Economy

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  Businesses reduce production targets amid economic slowdown SEOUL -- Domestic businesses have begun to reduce their production targets, battered by soaring inflation and high interest rates. Industry sources said that it is inevitable for companies to cut down on production as the economic downturn is likely to persist at least in the first half of this year. They warned that the production reduction could create a vicious cycle of growing unemployment, falling consumption, and sluggish investments. The output target cut by large fi 2023-01-11
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  Current account swings back to deficit in November SEOUL -- South Korea posted a current account deficit again in November last year amid a steep fall in memory chip exports, according to the Bank of Korea on January 10. The BOK said the deficit was estimated at $620 million, compared to a surplus of $682 million a year before. The shortfall came after the current account returned to a surplus of $880 million in October. The current account, a broad measure of a nation’s global trade in goods and services as well as net e 2023-01-10
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  Shipbuilders suffer acute manpower shortage SEOUL -- South Korean shipbuilders are suffering from an acute shortage of workforce when they already secured orders of vessels to be constructed in the next three years. The shortage has been caused not only by brisk orders, but also by negative factors such as low wages and difficult working conditions, according to industry and labor experts. They pointed out that more and more shipbuilding workers have quit their job and moved to other workplaces because their wages contin 2023-01-10
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  Broadcom offers fund worth $15.8 million to voluntarily correct unfair practices SEOUL -- Broadcom Inc., a U.S. chipmaker, has offered to set up a 20-billion-won ($15.8-million) fund as part of voluntary measures to correct its alleged unfair business practices, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said on January 9. The proposal is seen as a move by Broadcom to avert any penalty from the antitrust regulator, or criminal charges for allegedly violating competition laws here in Korea. The KFTC said that it has been investigating allegations that the Americ 2023-01-10
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  [CES 2023] Hyundai shipbuilding group's holding company partners with Estonian SOFC manufacturer to develop fuel cells for ships SEOUL -- Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the holding company of Hyundai shipbuilding group, has partnered with Elcogen, a solid oxide fuel cells manufacturer in Estonia, to develop fuel cells for vessels and power generation. The two companies will also work with a German-based applied science research institute specializing in energy storage and fuel cell systems. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are electrochemical conversion devices that produce electricity directly 2023-01-10
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  Sales of pet food items of Shinsegae's online shopping mall increase 30 percent on-year SEOUL -- Sales of pet food items at SSG.com, an online shopping mall operator run by South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae, significantly increased between January 2022 and January 2023, compared to a year ago. The online ecommerce operator said dog pads which are put on the floor when dogs defecate were best-selling products at its pet product shopping mall called "Molly's SSG." According to data released by SSG.com, dog pads were the most popular item as of Janua 2023-01-09
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  Korea to standardize core technologies such as self-driving, AI, digital transition SEOUL -- The South Korean government has decided to push for standardization of new core technologies such as self-driving, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital transition. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on January 9 that it will step up cooperation with the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) in standardizing the country’s new technologies as part of efforts to explore new markets and boost exports. The KATS, aligned with the ministry, 2023-01-09
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  Manufacturing industry leads economic slump: KDI SEOUL -- South Korea's manufacturing sector is losing steam in the face of sluggish exports affected by a worldwide economic downturn, according to the Korea Development Institute (KDI). The state-funded think tank said on January 8 that the country has entered the phase of an economic slowdown amid sluggish overseas shipments of Korean products. It added that the manufacturing industry is taking the brunt of the downturn. Falling exports of semiconductors, the country' 2023-01-09
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  LG Electronics suffers earnings shock in fourth quarter amid global economic slowdown SEOUL -- LG Electronics, South Korea’s leading home appliance company, said on January 6 that its operating profit plunged 91.2 percent to 65.5 billion won ($51.6 million) year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last year amid a global economic slowdown. The company said that its profitability deteriorated due to sluggish demand, soaring prices of raw materials, and higher costs of distribution and marketing, despite a relatively strong performance in LG’s premium home ap 2023-01-09
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  ​Fresheasy partners with supermarket chain Emart Everyday to develop meal kit products SEOUL -- Targeting the rapidly growing domestic meal kit market, South Korea's top meal kit maker Fresheasy partnered with a supermarket chain affiliated with Emart, the megastore wing of South Korea's retail conglomerate Shinsegae, to develop new products that can replace home meals. The meal kit company will supply products to the supermarket operator with some 260 stores nationwide. Meal kits, also known as home meal replacement (HMR) products, are convenient heat-and-ea 2023-01-09
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  ​[CES 2023] HL Klemove partners with Sonatus to develop next-gen electrical component for connected vehicles LAS VEGAS -- HL Klemove, a self-driving solution wing of South Korea's Halla Group, partnered with Sonatus, an American vehicle and cloud solution developer, to cooperate in the development of electrical components and software for next-generation connected vehicles. Sonatus is a California-based vehicle technology solution company that builds solutions for software-defined vehicles that add functions, manage operations, and enable new features primarily or entirely through sof 2023-01-08
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  [CES 2023] KSOE signs cooperation agreement with ABS to develop autonomous commercial vessels LAS VEGAS -- Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the holding company of Hyundai shipbuilding group, signed a cooperation agreement with the American Bureau of Shipbuilding to jointly develop and demonstrate artificial intelligence-based autonomous “unmanned” commercial vessels. Backed by the accelerated speed of AI-based smart vessel development, Avicus, the autonomous vessel development wing of HD Hyundai, the world’s top shipbuilder formerly known 2023-01-08
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  [CES 2023] SK ecoplant partners with Plug and Play Ventures to jointly develop eco-friendly businesses LAS VEGAS -- SK ecoplant, an environmental and energy solution provider affiliated with South Korea's SK Group, has joined hands with Plug and Play Ventures, an international early-stage venture capital, to cooperate in the development and investment of new eco-friendly businesses. 2022 has been a busy year for the South Korean environmental and energy solution provider. SK ecoplant partnered with a handful of companies across the globe to expand its business areas into vario 2023-01-08
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  [CES 2023] LG Innotek showcases autonomous driving technology at CES LAS VEGAS -- LG Innotek, an electric component maker affiliated with South Korea’s LG Group, showcased the company’s top-notch autonomous driving technologies at the Consumer Electronics Show, an annual technology exhibition held in Las Vegas, for the first time. While the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) mainly focuses on electronics including smart devices and home appliances, the venue is also the favorite of carmakers and component manufacturers who wish to boast the 2023-01-07
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  [CES 2023] LG Electronics to demonstrate smart home platform using various home appliances at CES SEOUL -- At the Consumer Electronic Show, an annual electronics show held in Las Vegas, LG Electronics will demonstrate whether its smart platform can control home appliances created by other companies. Through the platform equipped with voice control and artificial intelligence technology, the company aims to upgrade the connectivity between products of many different brands so that consumers can conveniently use home appliances. The artificial intelligence (AI) platform called Th 2023-01-06
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  Samsung Electronics' operating profit plunges 69% in fourth quarter amid falling demand SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics' operating profit nosedived 69 percent to 4.3 trillion won ($3.37 billion) in the fourth quarter of last year from a year before due to the falling prices of memory chips amid a global economic slowdown, the IT giant said on January 6. It was the first time since the third quarter of 2014 that Samsung has posted a quarterly operating profit of less than 5 trillion won. The earnings shock came although the company enjoyed record-high yearly sales 2023-01-06
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  Korea takes world's top spot in eco-friendly ship construction in 2022 SEOUL -- South Korean shipbuilders received orders of 15.59 million compensated gross tons (CGT) last year, representing 37 percent of the orders placed worldwide, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country’s global shipbuilding market share hit the highest since 2018 when it reached 38 percent. Korea came second in the world orders ranking in 2022 after China which took a 49 percent share. Citing data from Clarkson Research Services, the trade m 2023-01-06
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  Hygiene product maker Aekyung's detergent manufacturing technology wins green certification SEOUL -- A manufacturing technology for kitchen detergents developed by Aekyung, a major hygiene product maker in South Korea, won government approval as green technology. The new eco-friendly method that uses natural extracts can replace synthetic additives with various chemical substances. Most chemical components in synthetic preservatives are decomposed in sewage treatment plants. One of the main components of synthetic preservatives is surfactants which weaken the surface tens 2023-01-05
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  Vietnam emerges as Korea's most profitable trading partner in 2022 SEOUL -- Vietnam brought a bigger trade surplus to South Korea last year than any other trading partners of the latter, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The ministry said on January 4 that South Korea posted an estimated $34.25 billion in trade surplus with Vietnam in 2022. The Southeast Asian country topped the list of countries with which South Korea enjoyed a surplus. Vietnam edged out Hong Kong which was listed at the top of the trade surplus list fo 2023-01-05
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  Kolon Industries partners with Hanyang University to develop gene therapy technology SEOUL -- A biotechnology research center specializing in age-related diseases partnered with Hanyang University in Seoul to carry out research and development projects for gene therapy. Through collaborations, the research center affiliated with Kolon Industries, a chemical textile manufacturing company in South Korea, will also play the role of an incubator for prominent young biotechnology researchers. Age-associated diseases include Parkinson's disease, arthritis, osteoporos 2023-01-05