The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Friday that it will expand its funding for venture capitals’ investment in startups to a total of 8 trillion won ($5.6 billion) by 2026 to spur startups’ growth. “Battered by inflation, high interest rates and a strong US dollar, investments into Korean startups are slowing down,” said SMEs and Startups Minister Lee Young. “The country needs a more dynamic ecosystem to boost the startup industry led by the private sector and su

Millie’s Library, one of South Korea’s largest e-book subscription platforms, said Friday it will make its stock debut on the tech-heavy secondary bourse Kosdaq later this month, despite the unfavorable market sentiment. “This is the time to invest in growth. We aim to grow into a multicontent platform based on reading,” Seo Young-taek, CEO of Millie’s Library, said during a press conference held the same day. "The company no longer requires marketing tactics t

South Korean tobacco company KT&G said Friday it plans to buy back 350 billion won ($245.1 million) of its own shares in a bid to boost shareholder returns. The firm is also considering increasing dividends per share by more than 200 won compared to last year. It is the second share buyback since last year when the company bought back 350 billion won of its shares and paid dividends of some 576 billion won to shareholders. In November 2021, the company announced it would carry out a shareh

South Korea plans to provide a wide array of support to local shippers and venture companies to add vitality to the weak investment sentiment amid the looming global recession, the finance minister said Friday. "Recently, external and internal uncertainties have been rising due to the growing concerns over a global slump and expanding volatility in the financial market," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during an emergency meeting with economy-related ministers. "The South Kore

Top Moderna official confident in developing pan-respiratory vaccine with mRNA technology

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Samsung Biologics’ top official on Wednesday stressed the importance of contract development and manufacturing organization companies’ efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and how the South Korean CDMO giant is working toward achieving environmental friendliness. “CDMOs play a huge part because we provide the manufacturing and logistics for a lot of (biopharmaceutical) companies and we have to continue to innovate together,” said James Choi, ex

Korea ranked 8th in growth potential, knowledge of professionals, according to CPhI survey

'Most of our startups are service, platform providers, not hard-tech companies': SMEs minister

Chinese electric vehicle battery makers are quickly gobbling up market share from their South Korean rivals, largely buoyed by a surging demand at home, data showed Thursday. According to Seoul-based market tracker SNE Research, China’s CATL retained its top spot in global sales in the January-September period as it supplied 119.9 gigawatt-hours of batteries, more than doubling from a year ago. Its market share increased from 30.7 percent to 35.1 percent, widening the gap with Korea’

Samsung Electronics on Thursday held an extraordinary shareholders meeting – the first in six years – to appoint two outside directors – Yoo Myung-hee, a former trade minister, and Heo Eun-nyeong, an economics professor. Yoo served as the nation’s top negotiator for free trade talks during the Moon Jae-in administration. She was also one of the final candidates to run for the director-general of the World Trade Organization in 2020. Yoo, a trade specialist, is expected to

Guro Station during rush hour is the most congested in Seoul

Rather than seeking costly changes in governance structure, Samsung chief likely to boost shareholder benefits to secure more favorable votes

Yposkesi CEO Alain Lamproye says 2nd plant expected to begin operation at start of 2024

Merck Life Science committed to aiding biomanufacturing transition of S. Korean companies, top executive says

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