South Korean home appliance brand Coway said Wednesday that its second-quarter net profit rose 14.4 percent from a year earlier on the back of innovative product launches. The company logged 132.5 billion won ($101.7 million) in net profit between April and June, the company said. Operating profit went up 5.7 percent on-year to 176 billion won, while cumulative sales in 2022 increased 6.8 percent to 1.9 trillion won. Coway’s global operations also saw increased sales, with Coway‘

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., South Korea's No. 1 non-life insurer, said Thursday its second-quarter earnings rose 9 percent from a year ago thanks to a decreased loss rate. Net income came to 340.8 billion won ($261 million) in the April-June period, compared with 312.6 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income expanded 8.4 percent on-year to 490.1 billion won, and insurance premiums from policyholders stood at slightly over 5 trillion won

GS Retail Co. said Thursday it will close all of its lalavla shops, 17 years after it entered the health and beauty (H&B) store market, due to slumping sales amid the coronavirus pandemic and fierce competition. GS Retail will stop operating its lalavla online shops in September and close down all offline stores of the brand by the end of November, the company said. "GS Retail decided to end our health and beauty store business to focus resources and efforts on our convenience stores and qu

South Korea's major cinema chains showed clear signs of recovery in the second quarter as a growing number of moviegoers are returning to theaters, industry data showed Thursday. CJ CGV, the No. 1 multiplex operator under the wing of entertainment giant CJ Group, said its aggregated operating loss came to 16.2 billion won (US$12.5 million) for the April-June period, narrowing from an operating deficit of 57.3 billion won a year ago. Its sales nearly doubled to 318.5 billion won for the se

Hyundai Motor Co. will voluntarily recall more than 70,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. Hyundai is recalling 70,582 units of six models that include the Xcient QZ heavy duty truck and the County bus, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. Along with Hyundai's recall, Mercedes-Benz Korea is also set to recall 438 units of five models, including the EQE 350+ and EQS 450+ pure electric sedans. The problems that prompt

Preorders of Z Flip 4, Z Fold 4 to start Tuesday with official launch set for Aug. 26

South Korean confectionery company SPC Samlip said Wednesday that it has posted an all-time high sales record of over 800 billion won ($611.4 million) in the second quarter, driven by the popularity of its Pokemon Bread, of which the company sold 70 million packs for the last six months. The company’s second quarter sales surged on-year by 14 percent to 814.9 billion won in sales, while its net profit skyrocketed by 61.5 percent to 23.5 billion won in the cited period. Key growth drivers

Estimated damage amounting to W85.5b on nearly 7,000 submerged cars drags insurers’ stock prices down

Material used for wrinkle-free foldable displays is one of 3 restricted export items by Japan

Dongsuh Foods Corp. has been incorporating new marketing strategies and diversifying its brewed coffee lineup to cater to diverse customers. The instant coffee giant said Tuesday it has launched a new promotional event called “Maxim Kanu Paddle Point,” starting July 30. Customers can earn points which can be cashed in for travel and picnic merchandise by purchasing select Maxim Kanu products. The event will last for two months. Meanwhile, Dongsuh Foods released its “Kanu Li

The heavier burden of corporate taxes and cost per hire are weighing on South Korean chipmaking giants like Samsung Electronics, indicating the unfavorable conditions leave them behind competitors like Taiwan-based TSMC amid intensifying semiconductor competition worldwide, according to a local think tank Wednesday. Korea sets the maximum rate of the corporate tax at 25 percent -- imposed on taxable income of large business entities like Samsung -- as a result of a tax hike by 3 percentage poi

South Korea's three major shipbuilding companies have achieved nearly 87 percent of their yearly order targets thanks to a jump in orders for high-priced liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, government data showed Wednesday. The top three shipyards -- Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE), Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. -- won a combined $30.52 billion worth of new orders in the first seven month of this year, or 86.9 per

The Korea Communications Commission will look into whether app market operators -- Apple, Google and One Store -- are in violation of a Korean law that bans forcing certain in-app payment methods among app developers, the regulatory agency said Tuesday. The fact-checking investigation will begin from Aug. 16, according to the KCC. App market operators that only allow certain payment options or refuse app registrations or updates of app developers that use external links for in-app purchases co

South Korea’s trade deficit with China is likely to persist for the time being, unless Korea strives to achieve supply chain independence from China, according to a report by lobby group Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday. The growing reliance on China over key materials used for Korean semiconductor or battery manufacturing signals Seoul‘s need to upgrade its free trade agreement terms with China as cost attractiveness of Chinese goods will continue to deteriorate Ko

South Korean lithium-ion battery cell makers are expected to be beneficiaries once the Inflation Reduction Act comes into force in the United States, as the bill is likely to induce US electric vehicle makers to cut their reliance on Chinese battery components. But at the same time, Korean battery makers are now pressured to preemptively diversify their import sources of key materials out of China, as the new US bill is apparently aimed at countering China’s influence on the EV supply cha