The value of South Korean imports of Japanese seafood hit a 12-year high in 2022 on a surge in imports of expensive live fish, government data showed Thursday. Seoul imported $174.2 million worth of fishery products from the neighboring country last year, up 12.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Services. It marked the largest yearly value of Japanese seafood imports since 2010, a year before the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. South Korea

SK Ecoplant said Wednesday that the company and its US partner Bloom Energy have completed installation of a fuel cell power plant at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut. Bloom Energy specializes in solid-oxide fuel cells, which can be used for electricity generation and hydrogen production. Previously, SK Ecoplant made 300 billion won ($229 million) of equity investment in Bloom Energy and is preparing for additional 400 billion won of investment in March. According to SK Ecoplant, its US arm SK

Hana Financial Group said Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Cha University Medical Center, a medical group specializing in fertility treatments, to make joint efforts to tackle the nation’s chronic low birthrate. The two institutions held a signing ceremony for the new partnership at Cha Bio Complex in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, with their leaders, including Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, in attendance. Korea’s birthrate – the average number of childr

Sales of 20 key affiliates in 2022 exceed W400tr for first time

Experts say Korean chipmakers have dodged worst-case scenario, but call for diplomacy to put more pressure on Washington

By Cho Ju-hyeon South Korea’s small and medium-size enterprises and startups are facing challenges in exports amid bleak economic outlook and Chinese-dependent business. For survival, small companies should alter their course to diversify exports. As of February, the total amount of exports has decreased for five consecutive months, along with a trade deficit for 12 consecutive months. Exports from SMEs, which came to $117.5 billion last year, however, has been on a downward trend since

Kyobo Life Insurance CEO Shin Chang-jae has been named as the recipient of the 2023 Insurance Hall of Fame Laureate award by the International Insurance Society, the company said Wednesday. The latest feat is especially meaningful for the 70-year-old CEO as he follows in his father's footsteps to win the top industrial honor. His late father Shin Yong-ho was the founder of Kyobo Life, and won the same award in 1996. The company said it is the first case that both a father and son have bee

Hankook Tire & Technology, the world’s sixth-largest tiremaker, said Wednesday it is carrying out various projects under its motor culture brand Made in Hankook for better communication with millennials and Generation Z. Launched in 2021, Made in Hankook pursues a young and dynamic image centered on high technology, innovation, design and motorsports. As Hankook Tire aims to lead innovative changes in future mobility culture, the company is seen to have a broad worldview. Made in Hanko

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the nation's largest shipbuilder affiliated with HD Hyundai, said Wednesday that its accumulative engine production for vessels has exceeded 200 million horsepower -- a record in the global shipbuilding industry. The company held a ceremony to mark the production milestone as it started a new 74,720-horsepower vessel engine at its engine production plant in Ulsan, an industrial city on the southern coast. The company said the latest feat comes 44 years since it sta

South Korean drug maker Boryung said Tuesday the company will establish a joint venture with US commercial space station developer Axiom Space in its latest foray into the space health care industry. “(Boryung) came to an agreement with Axiom Space yesterday to establish a joint venture in South Korea," Boryung CEO Jay Kim said during the company's annual shareholders meeting, held at its headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. According to Boryung, the two companies have signed a lett

Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury products behemoth LVMH, accompanied by his daughter and the CEO of Christian Dior Delphine Arnault, visited South Korea for the first time in three years after the COVID-19 pandemic, in a bid to discuss the brand's plans regarding duty-free and department store business with major South Korean retailers. During his three-day trip to Korea which ends on Wednesday, Arnault met with Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin at the Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, southern S

S. Korean startup completes launch of hybrid rocket Hanbit-TLV

More than 170,000 iPhone users rush to use brand-new service, causing service malfunctions at some stores

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday unveiled this year’s new Bespoke home appliances lineup at a press event in Seoul. Twenty-seven new products are expected to be launched in the first half of the year, coming equipped with artificial intelligence-based energy-saving features.

Posco Future M, formerly called Posco Chemical, said Tuesday it would construct an electric vehicle battery materials plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, after landing a 40 trillion won ($30.6 billion) deal with Samsung SDI earlier this year. During a shareholders meeting Monday, the company decided to build a 392 billion-won plant that exclusively produces nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) battery materials for the first time. The estimated annual production capacity is 30,000 tons, enough