May 28, 2022

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EDITOR'S PICKS

• Markets 
  

  Manufacturing, retail giants unload 5-year plan to spur future growth

  South Korea’s manufacturing and retail conglomerates released a combined 115 trillion won ($90 billion) investment plan on Thursday to achieve low-carbon digital transformation and create new jobs, joining a relay of announcements heralding a business-friendly new administration. Steelmaking giant Posco Group said it would invest 53 trillion won to pursue eco-friendly steelmaking by deploying electric furnaces. It said it would secure new technologies and raw materials that are crucial fo

• Markets 
  

  SK to spend W247tr on chips, battery, biopharma over next five years

  SK Group said Thursday it is investing a total of 247 trillion won ($195 billion) over the next five years to shore up its three growth pillars of semiconductors, batteries and biopharmaceuticals to create some 50,000 new jobs for the local economy. Amid lingering uncertainty over an economic slowdown and geopolitical risks, the nation’s second-largest conglomerate, whose key units include SK hynix, SK Telecom and SK On, declared that new investments and talent acquisition are crucial fo

• Markets 
  

  LG to spend W106tr on battery, biotech, AI

  LG Group said Thursday it has confirmed a spending package of 106 trillion won ($83.7 billion) through 2026 to consolidate its manufacturing and research base in South Korea. The five-year plan is intended to add momentum to LG‘s domestic business regarding next-generation electric vehicle batteries, artificial intelligence, biopharmaceutical technology and clean technology. The expenditures are aimed at ramping up research capabilities, boosting production and securing infrastructure

• Markets 
  

  BOK raises its interest rate to 1.75% to curb inflation

  South Korea’s central bank on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.75 percent and hinted at further rate hikes to come to fend off the country’s highest inflation spike in 14 years. In the first rate-setting meeting presided by the new Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong, the six-member monetary policy board unanimously voted to carry out its fifth pandemic-era rate hike since August last year, when it decided to end 15 months of its record-l

• Markets 
  

  Korbit delists luna, vows customer protection

  Korbit, one of South Korea’s top four cryptocurrency exchanges, made the decision to delist luna, the sister coin of controversial stablecoin terraUSD, on Wednesday, following in the steps of other top platforms here such as Bithumb and Upbit. The decision comes a day after chiefs of major crypto exchanges were criticized by lawmakers for their “uncoordinated” response on the price fall fiasco of terraUSD and luna. The exchanges failed to coordinate when to delist luna, with

• Markets 
  

  S. Korea becomes world’s 10th largest luxury market: report

  With Millennials and Generation Z -- those born from the 1980s onward -- emerging as major players in the luxury industry, South Korea ranked No. 10 in high-end fashion transactions last year, a report showed Wednesday. According to Samjong KPMG, a Seoul-based consulting firm, the country’s luxury goods market size soared on-year by 29.6 percent to $5.8 billion in 2021. By 2024, it is projected to exceed $7 billion. Foreign luxury brands in major department stores in South Korea have see

• Markets 
  

  5 local airports to resume operating 22 international routes in June

  Starting next month, South Korea and Japan will resume flight services between Seoul’s Gimpo and Tokyo’s Haneda airports. Korea Airports Corp. said during its regular briefing Tuesday that it is currently discussing the exact date and immigration procedures with the Japanese government before reopening flights between Gimpo and Haneda. Once resumed, there will be 16 flights provided every week by Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways. The air route ha

• Markets 
  

  Samsung SDI, Stellantis to build $2.5b battery plant in Indiana

  South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI said Wednesday it is building its first US plant in the state of Indiana along with its joint venture partner Stellantis, joining its crosstown rivals to secure its footing in the burgeoning electric vehicle market. The $2.5 billion plant, located in Kokomo, Indiana, is expected to break ground later this year and start operations in the first quarter of 2025. The companies said they aim to elevate its production capacity from the current 23 gigawatt-ho