South Korea and the United States on Tuesday held their first formal consultations on competition-related issues under their bilateral free trade agreement, the South Korean government said.The meeting in Seoul came at the request from the US Trade Representative, which claims that procedures of South Korea's Fair Trade Commission do not allow US parties a chance to review and rebut the evidence used against them in competition-related hearings. The USTR insists this violates the Korea-US FTA th

After launching its blockchain platform for enterprise services last month, Kakao said Tuesday that its service can work up to 15 times faster than Ethereum.During a press conference in Seoul, Kakao’s blockchain subsidiary Ground X suggested that its blockchain platform Klaytn’s block mining took only one-fifteenth of the time Ethereum’s did. While Ethereum’s block mining time is 15 seconds, Klaytn completes the process in a single second.The reduced block mining time res

Hyundai Motor expects to enter the US pickup market soon with what’s likely to be an American-made vehicle aimed at luring buyers who aren’t traditional truck owners, an executive said Monday.“It’ll be a very versatile vehicle,” Michael O’Brien, vice president of product, corporate and digital planning for Hyundai’s US unit, said in an interview. “That has the promise of creating a whole new class of buyers.” The South Korean automaker won&rs

Delta Air Lines' recent purchase of a stake in Hanjin KAL, parent company of Korean Air Lines, was just an investment, not a ploy to help protect the airline's management rights, according to a local activist fund on Tuesday. In its reply to a letter sent by the Korea Corporate Governance Improvement fund, Delta Air Lines said its purchase of the 4.3 percent stake in Hanjin KAL was part of its investment plan, KCGI said in a statement. On June 20 (US time), Delta announced the stake investm

Japan's tougher regulations on exports of key materials to South Korea will have a limited impact on LG Display's production of OLED panels, a senior company official said Tuesday, vowing to secure alternatives as part of its contingency plan.Last week, Japan began adopting a stringent approval process for exports to South Korea of high-tech materials, including fluorinated polyimides used to make flexible OLED displays, as well as resist and etching gas needed in the semiconductor fabrication p

Market closely watches Chairman Shin’s ties with Abe as retail group’s shares plunge

With the new anti-office bullying act coming into force next Tuesday, over half of surveyed companies in South Korea said the regulations are ambiguous and that voluntary change within each firm should come before legal measures.According to a poll of 300 Korean firms conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry last week, most large conglomerates said they had made due preparations, while some 20 percent of small and midsized businesses said they were not yet ready. Almost all, or

Chief says ready for possible expansion of Japan’s export restrictions

Hyundai Heavy Industries said Tuesday it has signed a $49 million deal with Indian firm Powerica to supply emergency generators for nuclear reactors.The generators include 10 units of the 6.3-megawatt HiMsen propulsion system developed by HHI. They will be supplied to Unit 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, by 2022. The generators help stabilize maintenance of a nuclear reactor by supplying power to a circulating water pump during emergencies.

Posco said Tuesday it has become the world’s first steelmaker to issue $500 million worth of environmental, social and governance-related bonds.ESG bonds are issued to finance sustainable outcomes within three categories -- environmental friendliness, social responsibility and improvement in governance. Posco has issued ESG bonds including green bonds that finance eco-friendly projects and social bonds that help alleviate social issues such as job creation.“The funds raised from the

A record-high 42.6 million passengers used Gimpo Airport and 13 other provincial airports in the first half of the year, Korean Airports Corp. data showed Tuesday, mainly due to low-cost carriers’ new international routes. According to KAC, the total number of passengers who used 14 provincial airports -- excluding Incheon Airport -- inched up 4.1 percent compared to the previous year, breaking the previous year’s record of 40.9 million passengers. The airports were located

Blue Bottle Coffee Inc. said on Tuesday that it will increase the number of its outlets in South Korea to four this year as it seeks to tap deeper into one of the world's most competitive coffee markets. The California-based coffee company advanced to Korea in May by opening its first store in Seongsu, eastern Seoul. It opened a second shop in Samcheong, central Seoul, last week.South Korea has been a proven market for global coffee brands such as Starbucks. The Seattle-based coffee company now

Korea presses Japan to lift export restrictions, vows to stick to rules

A trading unit of SK Innovation, which owns the country’s largest refiner SK Energy, will quadruple its offshore low-sulfur fuel supply in 2020 to meet the growing demand for diesel fuel with substantially lowered sulfur content under toughening emission control regulations, the company said Monday.SK Trading International plans to increase its oil blending capacity from 23,000 barrels per day to 90,000 barrels next year, aiming to become the No. 1 provider of low-sulfur fuel in Asia. The

World’s largest shipbuilder to seek Japanese antitrust watchdog’s approval