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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.

Nexon, Krafton extend Q1 earnings lead with game franchises

Nexon and Krafton led the Korean gaming market in the first quarter in sales and operating profit, respectively, driven by the steady popularity of their flagship titles. According to Nexon, its sales in the first quarter stood at 1.08 trillion won ($771 million), up 5 percent from a year earlier. Its operating profit reached 395.2 billion won, improving 43 percent during the same period. Its sales were the highest among Korean game developers. Sales of hit titles including MapleStory, Dungeon & Fighter and FC Online spearheaded the overall growth, while new releases including Mabinogi Mobile and The First Berserker: Khazan contributed to the overall sales. Dungeon & Fighter has seen its monthly active users and purchase users both double after a recent update. MapleStory has seen a 43 percent year-on-year increase in domestic sales and 35 percent in overseas sales. Mabinogi Mobile, released in March, has recorded the highest sales in the App Store and second-highest sales in Google Play. Krafton became Korea's most profitable game studio in the first quarter of this year, logging 457.3

May 18, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan
Nexon, Krafton extend Q1 earnings lead with game franchises

USTR holds closed-door meeting with US firms in Korea

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held a closed-door meeting with more than a dozen U.S. businesses operating in Korea on Friday, during his visit to Jeju for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting, which concluded its two-day run that day. Greer met with representatives from around 10 U.S. companies in Korea — including Coupang, Google, UPS, Bayer and Novelis — alongside U.S. Senior Official for APEC Matt Murray and American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Korea Chairman James Kim, to discuss issues such as the trade deficit and non-tariff barriers between the U.S. and Korea. During the meeting, Greer described Korea as “forward-leaning” in advancing trade talks with the United States, despite the ongoing political uncertainty in the country. “I view that as very positive for Korea,” the AMCHAM chairman told The Korea Times, declining to share details of the meeting as it was held under Chatham House Rule. “(Greer) was very complimentary toward the Korean negotiation team.” The companies also discussed various operat

May 16, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
USTR holds closed-door meeting with US firms in Korea

Buldak spicy 'ramyeon' maker shares jump nearly 20% on strong earnings

Shares of Samyang Foods, known for its globally popular Buldak spicy "ramyeon," jumped nearly 20 percent after the company reported strong first-quarter earnings. On Friday, Samyang Foods jumped 19.07 percent to 1.18 million won ($846), far outperforming the broader Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), which ended up 0.21 percent. The rally followed the company's report of a 49 percent year-on-year gain in net profit in the January-March period. Operating profit surged 67 percent on-year to an all-time high of 133.99 billion won, while sales rose 37 percent to a record high of 529.01 billion won. Samyang Foods earned more than 80 percent of its total revenue from overseas markets. Last year, the company's exports surpassed the 1 trillion-won mark for the first time in its history, driven by strong sales of the Buldak ramyeon series, especially in the United States and China. Samyang aims to exceed 1 trillion won in overseas sales this year by expanding its production capacity. It currently operates three domestic plants, with a fourth scheduled for completion in the first half of this

May 16, 2025By Yonhap
Buldak spicy 'ramyeon' maker shares jump nearly 20% on strong earnings

Misto Holdings posts $910 mil. in Q1 revenue

Misto Holdings on Friday reported consolidated revenue of 1.24 trillion won ($910 million) in the first quarter of the year, marking a 4.6-percent increase from a year earlier. However, operating profit declined by 0.4 percent year-over-year to 162.7 billion won. By business segment, the Acushnet division recorded revenue of 1.02 trillion won, up 8.7 percent year-on-year, driven by strong sales of the new Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls and continued momentum in golf clubs. Acushnet delivered solid results in the first quarter despite challenges such as rising raw material costs, weak consumer sentiment and policy uncertainties, including U.S. tariffs. Its golf balls — used by 75 percent of professional tours worldwide and 68 percent of tour winners — along with clubs and gear, continued to show year-on-year growth, serving as key drivers of performance. The Misto division posted revenue of 215.7 billion won, supported by robust domestic footwear sales and the expansion of online direct-to-consumer channels, even amid a sluggish economy. The company is making long-term efforts to enha

May 16, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
Misto Holdings posts $910 mil. in Q1 revenue

Moviation's private jets fly through banned Russian airspace

Moviation, a Korean private jet service provider, has begun offering flights that fly through Russian airspace, which has been restricted to most European airliners in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Vonaer, Moviation's online private jet booking platform, launched the service through a partnership with a private jet company based in a "third country" that the Russian government has selectively approved for airspace access. Due to confidentiality, Moviation declined to identify the private jet company or disclose the country in which it is based. The flights connect Gimpo International Airport to countries in Europe by passing through previously restricted airspace, saving up to two hours when traveling between Korea and major European cities such as Paris, London, Geneva and Rome. The company said it launched the flights to meet high demand for business travel between May and June. “Unlike Incheon International Airport, Gimpo Airport has separate hangars and gateways for private jets and their passengers," said Lee Mi-hyun, chief strategy officer and vice president o

May 16, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan
Moviation's private jets fly through banned Russian airspace

US courts Korean shipbuilders to counter China at APEC meeting

The United States used the two-day APEC trade ministers' meeting in Jeju as an opportunity to boost cooperation with Korean shipbuilders, part of the Donald Trump administration's efforts to revive American shipyards and curb China's dominance in the maritime sector. HD Hyundai, the parent company of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), said Friday that Executive Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the southern island that day to discuss bilateral cooperation in the shipbuilding industry. Greer's first-ever meeting with Korean shipbuilding executives was reportedly arranged at the request of the U.S. government. It follows U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan's visit last month to the shipyards of HD HHI and Hanwha Ocean — the second Trump administration's first-ever dispatch of a secretary-level official to Korea, which prompted top management of both companies to showcase their technologies. According to HD Hyundai, Chung introduced the recent collaboration between HD HHI and Huntington Ingalls Industries, which operates a shipyard in Mississippi

May 16, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
US courts Korean shipbuilders to counter China at APEC meeting

SK hynix's US sales make up over 70% in Q1 on rising AI demand

Chip giant SK hynix has reported that its U.S. sales accounted for over 70 percent of its total revenue in the first quarter on rising demand for premium high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips from major U.S. tech companies. According to the company's financial report released Thursday, revenues in the United States totaled 12.8 trillion won ($9.1 billion) in the first quarter, representing 72 percent of the company's total quarterly sales of 17.6 trillion won. Its U.S. sales amounted to 6.3 trillion won a year ago, accounting for a 50 percent portion. The sharp rise is attributable to increasing sales of artificial intelligence (AI) products, including HBM and enterprise solid state drives (eSSDs), in the U.S. SK hynix, a global leader in the HBM market, has already sold out this year's HBM production, supplying its 12-layer HBM3E product to major customers, including Nvidia Corp. Meanwhile, sales in China dropped to 2.7 trillion won, accounting for 15 percent of quarterly revenue, down from 18 percent in the same period last year.

May 16, 2025By Yonhap
SK hynix's US sales make up over 70% in Q1 on rising AI demand

Why Qatar invited Shinsegae chairman to state dinner with Trump

Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin had his second face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump since the latter's reelection last November, accompanying Trump on his visit to Qatar — one of the destinations for his presidential tour of the Middle East this week. In footage showing Trump greeting guests lining up to attend a state dinner in Doha on Wednesday (local time), Chung is seen shaking hands with the president and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, engaging in a brief conversation with them for about 15 seconds. Chung was the only Korean businessman captured in the footage. At least on the surface, the meeting seemed to come as a surprise even to the public relations team at the Korean retail conglomerate. Officials from the team said they did not know why their chairman had traveled to the Middle East, where the company currently has no business operations. Shinsegae spokespersons were unavailable for comment Thursday morning when asked how and why Chung attended the dinner. A Shinsegae spokesperson later said Chung was invited at the request of the Qat

May 15, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Why Qatar invited Shinsegae chairman to state dinner with Trump

Hyundai Motor breaks ground on 1st Middle East plant in Saudi Arabia

Hyundai Motor broke ground on its first Middle East manufacturing base in Saudi Arabia, Wednesday (local time), marking a key milestone for the carmaker’s global expansion. According to the company, it held a groundbreaking ceremony for Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Middle East (HMMME) at the King Salman Automotive Cluster in Saudi Arabia. The ceremony was attended by over 200 dignitaries and officials from both countries, including Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, PIF Deputy Gov. Yazeed, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Chang Jae-hoon and Acting Korean Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Moon Byung-jun. HMMME is a joint venture between Hyundai Motor and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), holding 30 percent and 70 percent stakes, respectively. Production is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2026 with an annual capacity of 50,000 vehicles, including both electric vehicles (EVs) and internal combustion engine models. The plant will be a complete knock-down manufacturing system, in which parts will be sourced from abroad and

May 15, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
Hyundai Motor breaks ground on 1st Middle East plant in Saudi Arabia

China's Temu fined for transfer of Korean users' personal info

Chinese e-commerce platform Temu has been fined for secretly transferring Korean users' personal information to China and Singapore, the state data protection watchdog here said Thursday. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said it decided to impose a fine of 1.36 billion won ($970,000) on Temu during a plenary meeting Wednesday for violating the Personal Information Protection Act. In April last year, the PIPC launched an investigation into personal data collection and usage by Temu and AliExpress — two major Chinese e-commerce platforms expanding aggressively in Korea. While the watchdog imposed a fine of about 1.97 billion won on AliExpress three months later, it postponed a decision on Temu due to insufficient data on its local sales. Temu entrusted the processing or storage of personal information to multiple businesses in Korea, China, Singapore, Japan and other countries for product delivery but did not disclose that in its personal information processing policy, according to the PIPC. In addition, the company did not provide management and supervision, such as

May 15, 2025By Yonhap
China's Temu fined for transfer of Korean users' personal info
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