South Korean home appliance maker Coway said Thursday it held an inauguration ceremony on Wednesday to kick off a choir group made up of blind singers at its headquarters in Seoul. Coway said the choir group project was part of its effort to promote employment for the disabled. It comes after the home appliance company signed an agreement with the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities in April to create sustainable jobs for the disabled. During the inauguration ceremony, Coway Vi

Seoul-based private equity house MBK Partners Founder and Chairman Michael Byung-ju Kim has been named one of the 15 “Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy” by US business magazine Forbes for the second year in a row. He was the only Korean to make this year’s top philanthropist list. Kim was one of only three people -- the other two being billionaire brothers Ronnie and Gerald Chan who are the co-founders of Hong Kong’s Morningside Group -- to be recognized for two consecu

LG Innotek said Wednesday it has successfully developed new types of high-performance hybrid lenses for autonomous driving that have reduced size and thickness while increasing price competitiveness compared to existing products in the market. Camera lenses are a key component of autonomous driving solutions as they help detect the driver’s movements, according to the company. LG Innotek has showcased two new hybrid lenses — one to be used in the Driver Monitoring System (DMS), and a

Smilegate Foundation, the charity arm of South Korean gaming giant Smilegate, said Wednesday it has opened two new community learning centers on Nov. 28, to support literacy education for women and children in Bhutan. According to the foundation, the centers, which were built together with UNESCO and Bhutan’s Education Ministry, seek to provide women and children in remote areas with access to education, with the hopes of increasing their overall quality of life. The charity foundation ran

South Korean midfielder Hwang Hee-chan was awarded Player of the Match by US beer brand and official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Budweiser, following Korea’s Saturday match against Portugal, Korean distributor Oriental Brewery said Sunday. South Korea pulled off a dramatic 2-1 victory against powerhouse Portugal, securing its place in the knockout stage. Hwang scored the last goal of the match in the 46th minute of the second half, assisted by Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min. In rec

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries will showcase its vision for a sustainable maritime future at the Consumer Electronics Show 2023, the firm said Thursday. CES, the world’s largest technology exhibition, is held in Las Vegas during the first week of January each year. This will be the shipbuilder’s second time taking part in the event. In this year’s exhibition, Hyundai Heavy Industries said it will exhibit its future maritime strategy with a focus on “Oce

South Korean builder Hyundai E&C said Thursday it has begun selling flats at its newly constructed apartment complex in Namdong-gu, Incheon. Named “Hillstate Incheon City Hall Station,” the apartment complex can house a total of 746 households in flats that range in area between 39 and 84 square-meters. Houses in that range were found to be in highest demand, according to the construction company. Hyundai E&C said regulations concerning real estate subscriptions and housing l

Kyobo Life Insurance has been continuously incorporating sustainable development concepts into its business strategies and the effort has been acknowledged in an industry-wide index for its socially responsible efforts. The firm topped the 2022 Korean Sustainability Index among local insurance companies on Thursday, marking its 13th consecutive year of securing the top place since 2010. The KSI is a standard for measuring corporate sustainability based on ISO 26000, a global social responsibilit

Standard Chartered Bank Korea has become the only commercial bank in South Korea to receive an A+ rating in corporate governance for four consecutive years, the firm said. The latest A+ rating was given last week by the Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability, an expert nonprofit group founded in 2002 that carries out ESG evaluations and policy research. “A healthy corporate governance system is the foundation of what makes sustainable management possible, and it is the

KB Kookmin Bank has been bolstering the accessibility of its branches for people with disabilities in the first half of 2022, as part of its initiative focusing on diversity and inclusivity. The bank said it surveyed 878 of its branches nationwide in June, measuring each facility’s readiness to greet disabled customers. Based on the survey, the bank installed ramps at the entrances of branches that lacked them. It also put a bell in place that customers could press for assistance, accordin

Marking its 19th anniversary of its overseas business operations this year, Mirae Asset Global Investments has earned many titles as a first mover in the global asset management market. The investment firm kicked off its global business in Dec. 17, 2003, when it established a district office in Hong Kong. This foray came six years after the firm was established. Since then, Mirae Asset Global Investments has come a long way. The company has offices in 36 countries and invested more than half o

Shinhan Financial Group has been actively expanding its global outreach with its overseas operating network that spans over 20 countries. Its overseas business expansion has been carried out under three major principles -- "strengthening overseas capital market in developed markets, promoting gradual economies of scale in nonbanking sectors of developing countries and promoting digital growth of panbanking sectors of developing countries," according to the banking group. Shinhan first

Seeking to expand its overseas business portfolio, Woori Card kicked off its global subsidiary Woori Finance Indonesia Tbk, in Jakarta, Indonesia, this month. The subsidiary is the credit card provider’s second global endeavor, following the launch of Tutu Finance-WCI Myanmar in 2016. The card company started negotiations with Indonesian finance firm PT Batavia Prosperindo Finance Tbk in 2019 which led to the signing of a share purchase agreement with its major shareholders in March. It

Swiss watch-to-knife manufacturer Victorinox said Sunday it is collaborating with Italian street fashion brand Off-White to launch a limited edition multi-tool. The limited edition Swiss Army knife is a flagship product of “Equipment,” a special lineup showcased by Off-White in collaboration with South Korean men’s fashion brand Post Archive Faction. The Italian firm had welcomed Victorinox to collaborate on the knife as part of the project. The tool’s design is based on

Luxembourg’s Crown Prince Guillaume Jean Joseph Marie is set to arrive in Seoul on Monday for a three-day visit, leading a delegation of 87 representatives from public and private institutions in the space and ICT industry, the European country said. The Crown Prince and Luxembourg Minister of Economy Franz Fayot will hold several bilateral meetings with South Korean officials to seek cooperation in the development of the space industry, startups, smart cities and environmental technology.