The Korea Herald, the nation’s largest English newspaper, will kick off its annual business forum under the theme, “Beyond Earth,” on Wednesday to discuss the ever-evolving and highly dynamic space industry while endeavoring to understand humanity's connection with the universe. The 2023 Korea Herald "Humanity In Tech" or "HIT" forum will shed light on the rising industry and Korea’s recent progress in the field, including the successful launch of

Sales of home appliances, automotive solutions drive up profitability

Posco Holdings said on Tuesday the company has received 85 billion won ($62 million) in dividends from the third quarter earnings of Roy Hill Holdings, recouping the investment it has made into the holding company of Australian iron ore miner Roy Hill. With the latest dividend payment, Posco Holdings has received a total of 1.3 trillion won in total in the form of dividends and discounts on iron ore that the company imported from Australia, retrieving 1.3 trillion won of investment it made to ac

DB Robotics, a first-generation robot developer in South Korea, has revealed the nation’s first hybrid electric rollator that also converts into a wheelchair, the company said Tuesday. Compared to a standing walker, the new electric rollator has motors around each of its four wheels, enabling individuals with limited mobility to leave their house freely. Even on an incline, the electric motors accelerate, allowing the wheels to move up the slope without additional effort. In order to preve

Wine for sale in a department store in Seoul, Tuesday. According to data from the Korean Customs Service, alcohol imports to South Korea doubled over four years, to log $1.6 billion in 2022. The numbers record a 54 percent increase from the alcohol imports logged in 2018 ($1 billion). As a result, the balance of the liquor trade in Korea was a deficit of $1.2 billion last year. With the increased amount of wine imports, the trade deficit for alcohol nearly doubled in four years, from the deficit

Kakao Bank, the banking arm of Korean mobile giant Kakao, announced Tuesday that it will acquire a 10 percent stake in PT Super Bank Indonesia, aiming to boost its presence in the Southeast Asian market. The acquisition will be Kakao Bank's first investment outside of Korea, and will be done in collaboration with the Singapore-based ride-hailing and food delivery app, Grab. A consortium led by Grab and Singapore-based global telecom company, Singtel, is the largest shareholder of PT Super B

World’s top 3 carmaker faces pressure to take bigger leap in futuristic mobility market

The decision by the US government to allow Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to supply chip equipment to their China factories indefinitely without separate approvals has given South Korean chipmakers some breathing room. Market watchers, however, believe that uncertainties in the semiconductor industry remain due to the ongoing US-China trade conflict. Despite Washington’s indefinite waiver given to the world’s two biggest memory chipmakers, they still face limitations in expanding t

Shinhan Financial Group announced Tuesday that it will invest 6.5 billion won ($4.82 million) into Habit Factory, an advanced data analysis insurance technology start-up, through the group’s strategic investment fund. According to the financial institution, Habit Factory is a Seoul-based "insurtech" company -- a portmanteau of “insurance” and “technology” that aims to innovate the traditional insurance industry through the use of information technologies

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun (right) talks with a member of a foreign delegation at a banquet in Paris on Monday, the night before a symposium on Tuesday to promote Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Hyundai Motor provided 10 electric vehicles wrapped in designs promoting Busan's Expo bid for the Korean delegation, as it carries out various campaign activities such as hosting the symposium and a K-pop concert in the French capital this week. (Hyundai Motor Gro

Large South Korean firms' ability to service their debts worsened sharply in the first half of 2023 amid falling profits and soaring interest costs, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The interest coverage ratio for 347 out of the country's top 500 companies by sales averaged 1.16 as of end-June, down 74 percent from 4.42 a year earlier, according to the Leaders Index. The ratio is obtained by dividing a company's operating profit by its interest expenses. A reading below 1 means t

Leading South Korean companies are keeping close tabs on the potential business fallout from the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, industry sources said Monday, though no damage has yet been reported among firms operating in the Middle Eastern country. According to industry officials, Samsung Electronics has initiated a remote work scheme for their employees in the country and are regularly checking the safety of their workers. Samsung runs a research and

  Korean Air has canceled its flights from Incheon to Tel Aviv this week amid safety concerns over the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, according to company officials Monday. South Korea's leading air carrier has canceled all three KE957 flights from Incheon to Tel Aviv, which run regularly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, for the week. The company, however, has kept in place the returning KE958 flights, which transport passengers from Tel Aviv to

The United States has decided to allow exports of its semiconductor manufacturing equipment to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix factories in China without a separate approval process, the presidential office said Monday, a much-needed relief to the Korean chipmakers. The US government has designated Samsung Electronics and SK hynix's chip factories in China as "verified end users (VEU)," which would reduce the licensing burden on them by allowing U.S. exporters to ship designated items

Price increase rates of about 80 percent of restaurant menus exceeded the price increase rate of a market basket of consumer goods in September, according to data on Monday. According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price index, which functions as an economic metric for the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods, showed an on-year growth of 3.7 percent in September. Meanwhile, the increase rate in the sector for dining out, a key indicator of inflation in the food sector f