting pressure to share more profits with employees in a fairer way, with its unionized workers threatening to go on a full-scale walkout ahead of its peak holiday season later this month. According to the Chanel Korea Union, affiliated with the Korean Federation of Service Workers’ Union, its members working at department stores and duty-free shops already staged a partial walkout over the past weekend. The union said i

Sept. 7, 2023

HD Korea Shipbuilding hits order target ahead of schedule

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering said Thursday it secured new orders for four very large ammonia carriers, or VLACs, totaling 616.8 billion won ($462.6 million), reaching its annual order target ahead of schedule. These orders, secured during the global gas and climate technologies event, Gastech 2023, with Singapore EPS and Greece Capital, increase the company's 2023 total orders to $15.94 billion, outpacing their annual target of $15.74 billion. Ammonia carriers play a piv

Sept. 7, 2023

Hyundai, LG chiefs visit Indonesia to bolster EV, battery partnerships

Following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to Indonesia for the South Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, South Korean conglomerates’ chiefs embarked on a business trip to the emerging country to boost cooperation on electric vehicles and construction projects, industry sources said Thursday. Business leaders including Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and LS Chairman Koo Ja-eun were

Sept. 7, 2023

FSS head meets with China's new financial regulator chief

Lee Bok-hyun, the governor of South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, made an unannounced two-day visit to China last week, marking the first visit there by an FSS head in six years. During his visit to Beijing on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, Lee met with Li Yunze, head of China's National Financial Regulatory Administration, to discuss ways to strengthen financial ties and cooperation between the two nations. “China previously had various supervisory divisions, but it did not have

Sept. 7, 2023

Coca-Cola Korea releases new oat drink

Coca-Cola Korea Company said Thursday it has launched its new plant-based drink brand Go:Good Oat, jumping on the vegan bandwagon. Made from European oats, the new drink is blended with oat syrup and rice bran oil. The two flavor options include plain with a clean taste and rich with a smooth taste. With a small, handy 195 ml package, the consumers can easily carry around and enjoy the oat drink anytime, anywhere. Even in busy mornings and short breaks, it can quickly give a feeling of “co

Sept. 7, 2023

Makeup brand Hera debuts in Japan

South Korean cosmetic giant Amorepacific announced Thursday that its high-end cosmetic brand Hera has entered the Japanese market. Riding on the global popularity of brand ambassador Jennie from Blackpink, Hera has been gaining traction in the global market, with its leading Black Cushion foundation logging over 8.56 million combined domestic and international sales. At the end of August, a pop-up store was launched at Shibuya Scramble Square, a large shopping complex in Japan’s capital.

Sept. 7, 2023

GS1 CEO calls on retailers to adopt QR codes to build trust

GS1, a nongovernmental organization based in Belgium that manages the bar codes scanned over 6 billion times daily across the globe, is set to unlock the future of the global retail industry with next-generation bar codes by supporting companies and consumers to access abundant trusted product data. GS1 CEO Renaud de Barbuat called on Korean business leaders in the retail and logistics industries to take a leap towards the digital transformation by replacing the bar codes they are using with two

Sept. 6, 2023