KB Financial Group has solidified its status as a leading banking conglomerate by diversifying its revenue streams and strengthening its business portfolio beyond traditional lending activities. For two consecutive years, the group achieved net profits exceeding 4 trillion won ($3.1 billion) since 2021. It regained its title as the country's leading financial group in 2017, when its net profit surpassed 3 trillion won for the first time in its history. Its stellar performance stemmed from

Market Nov. 30, 2023

Concerns are looming large over the loss of principles in equity-linked securities products underlying Hong Kong’s slumping benchmark index with over 8 trillion won ($6.1 billion) in ELS products sold by Korean banks set to mature in the first half of next year. The size of ELS products tracking the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index maturing next year and sold by Korea’s five major banks exceeds 13 trillion won. Of them, some 8.4 trillion won worth of ELS products are facing matu

Market Nov. 27, 2023

Hyundai Group has kicked off its training program for nurturing aspiring female leaders who will guide the future of the conglomerate. The in-house leadership program will run for the next three years with 20 women leaders above the manager level selected by the group, it said on Monday. It will provide education programs to strengthen the capabilities of next-generation leaders such as an online course of master of business administration and design thinking, focusing on diversity, equity and

Industry Nov. 20, 2023

South Korea's major business lobby groups on Monday requested that President Yoon Suk Yeol exert his veto power against a pro-labor union revision bill unilaterally passed by the main opposition party last week. The so-called Yellow Envelope bill, a revision to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Act, aims to limit companies from filing damage suits and provisional seizures against workers on strike, as well as to guarantee the bargaining rights of subcontracted workers. Six business grou

Economy Nov. 13, 2023

Deeply understanding a country and translating it into a business strategy is the biggest challenge and core mission for any company trying to make inroads into a new market. For Mirae Asset Securities to hold the largest share in the Indonesian capital market, the brokerage firm took a unique approach to investors -- publishing a cartoon-based market research paper and hosting a mock stock trading contest for millennials. “Analyzing the Indonesian market from a cultural perspective and us

Market Nov. 12, 2023

The Korea-Indonesia Cooperation Forum, under the theme "K-Wave & I-Wave, Together for the Future," will take place on Nov. 30 in Jakarta to commemorate the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. Organized by Herald Corp., the publisher of The Korea Herald and Herald Business, jointly with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Embassy of Indonesia in Korea, the Embassy of Korea in Indonesia, and the Indonesian Employers’ Association, this forum aims to

Economy Nov. 8, 2023

Sohn Kyung-shik (left), the CJ Group chairman who doubles as chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation, poses with China Center for International Economic Exchanges Executive Vice Chairman Bi Jinquan at the headquarters of the Chinese think tank in Beijing, Tuesday. During his three-day visit to China that started Monday, Sohn held a series of meetings with high-level officials of major business groups and research centers in Beijing to discuss ways to bolster economic cooperation between t

Industry Nov. 7, 2023

Pooling resources together is the best way to survive in the cutthroat competition against global pharmaceutical companies with gigantic capital, biopharma Celltrion founder and Chairman Seo Jung-jin said on Wednesday of the firm's merger with its sales affiliate Celltrion Healthcare. “The integration of Celltrion and Celltrion Healthcare will serve as a momentum for the group to take a leap as a leading global health care firm,” Seo said during a press conference held in Yeou

Industry Oct. 25, 2023

Korean biosimilar giant Celltrion and its sales unit Celltrion Healthcare received shareholders’ approval for their merger on Monday, paving the way for the launch of an integrated company planned for December. During the extraordinary general shareholders meetings separately held by the two companies in Incheon, Celltrion won with 97.04 percent of attendees voting in favor of the merger, while 95.17 percent of Celltrion Healthcare shareholder attendees agreed with the plan. The integrat

Industry Oct. 23, 2023

Korean tech conglomerate Kakao could lose its controlling shareholder position in its internet-only bank affiliate, as its top leaders have become embroiled in stock manipulation allegations stemming from the acquisition of K-pop agency SM Entertainment. On Friday, the country’s financial watchdog Financial Supervisory Service summoned Kakao founder Kim Beom-soo to appear for questioning on Monday for an investigation into the mobile platform service provider’s possible violation of

Industry Oct. 20, 2023

South Korea signed a bilateral free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates Saturday, hoping to provide a tailwind for Korean automakers' outbound shipments and to help securing stable source for crude oil. The two countries concluded talks towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, a kind of FTA that covers trade in services and investment and regulatory aspects, as well as goods. Under the deal, Korea will remove tariffs on 92.8 percent of all items traded, and the UAE will

Industry Oct. 15, 2023

The vastness awakens us to the smallness of humanity and gratitude for our daily lives, but also presents itself as a new venue for heated competition among countries for national security and economic reasons, experts said Wednesday. “Space is where a sharp conflict of interest occurs among countries from foreign policy to economy and politics,” said Yi Soyeon, Korea’s first and so far only astronaut, at the 2023 Korea Herald Humanity in Tech forum held at the Shilla Seoul, un

Industry Oct. 11, 2023

The Korea Herald, the nation’s largest English newspaper, will kick off its annual business forum under the theme, “Beyond Earth,” on Wednesday to discuss the ever-evolving and highly dynamic space industry while endeavoring to understand humanity's connection with the universe. The 2023 Korea Herald "Humanity In Tech" or "HIT" forum will shed light on the rising industry and Korea’s recent progress in the field, including the successful launch of

Industry Oct. 10, 2023

A business collaboration platform that will bridge 62 million Indonesian farmers to Korean scientists and global investors has been launched to support them in garnering cutting-edge skills like meta farming and carbon trading, as the two countries work to champion sustainability in the digital economy. The Green Digital Economy Platform (GDEP), spearheaded by HumanX, a global partnership promoting human-centered technology, was officially unveiled on Friday under the endorsement of Indonesi

Economy Sept. 17, 2023

GS1, a nongovernmental organization based in Belgium that manages the bar codes scanned over 6 billion times daily across the globe, is set to unlock the future of the global retail industry with next-generation bar codes by supporting companies and consumers to access abundant trusted product data. GS1 CEO Renaud de Barbuat called on Korean business leaders in the retail and logistics industries to take a leap towards the digital transformation by replacing the bar codes they are using with two

Industry Sept. 6, 2023