Global TV sales fell more than 6 percent from a year ago in the first half of this year on slow demand and macroeconomic woes, research showed Tuesday, as Samsung Electronics remained the top player in the TV segment. In global markets, 92.6 million units of TVs were sold, down 6.6 percent from a year earlier. By value, the decrease was sharper at 12.5 percent, according to industry tracker Omdia. Consumer electronics companies have been struggling to combat lackluster demand after two years of

The South Korean government will review launching a complaint to the World Trade Organization over a new US bill regarding tax credits that immediately scrapped subsidies for electric vehicles made outside the US, South Korean Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang said Monday. Last week, US President Joe Biden signed the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, which would allow up to $7,500 of tax credits for “Made in US” EVs only, as part of the scheme to lift the portion of eco-friendly

South Korean cathode active material supplier L&F is poised to invest 650 billion won ($483.1 million) in the next two years in a new line of production in Daegu, a filing showed Monday. Once the construction is complete, tentatively by August 2024, the new factory of L&F in Dalseong County, around 240 kilometers southeast of Seoul, will produce nickel-rich cathode active materials for batteries made of nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum, with their nickel content comprising at lea

The housing market in Seoul appears to have entered a period of stagnation not only with the prices of apartments -- the major residential type in the city –dropping, but also the number of transactions falling due to increased interest rates on loans, data showed Monday. According to Zigbang, a local property technology firm, the number of apartment units in Seoul that traded at lower prices than before has surpassed that of apartments that traded at higher prices. Separate data from t

Pulmuone’s wholly owned US subsidiary Pulmuone Foods USA said on Monday that sales of its tofu have increased 11 percent this year from last year. The South Korean food giant attributed its sales performance to the construction of its tofu production line at Pulmuone Fullerton plant. The production facility established in November in California contributed to increasing the total production of tofu in the US by 38 percent, according to the company. Pulmuone Foods USA is currently ope

Celltrion has opened a research and development office in Boston to speed up its new drug development efforts in the US while seeking and boosting cooperation with other firms, company officials said Monday. According to company officials, the South Korean biopharmaceutical giant completed the establishment of the Boston office earlier this year. The new US office has been exploring the biotechnology industry’s trends while gathering information on startups and pipelines with investment

Naver has become the first South Korean information technology company to join the global RE100 renewable energy initiative to achieve carbon neutrality, the firm said Monday. The RE100 initiative, which is led by the Climate Group in partnership with CDP -- formerly known as Carbon Disclosure Project -- commits members to using 100 percent renewable electricity. Naver said it plans to initiate its “2040 Carbon Negative” roadmap, which was established last year, to meet the goal

Posco International, a trading firm under Posco Group, said Monday that it has sponsored performances of the South Korean opera “Chunhyang-jeon” in Uzbekistan, as part of the company’s effort to support Busan’s World Expo 2030 bid. According to the company, the Korean opera was staged at Bolshoi Theater in Tashkent, Sunday, to mark 30 years of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Uzbekistan. Posco International sponsored the performance in collaboration with Busan Me

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin will visit Vietnam next month on his first overseas trip after a presidential pardon granted last week lifted a legal hurdle that had limited his business activities in recent years.  According to the group, Shin will attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Lotte E&C’s construction of Eco Smart City complex in Thu Thiem, Ho Chi Minh, on Sept. 2. Some $900 million have been invested into the construction of the 60-story building on a 680,000-squa

Consumers, restaurateurs complain about rising costs; Platform operators hemorrhage money; riders cry foul over working conditions

South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung Electronics has begun to voluntarily offer free repairs of its defective front-load washing machines whose doors are prone to explosion for Korean consumers, according to consumer watchdogs on Monday. The organizations, the Korea Consumer Agency and Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, urged customers who bought three models of Samsung’s Bespoke Grande AI washers to “immediately request a repair” of glass doors to

Samsung Electronics said Monday it is unveiling a wider lineup of its Bespoke home appliances at the upcoming IFA trade show in Germany in a renewed sales push in the European market. The Bespoke brand, launched in 2019, has revamped Samsung’s home appliance strategy. Its unique modular concept allows users to customize the material, color, size and door configurations of home appliances. Its flagship refrigerator has seen almost 2 million unit sales worldwide since its debut in 2019,

　South Korea’s exports of instant noodles hit a fresh all-time high in the first half of the year amid the increasing popularity of Korean pop culture and a rise in demand for home-cooked food, data showed. 　Exports of instant noodles, or “ramyeon” in Korean, came to $383.4 million in the January-June period, according to data from the food industry and the Korea Customs Service.  　The figure was up 19.9 percent from the same period a year earlier when ramyeon exports r

Highly self-motivated talent unafraid to speak out and change course of work culture: Philip Morris Korea’s HR chief

Lotte Chemical has reportedly submitted a tender to acquire a controlling stake in South Korean copper foil manufacturer Iljin Materials on Friday. The Seoul-based petrochemical firm is considered one of the proposed buyers of the 53.3 percent stake in Iljin Materials from President and Chief Executive Officer Huh Jae-myung, which will cost around 3 trillion won ($2.24 billion). Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities is the deal manager. Copper foil is one of the key components of seconda