my timesThe Korea Times
Business

Companies

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
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.

Hyundai Steel mulls sale of caterpillar track division at Pohang plant

Hyundai Steel, Korea's second-largest steelmaker, said Monday it is considering selling a division that produces caterpillar tracks at one of its domestic plants, amid a prolonged slump in the construction industry. The company is in talks with Daejoo.KC — whose business spans steel structures to auto components — to sell the caterpillar track division of Pohang 1 plant, located 273 kilometers southeast of Seoul, a Hyundai spokesperson said. "Sales of caterpillar tracks produced by Hyundai Steel plunged 65 percent last year compared with 2021 due to intensified competition and an oversupply of low-priced Chinese products," the spokesperson said. Hyundai Steel said it will guarantee job security for employees currently working in the division by relocating them to other departments. The caterpillar-track system is used in the manufacturing of heavy equipment, such as excavators, bulldozers and track loaders. In recent months, the company has faced mounting challenges due to weakening demand and steep U.S. tariffs. In April, Hyundai Steel temporarily shut down one of its three domestic s

Jun 2, 2025By Yonhap
Hyundai Steel mulls sale of caterpillar track division at Pohang plant

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOKAntitrust watchdog catches flak for 'reverse discrimination' against Korean firms

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is catching flak for showing a “way too lenient” attitude toward foreign companies while failing to maintain consistent regulatory standards for their Korean counterparts. The antitrust watchdog is often described as a "conglomerate sniper," but its latest sanctions on overseas tech firms are drawing questions over the label. The FTC recently accepted a proposal from Google Korea to rectify its unfair business practice by unbundling YouTube Music from its YouTube Premium subscription service. The company also offered to provide 30 billion won ($21.8 million) as part of its self-correction measure, apparently aimed at avoiding regulatory risks from the FTC. The long-delayed investigation into the unjust business practice appeared to have closed without any punitive measures. However, the leniency has not been extended to local firms. Last year, the watchdog slapped Coupang with massive fines of 162.8 billion won, citing the e-commerce firm’s alleged algorithm manipulation when selling its own private-branded products on its platform. The fines marked

Jun 2, 2025By Lee Min-hyung
Antitrust watchdog catches flak for 'reverse discrimination' against Korean firms

Samsung Pay experiences brief service disruption

Samsung Pay, a mobile payment system operated by Samsung Electronics, experienced a temporary disruption on Monday, its operator said. Starting around 7 a.m., some users reported being unable to make purchases both online and offline. Samsung Electronics acknowledged the issue in a notice posted at 10:30 a.m., confirming that the problem affecting card payments and registration had been resolved. "The error affecting card payments and registration has been fixed, and the service is now operating normally," the company said. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused." However, the cause of the service failure remained unknown. Samsung Pay is a digital wallet platform that allows users to make payments using compatible Samsung smartphones and devices.

Jun 2, 2025By Yonhap
Samsung Pay experiences brief service disruption

Hanwha Life hosts youth mentoring event with Yale a cappella group

Hanwha Life said Monday that it hosted the "Dream Mentoring: Together We Dream," event in collaboration with Yale University's a cappella group Whim 'n Rhythm at the Hanwha Building in Seoul on Saturday. Now in its third year, the program offers guidance and inspiration to young people pursuing their goals. This year, 56 participants were selected through an open call for personal stories. Fourteen student members of Whim 'n Rhythm served as mentors, alongside 14 Korean university students affiliated with English-language volunteer groups. Founded in 1981 as Yale’s first all-female a cappella group, Whim 'n Rhythm is dedicated to using music as a vehicle for community outreach and continues to support underserved areas through various musical initiatives. The Yale students, serving as one-day mentors, kicked off the event with a lively a cappella performance. Following the performance, mentor Marie Bong, a cognitive science major, delivered a keynote speech on the importance of pursuing one’s dreams. Sharing her personal journey of moving to the U.S. alone at the age of 7, she said, "

Jun 2, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo
Hanwha Life hosts youth mentoring event with Yale a cappella group

Online shopping up 2.5% in April on demand for food services

Online shopping sales in Korea gained 2.5 percent from a year earlier in April, mainly driven by rising demand for food products and relevant services, data showed Monday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 21.69 trillion won ($15.73 billion) in April, up 535.2 billion won from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The growth was led by a sharp increase in demand for food services, which jumped 13.9 percent on-year to 3.9 trillion won. Online sales of food and beverages also advanced 9.1 percent on-year to 2.56 trillion won, the data showed. But online shopping for e-coupon services plummeted 49.1 percent to 430.5 billion won. Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices increased 4.6 percent on-year to 16.79 trillion won. Mobile gadget-based shopping accounted for 77.4 percent of the total online sales in April, up 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier, the data showed.

Jun 2, 2025By Yonhap
Online shopping up 2.5% in April on demand for food services

Gov't convenes emergency meeting on response to planned hike in US steel tariffs

The government held an emergency meeting with major local steelmakers Monday to discuss the impact of the United States' plan to double its tariffs on all steel imports to 50 percent later this week, the industry ministry said. The meeting, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, was attended by officials from POSCO Group, Hyundai Steel Co. and other major steel companies here, according to ministry officials. Monday's meeting came after U.S. President Donald Trump said last week he will double tariffs on foreign imports of steel to 50 percent Wednesday (U.S. time). The ministry said steel industry officials asked the government to swiftly share information on U.S. tariff measures and continue cooperation with the private sector to respond to them. The ministry added that the government will work to minimize any negative impact of U.S. tariffs on the local industry through trade negotiations with Washington. In May, South Korea's steel exports went down 12.4 percent from a year earlier to US$2.6 billion, with shipments to the U.S. plunging 20.6 percent over the cited period.

Jun 2, 2025By Yonhap
Gov't convenes emergency meeting on response to planned hike in US steel tariffs

Trump tariffs hit Korea's exports for May

Korea's exports suffered a year-on-year decrease in May and those to the United States had a significant drop of over 8 percent, signaling that the fallout from the Donald Trump administration's tariff policies has begun to take a toll on Korea's exports. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Sunday, the country's overall exports in May fell by 1.3 percent to $57.27 billion compared to the same month last year, marking the first decline since January. Until January this year, Korea’s exports had recorded year-on-year growth for 15 consecutive months since October 2023, and also from February to April this year. Exports to the U.S. dropped 8.1 percent to $10 billion with a sharp decline in the automotive sector, which is Korea’s largest export sector to the country. Car exports fell by 32 percent to $1.84 billion, far outpacing the 19.6 percent drop recorded in April, when Trump's car tariffs took effect. This suggests that the impact of the tariffs is materializing with sustained downward pressure on the country's car industry. The fall of automotive exports over

Jun 1, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
Trump tariffs hit Korea's exports for May

Kakao Mobility clinches 1st overseas deal with Saudi Arabia

Kakao Mobility has signed the company’s first overseas deal, exporting its parking platform solution to Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Gate, an urban development project, the mobility platform operator said Sunday. According to Kakao Mobility, CEO Ryu Gung-seon and Diriyah Company Group CEO Jerry Inzerillo signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during a ceremony at the Diriyah Gate Development Authority in Riyadh on May 25. Diriyah Company is the master developer of a $63 billion project to transform a 14-square-kilometer area surrounding the town of Diriyah into a premium destination featuring luxury resorts, villas, hospitals and shopping centers. Through the MOU, Kakao Mobility will operate parking infrastructure within the Diriyah area and develop an integrated system to manage parking reservations and payments. The company will first focus on a pilot project in select parking areas of Diriyah, and then expand the parking solutions across the entire project’s area in consultation with Diriyah Company. Diriyah Company plans to develop parking infrastructure that can accommodate mor

Jun 1, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
Kakao Mobility clinches 1st overseas deal with Saudi Arabia

LG Energy begins mass production of batteries for ESS at US plant

LG Energy Solution (LGES), Korea's leading battery maker, said Sunday it has begun mass production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for energy storage systems (ESS) at its manufacturing plant in the United States. The pouch-type LFP batteries for ESS, based on long cell technology, are being manufactured at the LGES plant in Michigan, according to the Korean company. "We are currently in discussions with multiple customers in the North American region for the supply of our ESS batteries," LGES officials said, noting that supply to a number of major U.S. energy firms, such as Terra-Gen and Delta Electronics, has already been confirmed. LGES said it plans to swiftly respond to growing demand for ESS in advanced industries, such as artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and renewable energies. LGES is the only major global battery maker that started mass production of LFP batteries tailored for use in ESS in the U.S.

Jun 1, 2025By Yonhap
LG Energy begins mass production of batteries for ESS at US plant

Kumho Petrochemical focuses on fostering growth potential this year

Amid a major transition in the global petrochemical industry, Kumho Petrochemical Group is focusing this year on exploring new opportunities and strengthening its growth potential to better position itself for the future. According to the group, Sunday, it is now focusing on analyzing fast-evolving industry trends and building an optimal portfolio to turn future demand into profit. As part of this effort, the company said it is redesigning its core businesses to meet and reflect future demands. Kumho Petrochemical is working to expand customer engagement for its high-performance synthetic rubber product, solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR), in response to the rapid growth of the electric vehicle (EV) tire market. The growing weight of EV batteries and the unique driving characteristics of electric vehicles — such as rapid acceleration and deceleration — raise concerns about tire durability and wear. S-BBR is viewed as a solution to address those concerns with its unique physical properties, which help overcome the trade-offs traditionally seen in tire technology between durabil

Jun 1, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
Kumho Petrochemical focuses on fostering growth potential this year
previous page
276277278279280
next page

Most Read in Business