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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Internal trading by top 10 chaebols account for 70% of disclosed transactions in 2025

Transactions among affiliates of South Korea's 10 largest family-run conglomerates, known as chaebol, accounted for nearly 70 percent of the total disclosed trading in 2025, the country's corporate watchdog said Wednesday. According to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the total value of inter-affiliate transactions by the top 10 chaebol reached 193 trillion won ($131 billion) this year, representing 68.7 percent of the 281 trillion won reported by a total of 92 business groups. The 10 major conglomerates include Samsung Group, the country's largest conglomerate and home to global memory chip leader Samsung Electronics Co., as well as multi-industry giant SK Group and LG Group. The FTC said the top 10 have maintained an average internal transaction ratio of around 13 percent over the past decade. During the cited period, HD Hyundai and Hanwha recorded the largest increases in intra-group transaction ratios, rising by 7 and 4.6 percentage points, respectively, while LG Group and Lotte Group posted the largest declines, dropping by 7.3 and 2.4 percentage points, respectively. Internal tradin

Dec 3, 2025By Yonhap
Internal trading by top 10 chaebols account for 70% of disclosed transactions in 2025

Asiana to temporarily reduce flights to LA in H1 2026

Asiana Airlines, Korea's second-largest carrier, said Wednesday it will temporarily reduce flights on its Los Angeles route in the first half of next year as part of a route reorganization plan. Asiana plans to operate one flight per day on the Incheon–Los Angeles route from Jan. 15 through May 31, down from the current two daily flights, the company said in a press release. "The temporary reduction is part of the company's broader route readjustment program based on demand," an Asiana spokesperson said. During the cited period, the available service will be Flight OZ204, departing Incheon at 9 p.m. and leaving Los Angeles at 11:30 p.m., the company said.

Dec 3, 2025By Yonhap
Asiana to temporarily reduce flights to LA in H1 2026

Doosan Bobcat files patent infringement suits against Caterpillar

Doosan Bobcat, a Korean construction equipment maker, said Wednesday that its U.S. unit has filed multiple lawsuits against U.S. construction firm Caterpillar Inc. over alleged infringements of its patent rights. Doosan Bobcat North America, also known as Bobcat Company, filed complaints with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Unified Patent Court of the European Union and a German federal court, accusing Caterpillar of infringing 14 patents, the company said in a press release. "Bobcat Company is taking these legal actions to protect our patented technologies, defend fair competition and safeguard the innovation and craftsmanship that have defined our company for more than 65 years," the company said. The 14 patents at issue cover technologies that support key performance attributes, including maneuverability, power, efficiency and overall machine performance, it said. "They are foundational to our machines' strength, versatility and precision, as well as to the future of Bobcat innovation — driving advancements acro

Dec 3, 2025By Yonhap
Doosan Bobcat files patent infringement suits against Caterpillar

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK GM Korea’s positioning sparks exit rumors

General Motors (GM) Korea’s vague market positioning is believed to be a key factor fueling persistent rumors about the automaker's potential exit from the local market. The company is currently focusing on expanding sales of luxury vehicles from its premium Cadillac brand by releasing multiple electric vehicles (EVs) for the past few years, diverging from the strategies used by the firm’s flagship Chevrolet brand. GM Korea’s sales rely heavily on Chevrolet’s Trax Crossover and Trailblazer SUVs. The carmaker sold a total of 43,799 domestically manufactured vehicles in November, but more than 99 percent of the sales came from just those two models, according to data from the carmaker. Only about 2 percent of November's sales were in Korea, with most vehicles exported to the United States. No Chevrolet EVs are currently available for sale in Korea, but GM Korea’s recent move to expand Cadillac's EV lineup raises questions over the firm’s strategy here. Cadillac launched its Lyriq electric SUV here last year, and recently released its flagship Escalade IQ SUV, featuring GM’s m

Dec 3, 2025By Lee Min-hyung
[Reporter’s Notebook] GM Korea’s positioning sparks exit rumors

2 foreign auto parts manufacturers slapped with combined fine of $24.1 mil. for bid-rigging

Korean branches of two foreign auto parts manufacturers, NIFCO Korea and ITW Automotive, have been slapped with a combined fine worth 35.4 billion won ($24.1 million) for bid-rigging, the antitrust watchdog said Tuesday. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it has imposed the fine and issued corrective orders on the two companies on charges of colluding in bids for automotive air vent components commissioned by Hyundai Mobis, auto parts manufacturing arm of Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor, and CREA for more than seven years. The companies are local branches of Japan-based auto parts manufacturer NIFCO and U.S.-based firm ITW Automotive. They are found to have colluded in 24 bids to rig the procedures to channel orders to each other from October 2013 to March 2021, succeeding in 20 of those cases. During the cited period, NIFCO and ITW supplied at least 96.8 percent of Hyundai Mobis' purchases of automotive air vents in terms of value, according to the FTC. The FTC said it has filed complaints against the two companies with the Supreme Prosecutors Office on charges of violating Korea's Mon

Dec 2, 2025By Yonhap
2 foreign auto parts manufacturers slapped with combined fine of $24.1 mil. for bid-rigging

Samsung Electronics to hold biannual global strategy meetings this month

Samsung Electronics will hold its major executive-level meetings this month to discuss business strategies for next year amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, industry sources said Tuesday. According to the sources, the device experience (DX) division of the Korean tech giant will hold its meeting from Dec. 16 to 17, while the device solutions (DS) division will hold a separate session on Dec. 18, chaired by President Roh Tae-moon and Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, respectively. Roh was named as a co-chief executive officer in November, joining the rank alongside Jun. Samsung Electronics holds regular strategy meetings in June and December. During the event, the DX division, which oversees the mobile, TV and home appliance businesses, is expected to discuss strategies for the upcoming Galaxy S26 flagship smartphone. The DS division, which covers the semiconductor business, is set to discuss strategies to address soaring demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

Dec 2, 2025By Yonhap
Samsung Electronics to hold biannual global strategy meetings this month

SPC opens 700th global Paris Baguette in London

Food giant SPC’s bakery brand Paris Baguette has opened its 700th overseas store with a new location in London, further expanding the Korean conglomerate’s brand in global markets. The new store is a local franchise rather than directly managed by the company, highlighting both the brand’s local popularity and the conglomerate’s growing franchise partnerships in international consumer markets. Paris Baguette, under SPC subsidiary Paris Croissant, on Friday (local time) opened its fourth store in the U.K., located inside Westfield London, a shopping mall in Shepherd’s Bush, London. The store is the brand’s second local franchise in the country, run by Wayne Stevenson. It is his second Paris Baguette store, following his first at Canary Wharf, London’s financial district, which opened in November last year. “Since my first Paris Baguette opening, it has been an emotional journey for me — an emotion well spent, as it is now a thriving bakery and community hub for many who live and work around the Wharf,” Stevenson said. SPC plans to open the U.K.’s fifth Paris Baguette

Dec 2, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan
SPC opens 700th global Paris Baguette in London

Hwayo sets sights on becoming Korea’s national soju brand

YEOJU, Gyeonggi Province — Hwayo, Korea's leading distilled soju company, wants to become the nation's No. 1 premium soju brand, hoping its product will serve as a signature drink at major business meetings around the world. During a press conference celebrating the firm's 22nd anniversary on Monday, Hwayo President Cho Hee-kyung said the authentic Korean product can be popular globally — although the current international market for clear spirits is largely dominated by vodka and gin. “Many high-end restaurants in China offer liquor lists spanning more than 30 pages, yet only a single page is devoted to clear spirits. On that page, 7 out of 10 items are different varieties of Maotai, with prices ranging from 300,000 won ($204) to 8 million won,” Cho said. “One of my Chinese business partners once described Maotai as a ‘love-and-hate’ drink because it is served at every business meeting where a contract is on the table — and you either walk away with a signed deal or watch it fall apart.” She added: “He said Maotai has always been tied to his business ventures. I won

Dec 2, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan
Hwayo sets sights on becoming Korea’s national soju brand

Safety concerns grow as Tesla’s Full Self-Driving feature launches in Korea

Safety concerns are escalating over Tesla’s launch of the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system here, as drivers are widely expected to rely more and more on the quasi-autonomous driving system despite the lack of institutional safeguards, experts and industry officials said Monday. The U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker received a Level 2 certification here for the supervised version of the flagship software. The carmaker’s locally distributed Model S and Model X vehicles — both imported from the United States — can now access the service. Under the Level 2 system, drivers have to keep their eyes forward and constantly monitor road conditions, but this is still not enough to ensure safety, according to experts. “Simply put, the Level 2 autonomous driving is just an advanced assistance system, so drivers should not depend excessively on it,” said Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automotive technology at Daelim University College. Tesla launched the supervised version here in order to evade any possible responsibility in case of accidents, according to Kim. “The biggest problem is that cus

Dec 2, 2025By Lee Min-hyung
Safety concerns grow as Tesla’s Full Self-Driving feature launches in Korea

President Lee Jae Myung orders punitive measures against Coupang data leak

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday ordered a thorough investigation and punitive punishment over Coupang's recent massive customer data leak. “The scale of the damage is massive, involving about 34 million victims, but it is truly shocking that the company failed to detect the breach for five full months after the initial incident,” the president said during a Cabinet meeting at his office in Yongsan District, Seoul. “We must identify the cause of this accident swiftly and hold those responsible strictly accountable. I urge you to mobilize all available resources to prevent secondary crimes arising from the misuse of this leaked information.” Expressing concerns over the recent surge in data leak cases, Lee urged the government to implement harsher penalties and effective countermeasures, referencing international standards to actualize punitive damages. “This is also an opportunity to completely overturn the misguided practices and perceptions that trivialize the protection of personal data — a core asset in the age of AI (artificial intelligence) and digital technology,”

Dec 2, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
President Lee Jae Myung orders punitive measures against Coupang data leak
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