Business - The Korea Times

Hyundai Motor Group under pressure to rebalance portfolio amid renewed tariff risks

Hyundai Motor Group is facing mounting pressure to market its higher-margin premium models more broadly and lower its reliance on the United States, as the carmaker tries to sustain growth amid renewed tariff risks, experts said Sunday. Market watchers said the group is unlikely to achieve a meaningful earnings rebound this year without changing its approach, noting that U.S. auto tariffs resulted in trillions of won in losses for its Hyundai and Kia brands last year. The tariff risk appeared to ease in November last year after the U.S. lowered an auto tariff on imports from Korea to 15 percent from 25 percent, following a new trade agreement between the two countries. However, with the Donald Trump administration recently threatening to reinstate the higher tariff on Korean vehicles, Hyundai Motor Group is once again exposed to external trade risks. Experts said the carmaker has to maximize sales of highly profitable models, such as luxury SUVs and vehicles with hybrid powertrains, to offset the firm’s potential earnings decline. “The carmaker needs to increase sales of profitable mo

Feb 2, 2026By Lee Min-hyung

Hyundai Motor Group under pressure to rebalance portfolio amid renewed tariff risks

PHOTO 'Punish Bom Kim'

Unionized couriers and bereaved family members of people who died while working at Coupang's logistics centers chant during a rally in front of Coupang's Korean head office in Seoul, Sunday, urging the government to punish the U.S.-headquartered e-commerce firm's founder, Kim Bom-suk, also known as Bom Kim. The couriers asked the company to halt its seven-day-a-week delivery service for at least three days during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday from Feb. 14 to 18. Yonhap

Feb 1, 2026By Park Jae-hyuk

Top trade negotiators take turns visiting US to avert tariff hike

The government has dispatched more top trade negotiators to Washington in an effort to prevent the United States from raising its tariff on Korean goods back to 25 percent, from 15 percent, the level agreed upon last year. According to sources familiar with the matter on Sunday, Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held a series of meetings with officials from the Donald Trump administration and U.S. lawmakers as soon as he arrived in Washington on Friday (local time). The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, however, declined to confirm whether Yeo met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer over the weekend or when the trade minister would meet his U.S. counterpart during his U.S. trip that ends Thursday. “It is difficult to disclose the trade minister’s schedule at this moment,” a ministry spokesperson said. “We will announce who he met after his trip concludes.” From Wednesday to Friday, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan visited Washington to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Kim, who had been in Canada last week to support Hanwha’s submarine construction b

Feb 1, 2026By Park Jae-hyuk

Top trade negotiators take turns visiting US to avert tariff hike

Chinese tech firms hit by expanded Texas ban

Chinese technology companies are facing expanded statewide bans in Texas over concerns that their products could be used to collect personal data and pose security risks. Texas has strengthened restrictions on the use of technologies linked to Chinese firms, citing risks related to personal data harvesting and potential national security threats. The move comes as a joint venture between China’s TCL and Japan’s Sony is set to launch in April next year, heightening industry concerns that regulatory scrutiny of Chinese-linked technology and supply chains may intensify. According to the official Texas state website, Gov. Greg Abbott said technologies affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government are now fully prohibited from use by state employees and on government-issued devices. “Hostile adversaries harvest user data through artificial intelligence, hardware and applications to exploit and manipulate users,” Abbott said, adding that Texas would not allow such technologies to threaten residents’ privacy or undermine state security. The updated list of proh

Feb 1, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo

Chinese tech firms hit by expanded Texas ban

Coupang's Korean unit sent some $620 mil. in expenses to its US headquarters in 2024

The Korean unit of online retailer Coupang transferred more than 900 billion won ($620 million) in expenses to its headquarters in the United States in 2024, according to an industry report analyzed by Yonhap News Agency on Sunday. The value of Coupang's so-called related-party expenses sent to its head office or other companies based in the U.S. totaled 939 billion won in 2024, according to the company's audit report. The report also showed that expenses transferred to the U.S., including service fees and royalties, amounted to more than 2.5 trillion won from 2020 to 2024. However, the audit report provides only broad expense categories, making it difficult to determine whether the services or usage fees were calculated at fair market value. Industry watchers have raised concerns that the structure may be designed to reduce profits at the Korean entity while increasing assets at the U.S. parent company. Some have also questioned whether the lack of transparency in calculating the transferred funds could indicate attempts to minimize tax liabilities in both Korea and the U.S. "Dividends ar

Feb 1, 2026By Yonhap

Coupang's Korean unit sent some $620 mil. in expenses to its US headquarters in 2024

InterviewKorean beef needs K-food branding for global promotion

Cattle bred in Korea, known as “hanwoo,” are popular here for their quality taste despite expensive prices. However, outside the country, the fame falls short compared to Japanese and American products, according to a regional hanwoo farmers’ association chief who recently made headlines for expanding hanwoo’s global market. Eum Kyung-ik, chairman of Hoengseong Hanwoo, a livestock cooperative in Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province, said hanwoo’s global recognition still remains below Japanese wagyu and U.S. beef. The differing popularity is in tandem with their global markets. While U.S. beef is now being distributed to over 100 nations and wagyu to over 50 nations, hanwoo is now available in just six. The main challenge is to increase the awareness of hanwoo among global consumers. Eum, 70, said the most effective way to do this is to link hanwoo to K-food’s current worldwide boom. He added that for a premium beef brand with limited production, proper branding must support its global promotion. “The more popular K-food gets worldwide, the more naturally hanwoo can benefit

Jan 31, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Korean beef needs K-food branding for global promotion

SK Telecom rejects arbitration recommending W100,000 compensation per customer

SK Telecom, whose massive data breach last year exposed the personal information of 23 million subscribers, rejected a public agency’s arbitration recommending compensation of 100,000 won ($69.40) per customer. The telecoms operator said in a statement that it had “thoroughly reviewed” the Korea Consumer Agency’s decision but decided to reject the arbitration because it had already “implemented its own compensation plans and security measures” and because “accepting the arbitration proposal may cause significant impacts.” In December, the Korea Consumer Agency’s Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission issued an arbitration decision after 58 SK Telecom users filed complaints over the data breach in April. The commission proposed that SK Telecom compensate all of its subscribers with a 50,000 won discount on their mobile bills, along with 50,000 membership points that can be used at partner companies. If SK Telecom accepted the arbitration, the total compensation it would owe is estimated at around 2.3 trillion won ($1.6 billion). With SK Telecom rejecting the arbitration,

Jan 30, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo

SK Telecom rejects arbitration recommending W100,000 compensation per customer

LG Electronics sees robotics as future growth driver

LG Electronics has proposed its artificial intelligence (AI) robotics business as its next growth driver, seeking to counteract a slowdown in its conventional revenue sources of TVs and home appliances. During its fourth quarter earnings call for 2025 on Friday, LG Electronics Chief Financial Officer Kim Chang-tae said the company is seeking to create synergies between its home appliance expertise and AI humanoid robots. “LG Electronics has been accumulating technological know-how in areas such as motors, actuators and autonomous driving in the segments of industrial robots and service robots,” he said. “As a company with a deep understanding of the home environment, we are presenting AI-powered home solutions.” During CES 2026 earlier this month, LG Electronics presented its CLOiD home robot, which interacted with its surroundings by performing tasks such as folding towels and taking milk out of a refrigerator using its arms. In doing so, the company presented its new vision of “a zero labor home,” where robots and other appliances free users from household chores. To realiz

Jan 30, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo

LG Electronics sees robotics as future growth driver

Musinsa aims to replicate Japan, China success in Southeast Asia

Fashion and beauty shopping platform operator Musinsa is bolstering its global market expansion to Southeast Asia following its notable market growth in Japan and China last year. The company said Friday it has designated Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia as key markets in the region. Adopting its successful marketing strategies used in the Japanese and Chinese markets, Musinsa plans to launch online and offline sales in the three countries. The announcement came as the company posted 240 billion won ($167 million) in overseas transactions last year. Musinsa has been hosting pop-up stores and opening flagship stores overseas and distributing to countries through online platforms. The largest growth came from Japan. Musinsa’s global online stores saw sales in Japan last year jump 145 percent from the previous year. The company’s products are also available at Japanese e-commerce platform ZoZo Town. The online sales in Japan are not concentrated in major cities like Tokyo but instead are spread across broader regions, including Kanagawa prefecture, Osaka and Fukuoka. Musinsa said this sh

Jan 30, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Musinsa aims to replicate Japan, China success in Southeast Asia

Lee pledges to expand support for starting new biz amid AI transition

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday the government will expand support for starting new businesses to encourage people with innovative ideas to launch startups and adapt to shifts in the job market driven by artificial intelligence (AI). Lee addressed growing concerns in the job market over the deployment of AI-powered robots on production lines, citing the humanoid robot Atlas developed by Boston Dynamics, a U.S. affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group. Atlas has drawn attention after Hyundai Motor's labor union said it would oppose any plan to mass-produce the robot and deploy it at the company's factories, following its unveiling earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. "How frightening and unsettling would it be to hear that the job you have safely relied on your entire life could be replaced by AI robots that neither eat nor sleep and operate 24 hours a day," Lee said during a startup strategy meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. "I can understand the frustration (of workers)," he said. "But we have to adapt to this new trend, and one solution lies in starting new busin

Jan 30, 2026By Yonhap

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