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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.

POSCO, antitrust watchdog broaden partnership for shared growth

POSCO Group has partnered with the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to expand its shared growth initiatives, which support supplier financing, technology development and market access, beyond direct suppliers to include second and third-tier vendors. The group announced that it inked an agreement with the commission on Thursday, aimed at strengthening supply chain competitiveness and promoting fair trade practices across about 5,300 partner companies. Under the agreement, the group pledged to improve payment terms, expand the use of its shared growth payment system that guarantees cash settlement on due dates and allows suppliers to convert receivables into cash early at lower financing costs. It also committed to providing incentives to first-tier suppliers that promote shared growth with lower-tier partners and broadening support programs to enhance supplier competitiveness. “POSCO Group has grown by treating shared growth with its partners as a core value,” POSCO Holdings President Lee Ju-tae said during the signing ceremony. "We will continue to foster a transparent and fair business c

Jul 16, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
POSCO, antitrust watchdog broaden partnership for shared growth

Hyundai Motor Group to take full ownership of Boston Dynamics

Hyundai Motor Group will take full ownership of Boston Dynamics by acquiring a 9.65 percent stake held by Japan's SoftBank. Through the acquisition, the group will accelerate its expansion into the robotics business while speeding up preparations for an anticipated initial public offering (IPO) of the robotics affiliate. The group said Thursday that SoftBank had exercised its put option to sell its remaining 9.65 percent stake in Boston Dynamics under their sale and purchase agreement signed in 2020. Hyundai Motor Group acquired an 80 percent stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank at around 1 trillion won ($674 million) in 2020. Under the deal, SoftBank had the right to sell its remaining stake to Hyundai Motor Group if Boston Dynamics was not listed in the United States. The option is set to expire on July 20. SoftBank's stake was later diluted to 9.65 percent through capital increases and additional investments by Hyundai Motor Group. Excluding SoftBank, HMG Global, a joint investment firm between Hyundai Motor, Kia and Hyundai Mobis, held a 56.3 percent stake in Boston Dynamics, foll

Jul 16, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Hyundai Motor Group to take full ownership of Boston Dynamics

'AI's future hinges on smarter users, better chips, new business models'

JEJU ISLAND — The next phase of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution will be defined not by the race to build bigger language models, but by AI literacy, energy-efficient semiconductor design and AI-native business models, speakers at the 2026 CEO Summer Forum hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said Thursday. Lee Se-dol, former professional champion in the game of go and now special professor at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, said the rise of AI requires human beings to hold on to their belief and philosophical ideas, while avoiding being constrained by fixed ways of thinking. "Humans should continue to uphold their convictions and philosophy in the AI era, but we also need to lower our preconceived notions," Lee said during the annual FKI forum. "Only then can we make decisions that are suited to a world shaped by AI." Lee also said that AI literacy will become a major determinant of future competitiveness. He explained that the gap between the people who use AI merely to ask simple questions and those who fully leverage AI agents and

Jul 16, 2026By Lee Min-hyung
'AI's future hinges on smarter users, better chips, new business models'

Samsung Group to contribute $134.4 mil. to vulnerable households

Samsung Group said Thursday it will contribute 200 billion won ($134.4 million) to the Samsung Miso Financial Foundation to support vulnerable households, as part of its earlier pledge to commit 5 trillion won to social contribution initiatives over the next five years. Of the 200 billion won, Samsung Electronics will contribute 150 billion won, while Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Samsung Securities and other financial affiliates will contribute the remaining 50 billion won. With the contribution, the foundation will provide unsecured and nonguaranteed loans to financially vulnerable households, small business owners and startups. The loans will be provided at interest rates of up to 4.5 percent annually and are expected to benefit about 40,000 people. The contribution is part of Samsung Electronics pledge to expand its social contributions after reaching a wage agreement with its labor union in May. At the time, the company pledged to commit 5 trillion won to social contribution initiatives over the next five years, saying it would ensure that “the company'

Jul 16, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung Group to contribute $134.4 mil. to vulnerable households

Novelis Korea director appointed chair of KONMA Aluminum Committee

Novelis Korea Director of Government Affairs Choi Min-young was appointed as the inaugural chair of the Aluminum Committee of the Korea Nonferrous Metals Association (KONMA), the aluminum rolling and recycling company said Thursday. KONMA is an industry association established to promote the development of Korea’s nonferrous metals industry and strengthen the competitiveness of its member companies. The Aluminum Committee was newly established this year to support the sustainable development of the aluminum industry and address shared priorities among member companies. The committee will advance government policy recommendations, support supply chain stabilization and respond to evolving global trade and environmental regulations. These efforts aim to enhance the competitiveness of the aluminum industry and promote a circular economy through the expanded use of recycled aluminum, Novelis said. “Aluminum is a key material driving the era of carbon neutrality and the circular economy,” Choi said. “I will do my utmost to bring together the diverse voices of the industry and contrib

Jul 16, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Novelis Korea director appointed chair of KONMA Aluminum Committee

Coupang spent $250,000 on lobbying through Trump-linked firm in Q2: lobbying report

E-commerce giant Coupang Inc. spent US$250,000 lobbying the White House, the House of Representatives and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during the second quarter of the year through a firm with close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump, a lobbying disclosure report showed Wednesday. On the Senate website for Lobbying Disclosure Act reports, Ballard Partners, a Trump-linked lobbying firm, has filed a report showing that it had received the money for lobbying activities for its client, Coupang, during the reporting period from April 1 to June 30. The lobbying activities came as a House Judiciary Committee report and a White House official recently criticized Korea's regulatory probes into Coupang's massive data leak in the Asian country as "discriminatory" amid Seoul's efforts to ensure that the Coupang issue would not undermine alliance cooperation. The report stated that Ballard Partners conducted the activities concerning issues related to U.S. export promotion, international economic policy and investment flows, as well as efforts to strengthen commercial ties between th

Jul 16, 2026By Yonhap
Coupang spent $250,000 on lobbying through Trump-linked firm in Q2: lobbying report

HLB resolves issues behind FDA setback for novel liver cancer drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that the inspection findings behind its rejection of HLB's liver cancer drug Rivoceranib can be addressed through voluntary corrective actions, easing market concerns over the treatment. HLB said Wednesday that its U.S. subsidiary Elevar Therapeutics has received a close-out letter regarding the FDA's current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) inspection of a facility operated by its Chinese partner Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals that produces the drug substance for Rivoceranib. In the letter, the FDA said the facility was generally in compliance with cGMP requirements and classified the inspection findings as Voluntary Action Indicated (VAI). VAI is an inspection classification indicating that the FDA identified issues at a facility but did not consider them serious enough to force regulatory action. HLB said the letter also stated that the VAI classification itself would not affect the FDA's review of the pending application related with the facility. HLB has received three Complete Response Letters (CRLs) from the FDA regardi

Jul 15, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
HLB resolves issues behind FDA setback for novel liver cancer drug

Auto exports set new record by growing 5.8% in June

Korea's auto exports rose 5.8 percent in June from a year earlier to reach a record high, fueled by strong electric and hybrid vehicle sales, data showed Wednesday. The combined value of automobile exports came to $6.79 billion last month, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, setting a new record for any June. Outbound shipments to North America, Latin America and the European Union shot up 12.3 percent, 5.1 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively. The ministry said exports of eco-friendly automobiles maintained solid growth, surging 31.3 percent on-year to $2.9 billion. Domestically, 159,725 vehicles were sold last month, up 9.5 percent. Sales of locally manufactured cars rose 3 percent to 120,229, while those of imported cars jumped 35.6 percent to 39,496 units. The data also showed that domestic automobile production added 11.6 percent on-year to 394,210 units. Production at Hyundai Motor and Kia rose 10.9 percent and 16.2 percent, respectively. Production at GM Korea, the Korean unit of General Motors, and KG Mobility rose 3.4 percent and 21.2 percent, re

Jul 15, 2026By Yonhap
Auto exports set new record by growing 5.8% in June

Feud deepens between Samsung's device, chip divisions over incentives

The feud between Samsung Electronics' device-making and chipmaking divisions is deepening, as employees in the smartphone and home appliance businesses are expressing anger over a nearly 100-fold compensation gap between them and employees in the chipmaking division. Samsung Electronics Company Union (SECU), which is mostly comprised of employees in the appliance-making Device Experience (DX) division, will hold a rally under a "same company, same rights" slogan at the company’s plant in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province on Thursday to protest the compensation gap between the divisions and urge management to address the issue. SECU became the company's second-largest labor union after a large number of DX division employees joined in protest against a wage agreement reached in May, under which only employees in the chipmaking Device Solutions (DS) division were granted performance incentives of up to 600 million won ($402,900). As of Wednesday morning, the union had 28,569 members, accounting for roughly 55 percent of the DX division's workforce of 51,700. A day earlier, the National Samsung E

Jul 15, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Feud deepens between Samsung's device, chip divisions over incentives

LG Energy Solution to supply batteries for Google's largest solar-storage project

LG Energy Solution will supply battery energy storage systems (BESS) for a large-scale renewable energy infrastructure project to be developed by Google and Cypress Creek Energy (CCE), a leading U.S. independent power producer, the companies said Tuesday (local time). The project, dubbed the Steel River Energy Center, will integrate solar photovoltaic generation with BESS powered by batteries supplied by LG Energy Solution. The initiative is designed to address rapidly growing electricity demand driven by expansion of data centers and artificial intelligence workloads. The project will initially deploy approximately 2 gigawatt-hour (GWh) of battery capacity, with operations targeted for 2029 and a planned expansion to 2.9 GWh. Google will purchase the facility's entire output during its initial phase, underscoring its commitment to clean energy and grid reliability. The company said the Steel River Energy Center is the largest solar-plus-storage project in its global energy portfolio. The deal underscores LG Energy Solution’s rising prominence in North America’s energy storage market

Jul 15, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
LG Energy Solution to supply batteries for Google's largest solar-storage project
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