Medytox said Wednesday that it has appointed US attorney Joon H. Kim to represent it in a lawsuit against Daewoong Pharmaceutical in the US.Kim is a partner at Cleary Gottlieb, which focuses on white-collar criminal defense, internal corporate investigations, crisis management, commercial litigation and arbitration.  Medytox emphasized Kim’s previous role as the acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York from March 2017 to January 2018, where he held one of the highest-l

South Korean internet giants Naver and Kakao are seeking to attract more subscribers with service upgrades reflecting the rapid changes in online behavior. The country’s biggest search engine Naver said Tuesday it will overhaul the company’s platform to provide relevant information via social influencers. The “influence search service” is scheduled to be released by December with a trial service for beauty and travel searches. Kakao, operator of the country’s t

E-commerce company Coupang said Wednesday that it has appointed economist and former Federal Reserve Gov. Kevin Warsh to its board of directors.The former senior US government official currently teaches at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is also a Shepard Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. “Coupang is at the frontier of innovation. The company’s growth has been impressive, and its customer experience is unmatched. I am honored to

Stonebridge Capital, one of the four bidders shortlisted to buy a controlling 31 percent stake in the country’s second-largest full-service carrier Asiana Airlines, refuted Wednesday news reports that it is not keen to proceed with the acquisition deal.  A local news outlet reported Wednesday that the South Korean private equity fund did not participate in a bidding presentation meeting with Asiana executives earlier this week, indicating that it may drop out of the race. Stonebr

Lineage2M will release in Korea first, before going anywhere global, NCSoft said Tuesday. “We are not considering a simultaneous worldwide launch,” said Lee Sung-gu, a managing director at NCSoft, at a press event about the upcoming mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing game. This is the first new game NCSoft will release in two years. The exact launch date has yet to be announced, but character creation will open Oct. 15 to give select users a head start. Globally, in cou

South Korea’s internet giant Naver unveiled on Tuesday a social media “influencer research” function as part of its efforts to provide a creator-friendly platform and technology. The new search function will be launched as a beta version with a focus in beauty and travel sectors at the end of this year, Naver CEO Han Seong-sook said during Naver Connect 2020, an annual event that shares the company’s focus and strategy for the next year. Influencers, referring to individu

 The number of commercial vehicles sold by Volvo Trucks Korea has surpassed the 25,000 mark, a first for a foreign auto brand here, the company said Tuesday.The local importer and distributor of the Swedish carmaker delivered its 25,000th vehicle to a customer on Monday at its central cargo center in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. After delivering its first vehicle in South Korea in 1997, Volvo Trucks Korea went on to sell its 5,000th in 2007 and reached the 10,000 mark in 2012. Since then

A group of South Korean reporters covering automobiles picked Mercedes-Benz’s latest sports utility vehicle, the New GLE, as the car of the month, they announced Tuesday.According to the Korea Automobile Journalists Association, the SUV from the German luxury carmaker earned 18.4 points of 25, taking the top spot for the monthly award. It competed against GM Korea’s Chevrolet Traverse and Kia Motors’ Mohave the Master.The association assesses finalists in five categories. The N

South Korean builder GS Engineering & Construction said Tuesday it will invest in a massive petrochemical plant construction project in Turkey by purchasing a nearly 50 percent stake in a construction firm.According to GS E&C, it signed a contract with Ceyhan Petrokimya Endustriyel Yatrim on Sept. 26 to acquire a 49 percent stake in the latter. The value of the deal will be determined after the Turkish firm finalizes its future project plans. This will allow GS E&C to participat

Approximately 48 percent of franchisees of major convenience store chains here such as CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven suffered deficits last year amid severe market saturation, a lawmaker said Tuesday, citing industry data.Based on convenience store association data, disclosed by Rep. Woo Won-shik from the ruling Democratic Party, 47.8 percent or 15,819 of the country’s total 33,068 convenience stores as of last year reported sales of less than 1.5 million won ($1,255) per day. Among them, 20

Tech giant forecast to post W7.7tr in Q3 operating profit due to smartphone, display businesses

The Korea International Trade Association on Tuesday held a seminar on technological cooperation between Germany and Korea to explore ways to improve the competitiveness of the materials, parts and equipment industries, in response to growing uncertainty in the global trade market. Over 150 participants from Korean and German companies and research organizations joined the event to seek breakthroughs through supply chain diversification and technology exchanges amid an uncertain trade market due

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday its operating earnings plunged 56 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, mainly hit by continuing falls in global chip prices, but its performance was better than the market had expected.The operating profit was estimated at 7.7 trillion won ($6.4 billion) in the July-September period, according to its earnings guidance. The figures were above market expectations of 6.99 trillion won, according to the report by Seoul-based financial market tracker

South Korea’s auto industry, a key driver of the nation’s economic growth, is likely to go through throes of change as carmakers’ restructuring plans are gaining market support.An advisory group consisting of five independent industrial experts said Sunday in a report presented to the management and the labor union of Hyundai Motor that it would be inevitable for the largest carmaker here to reduce its manufacturing workforce by 20-40 percent by 2025. Stressing several changes

Hyundai Motor Group and Doosan Fuel Cell have agreed to co-develop and jointly study hydrogen fuel cell systems and generation networks, the two firms said Monday.According to the companies, Hyundai Motor Group, Doosan Fuel Cell and a state-run automotive parts innovation center called Ulsan TechnoPark signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on hydrogen-based microgrid demonstration project, aimed to create an independent hydrogen fuel cell energy network.  They will develop new b