April 23, 2018

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IFA 2018 to showcase smart appliances, AI solutions and mobility

[THE INVESTOR] ROME -- This year’s IFA, Europe’s biggest exhibition of consumer electronics, will see smart and connected devices for home appliances as well as artificial intelligence-incorporated consumer electronics take center stage, including those from South Korean tech giants Samsung and LG.“While AI is a key for the connected world, I see Samsung and LG leading the market. Korean companies are building huge research centers overseas and from what I see so far, I think they are doing it i

Past comes back to haunt Korean Air’s Cho family

[THE INVESTOR] As public backlash builds over the misconduct of Korean Air's Cho, some of their past deeds are coming back to haunt them. News reports are now shedding light on events dating back to 2015 when the Fair Trade Commission zeroed in on Hanjin Group’s affiliate Cyber Sky for being too reliant on inter-subsidiary sales. The government steps in when more than 80 percent of a conglomerate unit’s sales come from other affiliates. Cyber Sky's shares -- all non-listed -- were consecutively

Police raid Korean Air

[THE INVESTOR] Police raided the headquarters of Korean Air on April 19 as part of a probe into allegations that its senior executive Cho Hyun-min assaulted an advertising company official at a business meeting. Six officials from the Seoul Gangseo Police Station searched the main office of Korea’s flagship airline to secure evidence. The authorities also impounded the two smartphones used by Cho and two others belonging to other Korean Air executives who were at the meeting.RELATED:Cho Hyun-min

Renegotiating Toshiba deal not an option: SK Group chairman

[THE INVESTOR] SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has confirmed that renegotiating the delayed acquisition of Toshiba’s memory chip unit is not an option, saying that he expects the deal to gather momentum soon.“SK is not considering renegotiating the deal,” the chairman told reporters at a conference on April 19 in Seoul. “(The issue of the delayed Toshiba deal) will soon be addressed.”Joining a group of global investment and technology companies including Bain Capital, Apple and Dell, SK Group par

Chanel Korea settles conflict with union

[THE INVESTOR] Chanel Korea's management and its labor union announced on April 20 that they have successfully reached an agreement on working conditions.“We will work hard with the union to create a congenial environment,” Chanel Korea said in a statement. The company refused to disclose the details of the agreement. The labor union said it decided to bridge the gap with the company after 26 days of protests.“The union was persuaded by the company’s sincerity, and this mutual trust will lay the

Major Korean financial groups post decent Q1 earnings

[THE INVESTOR] Analysts said it was rough three months for Korea’s financial groups. Some have been under severe criticism due to hiring scams, triggering an unprecedented level of oversight from the country’s financial authorities. But looking at the scorecards for the first quarter, the top four major financial groups seem to have weathered the storms.  KB Financial Group, a major Korean banking group, was the first to announce its results a day earlier. Its net profit rose 11.3 percent on-yea

[SECOND OPINION] New thinking needed on GM Korea

[THE INVESTOR] No one seems to see much of a future for GM Korea these days. The pessimistic mood seems to be reaching its bottom now, as we see the union workers storming into offices of top executives demanding their bonuses and the company announcing it would soon run out of cash to pay its parts suppliers.Critics say the unionized workers are determined to get as much money in their hands as possible before the company folds up. Observers have long sensed that GM’s leadership was preparing f

Anchor Equity Partners may invest in Market Kurly

[THE INVESTOR] Hong Kong-based global private equity firm Anchor Equity Partners may invest in The Farmers, operator of popular grocery delivery service Market Kurly, according to news reports on April 19.The PEF is reportedly discussing with The Farmers to make the investment ahead of its potential initial public offering, scheduled for the first half of 2019. According to sources, Anchor Equity Partners is planning to fund around 20 billion won (US$18.75 million) to 30 billion won and is hopin

BTS’ new album tops Amazon’s preorder list

[THE INVESTOR] K-pop boy band BTS’ new album “Love Yourself: Tear” topped an Amazon preorder list on April 18.Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of BTS, said on April 19 that the album reached No. 1 on Amazon’s CDs & Vinyl Best Sellers list in the US just a day after preorders became available on April 17, local time. The official release is set for May 18. In September, “Love Yourself: Her,” the first in the band’s “Love Yourself” series, had stayed at the top of the preorder list for

Hanmi Pharma unveils 3 cancer therapy candidates

[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s Hanmi Pharmaceutical said on April 18 that it presented preclinical data of its three cancer therapy candidates at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research this week in Chicago, US. “Hanmi is focusing on research and development capabilities to develop new anticancer drugs to address medical unmet needs. We will put utmost efforts for commercialization to give hope to cancer patients,” CEO Kwon Se-chang said in a statement. The drug candidates incl

Find someone younger, bolder: POSCO Kwon Oh-joon's letter

[THE INVESTOR] POSCO Chairman Kwon Oh-joon offered to step down on April 18. It came as a surprise, despite the fact that there had been speculations of such a move since the head of the steelmaker has always changed with the government. Kwon had been shunned by the Moon Jae-in government on several occasions, and there was some negative talk about his performance as chairman as well. He was an engineer, a techie at heart, and some say he never really switched over to the “other side.” Whether t

Nonghyup Financial Group chairman not to run for third term

[THE INVESTOR] It seems to be the season for stepping back. Kim Yong-hwan, the incumbent chairman of Nonghyup Financial Group said on April 19 that he would not seek to renew his term a third time. His announcement has more or less cleared the path for former Korea Kim became the only man standing after another candidate Yoon Yong-ro, chairman of Koramco Reits and Trust stepped down earlier this month. Nonghyup Financial Group is the holding company of Nonghyup Agricultural Cooperative Federatio

Past comes back to haunt Korean Air’s Cho family

How Korean Air's Cho family smuggled their stuff: sources

‘I don’t regret calling out Korean Air's Cho Hyun-min’

GM Korea union losing ground following due diligence

I’m firing my kids: Korean Air’s Cho Yang-ho

Police raid Korean Air

Renegotiating Toshiba deal not an option: SK Group chairman

Netmarble targets N. America with first mobile multiplayer strategy game ‘Iron Throne’

Raonsecure aims for US operation momentum with RSA presentation

South Korea mediocre in cloud computing readiness

Korea, IMF discuss ways of revealing currency market intervention

[EQUITIES] ‘SK gains momentum from private subsidiaries’

[EQUITIES] ‘GS Home Shopping continues to slide in Q2’

[EQUITIES] ‘Celltrion Healthcare to face competition’

BMW Korea chief to head Korean-German Chamber of Commerce

Korea partners with Central and South America for energy infrastructure

Australian steelmaker to become plaintiff in Korea’s first English patent case

Renault Samsung Motor’s SM6 boasts premium options

Coinone makes foray into Indonesia

Intervest bets big on biotech, blockchain

US investment firm KKR zooms in on Bithumb, Yanolja

Health care data startup Zikto seeks W30b ICO

Fall of the ‘Angel of Death’?

Wherever you end up going

Grab’s crucial lessons for KakaoTaxi

Can Kakao Bank solve problems of the underbanked?