The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea said Sunday that it inked a new partnership deal with US and Japanese financial institutions to bolster ties between the three nations, an outcome of last week’s trilateral summit talks. The Eximbank said it signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding with the US International Development Finance Corporation and the Japan Bank of International Cooperation at the US institution’s headquarters in Washington, Friday. The signing ceremony was

Industry Aug. 20, 2023

Mirae Asset Global Investments announced Wednesday that it has acquired Australia’s No. 1 robo-adviser Stockspot. The Korean assets management firm said it will secure a 53 percent stake in the company in a deal worth 28 million Australian dollars ($18 million), with plans to increase the stake in the future in phases. Founded in Sydney in 2013, Stockspot is the leading online investment adviser, ranking atop the robo-adviser sector in Australia with a base of 13,000 clients and some 650

Industry Aug. 16, 2023

Korean artificial intelligence startup Upstage said Monday that it is launching an industrywide alliance that is devoted to developing a large-scale language model that specializes in Hangeul, or the Korean alphabet. The 1T Club -- meaning "1 trillion token club" -- alliance brings together private firms and various organizations to provide Korean-language data totaling over 100 million words. A token refers to the basic unit of text or code used by an AI-powered language model to proc

Industry Aug. 14, 2023

EcoPro, South Korea's leading producer of secondary battery materials, will be added to the Morgan Stanley Capital International Korea Index, alongside three other domestic companies. A total of four Korean companies' stocks -- EcoPro, Hanwha Ocean, JYP Entertainment, and Hanmi Semiconductor -- made the listing for MSCI Korean Index, according to the results of the MSCI August Index Review released Thursday. Meanwhile, two companies -- CJ Group and E-mart -- have been removed from th

Economy Aug. 11, 2023

Shanghai Hyundai Elevator, the Chinese affiliate of South Korea’s largest elevator manufacturer, has pledged to achieve a 5.9 percent market share in China by 2030, the company announced during its 30th anniversary ceremony held in Shanghai, China earlier today. The anniversary was held in the Smart Campus auditorium located in Geumsan Industrial District, Shanghai, China, with top executives, including Hyundai Group Chairperson Hyun Jeong-eun and Hyundai Elevator CEO Cho Jae-chun, in att

Industry Aug. 10, 2023

The prices of apples and pears are expected to rise due to decreased fruit yields caused by poor weather conditions, according to data released by government-funded research organization Korea Rural Economic Institute on Wednesday. The projection for the agricultural sector for August raises concerns because the two fruits are typically in high demand in September, as they are the most popular choices for gift sets for the upcoming Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, holiday. The major national har

Industry Aug. 9, 2023

Starbucks Korea announced Tuesday that it has donated scholarship funds to descendants of Korean independence activists who supported the country’s fight against Japanese colonial occupation. The donation ceremony was held earlier on the day at Starbucks Academy Center, also Starbucks Korea's former headquarters, located in Sogong-dong, Seoul, in collaboration with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and Community Chest of Korea, a local charity organization. It was attended

Industry Aug. 8, 2023

LG Display announced Monday that it has won a Bosch Global Supplier Award for its technological prowess, becoming the first company in the industry to gain global recognition in the automotive display sector. The Bosch Group, the world’s No. 1 automotive parts manufacturer, reserves the award for only 46 suppliers from the pool of its 35,000 global partners worldwide. Since 1987, the award has recognized outstanding performers in the manufacturing and supply of raw materials, products and

Industry Aug. 7, 2023

Electricity demand is expected to reach its peak nationwide in the next two days as South Korea grapples with a record-breaking heat wave that was raised to the highest alert level Tuesday. Electricity usage in South Korea is projected to reach 92.9 gigawatts both on Monday and Tuesday, to record the highest level this summer, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy released Sunday. As the use of air conditioning increases especially at businesses amid the scorchi

Industry Aug. 6, 2023

Korean fried chicken franchise Genesis BBQ said Thursday that it has recently opened its second restaurant in Panama, in a move to accelerate its expansion into the Central American market. The opening ceremony was held at Albrook Mall, in Panama City on Wednesday, with top executives including Genesis BBQ Group Chairman Yoon Hong-geun in attendance. The Albrook Mall, where BBQ’s Albrook branch is located, is the largest shopping complex in the Central and South American region. Located

Industry Aug. 3, 2023

Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia both recorded double-digit growth in US sales in July, increasing by over 10 percent on-year, according to the data from the US units of the Korean carmakers. The combined sales of the two carmakers came to 143,787 units in July, 12.1 percent up from a year earlier, Hyundai Motor Group said. Strong demand for electric vehicles is seen as driving a surge in Hyundai’s sales volume in the US. Hyundai sold a total of 72,857 units, 10.7 percent higher

Industry Aug. 2, 2023

One of South Korea's top game developers and publishers, NCSoft, is ramping up its efforts to boost the development of intellectual property by supporting emerging artists. The company has been carrying out a number of sponsorship campaigns, especially in the character industry, which can generate various derivative content including games, comics and merchandise other than characters themselves. Under its flagship sponsorship program, Rookie Project, since 2021, the company has been discov

Industry Aug. 1, 2023

The number of transactions made by Vietnamese tourists in South Korea during the first half of the year showed the sharpest growth among other visitors, increasing by 468 percent on-year, Korean credit card issuer BC Card said Friday. The growth in Vietnamese tourists' transactions were significantly higher than those of all other foreign tourists, which stood at 358 percent. The data released by BC Card was based on the total number of credit card and debit card transactions made by 1.2

Industry July 28, 2023

South Korean trading company STX announced Thursday that it has inked a memorandum of understanding with the nation's largest commercial credit bureau NICE D&B to provide corporate information services on Trollygo, its business-to-business online trading platform which is set to be launched in the third quarter of this year. The signing event was held at NICE D&B’s headquarters in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday, with top executives including STX CEO Park Sang-jun and NICE D&

Industry July 27, 2023

Havas Korea, a Korean subsidiary of Havas Group, has donated its used laptops to the Seoul Metropolitan Government to provide support for youth preparing for independence, under the city’s ongoing personal computer donation campaign that aims to bridge the digital divide. The term "youth preparing for independence" refers to individuals who are transitioning to a state of independence after being under the protection of foster care or other institutions. These individuals require

Industry July 27, 2023