De facto heir Lee Jae-yong visits facility in Pyeongtaek

State-run Korea Investment Corp. is found to have heavily invested in Japanese companies linked to forced wartime labor, according to sources, prompting concerns about the investment portfolio of domestic financial institutions. It is the latest revelation after the release of the National Pension Service’s investment history last month.According to Rep. Kim Kyung-hyub from the ruling Democratic Party on Friday, the KIC invested about $412 million -- as of last year -- in 46 Japanese compa

Preorders for the latest Galaxy Note 10 smartphones are now available globally, raising expectations on the new race in the global mobile device market and expansion of the 5G network, according to industry sources on Friday. Samsung started taking preorders for the newest gadgets one day after its Unpacked event for electronics retailers and mobile carriers in the United States, South Korea and other countries across the world. In the US, the Galaxy Note 10 is available both on LTE and 5G netwo

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog nominee Joh Sung-wook said she would keep “fair economic development” in mind, adding both conglomerate reforms and fair economy are vital. The professor at Seoul National University met with reporters on Friday afternoon shortly after President Moon Jae-in nominated her as the new chief of the Fair Trade Commission. “I feel a heavy responsibility to be nominated as the FTC head, who serves a critical role of pursuing a fair economy,

Kakao IX, the Kakao company that oversees the characters of Kakao Friends, announced Friday the release of Kakao Friends Twice Edition, a new merchandise series in collaboration with girl group Twice. First to be released from the series are nine pin badges with pictures drawn by the members of Twice themselves.  “Twice members have been actively participating throughout the idea planning and designing processes,” Kakao IX said, with behind-the-scenes videos of the process to be

President Moon Jae-in conducted a major Cabinet reshuffle on Friday, nominating Choi Ki-young to lead the Ministry of Science and ICT.Choi, currently a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seoul National University, is dubbed an expert in the fields of artificial intelligence and semiconductors. He has a bachelor’s degree in SNU, master’s from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and a doctorate from Stanford University.Within the field

President Moon Jae-in has nominated Joh Sung-wook, a professor at Seoul National University, to lead South Korea’s antitrust watchdog, the presidential office said Friday. Joh, 55, will replace former head Kim Sang-jo, who is Moon’s chief policy secretary since June. Currently serving as professor at SNU Business School, Joh previously served as a non-executive member of the Financial Services Commission’s Securities & Futures Commission from April 2013 to April this y

South Korea’s largest mobile messenger app operator Kakao said Thursday its second-quarter operating profit surged 47 percent on-year, as it benefited from new businesses and contents. The company’s operating profit reached 40.5 billion won ($33.4 million) in the April-June period on a consolidated basis, compared to 27.7 billion won a year earlier.As its sales rose 25 percent on-year to reach 733 billion won, Kakao attributed the latest outcome to increased profit from its messenger

New SillaJen R&D center in Pangyo to open in September as planned

The South Korean government said Thursday that Japan has allowed high-tech materials to be exported to South Korea in the first approval since the Shinzo Abe administration imposed export curbs in July on three materials crucial for Korea’s chip and display production. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Thursday that Japan had granted its first approval for exporting extreme ultraviolet photoresists to Korea a day earlier. EUV photoresists are one of the three materials that Japan restri

With SK Telecom in lead, KT and LG Uplus compete for second place

South Korea’s leading oil refiner S-Oil held a ceremony Wednesday to award scholarships to students at an orphanage.  The S-Oil Dream Scholarship is an annual donation organized by the company to provide educational opportunities to less-advantaged students.This year, 135 students from Sundukwon Orphanage, as well as a choir group at the center, were provided scholarships totaling 330 million won ($273,000). Since 2016, the company has donated 1.2 billion won to aid 485 students.Of th

The South Korean industrial city of Ulsan suffered a setback in service output and retail sales in the second quarter due to lingering effects of massive corporate restructuring, data showed Thursday.Service output in Ulsan -- home to shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. -- fell 0.3 percent in the April-June period from a year earlier.Retail sales in the southeastern industrial city declined 1.2 percent, marking the fifth straight quarter that retail sales have fallen.T

Tech giant offers two sizes for Note 10 series for first time, enhances remote control and connectivity capabilities of S Pen, introduces AR Doodle, 3D scanning

  Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday changed SK Innovation Co.'s rating outlook to negative from stable due to the firm's large leveraged spending and dividends.   Moody's holds a Baa1 rating for SK Innovation, South Korea's biggest refiner by sales.    "The change in SK Innovation's outlook to negative reflects our expectation that the company's financial metrics will deteriorate significantly over the next 1-2 years, mainly because of large debt-funded ca