Business - The Korea Times

HD Hyundai celebrates 5,000th ship export in 50 years

HD Hyundai on Wednesday celebrated the milestone of building and exporting its 5,000th ship since delivering its first vessel in 1974, after handing over an offshore patrol vessel to the Philippine Navy, calling the achievement “unprecedented in the global shipbuilding industry.” HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, a shipbuilding subsidiary under the HD Hyundai group, delivered the Diego Silang to the Philippine Navy last month. The ship measures 118.4 meters in length and 14.9 meters in width, has a cruising speed of 28 kilometers per hour and a range of 8,330 kilometers. The delivery came after the vessel was completed and launched in March. HD Hyundai has secured contracts with the Philippine Navy to build 10 ships for the Southeast Asian fleet. The ceremony took place at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shipyard in Ulsan. HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, Industry Ministry Director General Park Dong-il, Korea Ocean Business Corp. CEO Ahn Byung-gil and Korea Marine Transport Chairman Park Jong-seug attended the event. The conglomerate’s first export vessel was the 260,000-ton Very Large

Nov 19, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan

HD Hyundai celebrates 5,000th ship export in 50 years

Indian biz tycoon to discuss network, AI ties with Samsung head: sources

The head of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries plans to visit Korea next week to discuss cooperation in network and artificial intelligence (AI) industries with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, sources said Wednesday. According to the sources, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, plans to pay a two-day visit to Korea starting Tuesday for a meeting with Lee, with the two business groups set to discuss cooperation in a wide array of areas. Reliance Industries is a major Indian conglomerate with a business portfolio covering petrochemicals, steel, telecommunications, retail and finance. Jio Platforms, a telecom arm of Reliance Industries, boasts 500 million users, with Samsung Electronics previously supplying equipment for the mobile carrier's fourth-generation network. Industry watchers say the two business leaders may discuss potential cooperation in the fifth-generation network. Ambani is the richest business tycoon in India, with his assets estimated at $116 billion. In July last year, Lee attended a wedding ceremony for Ambani's youngest son in India.

Nov 19, 2025By Yonhap

Indian biz tycoon to discuss network, AI ties with Samsung head: sources

Korea Aerospace, UAE firm sign MOU for aerospace partnership

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, said Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a United Arab Emirates (UAE) defense company to cooperate in the aerospace sector. The agreement with EDGE Platforms and Systems, a unit of the UAE's defense conglomerate EDGE Group, aims to explore business opportunities in global markets by leveraging the two companies' technologies and expertise, KAI said in a press release. KAI and EDGE Platforms and Systems plan to pursue technology cooperation, joint research and production, and expanded exports of defense products to Middle Eastern markets, the company said. Areas of potential collaboration include fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and maintenance, repair and overhaul services, it added. "This partnership provides both parties with an important opportunity to combine their aerospace capabilities and create new growth drivers," KAI Senior Executive Vice President Cha Jae-byoung said in the release.

Nov 19, 2025By Yonhap

Korea Aerospace, UAE firm sign MOU for aerospace partnership

Will Hyundai Motor return to Russia?

Hyundai Motor’s latest move to register multiple trademarks in Russia is rekindling speculation that the carmaker may soon resume its business there. According to reports from Russia’s news agency, RIA Novosti, the Korean carmaker has registered trademarks, such as its corporate logo, which will be valid through 2034. This enables the carmaker to produce and sell various automobiles and auto parts there, according to the report. The company suspended its Russian operations in December 2023, selling its St. Petersburg factory for approximately $95 (140,000 won). The deal included a buyback option, allowing Hyundai to repurchase the plant within two years of the sale. At that time, Hyundai Motor decided to withdraw its Russian business amid the escalating war between Russia and Ukraine. The carmaker struggled to secure a stable supply of key auto parts due to the conflict and decided to suspend operations at the plant in March 2022. Hyundai Motor, however, denied the rumor that the carmaker’s return to Russia looks imminent. “The registration of trademarks cannot be seen as a prepar

Nov 19, 2025By Lee Min-hyung

Will Tving-Disney+ partnership challenge Netflix’s dominance?

The homegrown streaming platform Tving is taking the local streaming service landscape in a bold new direction, partnering with global entertainment giant Disney+ to launch an unprecedented triple-streaming bundle subscription. Tving announced on Tuesday that it will be rolling out a new integrated subscription product, called 3 PACK, which will allow users to access Tving, Disney+ and Wavve with a single membership. This marks Korea’s first tri-platform streaming service bundle, offering both global and local content at up to 37 percent lower than individual subscriptions. Access to all platforms is priced at 21,500 won per month ($14.70) and Tving-Disney+ access at 18,000 won per month. The partnership underscores the local streaming service’s strategy to deliver more value while redefining user experience in a crowded market long dominated by Netflix, further driving user growth from its ongoing merger with Wavve. “We’re thrilled to introduce a reasonably priced service that combines the power of K-content from Tving and Wavve with Disney’s premium lineup,” Tving CEO Choi

Nov 19, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee

Will Tving-Disney+ partnership challenge Netflix’s dominance?

City Oil Field debuts world’s 1st low-temp, noncombustion plastic recycling tech

City Oil Field has become the first company in the world to commercialize a low-temperature, noncombustion catalytic plastic decomposition technology, a breakthrough expected to advance Korea’s circular economy and carbon-reduction goals. The company, in partnership with Woori Technology, held an opening ceremony Tuesday for the Wave Jeongeup plant in North Jeolla Province. The facility produces high-grade recycled naphtha-level feedstock by decomposing waste plastic below 300 degrees Celsius without combustion, making it the first commercial plant of its kind worldwide. The inauguration was attended by City Oil Field CEO Jeong Yeong-hun, Chairman Kim Jeong-yoon, Woori Technology CEO Roh Gab-sun, Vice President Jeon Dae-young, current and former National Assembly members and roughly 200 government, industry and academic officials. International guests included Saudi PEDCO CEO Abdulmohsen Al-Zamil, executives from Trafigura, BASF and Saudi SIRC, as well as Sabien Group Chairman Richard Parris. The Jeongeup plant, Korea’s largest, processes agricultural waste vinyl and mixed plastics

Nov 18, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan

City Oil Field debuts world’s 1st low-temp, noncombustion plastic recycling tech

Strengthening dollar emerges as mounting risk to Korean firms

The prolonged appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Korean won is increasingly threatening the earnings of major Korean firms, especially those heavily reliant on exports and imports. Concerns are mounting as the won-dollar exchange rate has hovered above 1,400 won per dollar for more than a month. The rate recently climbed past 1,470 won — a seven-month high — with no immediate signs of stabilizing. Airlines are among the major industries highly vulnerable to the appreciation of the dollar, as they face higher fuel costs and other operating costs. Korean Air, the nation’s flag carrier, reported a 39 percent year-on-year decline in its operating profit for the third quarter. Asiana Airlines also posted an operating loss of 175.7 billion won ($120 million) for the same period. The strengthening dollar also weighed heavily on the nation’s low-cost carriers. Jeju Air reported an operating loss of 55 billion won between July and September. Jin Air and T’way Air also posted operating losses of 22.5 billion won and 95.5 billion won, respectively, for the same period. Of particul

Nov 18, 2025By Lee Min-hyung

Strengthening dollar emerges as mounting risk to Korean firms

Hyosung chairman bets high on US power grid market to cope with AI demand

Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon is making a strategic push into the U.S. power grid market by scaling up the company’s power transformer plant in Tennessee, which will become the largest of its kind in the country, to meet rapidly growing electricity demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. According to Hyosung Heavy Industries said Tuesday it is investing $157 million in its Memphis plant to expand extra-high-voltage transformer manufacturing capacity by more than 50 percent by 2028. With this latest decision, Hyosung Heavy Industries’ total investment in the Memphis plant will amount to $300 million, including the acquisition of the plant. This will make the facility the largest in the United States in terms of production capacity of high-voltage transformers. The Memphis plant is the only U.S. facility that can design and manufacture 765-kilovolt transformers, better able to reduce power loss compared to lower voltage transformers such as 345-kilovolt or 500-kilovolt models. Since the early 2010s, Hyosung Heavy Industries has been a dominant supplier in the U.S.

Nov 18, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo

Hyosung chairman bets high on US power grid market to cope with AI demand

Naver showcases digital twin, AI tech at Saudi urban development exhibition

Naver said Tuesday it has showcased the company's latest technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), for construction and real estate industries at an exhibition in Saudi Arabia. The Korean IT giant promoted digital twin, AI and cloud solutions customized for Saudi Arabia during the Cityscape Global 2025, which kicked off Monday in Riyadh for a four-day run, Naver said in a release. Naver has been making efforts to penetrate deeper into the kingdom's urban development industry, with the sector expanding quickly under Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 initiative. In June, Naver completed the development of digital twin platforms covering Mecca, Medina and Jeddah, spanning around 6,800 square kilometers, roughly 11 times the size of Seoul, and including data on more than 920,000 buildings. The digital twin platforms, based on high-precision 3D modeling, provide a wide range of urban planning support features and analytical tools. These include terrain analysis, skyline and sunlight exposure simulations for landscape and view planning, and real-time verification of building designs. "It w

Nov 18, 2025By Yonhap

Naver showcases digital twin, AI tech at Saudi urban development exhibition

Hyundai partners with China's Skywell to supply hydrogen buses to Guangzhou

Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday it has partnered with Chinese commercial vehicle maker Skywell Group to supply jointly developed hydrogen-powered buses to Guangzhou Public Transport Group. HTWO Guangzhou, Hyundai's hydrogen fuel-cell systems subsidiary in China, and Skywell jointly developed an 8.5-meter short-rear-overhang hydrogen fuel-cell bus and took part in the public transport operator's bid to procure 50 hydrogen buses, the group said in a press release. The two companies won the bid to supply half of the 50 hydrogen buses this year, with the units set to begin public transport service within the year. "The successful debut of this hydrogen bus marks a new stage of technical collaboration between Skywell Group and Hyundai Motor, and a pivotal step in bringing hydrogen transportation from technological breakthrough to market application," Skywell said in a separate release. The companies plan to expand their partnership to hydrogen heavy-duty trucks, cold-chain logistics vehicles and other commercial applications, Skywell said. Hyundai Motor Group completed its first overseas hydr