More than half of European Union citizens hold a positive attitude toward South Korea, according to a study presented by Han Jeong-hun, a professor of Korean politics at Seoul National University Wednesday. According to the study, 55.3 percent of EU citizens said they had a positive view of South Korea, while another 18 percent said they had no opinion. Meanwhile, 26.8 percent said they had a negative view. However, when asked about how interested they were in Korea, only 38.6 percent responded

South Korea’s leading carmaker Hyundai Motor Group and SK Group’s battery-making arm SK On are set to invest $4 billion to build a joint battery production plant in Georgia, US state officials said Friday. Construction is expected to be completed in 2025. The two companies had signed a business agreement late November on building a joint facility in Bartow County, about 100 kilometers northwest of Atlanta. The batteries produced at the plant will power Hyundai Group’s electric

Hyundai Steel on Thursday said the company has forged a new alliance to develop anti-flood measures that will protect its manufacturing facilities. On Wednesday, representatives from Hyundai Steel, Hyundai Engineering, Haejeon Industry and the Korean Society of Steel Construction signed a memorandum of understanding, according to the steelmaker. Choi Ju-tae and Park Chan-woo, senior managing directors at Hyundai Steel and Hyundai Engineering, joined the signing ceremony held in Hyundai Steel

More incentives promised for semiconductors, batteries, biotech

Citibank Korea has been honored with the Best International Bank in Korea for 2022 award by Asiamoney, a monthly financial magazine published in Hong Kong. Asiamoney said it selected Citibank Korea for the award as the bank has been “a trusted financial partner to corporate clients, offering innovative and comprehensive solutions with Citi’s global expertise and network despite the significant challenges of the global economy.” “Thanks to the passion and devotion of all o

Almost 120,000 minority investors see W380b in crypto holdings evaporate

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix said Thursday it has developed the world's fastest server memory module that has greatly improved the operation speed of existing module chips in the market. The new product, DDR5 Multiplexer Combined Ranks Dual In-line Memory Module, boasts a data transfer rate of a minimum 8 gigabits per second, almost 80 percent faster than the 4.8 gigabits of the current DDR5 chips. Developed in collaboration with global chip giants Intel and Renesas, SK hynix said their

German luxury carmaker BMW is highly likely to top import car sales in South Korea this year, seven years after it lost the No.1 title to its archrival Mercedes-Benz. According to recent data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, BMW sold 71,713 units in the January-November period, outpacing 71,525 unit sales of Mercedes-Benz. With a month left in 2022, industry watchers say BMW is highly likely to take back the No. 1 post this year. The two German brands are the m

LG PuriCare Mask, featuring AI, speaker and fan, becomes first electronic mask to get approved in Korea

Seven out of 10 Starbucks users in South Korea ordered iced drinks this year, the coffee chain said Thursday, with their craving for iced coffee and tea showing little sign of abating despite cold wave alerts more recently. According to a big data analysis by Starbucks Korea, purchases of iced drinks made up 76 percent of all Starbucks sales this year, a 12 percentage point growth from last year’s 64 percent. Even during the winter season between November 2021 and February 2022, the portio

South Korean home appliance maker Coway said Thursday it held an inauguration ceremony on Wednesday to kick off a choir group made up of blind singers at its headquarters in Seoul. Coway said the choir group project was part of its effort to promote employment for the disabled. It comes after the home appliance company signed an agreement with the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities in April to create sustainable jobs for the disabled. During the inauguration ceremony, Coway Vi

The workforce of major South Korean travel agencies has nearly halved over the past three years due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the number of tour firms also plummeting, industry data showed Thursday. The headcount of industry leader Hana Tour came to 1,204 as of the end of September this year, down 52.3 percent from three years earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Smaller industry players were also forced to furlough their employees or cut jobs in the w

South Korea’s top financial watchdog on Tuesday launched an on-site inspection of NHN’s mobile payment service Payco after news that its signature key was leaked broke the day before. This key is a tool that app developers use when registering and distributing their apps on app stores. It certifies that an app is developed by a certified company—in this case, Payco. Apps that used this signature key are considered safe and not detected as malicious by security programs. Back

W400b of annual investment to be injected into new tech

Coupang, the South Korean e-commerce giant, on Wednesday showcased the investments and innovations it made over the past decade at its Daegu fulfillment center, one of Asia's largest. The event was attended by US Ambassador Philip Goldberg and Korean government officials, including the deputy mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City and officials from the Science and ICT Ministry. Kang Han-seung, the representative director of Coupang, and its Chief Administrative Officer Harold Rogers also joined