More non-life insurers are anticipated to follow suit amid declining sales of savings insurance

Samsung Bioepis, Samsung Group’s biosimilar arm, announced Friday that the company had started a phase 3 clinical study for SB27, a Keytruda biosimilar. Keytruda is an immuno-oncology drug developed by MSD, a US multinational pharmaceutical company. Indications for the drug include non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), melanoma and neck cancer. According to MSD's earnings release, global sales of Keytruda in 2022 were estimated at $20.9 billion. Samsung Bioepis will recruit 616 patients

Hur Young-in, the chairman of South Korean bakery giant SPC Group, was arrested on Friday for allegedly forcing workers to quit their labor union. The Seoul Central District Court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for the 74-year-old chairman on suspicion of violating the Trade Union Act, citing concerns that Hur may try to destroy evidence. With the warrant, prosecutors will take the chairman into custody and investigate if Hur was involved in anti-labor practices for a maximum of 20 days. Hur

LG Electronics said Friday it expected its first-quarter operating earnings to decline more than 10 percent on-year despite the company strong overall sales of its home appliances. LG estimated that its operating profit for the January-March period came in at 1.33 trillion won ($983.2 million), down 11 percent from a year ago, according to the company’s earnings guidance. But this was still above the consensus of 1.28 trillion won predicted by local analysts, as provided by the market inte

Automaker to expand hybrid vehicle lineup to counter slowdown in EV market growth

Hanwha Aerospace, the defense arm of South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate Hanwha Group, said Friday it will segregate its non-military businesses into a newly established corporation, aiming to focus on its defense business operations. According to Hanwha Aerospace’s announcement Friday, Hanwha Aerospace will spin off a new entity, tentatively named Hanwha Industrial Solutions. This new corporation will take over Hanwha Vision, specializing in artificial intelligence solution

Samsung Electronics predicted a more than tenfold increase in its operating profit for the the January-March period, signaling a dramatic resurgence in its semiconductor business on rebounding demand for memory chips. Samsung’s first-quarter operating profit is estimated to hit 6.6 trillion won ($4.89 billion), up 931.3 percent from a year ago, according to its earnings guidance. The amount surpassed the consensus of 5.26 trillion won predicted by local analysts, as provided by the market

Samsung Electronics said Friday that it had launched an outdoor advertising campaign in Times Square, New York, featuring a video that creatively highlights the inside features of the new Samsung Bespoke Refrigerator with AI Family Hub. The company unveiled its 2024 line of Bespoke AI products in Seoul, Paris and New York, alongside the launch of video advertising campaigns. Meanwhile, in collaboration with the upcoming Disney and Pixar’s animation "Inside Out 2," Samsung plans

Electric vehicle sales in South Korea plunged 25 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, while gasoline hybrid model sales jumped 46 percent during the same period, according to a market tracker Friday. From January to March, the country's EV registrations fell to 25,550 units from 34,186 in the same period of last year as global EV sales growth slows, CarIsYou said in a statement. It is the first time for the first-quarter EV sales to fall compared to a year earlier, the statemen

Business leaders in the era of growing economic uncertainty and rapid technological change must look for new opportunities and prospects for innovation, according to Lee Keum-ryong, chairman of Koglo.com, an online platform connecting US companies with their Korean partners. “If you notice a change early enough, it can become an opportunity for your business. But if you see the change late, it may jeopardize your business as well,” Lee said at the fifth edition of The Korea Herald&rs

The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. on Thursday said it has been recognized by the US-based New York Festivals Advertising Awards for its environmental, social and governance efforts, marking the first time a Korean government agency has won in the ESG category. The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., also known as aT, is a government agency entrusted with promoting the trade, export and marketing of Korean foods and beverages worldwide. The agency said it won the ESG manage

IBK Venture Investment, an investment arm of the state-owned Industrial Bank of Korea, pledged to inject 500 billion won ($370 million) into local startups over the next three years at an event in Seoul on Thursday. The investment unit, the ninth subsidiary under the IBK Financial Group, was founded in December with an initial capital of 100 billion won to fund early-stage startups. It was licensed as a new technology venture capital business in March, according to the lender. While IBK Venture

LG Energy Solution has started construction on its second stand-alone battery manufacturing complex in the United States, located in Arizona, with a groundbreaking ceremony and stakeholder meeting on Wednesday. Announced last year, the $5.5 billion project will stand out as the first of its kind in North America, dedicated entirely to the production of cylindrical batteries for EVs and lithium iron phosphate pouch-type batteries for energy system solution applications. The company aims to comple

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries on Thursday invited government officials from nine countries to observe its submarine and battleship building technologies as it hosted a delivery signing ceremony of the third Batch-1 3000t submarine Shin Chae-ho at its headquarters in Ulsan. The Korean shipbuilder said the international guests from Australia, Canada, Peru, the Philippines, Poland and the US had a closer look at not only the submarine but also at the Jeongjo the Great Aegis destroyer and the Chungnam

Korean lender makes first equity investment in overseas financial firm