Korea's top conglomerates pledge billions in flood relief

South Korea’s largest conglomerates, including Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG and SK, have pledged billions of won in donations and emergency supplies to assist those impacted by the recent heavy rainfall that brought floods and widespread destruction. Samsung Group donated 3 billion won ($2.17 million) in cash and supplies to aid flood victims and recovery efforts. The contribution comes from eight affiliates: Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDS

July 22, 2025

Samsung Group donates W3b for flood relief

Samsung Group said Monday it has donated 3 billion won ($2.16 million) in emergency relief funds to support recovery efforts and assist residents affected by the recent torrential rains that swept across South Korea. After severe flooding inflicted damage in multiple regions nationwide, a total of eight Samsung affiliates — Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDS, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Samsung C&T — joined th

July 21, 2025

LG AI Research taps machine learning experts as new heads

LG AI Research appointed Lee Hong-lak, vice president and chief scientist of AI, and Lim Woo-hyung, a senior researcher leading its Data Intelligence Lab, as the institute's new co-heads of research on Monday. The appointments follow the departure of former head Bae Kyung-hoon, who left the post after being appointed as Minister of Science and ICT in June. According to LG, Lee is a globally recognized scholar in machine learning and deep learning. Named among the world's top 10 AI researchers, h

July 21, 2025

Woori Financial unveils AI-led growth strategy

Woori Financial Group held a business management strategy meeting Friday to share its vision for growth centered on group-wide synergy and a shift toward artificial intelligence. Woori Financial Chair Yim Jong-ryong highlighted that the group will pursue synergy following the recent acquisition of Tongyang Life Insurance and ABL Life Insurance earlier this month, in addition to the launch of Woori Investment & Securities last year. "Now that Woori Financial has completed its transition into a co

July 20, 2025

KCCI chief suggests EU-style economic bloc between Korea, Japan

Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, doubled down on his proposal for a Korea-Japan economic bloc that is akin to the EU, stressing that the two nations must strengthen cooperation in AI and manufacturing sectors as global economic uncertainties intensify. Envisioning a bloc that would unite the two neighbors — both grappling with stagnant domestic economies, aging population and rising global trade barriers — Chey has been advocating such a union wo

July 20, 2025

Krafton says Subnautica 2 delay aimed at protecting fans, franchise reputation

South Korean game publisher Krafton Inc. said Saturday its recent decisions regarding the development of Subnautica 2 were made to protect the interests of game fans and ensure the long-term success of the franchise, as the company faces a legal dispute with the former leadership of its U.S. development subsidiary Unknown Worlds. "Releasing the game prematurely with insufficient content, falling short of what fans expect in a sequel, would have both disappointed the players -- who are at the hea

July 19, 2025

Korean battery-makers under cost pressure as US targets Chinese graphite

Korea’s battery industry is bracing for a sharp rise in US manufacturing costs as Washington moves to slap a 93.5 percent anti-dumping tariff on Chinese graphite, with many global supply chains still heavily dependent on China. According to a Bloomberg report on Thursday, the US Department of Commerce has issued a preliminary ruling to apply anti-dumping duties on imports of the key anode material used in electric vehicle batteries. Once imposed, imported Chinese graphite with 90 percent or high

July 18, 2025

Kakao Pay walks away from SSG Pay acquisition talks

Shinsegae Group has failed to sell its mobile payment businesses after Kakao Pay withdrew from acquisition talks, the retail giant confirmed Thursday. “We had been in discussions with Kakao Pay over a strategic partnership in the mobile payment business, but decided to end the talks due to shifts in the strategic direction of both companies,” Shinsegae Group said in a statement. The two companies had been in negotiations since early this year over the sale of SSG Pay and Smile Pay, with the deal

July 18, 2025

Korea may be able to reduce tariffs to 15 to 18% with the right deal: former US trade official

Korea may face US tariffs of between 15 to 18 percent as the country scrambles to cut a better deal with Washington, a former US trade official said Friday “I see countries such as Korea, I see Japan in the same bucket. ... as being able to get out from under the highest tariffs that have been threatened but (only) with some kind of deal,” Michael Beeman, former assistant US trade representative for Japan, Korea and APEC, said in a video podcast released by the Korea Economic Institute of Korea.

July 18, 2025

Two years in, Hanwha mulls sale of Five Guys Korea

Hanwha Galleria, the retail arm of Hanwha Group, is reportedly exploring the sale of FG Korea, operator of US burger franchise Five Guys in South Korea, two years after bringing the brand into the country. According to sources on Thursday, FG Korea, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hanwha Galleria, recently circulated documents to private equity firms through local accounting firm Samil PwC signaling a potential sale process. Although no deal terms or valuation have been finalized, a full sale of th

July 17, 2025

GS chief calls for AI-led revamp, strategic M&As

Korea’s retail-to-energy conglomerate GS Group announced Thursday a company-wide push for an artificial intelligence-driven business transformation to overcome slowing performance in its key subsidiaries. “All the knowledge and data accumulated across every area of our business are our strongest assets. … We must integrate these assets through AI and develop new business opportunities by enhancing collaboration between subsidiaries,” said GS Group Chairman Heo Tae-soo. “Amid these enormous chang

July 17, 2025

Hybe chairman referred to prosecution over alleged unfair trading

Financial authorities on Wednesday referred Bang Si-hyuk, chairman and founder of K-pop powerhouse Hybe, to the prosecution over alleged fraudulent securities transactions related to the company's listing, officials said. The Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission decided to forward the complaint against Bang and three former Hybe officials for their alleged violation of the Capital Markets Act regarding the company's initial public offering. Bang is accused of

July 16, 2025

[Photo News] KCCI forum kicks off in Gyeongju

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry kicked off its annual summer forum Wednesday at Lahan Select Hotel in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The annual forum, which runs through Saturday, is one of the largest economic gatherings in the country, with this year’s edition attended by some 500 corporate executives, businesspeople and policymakers. The event is being held in Gyeongju to help secure public interest and support ahead of the APEC summit and the APEC CEO Summit, set to take pla

July 16, 2025

LS Electric ramps up Vietnam strategy as ASEAN demand surges

Korea Herald correspondent HANOI, Vietnam — LS Electric presented its advanced electric solutions for sustainable energy transition at Elecs Vietnam 2025, underscoring the growing importance of the ASEAN region as its second-largest market after North America. “Southeast Asia stands out as a crucial market for us and continues to grow,” said Kim Jong-woo, chief operating officer of LS Electric, during a media briefing at the company’s exhibition booth on Wednesday. “In Vietnam, where we expanded

July 16, 2025

US chip thaw boosts outlook for Samsung, SK hynix

Anticipation is growing for a boost to Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, as the US reversal of restrictions on Nvidia’s AI chip sales to China is expected to revive demand for their high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, chips. On Tuesday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed that the government had approved Nvidia’s sales of its H20 graphics processing units to China. He explained that the decision was part of broader negotiations with Beijing on rare earth materials and a s

July 16, 2025