DS Dansuk seeks W100b IPO to spur growth

DS Dansuk, South Korea’s resource recycling company, on Friday threw its hat into the ring as the last candidate for a market debut this year, with bold plans for businesses ranging from biodiesel to battery and plastic waste recycling. “After the initial public offering, we will set up additional production facilities and invest more in research and development to create a strong foothold as a global brand leading the circular economy," said DS Dansuk co-CEO Kim Jong-wan during

Dec. 8, 2023

Hanwha Aerospace lands W3.2tr tank supply deal with Australia

Hanwha Aerospace said Friday it has clinched a deal with the Australian government to supply 3.2 trillion won ($2.4 billion) worth of armored tanks. Hanwha Defense Australia, the company’s subsidiary in Australia, is poised to deliver 129 units of Hanwha’s Redback infantry fighting vehicles by 2028. The tanks will be manufactured in a new plant in Australia set to complete construction next year. Hanwha said it will be supplying military equipment designed for export for the first ti

Dec. 8, 2023

LG Energy Solution to supply EV battery modules to Poland's ICPT

LG Energy Solution said Friday that it has signed an agreement with Impact Clean Power Technology, a leading Polish battery systems manufacturer, ramping up its foray into the European market for commercial electric vehicles. ICPT, established in 2005, operates the GigafactoryX near Warsaw, which manufactures and assembles advanced battery systems for larger EVs such as electric buses and trucks. Under the agreement, the Korean battery giant will supply 200,000 nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) ba

Dec. 8, 2023

New Mercedes-Benz E-Class to make Korean debut in January

Mercedes-Benz’s new E-Class sedan is hitting the Korean market in January next year, the Korean unit of the German luxury carmaker said Friday. The 11th generation E-Class is a complete revamp from the 10th version launched in 2016. In Korea, the car claimed the No. 1 spot in sales for seven consecutive years among foreign brand cars. Korea is Mercedes-Benz’s fourth-largest market globally. The new model, unveiled at the digital world premiere this April, underwent a full change to f

Dec. 8, 2023

Citibank named top international bank of 2023 in Korea

Citibank Korea has been named the Best International Bank in Korea for 2023 by Asiamoney, a monthly financial magazine published in Hong Kong, the bank announced Friday. Asiamoney explained that it selected Citibank Korea for the latest award, as it demonstrated significant improvements in performance across various financial metrics, citing tangible gains in total revenue and net income compared to the previous year. The bank showed particularly strong growth in the corporate banking businesses

Dec. 8, 2023

[KH Explains] After roller-coaster year for K-pop stocks, what to expect next year?

It was a rough year for K-pop, with big firms' shares taking a roller-coaster ride despite outstanding performances, hitting an annual peak in the summer and plummeting in recent months. But the bumpy ride is set to settle down for the most part, with major risk factors being resolved and individual firms pushing through with their global business ventures for long-term qualitative growth, industry watchers say. YG Entertainment finally came out of the shadows on Wednesday, when it anno

Dec. 7, 2023

[From the Scene] Doosan to double output of 'cobots' with advanced but cheaper sensors by 2024

Doosan Robotics, seemingly buoyed by its high-profile stock debut last month, on Tuesday invited a group of reporters to its Suwon plant in Gyeonggi Province, the production base of the nation’s largest robotics company. “At Doosan Robotics, we aim to revolutionize work by developing cobots for augmenting human efforts with great precision, safety and high cost-effectiveness to help address labor shortages across numerous sectors more accessibly," said Ryu Jung-hoon, CEO of Doos

Dec. 7, 2023

Succession scheme taking shape at Lotte

Lotte Group's year-end reshuffle announced on Wednesday signals a focus on new growth opportunities, placing the third-generation scion at the forefront. The conglomerate, ranked as the country's sixth-largest, has initiated this year's executive reform as it grapples with declining performance in its major subsidiaries. During an annual board meeting, a panel of 38 affiliates appointed 14 new chief executive officers. Among them, Shin Yoo-yeol, the 37-year-old eldest son of Lotte

Dec. 7, 2023

LG wins SOAFEE board membership to join Arm, Bosch

LG Electronics said Thursday it has become the ninth governing body member of the Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge, also known as SOAFEE, opening up opportunities in the future mobility industry. Established in 2021, SOAFEE is a special interest group of companies working together to build a cloud-native architecture for software-defined vehicles. Last year, LG Electronics first joined the SOAFEE as a voting member, actively taking part in the technical steering committee and working

Dec. 7, 2023

SK carries out complete reshuffle of top brass

SK Group, the country’s second-largest conglomerate, has carried out a complete reshuffle of its top leadership, with a new, younger generation of top executives taking the helm at key affiliates to tackle the ever-changing business environment. In its year-end executive reshuffle on Thursday, the chiefs of four major affiliates -- SK Supex Council Chairman Cho Dae-sik, SK Innovation Vice Chairman Kim Jun, SK Corp. Vice Chairman Jang Dong-hyun and SK hynix Inc. Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho

Dec. 7, 2023

LG H&H sales up 294% in half year on Japan's Qoo10

South Korean beauty giant LG Household & Health Care said Thursday that its sales on Japan's Qoo10 posted record growth of nearly 300 percent after its debut on the country's leading online marketplace just six months ago. Since June, the company has actively been raising its brand awareness and expanding its customer base in Japan through its participation in Qoo10's megasized sales event, also dubbed the "megawari" event in Japanese. Based on sales for the November

Dec. 7, 2023

[Photo News] Life’s good day in Indonesia

LG Electronics said Thursday that it has recently held the 33rd-anniversary event of its Indonesian operation, titled “Life’s Good Day,” with some 6,500 employees and their family members joining. The tech giant travels around the world to introduce its new brand identity, Life’s Good, putting renewed emphasis on customer satisfaction. (LG Electronics)

Dec. 7, 2023

Citibank Korea hosts digital forum for corporate clients

Citibank Korea on Wednesday shared insights on the digital market and presented overseas business opportunities to the nation’s leading digital companies during the “Korea Digital Leaders Summit 2023." The summit targeted the bank’s corporate clients, who run businesses on digital platforms including e-commerce, video games, fintech and online travel agencies. Some 30 leaders and executives from digital businesses participated in this year’s event. “We hope the

Dec. 7, 2023

GC Biopharma breaks ground for Indonesia’s first blood products plant

GC Biopharma, GC Group’s biopharmaceutical unit, announced Wednesday that the company held a groundbreaking ceremony for its first Indonesian plasma fractionation plant within an industrial complex near the country's capital of Jakarta. The event comes six months after the company received approval from the Indonesian government to join the construction project, a trilateral partnership with the Indonesian Red Cross and P.T Triman, a local drugmaker. Under the partnership, GC Biopharm

Dec. 6, 2023

LG Display launches voluntary redundancy program in efficiency drive

LG Display, the top display maker in producing high-end organic light-emitting diode panels for TVs, has launched a voluntary redundancy program for its factory workers in its latest bid to reduce costs after months of operational losses, according to industry sources on Wednesday. Workers at its manufacturing plants in Paju, Gyeonggi Province and Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, are eligible for voluntary retirement if they are over 40 years old. The company is offering severance pay for 36 m

Dec. 6, 2023

AliExpress vows to invest W10b to root out fake goods in Korea

AliExpress, an online direct purchase platform owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has revealed plans to invest 10 billion won ($7.6 million) in South Korea over the next three years to extensively regulate counterfeit goods sold on the platform, according to the firm on Wednesday. The announcement comes amid ongoing consumer complaints about counterfeit goods purchased through the platform since its official debut in Korea in 2018. "We feel an increased sense of responsibility

Dec. 6, 2023

KFCC hosts workshop for sustainable growth in Africa

The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, the nation’s leading mutual financial institution, said Wednesday it successfully hosted a three-day workshop in Kenya, to discuss ways to foster financial inclusion and a transition to sustainable growth in Africa. The workshop titled “Cooperatives for a Sustainable Transition in Africa” kicked off in Nairobi on Monday in collaboration with the International Cooperative Alliance and the University of Leuven in Belgium.

Dec. 6, 2023

[Photo News] Startup demo day

KB Financial Group Chief Digital Platform Officer Cho Young-suh (first from left, front row) and participants pose for a photo after the “2023 Hub Day," held at the KB Innovation Hub center in Seoul on Tuesday. Hub Day is an annual startup Demo Day hosted for the members of the KB Starters program, a startup accelerator program run by the financial giant. A total of 40 startups participated in this year’s event to share business ideas and seek partnership opportunities with KB s

Dec. 6, 2023

[Korea Quiz] Voluminous traditional Korean porcelain

Find the answer at the bottom. Large, voluminous and round white pottery vessels known as “moon jars” stand as quintessential examples of South Korea’s Joseon-era porcelain art. Originating from the late 17th century, these distinctive porcelain jars maintained their popularity through the late Joseon period, setting themselves apart as unique creations not replicated in China or Japan. The term "moon jar" is a relatively recent invention, created by Korean mode

Dec. 6, 2023

[KH Explains] China ups OLED ante to take over Korean shares

China’s recent move to ramp up investment in organic light-emitting display panels is stoking fears among Korean display makers that they may face another fierce price war with their Chinese runner-ups, even over the most sophisticated display technology. Last week, China's top display panel maker, BOE Technology, announced a plan to invest 63 billion yuan ($8.84 billion) to build a production facility with 8.6-generation technology for OLED panels for laptops and tablet PCs. The amou

Dec. 5, 2023