South Korea's business sentiment index for January fell amid prolonged concerns over a slowdown of the global economy and high interest rates, a poll showed Wednesday. The business survey index for 372 out of the country's top 600 companies by sales stood at 91.1 for January, down 2.9 points from this month, according to the monthly poll by the Federation of Korean Industries. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark means the opposit

Insurance companies are seeking to capture business opportunities in the senior care and retirement community industry with the country quickly approaching having the world's oldest population. Tucked into a quiet neighborhood in central Seoul, KB Financial's arm for senior nursing care, KB Golden Life Care, will launch a five-story housing complex at the end of this month. The retirement community -- KB Pyeongchang County -- will house 164 sets of senior residents as either singles or

Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday it has decided to sell its entire shares of its car manufacturing plant in Russia, which has been temporarily shut down because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to a Moscow-based company, ending a decadelong operation. The carmaker’s board of directors approved selling Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Russia in St. Petersburg, along with a General Motor plant it acquired in 2020 to the Russian automotive service firm Art-Finance. “We have reviewed var

Business lobby group Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a meeting with delegation of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF), the largest employer federation in France, to discuss ways to develop cooperation in the fields of human resources and business between the two countries. Hanwha TotalEnergies Petrochemical CEO Laurentius Na, who was recently named by the KCCI to lead business cooperation with France held talks with his counterpart Air-Liquide CEO Francois Jackow who

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang announced Tuesday it plans to acquire the British luxury online platform Farfetch, in a bid to strengthen its competitiveness in the fashion and luxury industry. Coupang will inject $500 million into the London-based retailer that sells high-end fashion and jewelry from more than 1,400 luxury brands. The funding will give a boost to Farfetch, which has struggled with weak sales amid an economic slowdown. By combining its logistics know-how with Farfetch'

Auto giant’s accumulated donations amount to 394 billion won since 2003

Shinsegae Duty Free, Korea's leading duty-free brand, said Tuesday it has joined hands with Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific to establish a membership mileage partnership program. This marks the first time for a domestic duty-free company to enter into a marketing agreement with a global air carrier. The strategic move is aimed at drawing in more individual tourists to duty-free shops, responding to the changing trend of those visiting Korea. Whereas previously there were more tourists from

Harim Group’s consortium was named as the preferred bidder for debt-ridden container ship company HMM, leaving concerns about how it would fund the acquisition worth 6.4 trillion won ($4.9 billion), industry sources said Tuesday. Outbidding rival Dongwon Group, the company is expected to take over the 57.9 percent stake owned by controlling shareholders of HMM -- the state-run Korea Development Bank and Korea Ocean Business Corp. The creditors have sought to get the shipper back on track t

South Korea should step up to become a "rule setter" from being a "rule taker" by collaborating with Japan, as well as keep a balance between the United States and China, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who doubles as chairman of the business lobby group Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Underscoring that the current protectionist trend around the world is "very unfavorable" for South Korea, Chey said the country should come up with ways to expand its market s

Mirae Asset Financial Group founder and Chairman Park Hyeon-joo received the International Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of International Business, a leading association of scholars and specialists in international business, according to the finance firm's announcement Tuesday. The award, presented annually by the AIB, recognizes business leaders who have significantly improved their company’s reputation and performance on the global stage. Chairman Park secured the awa

S-Oil has set up the GooDoil tree, a caked-shaped, 5.5-meter-tall Christmas tree featuring the company's mascot, at Seoul Station and another at Ulsan Station to celebrate the holidays, the oil refiner said Tuesday. S-Oil is carrying out an Instagram event that will give out flight tickets and mobile gas tickets to those who post a picture of the GooDoil tree on the social media platform through Jan. 9. (S-Oil)

South Korean panel titan LG Display Co. said Monday that it will raise 1.36 trillion won (US$1.05 billion) via a rights offering in an effort to boost the competitiveness of its premium organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel business. LG Display will issue some 142 million new common shares at a price of 9,550 won per share and sell them to its shareholders, the company said in a regulatory filing. The final issue price will be determined on Feb. 29 next year after two estimation processes. P

A consortium led by Harim Group was picked Monday as the preferred bidder for South Korea's top container shipper HMM Co., controlling shareholders said, heralding the start of its privatization. Last month, two state agencies -- the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Korean Ocean Business Corp. -- conducted a final bidding for their controlling stake in HMM, drawing the Harim-JKL Partners consortium and Dongwon Group. The Harim-led consortium reportedly offered to pay some 6.4

Countries in Asia and the Middle East show greater interest in localizing blood product factories after COVID-19 pandemic

The South Korean construction sector is anticipated to maintain its streak of surpassing $30 billion in overseas orders for the fourth consecutive year, approaching the government's target of reaching this year's $35 billion goal. The total overseas orders that Korean builders have received as of Dec. 15 this year amounted to $29.25 billion, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Monday. The figure is a 7.2 percent increase from the $27.29 billion tallied in