South Korea’s antitrust watchdog is likely to press a charge against Mirae Asset Financial Group over allegations that the controlling family of the financial empire has been illegally benefitted from suspicious intra-trading deals, the authorities confirmed on Wednesday. Ending a two-year investigation, the Fair Trade Commission said it has recently sent a review report to the group, stating that Chairman Park Hyeon-joo and his family made financial gains through Mirae Asset Consulting, a

Industry Nov. 20, 2019

Escalating trade tension between South Korea and Japan shows no sign of abating as two rounds of bilateral talks to resolve disputes triggered by Japan’s export curbs could not reach common ground. On Tuesday, the two neighboring nations held the second round of talks at the World Trade Organization in Geneva after failing to reach a consensus at the first consultations on Oct. 11. “During two rounds of six-hour intensive consultations, the two nations became more aware of each other

Industry Nov. 20, 2019

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has appointed Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-gap as the group’s new chairman, according to the firm on Tuesday. The new leader, who joined Hyundai Heavy in 1978, served as director of the firm’s London and Seoul branches and president of Hyundai Heavy Industries Sports. Kwon was the first president of the group’s refinery unit Hyundai Oilbank in 2010. He was recognized for his management ability by growing the company’s operating profit of 130 b

Industry Nov. 19, 2019

South Korea’s largest steelmaker said Tuesday it had demonstrated a welding solution jointly developed with its client Kiswel at North America’s largest metal-forming event. At Fabtech 2019 in Chicago last week, Posco and Kiswel promoted their welding materials and welding technologies suitable for high-strength steel for automobiles and construction as well as cryogenic steel for liquefied natural gas storage tanks and marine structures.  Fabtech is North America’s larges

Industry Nov. 19, 2019

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog is set to investigate unfair business practices by dominant tech firms -- both local and foreign -- through a new special task force team, according to officials Tuesday.The nation’s largest search engine firm Naver is likely to become the first target, they noted. Led by Fair Trade Commission Secretary-General Chae Kyu-ha, the 15-member team will examine separate categories -- online platforms, mobile services and intellectual property rights. The on

Industry Nov. 19, 2019

Amid growing trade tensions between the two neighboring nations, South Korea’s trade deficit with Japan is expected to hit the lowest level in 16 years, according to government data. In the January-October period this year, Korea’s trade deficit with Japan stood at $16.3 billion, down 20 percent on-year, the smallest deficit with the neighboring nation since 2003, according to the Industry Ministry. Korea’s exports to Japan amounted to $23 billion, down 6.5 percent from a year

Industry Nov. 18, 2019

The global trade paradigm is shifting with the multilateral trade system supported by the World Trade Organization about to be replaced by a new system involving overlapping trade deals of regions and sectors, according to a new report of the Korea International Trade Association on Sunday.“The multilateral trade system -- in which 164 countries follow a unified trade order through the WTO -- has steadily been weakening,” said Je Hyun-jung, a senior researcher at KITA. “If

Industry Nov. 17, 2019

South Korean solar panel manufacturer Hanwha Q Cells received a preliminary notice from the US International Trade Commission indicating that the US body regards as unfounded the company’s patent infringement complaints against other foreign solar energy companies, the firm confirmed Friday. The USITC is set to announce an official ruling in about two weeks. Hanwha said it would “appeal immediately” if the decision were to be finalized. The reasoning behind the USITC’s pr

Industry Nov. 15, 2019

Pressure is mounting on the Moon Jae-in administration and the National Assembly to tweak the mandatory 52-hour workweek regulation for companies, especially by small and medium-sized companies which are “not yet ready” to embrace it. From January next year, companies with less than 300 employees will have to abide by the new workweek regulation. Large firms with more than 300 workers have been following the rule since July 2018. If a company violates it, the employer can face up to

Industry Nov. 14, 2019

Hyundai Heavy Industries submitted a request for formal approval from the European Union for its merger with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, HHI said Wednesday. The EU, which is believed to hold the key to the merger, plans to complete the first round of screening results next month. Hyundai Heavy said, “We are faithfully explaining to competition authorities in line with the review schedule and process of each country. We will do our best to ensure that the tie-up proce

Industry Nov. 13, 2019

South Korea is accelerating its oil hub project aimed at making Ulsan and Yeosu the center of petroleum trading in Northeast Asia, officials said Wednesday. The oil hub project in Northeast Asia began in 2008 to build large-scale commercial oil and gas storage facilities in the two cities. It seeks to make the regions a hub for the convergence of petroleum logistics, trading and finance in Northeast Asia as well as to enhance the nation’s energy security in the event of an international oi

Industry Nov. 13, 2019

GS Caltex said Tuesday it is the first South Korean oil refiner to take part in the launch of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi, a new exchange in the United Arab Emirates. The company has signed a deal with Intercontinental Exchange, an American company that owns exchanges for financial and commodity market exchanges, along with nine other energy traders for the launch of the exchange. The other large energy firms include Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., BP, Shell, Total, Vitol, Petrochina, Inpex, JXTG and

Industry Nov. 12, 2019

Posco announced Tuesday the launch of Innovilt, an integrated brand of its premium construction steel materials. The materials are used in buildings and other infrastructure projects. Posco said its new integrated brand will help not only construction experts but also end-users easily recognize and select the materials. “We are trying to cope with challenges such as oversupply of steel and slowing economic growth index through the integrated brand,” said Jang In-hwa, head of Pos

Industry Nov. 12, 2019

South Korean cable maker Taihan Electric Wire was chosen as the top-quality power manufacturer of the year by the Korea Electric Power Corp., according to the firm Tuesday.Taihan said its underground cables for distribution received an award at the 2019 BIXPO Awards hosted by Kepco in Gwangju last week. The evaluation was made based on quality factors such as defect rate, failure rate, electricity quality and violation of fair trade. Taihan was selected as one of the top 10 manufacturers am

Industry Nov. 12, 2019

Some owner families of South Korean conglomerates control many affiliates outside their holding company system, increasing their possibility of profit-taking, according to the nation’s antitrust watchdog Monday.The Fair Trade Commission noted that although large corporate groups have switched to a holding company structure, many of their affiliates are still controlled by owner families. There are currently 23 large companies that have adopted the structure following government regulations

Industry Nov. 11, 2019