Posco International, the trading arm of Posco Group, announced Thursday that it received its first credit rating from global credit rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's on Tuesday. Posco International was assigned a rating of BBB+ by S&P and Baa2 by Moody's, with both agencies providing a stable outlook for the company's credit rating. An S&P rating of BBB- or higher is generally considered investment grade. Posco International's BBB+ rating is on pa

Industry Aug. 29, 2024

A growing number of foreign travelers are visiting Korea amid the global popularity of K-culture. But many more Korean nationals are traveling abroad, leading the nation’s travel deficit to a six-year record in the first six months of this year. According to a recent joint report by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Tourism Organization, the country recorded a travel deficit of $6.48 billion in the first half. The figure represents the largest deficit since the $8.74 billion recorded in 20

Industry Aug. 27, 2024

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won stressed the importance of adapting business strategies to the evolving AI ecosystem at the closing session of Icheon Forum 2024, SK Group's annual strategy meeting of top executives, which ended Wednesday. "Artificial intelligence presents us with numerous opportunities," Chey said. "Leveraging this trend effectively and embracing change swiftly will be crucial for thriving in the AI ecosystem." The chairman emphasized that while adapting

Industry Aug. 22, 2024

CJ CheilJedang is boosting its presence in Oceania with its Bibigo K-food product line, recording a 51 percent on-year increase in its food product sales in the region during the second quarter this year. The company announced Wednesday the fresh launch of Bibigo mandu to New World and Pak'nSave, two major supermarket chains in New Zealand. The new offerings include "Bibigo Homestyle Mandu Pork Dumpling" and "Bibigo Pork & Kimchi Flavoured Dumplings," both of which

Industry Aug. 21, 2024

South Korea's top two airlines, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, are recently ramping up efforts to encourage their passengers to use up their mileage in an apparent move to ease financial burdens ahead of their planned merger later this year. Korean Air recently announced a strategic partnership with GS Retail, a local retailer operating GS25 convenience stores, to allow customers to use their Korean Air points at GS25 outlets. Asiana Airlines also plans to launch an online shopping site ex

Industry Aug. 20, 2024

진행자: 김혜연, Kevin Lee Selzer [Eye Interview] Actor-novelist Cha In-pyo reflects on trials of bringing his debut novel to global spotlight 기사 요약: 배우 차인표가 "미래 세대"를 위하여 썼다는 일제강점기 민족의 아픔 그려낸 소설, 옥스포드대 필독서로 지정되다 [1] Set in the peaks of Baekdusan in 1931, Cha In-pyo’s 2009 debut novel "Once We Look at the Same Star" captures the budding friendship of a young tiger hunter, Yong, and Suni, the village chief’s granddaughter, until their tranquil life is soon shattered by hi

Podcast Aug. 19, 2024

Celltrion Group on Friday ditched its planned merger of the two units Celltrion and Celltrion Pharm after months of fierce resistance from shareholders. The two companies announced that they would focus on their core operations and work on creating synergy within their respective firms. The decision comes after a series of evaluations conducted by a special review committee set up by their boards of directors, external studies by accounting firms and shareholder surveys. "We established the

Industry Aug. 16, 2024

진행자: 김혜연, Kevin Lee Selzer South Korea's Paris Olympics triumph: 13 golds secure historic success Weapon sports dominate as S. Korea achieves best summer Olympics performance in 12 years 기사 요약: 2024 파리올림픽에서 13개 금메달 획득해 '베이징·런던 올림픽 타이' 역사 쓴 선수단 [1] South Korea's Olympic team, comprising 144 athletes across 21 events, achieved at least 13 gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, placing seventh overall, with athletes in shooting, fencing and archery playing pivotal roles

Podcast Aug. 15, 2024

South Korea’s leading tobacco manufacturer KT&G on Thursday reported a surge in its earnings in the second quarter of this year, largely driven by the upbeat performance of its overseas business. The company posted 321.5 billion won ($233 million) in operating profits in the April-June period, a 30.6 percent jump from a year ago. Sales also increased 6.6 percent to 1.424 trillion won on-year. Its overseas business, in particular, drove up its earnings overall, the company said. Oversea

Industry Aug. 8, 2024

The Asiana Airlines' Pilots Union has requested that the European Commission investigate the suitability of Air Incheon as a potential buyer of Asiana Airlines' cargo business, the union announced Tuesday. The move follows Korean Air's selection of Air Incheon as the preferred bidder for the sale of Asiana Airlines' global cargo freighter business on June 17, as part of its yearslong quest to formally acquire Asiana Airlines. The union said Tuesday that it had asked the EU�

Industry Aug. 6, 2024

Korean luxury fashion platform Balaan is getting fresh attention from investors, bucking the trend among global rivals reeling from sluggish sales and lukewarm investor appetite. According to industry sources on Wednesday, Balaan has been in talks with multiple investors in its Series D funding round. Among the investors are Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group and fashion platform operators, including China’s Poison and Japan’s Zozotown. They are said to be eyeing investments in the Kor

Industry July 31, 2024

Leading global contract development and manufacturing organization Samsung Biologics announced Wednesday that its earnings for the first half of this year reached an all-time high, surpassing 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion). According to its financial results for the first half of this year, the company reported consolidated revenue of 2.1 trillion won and an operating profit of 655.8 billion won, reflecting on-year increases of 33 percent and 47 percent, respectively. In the second quarter, conso

Industry July 24, 2024

Celltrion has begun the final validation process for its third plant in Songdo, Incheon, before commencing commercial production, the South Korean biosimilar giant announced Tuesday. The validation process is a critical step before the commercial production of drugs, which involves objectively verifying and documenting that products are manufactured to meet predefined standards from drug development to production. Celltrion invested some 270 billion won ($194 million) for the third plant's

Industry July 23, 2024

Korean Air is to purchase up to 50 new widebody aircraft from Boeing in its push to enhance fleet quality and meet sustainability goals. The deal price is estimated to reach some 30 trillion won ($23 billion), according to industry sources. The company declined to confirm. The national flag carrier signed a memorandum of understanding with Boeing on Monday on the sidelines of the Farnborough International Airshow 2024, a premier aerospace trade show currently being held in the UK. Korean Air sai

Industry July 22, 2024

A slew of top-shelf whiskey labels are rushing to make their Korean debuts recently, fueling the growth momentum of the nation’s premium whiskey market in the coming years, according to Nick Ahn, the country manager of top spirit and wine producer Bacardi. "Just 10 years ago in Korea, soju and beer dominated social gatherings and work dinners, leaving little room for other options. But things have changed drastically," Ahn told The Korea Herald in an interview held in Seoul on Fr

Industry July 22, 2024