May 10, 2024

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EDITOR'S PICKS

• Markets 
  

  Financial regulator to complete short selling probe this year

  South Korea's chief financial regulator, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Bok-hyun, said the agency plans to conclude its ongoing investigation into illegal short selling by the end of the year. He made the statement during a meeting with a group of reporters on Thursday. "We've completed investigations into some companies and made significant progress with three others. About five companies remain, and, if possible, our goal is to wrap up the investigation by the end of this ye

• Companies 
  

  LG CNS launches Gen AI Studio for corporate clients

  LG CNS on Thursday opened its Gen AI Studio, a new venue for its corporate clients to experience business solutions using generative AI. The latest opening aims to offer systematic assistance to companies that seek to explore generative AI but find themselves uncertain about where to begin. Its programs, consisting of Gen AI Tour, Gen AI Discovery Workshop and Gen AI Prototyping, showcase potential applications of generative AI across industries and value chains. Companies can experience the

• Companies 
  

  Bridging hope: Daewoo E&C wins large-scale bridge projects in India, Africa

  Daewoo Engineering and Construction has been showcasing its engineering prowess not only domestically but also internationally, winning a series of large-scale bridge construction projects. On home soil, Daewoo E&C constructed the Dongjak Bridge, the first combined railway and roadway bridge in South Korea in 1984. Since then, they have successfully completed numerous bridges, including the Gwangan Bridge, Cheonsa Bridge, and the Geoga Bridge, which features the country’s first underw

• Companies 
  

  HD Hyundai unveils uncrewed vessel concept at US expo

  Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai said Thursday that it has unveiled a prototype for its upcoming uncrewed surface vessel Tenebris at this week’s AI Expo for National Competitiveness in Washington, DC. The recent unveiling, a collaboration with US tech firm Palantir Technologies, comes after the two firms signed a memorandum of understanding in April to jointly develop an USV by 2026. Named after the Latin word for darkness, Tenebris is designed for reconnaissance missions in enemy pr

• Markets 
  

  Yoon doubles down on repeal of financial investment income tax

  President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday has expressed a strong willingness to rescind the introduction of capital gains taxes on financial investment incomes, asserting the legislation would bring massive outflow of funds from the country’s capital market. “Not only is the understanding of 14 million retail investors at stake, but if the capital market collapses and fails to function properly, it will have a significant impact on the real economy,” Yoon said during a press confere

• Tech 
  

  LG Display starts sell-off talks for China plant

  LG Display has started talks to sell off its last liquid crystal display manufacturing plant in China in an apparent move to focus on consolidating its leadership in the more advanced organic light-emitting diode display market. According to industry sources on Thursday, LG Display is discussing the issue with Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy as a pricey display plant is considered the nation’s strategic asset whose sales should be approved by the government. In a re

• Companies 
  

  Swiss Air launches new Seoul-Zurich route after 27 years

  Switzerland's flag carrier Swiss International Air Lines inaugurated its direct flight from Zurich to Incheon on Wednesday, marking its entry into the Korean market. This marks the first time in 27 years that the airline has introduced flights to Korea since the suspension of the Gimpo-Zurich route in 1998. "The Zurich-Seoul route was a missing piece of our extensive global network," Markus Binkert, chief financial officer of Swiss International Air Lines said during a press confere

• Companies 
  

  Hyundai Mobis to set up W90b plant for EV parts

  Hyundai Mobis, the parts and service arm under Hyundai Motor Group, will construct a dedicated electric vehicle module plant in Ulsan, South Korea, with an investment of approximately 90 billion won ($65 million) and completion expected in late 2025. The company signed an investment memorandum of understanding with the Ulsan Metropolitan City on Thursday, with Ulsan Mayor Kim Du-gyeom and Hyundai Mobis CEO Lee Gyu-suk attending the signing ceremony. Located near Hyundai Motor Group's upcoming

• Companies 
  

  Posco’s furnace No. 4 ready to resume operation

  Posco Group said Thursday that it was ready to resume the operation of its blast furnace No. 4 in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, at the end of June after months of refurbishment work. A blast furnace usually undergoes maintenance every 15 years, during which its operation is suspended to undergo thorough performance and safety checkups and facility upgrades. The No. 4 furnace, completed in 1981, underwent refurbishments in 1994 and 2010. The current third refurbishment started on Feb. 23

• Markets 
  

  Minister says chip subsidy a ‘tall order’

  Countries have been rolling out competitive subsidy programs to boost their edge in the critical semiconductor industry. For South Korea, it is difficult to come up with such direct support programs, but the government is working to create an environment to benefit long-term investment in the sector, Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said in a press briefing Tuesday. Ahn also explained that the ministry, along with other government entities will set up a public fund to support strategic industri

• Markets 
  

  Over 80,000 millionaires, 20 billionaires in Seoul: report

  There are over 80,000 individuals with wealth exceeding $1 million residing in Seoul, making it the 19th city in the world with the highest number of millionaires, a recent study found. Around 82,500 residents in Seoul have wealth exceeding $1 million as of December, according to the “2024 World’s Wealthiest Cities” report issued by investment migration consultant Henry & Partners in collaboration with global data intelligence firm New World Wealth, Tuesday. In the repor

• Companies 
  

  Korean drug makers flock to obesity treatment

  South Korea’s pharmaceutical companies are accelerating the development of anti-obesity drugs to take share in the rapidly growing market, which is estimated to hit $100 billion by 2030. Hanmi Pharmaceutical is one of a few Korean drug companies that have been pushing ahead with their clinical trials for homegrown anti-obesity drugs. The drug company is currently expected to be the first Korean company that will launch a homegrown anti-obesity drug. “Hanmi Pharmaceutical is the on

• Markets 
  

  Mirae Asset Securities reaps fruits of global growth

  Mirae Asset Securities, Korea’s largest stock brokerage company, has yielded solid results and created a strong impetus for growth in overseas markets after two decades of global expansion. Park Hyeon-joo, chairman of the Mirae Asset Financial Group, which covers comprehensive financial services including asset management, wealth management, investment banking and life insurance, has been spearheading the group's ambition to expand businesses beyond familiar horizons. Mirae Asset Securi

• Markets 
  

  Kakao Bank hits record high quarterly profit in Q1

  South Korean online-only lender Kakao Bank announced Wednesday that its net profit hit a record high of 111.2 billion won ($81.44 million) in the first quarter, a 9 percent increase from the previous year. Operating profit for the same period was 148.4 billion won, up 8.8 percent from last year. The bank said it achieved balanced growth across various business sectors, driven by a steady increase in customer numbers and the successful launch of products and services. Total customer numbers g

• Companies 
  

  Coupang earnings hit hard by losses from ailing Farfetch

  New York-listed e-commerce giant Coupang reported Wednesday that its sales soared to a record high of $7.1 billion in the first quarter of this year, but operating profits were almost cut in half largely due to the losses from Farfetch, the luxury shopping platform it acquired last year. According to its earnings report earlier in the day, its revenue reached $7.1 billion in the January-March period, up 23 percent from a year ago. Its operating profits were $40 million, which compared to $167

• Markets 
  

  Minister pledges support for Naver in Line dispute

  Korea will put Naver’s interest in the forefront in coming up with countermeasures to cope with the Korean IT firm’s conundrum of the Japanese government’s pressure on Naver to give up its ownership in Line, a leading messaging app in Japan that Naver has fostered for over a dozen years, the Korean science minister said Wednesday. “Regarding Japan’s administrative guidance of (Line), we have been continuously and closely cooperating with Naver to guarantee the max