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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.

Hanwha's rights offering draws backlash

Hanwha Group is facing mounting criticism in the capital market following its unexpected decision on Thursday to issue 3.6 trillion won ($2.5 billion) worth of new Hanwha Aerospace shares at 605,000 won per share, nearly 15 percent lower than that day's stock price. The nation's seventh-largest conglomerate attributed the largest-ever rights offering in the domestic stock market to its defense unit's plan to raise funds for global expansion, including the acquisition of Austal, an Australian shipbuilder with a shipyard in the United States. However, investors and securities analysts have raised doubts about the necessity of the paid-in capital increase, which has significantly depreciated the shares of Hanwha Group affiliates, putting a damper on their recent bullish trend. As the plan backfired, the company said Sunday that its top executives, including Hanwha Group heir Kim Dong-kwan, decided to buy back treasury shares worth 4.8 billion to soothe investor concerns. On Friday, Hanwha Aerospace's stock price closed at 628,000 won, down 13.02 percent from the previous session. The stock

Mar 21, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Hanwha's rights offering draws backlash

Oriental Brewery to raise prices of some beers next month

Oriental Brewery (OB), Korea's largest brewer, said Friday it will raise prices of some beers next month to reflect higher raw materials costs. The retail prices of its major beer products, including Cass and Hanmac, will go up by an average of 2.9 percent on April 1, the company said in a press release. "High exchange rates have continued for some time, pushing up a variety of raw material prices," it said, referring to the weak won against the U.S. dollar. But the company will freeze the price of its 500-milliliter Cass canned beer as it is the most popular beer item sold at convenient stores, it said. Previously, OB raised the prices of its major products by an average of 6.9 percent in October 2023. OB, wholly owned by Belgian brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, accounts for about 50 percent of the local beer market. (Yonhap)

Mar 21, 2025By yonhap
Oriental Brewery to raise prices of some beers next month

Hyundai to double down on US production with new EV plant opening amid Trump risks

Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating efforts to expand its production footprint in the United States, amid U.S. President Donald Trump's continued call for foreign companies to manufacture in the country to do business there, according to industry observers Friday. According to the industry sources, the group plans to hold an official opening ceremony next week for Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), its electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid production facility located in Savannah, Georgia. Although the 11.83 million-square-meter plant has been in partial operation since late last year, it will officially commence full-scale operations following the ceremony. HMGMA currently operates under a limited capacity of 300,000 units per year, but Hyundai aims to boost it up to 500,000 units once the US$5.54 billion facility becomes fully operational. Combined with Hyundai Motor's existing Alabama plant, with a capacity of 330,000 units, and Kia's 350,000-unit plant, the Korean automotive group is poised to boost its U.S.-based production capacity to around 1.18 million vehicles per year. Las

Mar 21, 2025By yonhap
Hyundai to double down on US production with new EV plant opening amid Trump risks

Korean energy firms await meetings with Alaska governor in Seoul

Major Korean energy companies are preparing for separate meetings with Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who is scheduled to visit Seoul on Monday and Tuesday to discuss Korea's potential participation in the development of gas fields in the northwestern state. According to industry officials on Friday, companies considering meetings with Dunleavy include POSCO International, SK Innovation E&S, GS Energy and SeAH Steel. "We are arranging a meeting with the governor, but the timing and participants have yet to be confirmed," an official from one of the Korean firms said. "The specific agenda of the meeting also remains unclear." Given Korean energy firms' extensive experience in establishing liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chains globally, Dunleavy is widely expected to introduce the Alaska LNG project and seek their participation and investment in the $44 billion initiative. The project aims to construct a nearly 1,300-kilometer gas pipeline from Alaska’s vast North Slope to the southern port of Nikiski. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump, who has consistently supported a majo

Mar 21, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Korean energy firms await meetings with Alaska governor in Seoul

Financial watchdog inspects troubled Homeplus over potential accounting flaws

Korea's financial watchdog said Friday it will look into whether Homeplus has violated accounting rules as speculation mounts over the retailer's controversial short-term debt sale. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will inspect to verify whether the retailer, wholly owned by private equity firm MBK Partners Ltd., has been properly assessing its assets, debts and others. The watchdog's move came days after it said it will inspect MBK Partners to look into whether there have been any flaws in the process of the retailer's short-term debt sale and its filing for court rehabilitation. On March 4, Homeplus entered court-led rehabilitation proceedings after two rating appraisers lowered the rating of its corporate bonds to A3- from A3, citing the company's lack of efforts to improve its financial health. Homeplus was reportedly notified by a credit rating agency on Feb. 25 that its rating was likely to decline, but the company issued asset-backed short-term bonds (ABSTBs) worth 82 billion won (US$56.3 million) through Shinyoung Securities the same day. The FSS also has been inves

Mar 21, 2025By yonhap
Financial watchdog inspects troubled Homeplus over potential accounting flaws

Fulfillment of military duty no longer unusual for young chaebol heirs

The military enlistment of heirs from Korea's family-controlled conglomerates, or chaebol, has long attracted public attention. Scrutiny especially intensified in the early 2010s, when it was revealed that chaebol scions born in the 1960s and 1970s had higher military exemption rates than ordinary Korean men. At the time, it was also found that exemptions for the privileged class had increased with younger generations. However, the service records of chaebol owner family members have been less newsworthy in recent years, as more young heirs from major conglomerates choose to fulfill their mandatory military service as able-bodied Korean men. Born in the 1980s, these heirs are now playing significant roles within their respective family-controlled business groups, helping them avoid public criticism of undue privilege. HD Hyundai, for example, has actively promoted the military service of Executive Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun, who served as an officer in the Korean Army Commando Regiment from 2005 to 2007 after joining the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) in the Republic of Korea Ar

Mar 21, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Fulfillment of military duty no longer unusual for young chaebol heirs

Hanwha Aerospace to raise W3.6 tril. for global investments

Korean defense giant Hanwha Aerospace said Thursday it will raise 3.6 trillion won ($2.5 billion) through a record stock sale as part of broader global investment plans in future growth sectors. The company's board of directors approved the plan to issue some 5.95 million common shares at a price of 605,000 won per share. It marks the largest-ever stock sale by a Korean company. Through the stock sale, Hanwha Aerospace said it plans to invest in the defense, maritime and aerospace sectors as it expects more opportunities amid a rearmament push in Europe and U.S. efforts to bolster its shipbuilding industry. The company said it plans to acquire strategic production bases in Europe, the Middle East, Australia and the United States, aiming for sales of 70 trillion won and an operating profit of 10 trillion won in 2035. From the latest stock offering, the company plans to use 1.6 trillion won for investment in overseas production facilities and arms industry cooperation. The manufacturer of the K9 self-propelled howitzer said it also seeks to inject 900 billion won from the stock sale to inve

Mar 20, 2025By yonhap
Hanwha Aerospace to raise W3.6 tril. for global investments

Eli Lilly beats Novo Nordisk to launch weight-loss drug Mounjaro in India

Eli Lilly launched its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drug Mounjaro in India on Thursday, beating rival Novo Nordisk for a much-awaited entry into the world's most populous country that is grappling with increasing rates of obesity and diabetes. U.S.-based Lilly and Danish Novo Nordisk have seen skyrocketing global demand for their innovative weight-loss drugs, with investor interest also boosting the drugmakers' valuations. Mounjaro, a once-weekly injection approved by India's drug regulator, is priced at 4,375 rupees ($50.67) for a 5 mg vial and 3,500 rupees ($40.54) for a 2.5 mg vial, its lowest dose, the company told Reuters separately. "The dual burden of obesity and type 2 diabetes is rapidly emerging as a major public health challenge in India," said President and General Manager Winselow Tucker at Lilly India. India, a country of more than 1.4 billion people, has seen an increase in obesity rates. A government survey conducted between 2019 and 2021 showed that 24 percent of women and nearly 23 percent of men between the ages of 15 and 49 were either overweight or obese, up

Mar 20, 2025By reuters
Eli Lilly beats Novo Nordisk to launch weight-loss drug Mounjaro in India

Korean regulator approves merger of Synopsys, Ansys on divestment conditions

Korea's antitrust regulator on Thursday approved the proposed merger of U.S. chip design software giant Synopsys and engineering software firm Ansys on the condition the companies divest their assets in overlapping business areas, officials said. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) made the decision about 10 months after Synopsys filed a request for approval of its $35 billion deal to buy Ansys, according to the officials. The FTC, however, demanded the two companies sell their overlapping business units, such as register transfer-level power consumption analysis software, as well as optics and photonics software, within six months after their integration is completed. The FTC said it gave such conditions-based approval as the acquisition is expected to leave the integrated company with a 60 to 80 percent share in the global register market, 90 to 100 percent share in the optics market and 55 to 75 percent share in the photonics market, undermining competition in those markets. Prior to the FTC's decision, the European Union, Britain and Japan have given similar conditional approvals for the

Mar 20, 2025By yonhap
Korean regulator approves merger of Synopsys, Ansys on divestment conditions

Gov't launches rare metals industry development council

The industry ministry on Thursday launched a rare metals industry development council to better respond to the intensification of protectionism and discuss the supply chain strategies of the domestic industry, according to officials.

Mar 20, 2025By yonhap
Gov't launches rare metals industry development council
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