LG acquires Dutch smarthome specialist to enhance connectivity

LG Electronics is acquiring Athom, a smart home platform based in the Netherlands, as part of its effort to strengthen connectivity for its open smart home ecosystem, the company announced Wednesday. The Korean tech giant said it has acquired an 80 percent stake in the Dutch firm and plans to purchase the remaining 20 percent within the next three years, with the condition included in the agreement. “The acquisition of Athom is a cornerstone for our AI home business,” said Jung Ki-hy

July 3, 2024

AmCham launches mentoring program for young professionals

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Wednesday that it has kicked off the Young Professionals Program to empower emerging leaders and strengthen Korea-US ties. Hosted and supported by AmCham, YPP provides young professionals in their 20s and 30s with networking opportunities with industry leaders, government dignitaries and seasoned experts. This also sets the ground for delicate discussions on business initiatives and policies pertinent to AmCham member firms in Korea. AmCham Chairman

July 3, 2024

Krafton to attend Gamescom 2024 next month

South Korean game publisher Krafton said Wednesday that it is attending the upcoming Gamescom, Europe’s largest gaming trade show, which kicks off on Aug. 21 and runs through Aug. 25 in Cologne, Germany. The company launched an official Gamescom landing page on its official website on the day and posted a teaser trailer on YouTube to promote its participation in the event. The teaser showcases the company's booth concept, themed on the "Scale-up the Creative" strategy, which

July 3, 2024

Samsung to boost display investments in Vietnam

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday renewed his commitment to boosting investment in Vietnam, where the company remains the biggest foreign investor, during a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Seoul on Tuesday. In the private meeting, the Samsung chief pledged massive investment to set up the tech giant’s biggest display module production base in the Southeast Asian country over the next three years. "Vietnam's success is Samsung's su

July 2, 2024

[Herald Interview] Vietnam's MB Bank bets big on Seoul-Hanoi ties

Vietnamese state lender MB Bank, also known as Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank, will launch a mobile app for South Korean nationals living in the country in August, seeing potential in the strengthening ties between the two countries. “Vietnamese banks are yet to offer specialized service for Koreans living in the country, making them rely on the branches of Korean banks,” MB Bank Chairman Luu Trung Thai said during an interview in Seoul on Tuesday. Luu Trung Thai was in Korea w

July 2, 2024

[Business Diplomacy] Time matters more than money in engineering lobbying prowess

Korean companies should focus on boosting their "still-nascent" lobbying power by spending the time to understand policymakers' needs and by building a strong network regardless of the outcome of the upcoming US presidential election in November, according to legal and trade advisers from Lee & Ko, a prominent law firm in Korea. Companies around the globe are paying keen attention to how US policy directions will diverge depending on who becomes the next US president: the incu

July 2, 2024

Cyber attacks using generative AI on rise: SK Shieldus

Cyberattacks using generative artificial intelligence, or targeting the weak points of the new technology are on the rise, SK Shieldus, a leading security service company in Korea said on Tuesday. In a media seminar, SK Shieldus and EQST, the company's white-hat hackers group, presented its findings on the rising hacking trends using AI and underscored the importance of raising awareness and taking preventive measures to reduce damage. “Large Language Models are being used actively to

July 2, 2024

Unionized Samsung workers to stage 3-day walkout

Unionized workers of Samsung Electronics have said they will stage a three-day walkout beginning July 8, as their negotiations with management over wages and working conditions have so far failed. The National Samsung Electronics Union, the largest among multiple Samsung Electronics unions with some 28,400 workers, or 22 percent of the total workforce, announced the decision on Monday evening livestreaming on YouTube. “Any further peaceful strike is meaningless,” said Son Woo-mok, pr

July 2, 2024

KITA opens Dallas center to boost business ties with US

The Korea International Trade Association announced Tuesday the opening of its new US office in Dallas, Texas. The opening event held on Monday was attended by 50 dignitaries and representatives from both governments and related businesses, including KITA Chairman Yoon Jin-sik, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson and Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Houston Jung Young-ho. The Dallas center, which aims to support trading issues of Korean firms from their market entry to building local

July 2, 2024

Celltrion's Stelara biosimilar recommended for EU approval

Celltrion said Monday that CT-P43, its ustekinumab biosimilar referencing Stelara, received an approval recommendation from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use. Stelara is Janssen's top-selling drug for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The global market for ustekinumab last year was estimated at around $20 billion, Celltrion added. “CHMP’s recommendation plays a decisive role in the EMA&

July 1, 2024

Antitrust watchdog to sanction AliExpress for violating e-commerce laws

The Fair Trade Commission has launched formal proceedings to sanction Chinese e-commerce giant AliExpress for alleged violations of e-commerce laws. According to industry sources on Monday, the FTC recently issued a review report outlining sanctions against AliExpress for failing to report its basic business information to the government. Under the Act on the Consumer Protection in E-Commerce, operators of e-commerce platforms must report their business name, email address, internet domain name

July 1, 2024

Global memory chip market picks up amid AI boom

The global memory chip market is picking up on the back of the artificial intelligence boom, with the chip price expected to rise in the second half of this year, according to industry sources on Monday. In the wake of a recovery in demand for server and AI chips, such as High Bandwidth Memory chips, the average sales price of DRAM chips is forecast to increase by 8 to 13 percent in the July-September period when compared to the previous quarter, TrendForce, a Taiwan-based chip market tracker sa

July 1, 2024

SK On enters emergency mode amid sluggish performance

SK On, the battery unit of South Korean chip-to-construction conglomerate SK Group, said Monday it will freeze the annual pay of all executive-level officials until it turns to profit, declaring emergency management amid its sluggish performance. The company decided to drastically revamp all working processes, including resource distribution, to improve operational efficiency in response to the changing industry environment as global electric vehicle markets are in a stagnation phase, known as t

July 1, 2024

Kyobo Life chief honored for ethical entrepreneurship at Geneve Forum

Kyobo Life Insurance CEO and Chairman Shin Chang-jae's ethical business practices received global recognition at the Geneve Entrepreneurship Forum on Thursday. The leading life insurer in South Korea said Monday that Shin was awarded the Global Ethics & Stakeholder Commitment Award at the annual entrepreneurship forum held at the International Labor Organization headquarters in Geneva. Each year, the International Council of Small Business gathers distinguished entrepreneurs, legislator

July 1, 2024

KT&G shares ESG achievements in 2023 report

South Korea’s top tobacco maker KT&G on Monday released its 2023 business report, renewing its commitment to advancing its carbon neutrality goals and improving corporate governance. The report, an amalgam of its annual strategic reports and publications on activities tied to environmental, social, and governance, outlines a quantitative account of the company’s eco-friendly management vision and advancements in corporate governance. “Our ESG capabilities are the driving fo

July 1, 2024

Hanwha Aerospace aims to achieve W2.9tr in sales of aviation engine parts by 2032

Hanwha Aerospace Co. said Sunday it aims to generate 2.9 trillion won ($2.08 billion) in sales from the global aviation engine components business by 2032, with a target to secure capabilities for developing its own engine technologies for fighter jets. "Hanwha Aerospace has been actively promoting its global engine parts business, with Hanwha Aerospace USA (HAU) playing a key role," said Park Myong-hwan, chief financial officer at HAU. "We aim to achieve 2.9 trillion won in sales

July 1, 2024

Hanwha Ocean wins over W2tr orders for eight vessels

Major South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean Co. said Monday it has won orders totaling 2.15 trillion won ($1.55 billion) for eight carriers from two Middle Eastern shippers. Hanwha Ocean will build four liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships for one undisclosed Middle Eastern shipper at a cost of 1.43 trillion won and four very large crude carriers (VLCCs) for another at 719.6 billion won, the company revealed in a regulatory filing. So far this year, Hanwha Ocean has bagged $5.3 billion worth of ord

July 1, 2024

Korean Air Skypass bags 2nd win at National Service Awards

Korean Air said Friday that its mileage program Skypass had won the top award in the airline membership sector at this year’s National Service Awards, marking the second consecutive year it has received the honor. The National Service Awards evaluates and honors services most cherished by consumers across industries throughout the year. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Korean Air’s Skypass enables members to accumulate mileage based on their usage of Korean Air and its par

June 30, 2024

SK hynix pledges W103tr for AI chips by 2028

SK Group said Sunday that it will secure 80 trillion won ($57.9 billion) by 2026 to accelerate its push for two growth drivers: chips and artificial intelligence. SK hynix, its chipmaking unit, alone plans to invest 103 trillion won by 2028, with 80 percent of the new funding focusing on AI chips, including high-bandwidth memory, a burgeoning area where the chip giant has secured an earlier edge. Telecom carrier SK Telecom and internet service provider SK Broadband will also invest a combined 3.

June 30, 2024

LG Innotek up to 61% of RE100 goal after 1 year

LG Innotek said Thursday that it has met nearly 61 percent of its renewable energy transition goals just a year since it joined the RE100 corporate initiative in July 2022. According to its sustainability report, it converted 60.9 percent of its energy consumption to renewable energy last year, a significant increase from 22.1 percent in 2022. LG Innotek explained that this resulted in about 267,000 tons of reduction in carbon emissions, equivalent to that of around 40 million 30-year-old pine t

June 30, 2024