With South Korea’s economic engine sputtering, the country’s potential growth rate may fall to zero in the following decade, a study showed Wednesday. According to research published by the Korea Economic Research Institute, most of the country’s macroeconomic indicators on production, consumption and investment cast a gloomy outlook. The country’s potential growth rate -- the maximum rate Asia’s fourth-largest economy could grow without triggering inflation --

Public Wi-Fi provided in intra-city buses will be getting four times faster as it will be upgraded to 5G network service from the current LTE. Starting with 100 pilot buses, which started boasting faster connections on Wednesday, 29,000 buses nationwide will have 5G connections by 2023, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The speed of Wi-Fi currently available on public buses has a maximum speed of 100Mbps as it relies on LTE networks. It will increase to 400Mbps with the rollout of

Energy, economy experts question feasibility of government’s 2050 net zero plan

South Korean low-cost carrier AeroK says it is hiring flight attendants and forgoing any hair and makeup requirements. The Cheongju-based airline, which launched its first scheduled flight earlier this year, said there are also no requirements in terms of academic background, appearance and age in its recent job postings. “We will not be asking for a photo during the document screening process and will only ask for foreign language skills and extracurricular activities during the first p

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit rose sharply due to a lack of one-off costs, but chip shortages remain a major concern for the carmaker. Net profit for the three months ended in September jumped more than eightfold to 1.135 trillion won ($970 million) from a net profit of 133.68 billion won in the year-ago period. Operating profit jumped more than six times to 1.327 trillion won in the third quarter from 195.23 billion won a year a

  Oci Co. on Wednesday reported its third-quarter net profit of 177.6 billion won ($151.8 million), up 2829.7 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 194.6 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 18.1 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 89.9 percent to 888.7 billion won. (Yonhap)

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. on Wednesday reported its third-quarter net income of 353.5 billion won ($302 million), up 47.3 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 457.8 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 307.4 billion won a year ago. Revenue rose 20.6 percent to 2.68 trillion won. The operating profit was 5.6 percent higher than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of

Startup Around Body develops Korea’s first flushable menstrual pads

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has imposed a combined fine of 3.8 billion won ($3.3 million) on eight affiliates of Harim Co. for providing undue business favors to Orpum Co., wholly owned by the poultry-processing firm. Those affiliates, including Farmsco, Sunjin, Jeilfeed and other livestock companies, had provided "excessive economic profits" to Orpum by purchasing livestock-related drugs solely from the Harim subsidiary at higher prices than the market price f

The number of female executives at South Korea's top 100 firms increased in 2021 from a year earlier to surpass the 300 mark for the first time, data showed Wednesday. Those leading companies in Asia's fourth-largest economy had a combined 322 women executives as of end-June this year, up 36 from last year, according to the data from local headhunter UnicoSearch. The figure accounts for 4.83 percent of all high-level seats offered by the major companies. The number of those firms' female exec

The government said Wednesday that it plans to introduce 5G-equipped buses across the country by 2023, giving citizens access to free wireless internet that is up to four times faster. The Ministry of Science and ICT said 29,100 out of 35,000 city buses across the country will be upgraded with fifth-generation (5G) network service by 2023. The upcoming service will offer an internet speed of 400 megabits per second (Mbps), which is up to four times faster than the LTE Wi-Fi connection currently

The chiefs of South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI Co. and global automaker Stallantis N.V. have met in Hungary, company officials said Wednesday, days after announcing a partnership to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in the United States. The meeting between Samsung SDI CEO Jun Young-hyun and Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, came after the two companies announced a plan to jointly build an EV battery plant in the US, with the production to begin in the first half of 2025. It

Hyundai-Rotem Co. on Wednesday reported its third-quarter net income of 6.2 billion won ($5.3 million), up 36.3 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating income for the July-September period fell 74.6 percent on-year to 7.9 billion won. Revenue increased 2.5 percent to 710.4 billion won. The operating profit was 70.1 percent lower than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The es

Korea Zinc Inc. on Wednesday reported its third-quarter net profit of 200.3 billion won ($171.6 million), up 17.5 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating profit for the July-September period fell 0.6 percent on-year to 265.8 billion won. Revenue increased 22.2 percent to 2.41 trillion won. The operating profit was 1.3 percent lower than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The

Pan Ocean Co. on Wednesday reported its third-quarter net income of 179 billion won ($153.4 million), up 325.2 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating profit for the July-September period rose 204.1 percent on-year to 191.3 billion won. Revenue increased 109.4 percent to 1.32 trillion won. The operating profit was 21.5 percent higher than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. T