E-commerce giant Coupang and pharmaceutical firm Yuhan Corp. are set to join the Korea Enterprises Federation, a business lobby representing over 4,000 businesses here, according to industry sources on Monday. Some 10 firms, including Coupang, have submitted membership applications to the group, which are subject to approval from board directors and existing members at a meeting slated for Wednesday. Coupang’s decision came after three years of deliberation since its parent company, Coupan

Industry Feb. 19, 2024

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong believes that undervalued Korean stocks including his banking group’s shares could gain impetus with the government’s strong drive with its upcoming market revamp program aimed at creating a new investment wave. With the Korean financial authorities set to put forward detailed schemes to iron out deep-seated low valuation of Korean stocks this month, listed companies and investors are paying keen attention to what would be included in th

Market Feb. 15, 2024

  The proportion of South Koreans working more than 50 hours a week has sharply dropped over the past 20 years to be on par with the average for member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a new report from a Korean business lobby group on Tuesday. According to the Korea Enterprises Federation, the number of wage earners working more than 50 hours per week stood at 2.53 million in terms of actual working hours and 2.24 million in terms of con

Economy Feb. 13, 2024

With decades of know-how in the infrastructure building business, Hanshin Engineering & Construction is taking a big leap by tapping deeper into the Southeast Asian market and diversifying its business portfolio. Hanshin E&C Chairman Choi Yong-sun singled out Indonesia and Ukraine as the builder’s “future markets.” “Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest economy and has a high demand for infrastructure construction and urban development. Hanshin E&C purs

Industry Feb. 6, 2024

Once deemed an investment that produced a stable income stream, office buildings in the US are causing a headache for Korean investors as they wrestle with defaults on loans amid weakening demand and increased interest rates. With their investments turning sour, investors should come up with “creative ways to handle defaulted loans to draw a path to recovery," US commercial real estate investment firm BridgeRock Capital’s founder and managing director Jin Kim said. “Kore

Market Jan. 29, 2024

Korea would be more attractive for global renewable energy and health care companies if they were given higher financial incentives and eased regulations, chiefs of foreign business lobby groups said Wednesday. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held the 2024 Foreign Chamber Day with representatives of foreign business networking organizations to share opinions on difficulties faced by global firms operating here in the fields of economic cooperation, labor, trade and regulatory appr

Industry Jan. 24, 2024

South Korea’s sovereign bond market is likely to be included among the top grade of global market indices, as abating inflation revives investors’ appetite for government bonds, according to economists from Standard Chartered Group on Friday. At the 2024 Global Research Briefing conference hosted by the Korean unit in Seoul, Arup Ghosh, Standard Chartered Bank's co-head of Asia rates research, predicted that Korean treasury bonds will take a positive turn this year due to the tr

Market Jan. 22, 2024

KB Kookmin Bank said Wednesday it will provide 372.1 billion won ($276.4 million) in financial support measures for the self-employed, small business owners and vulnerable groups facing difficulties due to high borrowing costs and prices. The sum represents the largest among such other plans put forward by its local peers responding to the government’s call to share profits yielded from high rates with those still struggling to recover from the fallout of COVID-19. KB’s dual-track

Market Jan. 17, 2024

The chief of DGB Financial Group, the holding firm of leading regional lender Daegu Bank, decided to step down from his post Friday after being acquitted of bribery and embezzlement charges tied to the group’s overseas expansion plan this week. After about five years at the helm of the company, DGB Financial Group Chairman Kim Tae-oh, expressed his intent to not to seek a third term. His current two-year term ends in March. “The group needs new leadership capable of achieving sustain

Market Jan. 12, 2024

Debt-ridden Taeyoung Engineering & Construction made a U-turn to stick with its initial self-rescue package to avoid court receivership, which could put over a thousand of its subcontractors at risk. The 16th-largest construction company in South Korea in terms of capacity is expected to unveil additional plans, which could include offering the ownership family's stake in Taeyoung Group's holding firm, to win creditors' approval by Thursday for the launch of a debt workout p

Industry Jan. 8, 2024

South Korea has set its economic priorities for the year, aiming to boost domestic consumption by supporting the real estate market and to encourage investment to ensure a steady economic recovery. In its economic policy directions for 2024 announced Thursday, the government expected that Asia’s fourth-largest economy will see slightly improved growth of 2.2 percent this year, compared with 1.4 percent in 2023, buoyed by an export bounce-back as demand for semiconductors rises. It lowe

Economy Jan. 4, 2024

British activist investor Palliser Capital founder said Samsung C&T’s five-year treasury stock retirement plan won’t be helpful to shore up its stock price, urging swift action to resolve investors’ concerns over its governance structure. “Cancellation of treasury shares has been mischaracterized as a shareholder return by the company,” Palliser Capital founder and Chief Investment Officer James Smith told The Korea Herald in an email interview. “Managemen

Market Dec. 28, 2023

The attempt by homegrown private equity firm MBK Partners to acquire a stake in Hankook & Co. -- the holding company behind South Korean tire giant Hankook Tire & Technology -- has failed, but it has served as a wake-up call for Korean conglomerates with poor corporate governance. MBK’s move in the last few weeks for a hostile takeover of Korea's No. 1 tire company and its demand for the improvement of Hankook’s governance structure raised some eyebrows, especially at

Industry Dec. 26, 2023

Empowering women in economic activities is needed to help South Korea increase its national income and birth rate while making workplaces more equitable for women will result in higher growth and financial stability for businesses, the International Monetary Fund chief said during a forum held in Seoul on Thursday. “Korea has recently made significant progress in increasing women’s economic participation, but it still has among the highest gender gaps for rich countries,” IMF

Economy Dec. 15, 2023

The government said Monday it would establish a commission to coordinate and oversee the country’s policies on critical industrial supply chains by June next year. Together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korea Customs Service and the Public Procurement Service, authorities will work to identify risks to supply chains that are highly dependent on specific countries. Each related ministry will operate a supply chain early warning system for materials essential to economic activi

Industry Dec. 11, 2023