By Nam Sung-hyun Today is the International Day of Forests. Forests account for 31 percent of the land surface area of the Earth. They play a crucial role in responding to climate change as they absorb 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide yearly as a major terrestrial carbon sink. Forests also provide habitats to 80 percent of terrestrial species, proving to be the cornucopia of biodiversity. In other aspects, approximately 1 billion people worldwide obtain essential nutrients from forests

Korean lender bets big on burgeoning manufacturing sector in Southeast Asia’s largest economy

Fair Trade Commission Chairman Han Ki-jeong on Monday vowed that the antitrust regulator will seek ways to protect Korean consumers from the possible negative influence of the EU’s new law targeting global big tech companies. The EU’s Digital Market Act, which will come into force this year, aims to prevent global tech giants from abusing their market power and ensure a higher degree of competition. This law includes tighter restrictions on collecting data. If companies fa

Posco International said Monday its Vice Chairman Jeong Tak has been named as the company’s new CEO during a shareholders’ meeting held at its headquarters in Incheon, west of Seoul -- the first meeting since the merger with its sister unit Posco Energy on Jan. 1. "Under the leadership of the new CEO, we will continue to maximize shareholder values by aggressively aiming for future growth, with balanced investment and shareholder returns," the company said in a statement. D

Daewoo Engineering & Construction is ramping up efforts for South Korean construction companies' foray into Iraq, according to the company Monday. Daewoo E&C's CEO Baek Jung-wan and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Cho Seung-hwan recently visited Iraq’s Al Faw port construction site, in a bid to facilitate domestic companies' entry into Iraq's Al Faw Port Development Project -- a project which aims to build the largest port in the Middle East. Currently, Daewoo E&a

Samsung Electronics said Monday it has opened a branch campus for its startup support program in Gwangju to incubate promising small businesses to spur innovation and build a business ecosystem without relocating themselves to bustling Seoul and metropolitan areas. Located in Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance’s office in the Sangmu region, C-Lab Outside Gwangju will be run to nurture innovative startups, revitalize the local economy and boost high-quality jobs in the rural area. The new ca

Innospace, a South Korean space startup, said Monday its suborbital test launch vehicle, HANBIT-TLV, has been launched. The 8.4-ton thrust single stage hybrid rocket was fired from the Alcantara Space Center in northern Brazil at 2:52 p.m. Sunday (local time), or 2:52 a.m. Monday (Korean time), according to the company. "We are now verifying the flight performance of the engine and its payloads," Innospace said in a statement. "We will announce the final result of the launch later

A retired police officer, who wished to be identified by his last name Park, 63, believes “60 is the new 40.” “After retiring from my job I started watching over kids as a ‘school sheriff’ at an elementary school nearby. I just was not used to staying at home without a job,” Park told The Korea Herald. Last month, the number of overall employed workers increased by 310,000 on-year, and this rise was largely led by workers like Park, who are in their 60s, a

Starbucks Korea said Sunday it opened its 13th eco-friendly outlet in the country, as part of its continuous attempts to recycle waste and create jobs for socially disadvantaged people. Called "Zero waste: eco-star cafe," according to Starbucks, the pilot store recently opened in Incheon, and is jointly operated by the Korea Environment Corp. and Starbucks to ramp up the coffee franchise's environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, efforts. "We will continue to e

Amid severe market downturn, market experts say production cuts inevitable

Hotel Shilla, Shinsegae DF and Hyundai Department Store Duty Free were shortlisted for duty-free licensing at Incheon International Airport, the airport operator said Friday. Incheon International Airport Corp. announced the result of the first round of assessment of bids for the five duty-free zones at the nation's main airport, located west of Seoul. The three domestic retail giants were selected as final candidates, while two other bidders, Lotte Duty Free and China Duty Free Group Co. (

Posco Holdings, a unit of South Korean steel giant Posco Group, will relocate its Seoul headquarters to the industrial city of Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, as the plan was approved at a shareholders meeting Friday. “We have decided to relocate the headquarters to coexist with the local community of Pohang, which enabled the growth of Posco,” Posco Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo said. Pohang is home to the group’s key steel mills and other production facilities. While some

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for close cooperation of businesses of South Korea and Japan, especially in cutting-edge fields of semiconductors and batteries, during a meeting of entrepreneurs of the two countries, Friday. The two biggest business groups of South Korea and Japan, Korean Federation of Industries and Japan Business Federation -- commonly known as Keidanren -- hosted the Korea-Japan Business Roundtable on the second day of Yoon's two-day visit to Tokyo. Yoon held

Korea’s sole aircraft maker to invest W4.5tr in R&D through 2032, seeks expansion through exports

South Korea’s HD Hyundai, the world’s largest shipbuilding group, said Friday it is forming the industry’s first alliance for carbon neutrality along with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Samsung Heavy Industries, the American Bureau of Shipping and the Korean Register of Shipping. On Thursday, the top three local shipbuilders and international ship classification organizations agreed to carry out a joint project tracking and standardizing their carbon footprint ba