SK Group creates carbon credit alliance

SK Group said Sunday it has formed an alliance with Korean energy firms and business groups to expand the voluntary carbon market, which allows carbon emitters to offset their emissions by purchasing carbon credits. On Friday, a total of 11 institutions and enterprises signed a multilateral memorandum of understanding to form an alliance for the "Environmental Protection Credit Market," on the sidelines of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also called COP28, which take

Dec. 10, 2023

Creta partners with LoL producer Thomas Vu

Diverse, a Korean metaverse and game development company, said Monday that its Web3 gaming platform Creta has secured a new partnership with Thomas Vu, the renowned producer of the League of Legends game. Under the partnership, Creta agreed to support the game incubation business led by Vu, through which promising game developers can obtain ideas, resources and funding opportunities. Vu started his gaming career as a producer at Namco Bandai Games and Electronic Arts -- the publisher of the Sims

Dec. 10, 2023

Hyundai, Kia's combined exports set to hit 2 mln in 2023

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top carmaker, and its sister company, Kia Corp., are set to post combined exports of 2 million units in 2023, data showed Sunday, on the back of the post-pandemic market recovery. Hyundai and Kia shipped 945,062 and 867,136 respective units of automobiles over the January-October period, according to the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association. The combined figure represented a 17.5 percent rise from the same period in 2022, the data showed. Considering

Dec. 10, 2023

[Graphic News] Donations from big firms up 25.1% despite weaker earnings

Top companies in South Korea boosted their donations in the first nine months of the year despite overall weaker earnings, a corporate tracker said. CEO Score, which tracks corporate management activities, said 264 out of the country’s top 500 firms by sales donated a combined 1.42 trillion won ($1.09 billion) to charities during the January-September period, up 25.1 percent from a year ago. CEO Score said the increase came despite the overall lackluster corporate performances during the p

Dec. 6, 2023

McKinsey names 2 new partners at Seoul office

Global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. on Monday said it has promoted two associate partners, Kim Gi-hong and Moon Ho-joon, as partners. Having studied engineering at Seoul National University, Kim joined McKinsey & Co. in 2016 and has pursued a career across energy and infrastructure. Kim's experience involves leading diverse projects on strategic and practical proposals for oil refinery, petrochemical and construction businesses, and proposing management reforms for companies. Ki

Dec. 5, 2023

Lotte renews online grocery sales race with new mega facility

Lotte Shopping, the retail arm of Lotte Group, said Tuesday it is set to start the construction of a new logistics center in Busan in partnership with UK retail tech firm Ocado. Lotte held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility, called the Customer Fulfillment Center, which will be located on a 42,000 square-meter site within an industrial complex. As part of a partnership with Ocado signed in November last year, Lotte plans to adopt the UK firm’s artificial intelligence-based new

Dec. 5, 2023

Tire tycoon's family feud rekindled

A sibling feud over the management of Hankook & Co., the holding company behind the world’s sixth-largest tiremaker, Hankook Tire & Technology, has been reignited, as the older of the two brothers has joined hands with a major private equity house to shore up his stake. Asia's largest private equity firm MBK Partners announced through a regulatory filing Tuesday that it has launched a public tender for Hankook & Co., offering 20,000 won ($15.23) per share under a goal to

Dec. 5, 2023

Finance ministry to sell 4.7 tln won in NXC stocks

The finance ministry said Monday that it will put a stake in game developer's holding company NXC Corp. up for sale, valued at an estimated 4.7 trillion won ($3.62 billion). In May, the family of Nexon's late founder Kim Jung-ju paid inheritance tax with a 29.3-percent stake in NXC, or 852,000 shares. With the stake, the finance ministry became the second-biggest shareholder in the company, which controls the Tokyo-listed Nexon Co., a gaming giant with hit titles like Nexus: The Kingdo

Dec. 4, 2023

LG Display's new CEO aims for turnaround

LG Display's newly appointed chief executive officer Jeong Cheol-dong emphasized the importance of improving performance for turnaround as he begins his official duty Friday. "Getting out of the red is the most urgent priority, and for that, it is important that we complete the deals as we promised to our customers and achieve our planned targets,” Jeong said, sending his inaugural message to employees via email. "We will put a strong drive on cost innovation across the busi

Dec. 1, 2023

Daewoong Pharmaceutical to launch new diabetes treatment in CIS countries

Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Friday it has signed a contract with Russian pharmaceutical company JSC Pharmasyntez to export Envlo, an SGLT-2 inhibitor for diabetes treatment developed by the South Korean pharmaceutical company, to five member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, including Russia. Under the agreement, Daewoong Pharmaceutical will supply its SGLT-2 inhibitor to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as Russia, once JCS Pharmasyntez compl

Dec. 1, 2023

Chung Mong-joon pays tribute to Henry Kissinger

Chung Mong-joon, the honorary chairman of the Asan Institute of Policy Studies, paid tribute on Thursday to the late Henry Kissinger, expressing deep sorrow over his passing that was announced late Wednesday. “Henry was a giant in global affairs; his insight and dedication have left an indelible mark on how we approach international peace and stability," said Chung in a statement. Renowned for his role as the national security adviser and secretary of state during the Richard Nixon an

Nov. 30, 2023

KB Kookmin Bank CEO seeks 2nd term

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Lee Jae-keun has been nominated for a second term as the head of the nation’s top lender, KB Financial Group said Thursday. In a meeting held earlier in the day, the group’s CEO candidate recommendation committee named Lee as the sole and final candidate as the bank’s next CEO. Lee, 57, has been holding the top post since January 2022. Lee is recognized for his experience in crucial posts, such as sales, finance, strategy and more, and for his understanding

Nov. 30, 2023

[Global Finance Awards] Shinhan chief makes big ESG push

Shinhan Financial Group's efforts to make a sustainable financial ecosystem have gained global momentum this year under the leadership of Chairman Jin Ok-dong, who took the top post in March. On his first overseas business trip in April, Jin headed to Japan, his country of expertise with almost 20 years of work experience there. During his stay, he met with business and government leaders there to seek digital and ESG (environment, social and governance) cooperation and other possibilities

Nov. 30, 2023

[Global Finance Awards] Going global essential in era of digital finance

By Yoo Chang-jo Professor of marketing at Dongguk University The rapidly evolving landscape of technology-driven finance demands a global perspective and competitive edge. Recognizing the role of financial institutions in this dynamic environment, The Korea Herald's Global Finance Awards, now in its seventh year, continues to honor those at the forefront of innovation and service in the Korean financial sector. This year’s awards were categorized into the Financier of the Year, In

Nov. 30, 2023

[Global Finance Awards] Mirae Asset Securities pioneers global expansion

Mirae Asset Securities, a leading brokerage house based in Korea, has been expanding its presence in the global financial market, backed by its burgeoning overseas operations. With 12 branches and three offices located out of Korea, the firm boasts a vast overseas network across 11 regions including Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Mongolia, China, the US, the UK, Greece and Brazil. The equity capital held by its overseas subsidiaries surpassed $3 billion as of June, according to

Nov. 30, 2023

[Global Finance Awards] KB Bank retains No. 1 spot with customer-first strategy

KB Kookmin Bank has been striving to be a first mover that takes initiatives in the banking industry and develops innovative financial services by growing in line with its customers. For nine consecutive years, KB Kookmin Bank has ranked at No. 1 in the banking category of the National Customer Satisfaction Index, and once again secured first place in the latest report, released in early November. With “kookmin” meaning “people” in Korean, KB Kookmin Bank CEO Lee Jae-keun

Nov. 30, 2023

BlockSquare Seoul reads crypto market trends

BlockSquare Seoul, under the wing of its holding company Youth Meta, provides virtual currency trading assistant services based on algorithms powered by artificial intelligence technology. Founded in 2016, the firm’s robo advisor, Goyabot, offers market prediction for some 180 cryptocurrencies, speculating future price movements by using data generated from real-time market monitoring. Goyabot predicts crypto price fluctuations by analyzing buy and sell orders entered on exchanges, trans

Nov. 29, 2023

[Herald Interview] Decoding crypto through charts

The answers are all out there in the charts for Iron Won, who leads Youth Meta, the holding company of crypto trading service operator BlockSquare Seoul. After a prolonged period of uncertainty in the cryptocurrency market, the crypto winter seems to have come to an end. As market sentiment lightens up, Won has one piece of advice for investors -- to predict market trends by tracking asset movements. “It is nearly impossible for an average person to approach the crypto market, as it is exp

Nov. 29, 2023

[Herald Interview] Korea ramps up high-tech IP protection and leak crackdown

The Korean Intellectual Property Office, under the leadership of Commissioner Lee Insil, has been implementing multiple measures to support high-tech industries by speeding up patent processes, particularly in semiconductors and displays, while also tackling technology leakage and enhancing international intellectual property protection. This follows President Yoon Suk Yeol’s announcement made last month to invest 25 trillion won ($19.2 billion) in 12 key strategic technologies over the

Nov. 28, 2023

2 Taiwanese display firms ordered to pay damages to LG for price-fixing

Two Taiwanese display makers have been ordered to pay a combined 32.8 billion won ($25.1 million) in damages to LG Electronics Inc. for fixing the prices of LCD panels, sources said Monday. The Seoul Central District Court recently delivered the ruling in a compensation suit filed by LG and six of its overseas branches in January 2014 against AUO Corp. and HannStar Display Corp., both based in Taiwan. AUO, formerly AU Optronics Corp., and nine other LCD manufacturers and distributors were accuse

Nov. 27, 2023