Toss Bank is now the first South Korean internet-only bank to allow foreign residents here to open an online bank account, the lender said Monday. “Starting Monday, all foreigners here are able to open an account as long as they have their registration card,” Toss Bank said in a statement. Foreigners are offered the same service as locals, according to the bank, which was set up last year, four years after rivals Kbank and KakaoBank were launched in 2017. “For example, the d

Decentralized autonomous organizations present new organizational structure for the future

Shin Dong-won, chairman of South Korea’s largest instant noodle maker Nongshim, looks around the company‘s second factory in US in this photo released Monday. According to Nongshim, the new factory located in Rancho Cucamonga, California can produce up to 350 million instant noodles per year. The Korean noodle maker said it aims to reach annual sales of $800 million (1.01 trillion won) in the US by 2025 after it garnered $395 million in sales last year.

With the growing buzz around the metaverse driven by every sector of industry around the world, The Korea Herald and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Korea are co-hosting a forum to discuss what the hyper-interactive virtual world holds for the future.The two-hour forum invites a number of business leaders and experts, who are leading the rise of the metaverse to share their insights on the recent frenzy and how it will shape the next generation digital era.Steve Park, Faceboo

Major South Korean securities firm Meritz Securities Co. said Monday its first-quarter net profit rose 33.4 percent from a year ago on the back of good performance at its investment banking unit (IB) and solid returns from its investment. Net profit stood at a quarterly record of 282.4 billion won ($224.9 million) in the January-March period, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its operating income rose 32.4 percent on-year to a record high of 376.9 billion won in the quarter, and revenue s

South Korean refiner GS Caltex said Sunday it has teamed up with Posco International, the trading unit of steel giant Posco, to make a big push into the burgeoning biofuel market amid growing calls for emissions cuts globally. Under the deal, the two firms seek to build an extensive biofuel value chain combining GS Caltex’s manufacturing technology and Posco International’s refinery infrastructure. As the first step, the two firms agreed to build a biodiesel plant along with refi

Ending 10-year tug of war, carmakers pledge better transparency, quality control

With the growing buzz around the metaverse driven by every sector of industry around the world, The Korea Herald and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Korea are co-hosting a forum on Monday to discuss what the hyper-interactive virtual world holds for the future. The two-hour forum, held from 1 p.m. at Four Seasons Seoul, has invited a number of business leaders and experts, who are leading the rise of the metaverse to share their insights on the recent frenzy and how it will shape

South Korea biotech firm Seegene is expected to build production facilities for molecular diagnostics in West Coast of the US in a bid to expand its presence in the all-important market, its US chief hinted in a recent media interview. “Seegene Technologies will move beyond serving as a distribution channel of Seegene-made products and self-produce bio products tailored to the needs of the US market,” Richard S. Creager, CEO of the US affiliate Seegene Technologies, said in an int

Hyundai Motor Co. said Sunday it has bagged purchase orders for more than 1,500 of the all-electric IONIQ 5 in Indonesia within about a week after its official release in the Southeast Asian country. The South Korean automaker clinched purchase deals for 1,587 vehicles in the first five days since its official release on April 22, Hyundai's sales unit in Indonesia said. The amount of purchase orders marks double the number of entire EVs sold in Indonesia for all of last year, reflecting the grow

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said Sunday it is launching a new smart logistics business supplying cutting-edge solutions for clients to better respond to the latest tech trends and improve operational efficiency overall.  The market for smart logistics solutions, based on diverse technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and robotics, is fast growing on the robust demand for larger and more sophisticated warehouses, especially for the burgeoning e-

Posco’s cultural complex space Park1538 located in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, has won International Forum Design Awards, the steel giant said Sunday. In the category of urban, landscape design and wayfinding system, Posco’s Park1538 has been recognized by the Germany-based forum for integrating its headquarters, company memorial, visitor center and parks, converting the whole site into open and public space under concept of sustainable connection and autogenous vitalization

South Korea's leading carmakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. saw their combined exports of eco-friendly cars top 100,000 units in the first three months of this year, thanks to the brisk sales of all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, data showed Sunday. In the January-March period this year, the two carmakers exported a total of 111,252 units of eco-friendly cars -- gasoline hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles -- according to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Manufact

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, said Sunday it will offer more flights to Guam starting this month to meet the growing travel demand amid relaxed COVID-19 entry restrictions. Jeju Air will run four flights a week for the Incheon-Guam route, from the current two, the company said in a release. It plans to add more flights to the Incheon-Saipan route that currently operates two flights a week. Air Busan Co., a budget carrier unit of Asiana Airlines Inc., also said it has resu

American Chamber of Commerce in Korea suggested lifting regulations to make Korea an attractive investment destination for global companies to the new incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration Friday. The AmCham Board of Governors sent a letter signed by its 34 members to the Transition Committee with some policy recommendations. They include the need to improve the flexibility of employment conditions, mitigate CEO risk, restore the flat tax rate for foreign residents and improve the regulatory e