[KH Explains] How Balaan bucks luxury slowdown

Korean luxury fashion platform Balaan is getting fresh attention from investors, bucking the trend among global rivals reeling from sluggish sales and lukewarm investor appetite. According to industry sources on Wednesday, Balaan has been in talks with multiple investors in its Series D funding round. Among the investors are Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group and fashion platform operators, including China’s Poison and Japan’s Zozotown. They are said to be eyeing investments in the Kor

July 31, 2024

[KH Explains] Hanwha scion steps into spotlight amid pending succession

Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon’s second son, Kim Dong-won, president and chief global officer at Hanwha Life, is eyeing a bigger presence within his father’s business empire as he plays a key role in leading the global expansion of the group’s financial business. Hanwha’s succession scheme is still taking shape, with the management control highly likely to be transferred to the chairman’s three sons. The eldest, Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, is projected to t

July 30, 2024

STX Heavy rebranded as HD Hyundai Marine Engine

Korean marine engine maker STX Heavy Industries has officially been rebranded as HD Hyundai Marine Engine under the umbrella of HD Hyundai. At a shareholders' meeting held on Tuesday, all proposed agenda items were approved, including amendments to the articles of association, a name change and the election of new directors. President Kang Young, appointed as the first CEO, brings a wealth of experience from his tenure at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, where he joined in 1992. He has held var

July 30, 2024

Toss Securities to launch US subsidiary this year

Toss Securities, a brokerage arm under financial technology giant Viva Republica, announced Tuesday that it plans to establish a subsidiary in the US to explore further business opportunities in the country. The US entity, a 100 percent-owned subsidiary of Toss Securities, will be founded within this year under the name of Toss Securities Americas. The establishment was approved through a board meeting of the brokerage unit. Toss Securities Chief Financial Officer Kim Kyung-soo is to serve as th

July 30, 2024

Vine Group secures bigger footing in Japan

Vine Group said Tuesday that its Japanese subsidiary Vine Japan successfully expanded business operations in Osaka, Japan. Since its establishment in 2017, Vine Japan has diversified its operations from rental services to include hotels, trade, and the food and beverage sector. Vine Japan entered the hotel industry by acquiring Hotel Links Namba in 2018. In 2019, it acquired WBF Hotel and rebranded it as Hotel Vine Osaka, enhancing customer satisfaction with a Korean boutique hotel concept. Amid

July 30, 2024

JobKorea, Hirediversity team up to assist foreign job seekers

JobKorea, a job search platform, said Monday it has joined forces with Hirediversity, a local administrative service platform intending to assist foreign national job seekers. The partnership aims to streamline the administration process for foreign nationals interested in working in Korea by leveraging Hirediversity's expertise in immigration administration support and data management. The collaboration will provide administrative support and customized recruitment information, with the ai

July 29, 2024

TMON, WeMakePrice file for court receivership amid liquidity crisis

  TMON and WeMakePrice, e-commerce platforms of the Singapore-based Qoo10, filed for court receivership Monday, officials said, amid continuing liquidity woes due to the firms' delays in repaying vendors operating on their platforms. The two South Korean marketplaces have been in crisis after failing to make payments to their vendors amid the liquidity issues of their owner, Qoo10, reportedly due to aggressive merger deals. Their unpaid bills came to around 210 billion won (US$151.7 million

July 29, 2024

After 15 years of waiting, iPhone users launch petition to bring Find My feature

The number of people demanding US tech giant Apple enable its Find My app in Korea surpassed 6,500 on Monday on the National Assembly’s petition website, a week after the movement started there on July 22. Find My allows users to track the locations of their Apple devices. If a lost device is nearby, it plays a sound. If users mark a devices lost, it locks or erases personal information. South Korea is the only country where Find My does not work, which has led online petitioners to accuse

July 29, 2024

Coupang marks Rocket Luxury’s 1st year with special event

Coupang announced Monday that it will hold a special event to mark the first anniversary of its luxury beauty section, "Rocket Luxury," running until Sunday. The event features 21 brands available on Rocket Luxury -- including Estee Lauder, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Clinique and Biotherm -- highlighting a large number of bestsellers that have been highly popular over the past year. Exclusive perks are offered to Coupang's Wow members: Free gifts are given with the purchase of beauty items

July 29, 2024

[Photo News] Sweet collaboration

Samsung Electronics on Monday unveiled its latest collaboration with US chocolate maker Hershey’s for its mobile device accessories from cases for foldable phones to watch straps. Starting from Korea, the products are set to hit shelves in overseas markets, including the US, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines, in phases in the coming weeks. (Samsung Electronics)

July 29, 2024

HD Hyundai Marine Solution seals $60m European vessel service deal

HD Hyundai Marine Solution, the ship maintenance unit of HD Hyundai, announced Monday that it has secured a record $60 million maintenance deal with a Euro-based vessel company. The company said it recently signed a Long Term Service Agreement with a European company, without further elaborating on the company name or other details due to the deal conditions. Under the terms of the deal, HD Hyundai Marine Solution will provide parts and equipment for 38 vessels until 2029, along with skilled eng

July 29, 2024

LIG Nex1 acquires 60% stake in Ghost Robotics

Korean defense firm LIG Nex1 said Monday that it had acquired a 60 percent stake in Ghost Robotics, a leading US quadruped robot maker, in partnership with Korea Investment Private Equity. LIG Nex1 finalized all investment steps, including approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, Friday. The acquisition, valued at approximately 332 billion won ($240 million), secures LIG Nex1 a 60 percent share of Ghost Robotics. Founded in Philadelphia in 2015, Ghost Robotics is k

July 29, 2024

Hanwha Ocean spurs innovation for greener shipbuilding

As the maritime industry navigates towards a greener future, the demand for vessels meeting stringent carbon reduction regulations is increasing in line with the International Maritime Organization's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. With over 100,000 vessels collectively emitting nearly a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, the call to action is more urgent than ever. In South Korea, Hanwha Ocean, a major shipbuilding and offshore company, is at the forefront of this environme

July 29, 2024

Qoo10 pressured to secure cash for troubled Korean units

While the nation’s two online shopping platforms Tmon and WeMakePrice struggle with an ongoing liquidity crisis, their Singapore-based parent company, Qoo10, is said to be securing cash worth about $50 million through an overseas affiliate, according to industry sources Sunday. The new funding scheme reportedly came as the South Korean authorities were demanding the platform operators to come up with relief measures for the snowballing complaints made by both vendors and buyers on the plat

July 28, 2024

Can Samsung adapt to being a latecomer in HBM sector?

High bandwidth memory chips are becoming a headache for Samsung Electronics, as the world's No. 1 memory chip maker is months behind its crosstown rival SK hynix in supplying the profitable components to Nvidia, the dominant player in the burgeoning AI market. Samsung’s fourth-generation HBM3 chips have reportedly been cleared for use by Nvidia recently, but SK hynix, the No. 2 in the memory chip market, has supplied it with more advanced fifth-generation HBM3E chips since March this

July 28, 2024

Korea should seek out resource opportunities in Mongolia, experts say

While raw materials and rare metals are becoming increasingly significant to the South Korean economy, experts suggest Asia’s fourth-largest economy expand its cooperation on future energy and key mineral sources with Mongolia. Jung Tae-yong, a professor at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies, and Kang Sung-jin, an economics professor at Korea University, held a roundtable meeting last week to explore Mongolia’s growth potential and Korea’s busine

July 28, 2024

HD Hyundai Electric expands Alabama plant for better efficiency

HD Hyundai Electric, an energy solution provider under Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai, said Sunday that it has expanded the storage capacity of its manufacturing plant in Alabama to meet growing orders and improve operational efficiency. The expansion adds 12,690 square meters to the existing storage facility, which can house up to 60 power transformers. With the expansion, the plant will elevate production efficiency while reducing external storage and transportation costs. "The new

July 28, 2024

Daewoo E&C boosts technology portfolio to tackle climate crisis

Daewoo Engineering & Construction is expanding its eco-friendly technology portfolio amid growing calls for green energy solutions to tackle the climate crisis. One of the builder's notable innovations is greenhouse gas reduction technology, called DECO2, a proprietary continuous process for capturing and recycling carbon dioxide, first developed in 2012. This technology captures carbon dioxide and repurposes it into raw materials. By-products from this process can be used immediately a

July 28, 2024

SK hynix confirms W9.4tr investment in Yongin Cluster's 1st fab

SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, said it has decided to invest about 9.4 trillion won ($6.77 billion) in building the first manufacturing plant and business facilities of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in a board meeting on Friday. The chipmaker plans to start construction of the first fab in the Yongin cluster in March next year, and complete it in May 2027. The envisioned manufacturing plant will produce next-generation DRAM, including High Bandwidth Memory, a rep

July 26, 2024

Shinhan Financial Group to enhance corporate value by 2027

Shinhan Financial Group on Friday unveiled a corporate value enhancement plan detailing specific targets and strategies to boost profitability. According to the plan, the financial giant aims to achieve a 10 percent return on equity, a 50 percent shareholder return rate and reduce its shares by 50 million by 2027. To reach a 50 percent shareholder return rate, Shinhan plans to decrease the number of shares through ongoing stock buybacks and cancellations. Last year, the company's shareholde

July 26, 2024