SK Chairman Chey Tae-won called on group executives to revamp a corporate valuation tool to better communicate with shareholders against the backdrop of global supply chain disruptions and monetary tightening, the company said Sunday. In an extended management meeting held Friday, Chey stressed how the new corporate valuation tool -- designed to incorporate nonfinancial elements into financial performance measurement -- can reflect the business status of an SK Group affiliate with higher accura

KT and Hanmi Pharmaceutical have jointly invested in digital therapeutics developer Digital Pharm, officials said Sunday. With the investment, KT will be in charge of developing platforms for digital therapeutics, drafting business strategies and providing pipelines. Meanwhile, Hanmi plans to maximize synergetic impact through hospital-specialized marketing and supporting the authorization of digital medical devices. Digital Pharm’s first projects are in digital therapeutics and electro

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. saw the total sales of their eco-friendly cars exceed 3 million units, industry data showed Sunday, 13 years after they began rolling out hybrid vehicles. South Korea's top automaker and its affiliate sold 393,509 eco-friendly cars, including plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles, in the January-May period of this year, raising their accumulative sales to 3.01 million units, according to the data. Demand for eco-friendly cars remained solid despite global

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong returned to South Korea Saturday, with a renewed focus on the auto parts business. As the de facto leader of Korea‘s largest conglomerate arrived at Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center at around 9:40 a.m., Saturday, he told reporters that he “could feel drastic changes in the auto industry.” The remark came as he met German carmaker BMW, a key battery client of Samsung’s secondary battery arm Samsung SDI, and visited Samsu

　The number of executives at South Korea’s major firms expanded 4.5 percent on-year in the first quarter of the year despite the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said. 　A total of 353 leading companies in Asia’s fourth-largest economy had a combined 14,418 executives as of end-March this year, up from 13,803 a year earlier, according to the Leaders Index. 　The figure covers companies out of the country’s top 500 corporations by sales that have disclosed their first-

Surging lunch prices drive some workers back in the office to convenience stores

Ceragem, a South Korean medical appliance company, said Thursday that it has hired Maye Musk, mother of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as a global ambassador for the brand. Ceragem manufactures and sells back warmers inspired by the traditional Korean floor heating system, known as “ondol.” With the product, which is certified by the US Food and Drug Administration, Ceragem aims to expand into the global market by working with Musk, a renowned model and nutritionist. The 74-year-old model, w

Lime, the world’s leading operator of rented electric scooters and bikes, said in a statement on Wednesday that it will be withdrawing its operations from South Korea on June 30. Constant traffic law revisions and differing local government policies were named by the company as the primary reasons behind this “tentative suspension” of operations. Lime saw a sharp drop in its customers in 2021, when a law that made wearing helmets mandatory for people riding electric scooters

Aesthetics of industrial cafes raise eyebrows, attract social media attention

W Concept, a South Korean online fashion platform under retail giant Shinsegae, said Thursday that it has started its first global campaign to support the overseas business of the country’s fashion brands. From Friday to June 24, the company will release a series of fashion photo shoots featuring Leandra Medine, a global fashion influencer, wearing items from Korean fashion brand Eenk. The items are from Eenk’s Spring/Summer 2022 collection, which includes patterned tops, dresses,

Early this month, an electric vehicle caught fire in Busan, sparking safety concerns among drivers of battery-powered cars. It was an Ioniq 5, Hyundai Motor’s all-electric model, that went up in flames just three seconds after crashing into a highway toll gate. The driver and one passenger in the car died in the accident, but investigations are ongoing to figure out whether they died from the crash or whether they were not able to escape from the fire that broke out so quickly. While th

Posco International, the trading arm of Posco Group, is seeking to triple sales at two of its gas fields in Australia by 2025 by leveraging its recently acquired Australian energy company Senex Energy, the Korean firm said Thursday. Posco International CEO Joo Si-bo visited the Senex Energy headquarters on Tuesday and Wednesday to look around the natural gas plants and meet with employees there, the company said. Joo also met with Posco International’s partner firm, Hancock Energy, to di

'Settlement-free peering' logic surfaces in the world's only 'network usage fee' litigation

The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. demanded an electricity rate hike for the three months starting July amid rising fuel costs and record losses. The company on Thursday submitted its rate outline to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which will make the decision. Electricity rates consist of a basic fuel cost, a climate environment fee and a fuel cost adjustment fee. Kepco is proposing a fuel cost adjustment fee hike of 3 won (0.2 cent) p

The largest fair in South Korea for startups wishing to go abroad kicked off on Thursday in Seoul. The aim is to help the nation‘s budding enterprises attract investment and forge partnerships with big corporations. The annual event titled NextRise is hosted by the Korea International Trade Association and Korea Development Bank. This year’s event will be held for two days, starting on Thursday and ending Friday. The event, taking place at COEX, Samseong-dong, Seoul, features pres