Italian luxury brand Gucci will hold a fashion show at a royal palace in Seoul next month, about six months after the event was canceled due to the Itaewon crowd crush, the company said Friday. Gucci plans to showcase its 2024 cruise collection in front of Geunjeongjeon, the main hall of Gyeongbok Palace, in central Seoul on May 16. Geunjeongjeon was used to host major royal ceremonies and receive foreign envoys during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Gucci's CEO Marco Bizzarri said in a sta

SK Bioscience said Friday that the company will invest 2.4 trillion won ($1.79 billion) over the next five years into new vaccine development and the expansion of manufacturing facilities both here and abroad. “The next five years and the company’s investments made during the period will determine SK Bioscience’s future,” said SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong during a press conference held in Seoul. The size of the latest investment is around five times bigger than investme

Hyundai Mobis CEO Cho Sung-hwan reaffirmed the company's vision to strengthen its key competitiveness in the future mobility sector including autonomous driving and connectivity during a symposium held in Vienna on Thursday. “Hyundai Mobis will deliver a differentiated platform to customers in the electrification, autonomous driving and connectivity sectors based on software with exceptional quality and optimum semiconductors,” Cho said during his speech. The 44th International

South Korean Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang called on the United States to make joint efforts to resolve a legal dispute over Seoul’s potential export of nuclear reactors to the Czech Republic, the Industry Ministry said Friday. Lee raised the issue during a meeting with US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in Washington on Thursday, on the sidelines of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit. During the talks, the two sides also agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation on clea

South Korean Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo agreed to minimize uncertainties and business burdens chipmakers face over the US’ semiconductor subsidy program, Seoul’s Industry Ministry said Friday. The two sides held their first Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue, or SCCD, in Washington on Thursday and released a joint declaration statement, vowing to work closely together to minimize the impacts of the US’ CHIPS Act and Inflation R

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun (second from right in second row) was spotted during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s address to a joint meeting of the US Congress, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the bilateral alliance at the House Chamber of the US Capitol, Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Chung and top executives including Hyundai Motor Group CEO Chang Jae-hoon and Jose Munoz, president and CEO of Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America, had reportedly signed up to make sure

LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's No. 3 mobile carrier, said Friday it will compensate more than 4 million customers for a network disruption caused by distributed denial-of-service attacks earlier this year. The company's network had suffered partial disconnections for a combined five times on Jan. 29 and Feb. 4 due to the DDoS attacks. Its fixed-line internet, video-on-demand and internet telephone services were unavailable for 63 minutes and 57 minutes on the respective days. LG Uplus s

South Korea's industrial output and retail sales gained ground on-month in March, data showed Friday, while its facility investment fell over the period. The industrial output advanced 1.6 percent from the previous month in March, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, increased 0.4 percent over the period. However, facility investment slipped 2.2 percent, it added. In February, all three major indicators of economic activity -- industrial ou

South Korea's main bourse operator decided Thursday to keep KG Mobility, formerly known as SsangYong Motor, listed on the market. SsangYong's shares have been suspended since December 2020, when the carmaker filed for a court receivership. The court receivership procedure was completed in November last year, after KG Group decided to acquire SsangYong. The company was later renamed KG Mobility. The Korea Exchange conducted an eligibility review Thursday and decided to keep the compan

Despite the global economic downturn, LG Electronics announced surprise earnings for the January-March period, outpacing its crosstown rival Samsung Electronics' financial result for the first time in more than a decade. In a regulatory filing on Thursday, the consumer electronics giant said its operating profit for the first quarter was 1.5 trillion won ($1.12 billion), down 22.9 percent from a year earlier. It has become the company’s second-highest profit for the January-March pe

Fairfax County of Virginia, one of the major business destinations in the US, is home to 8,800 tech companies, including nine listed on the Fortune 500. South Korea also has a sizeable business community consisting of some 80 companies -- the largest number among Asian countries -- including Dongwon Group, SK Signet, Golfzon and Korea Aerospace Industries. Behind the successful attraction of the big names and multinational businesses stands Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, which se

No follow-up measures unveiled on protectionist policies, except ‘win-win’ rhetoric

Nexon's iconic MMORPG, MapleStory, is commemorating its 20th anniversary this year with an array of virtual and real-world celebrations. First launched in 2003, the 2D side-scrolling game quickly amassed players of all ages thanks to its inviting visuals and straightforward gameplay. Nexon said that "MapleStory has long been loved for its series of well-received content updates." Significant updates include 2011's "Legend," which achieved a record 626,000 concurre

By Achim Berg Senior partner at McKinsey & Company In 2023, challenges will persist in the fashion industry, but things are not all gloom and doom. Disruption in markets, fears over global food and energy supplies, and worries over rising inflation pressure will continue to dampen the mood of the global fashion industry. The world is grappling with high inflation and a cost of living crisis – which have had a deleterious effect on consumers’ purchasing power. Consumers ar

With DSME takeover getting antitrust approval, defense giant secures footing across air, land and sea