South Korea’s exports of processed rice products reached an all-time high in 2023 amid growing global demand for convenient food options, according to government data and industry sources, Monday. Data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. revealed that outbound shipments of processed rice products -- including instant rice, frozen gimbap and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) -- amounted to $217.2 million in 2023. The latest figure represents a 19.5 percent increase from $181.8

Korea becomes 5th-largest market for German luxury carmaker

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong (center) and other company officials deliver coal briquettes to low-income households in Seodaemun-gu, northern Seoul, Thursday. The financial giant raised donations of 200 million won ($150,000), with some 150 million won coming from employees. The fund will be used to provide heat supplies through a local charity. (Shinhan Financial Group)

Customers line up to activate their preordered Galaxy S24 smartphones at Samsung Electronics’ flagship store in southern Seoul on Friday. The latest smartphone scored record preorders in Korea, selling more than 1.21 million units during the preorder period from Jan. 19-25. On Sunday, Samsung said it is extending the preactivation period to Feb. 8, due to an influx of customers. (Samsung Electronics)

Sam Altman’s 19-hour stay in Seoul prompts hopes for win-win partnership

ChatGPT creator OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, has arrived in South Korea to meet with the leaders of chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, reports said Friday. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are the world's two biggest memory chipmakers, and the latter this week said it had returned to profit after four consecutive quarters of losses driven by demand for chips used in artificial intelligence. The two South Korean chip giants are among the few companies worldwide that manufacture

Korean biotech firm Genexine announced Friday that the company has submitted a biologics license application to the country's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for the company’s anemia treatment Efesa. Efesa is intended for the treatment and maintenance of anemia induced by chronic kidney disease with or without dialysis. The drug candidate uses GX-E4, a long-acting erythropoiesis stimulating agent. Genexine has used its own hyFc fusion protein technology to maximize the half-life of t

Lotte Duty Free said Friday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the South Korean travel agency Modetour on Thursday to strengthen joint marketing efforts toward Korean tourists to Vietnam. Under the agreement, Lotte Duty Free and Modetour will work together to develop new product packages combining duty-free shopping and tourism in Vietnam. Lotte Duty Free has been grappling with the decline of Chinese tourists to South Korea due to an economic slowdown. As an alternative, the comp

The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation on Thursday elected Kang Ho-dong as the 25th NongHyup chairman, marking the first time in 17 years for the cooperative to have a directly elected chairman at its helm. The federation, South Korea's biggest agricultural cooperative comprised of 2 million members, is expected to see a significant reshuffling of the federation's governance structure under the new leadership. The former head of the Yulgok Nonghyup chapter in Hapcheon-gun, So

Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts manufacturing unit under Hyundai Motor Group, said Friday its revenue surged over 14 percent last year to nearly 60 trillion won ($44.9 billion). The company posted an annual revenue of 59.25 trillion won in 2023, breaking the record of 51.9 trillion won it set the year before. Its operating profit came to 2.29 trillion won, a 13.3 percent increase over the same period. The stellar performance comes after an increase in the supply of electric car parts, following a b

Orion, a South Korean confectionery manufacturer, said Friday that it has teamed up with Vietnam National University of Agriculture in a bid to secure quality raw materials for its snack production in Vietnam. Orion Food Vina, the confectioner’s Vietnamese unit, and the Institute of Argo-Biology under the VNUA signed a strategic partnership agreement on Thursday in Hanoi, stipulating their cooperation in production, development, supply and quality control of seed and raw potatoes over the

Despite the slowdown of electric vehicle sales, LG Energy Solution broke the record in earnings last year, largely driven by a boost in sales in the all-important US market. In its earnings report released Friday, the battery maker said its annual revenue surged by 31.8 percent to 33.7 trillion won ($25.3 billion) while operating profit skyrocketed 78.2 percent to 2.2 trillion won -- both hitting all-time high figures. With robust sales in the US, some 677 billion won worth of tax credits were a

The Cha Vaccine Institute, a vaccine development arm of Cha Medical and Bio Group, has developed its own messenger RNA delivery system which does not require frozen storage, the company said Friday. The firm expects that Lipoplex would be a more efficient and stable option than lipid nanoparticles, which have been widely used as carriers for mRNA vaccines. Medicines utilizing mRNA have gained traction since the COVID-19 pandemic as they can be designed and produced quickly once the genome of the

South Korean oil refiner S-Oil on Friday held an annual New Year’s trekking event with some 120 company staff in Gyeonggi Province and fundraised 30 million won ($22,488) for a social welfare group. S-Oil President and Head of Operations Park Bong-soo, President and Head of Corporate Strategy & Services Ryu Yul, President and Head of Marketing & Sales Ahn Jong-bum, and new employees joined this year's trekking event at the Haengjusanseong Fortress History Nurigil Trail in Goya

Samsung Electronics’ latest Galaxy S24 series, touted as its first artificial intelligence smartphone, broke the company’s presales record in Korea, selling 1.21 million units in just a week. After the global Unpacked event in San Jose, California on Jan. 17, Samsung carried out a presales event for the latest Galaxy S24 series from Jan. 19 to 25 in Korea. During the weeklong event, the smartphone maker sold 173,000 units per day on average. The latest presale record not only surpass