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KG Group to take over Korea’s largest secondhand car trading platform

KG Group will take over Korea’s largest secondhand car trading platform K Car, as it seeks to establish a mobility ecosystem spanning automobile manufacturing, retailing and IT platform. According to regulatory filings Wednesday, KG Steel, a steelmaking unit of KG Group, signed a contract a day earlier to acquire a 72.2 percent stake in K Car from private equity Hahn & Co. Auto Holdings at 550 billion won ($364.7 million). K Car is Korea’s largest secondhand car trading platform, operating 48 directly managed outlets nationwide. Its sales reached 2.5 trillion won last year. Through the acquisition, KG Group has secured an integrated mobility business ecosystem covering KG Mobility’s automobile manufacturing, K Car’s car distribution and KG ICT’s IT platform operation. KG Group plans to integrate KG Mobility’s vehicle production capabilities and global sales network with K Car’s online and offline distribution platform to provide end-to-end services spanning the entire process from purchase to distribution and after-sales service. The group said the acquisition is a strategic

Apr 1, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
KG Group to take over Korea’s largest secondhand car trading platform

Media watchdog chief asks Google for efforts to support small app developers

The media watchdog chief on Wednesday called on Google to pursue shared growth in Korea's application ecosystem as the U.S. tech giant moves to revamp its commission policy for its app market. Kim Jong-cheol, chair of the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC), met with Wilson White, vice president of global affairs at Google, in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss areas of cooperation ahead of the implementation of the new commission policy, the watchdog said. In March, Google vowed to make major changes to its app store policy, including splitting its 30 percent commission into a 15-20 percent service fee and a 5 percent transaction fee while allowing third-party payment options. "We expect the app market ecosystem to experience tangible changes following Google's positive steps," Kim was quoted as saying during the meeting while asking the U.S. company to implement the new pricing in Korea earlier than scheduled in December. Kim also called on Google to come up with measures to promote shared growth across the ecosystem, including small and medium-sized developers. "We as

Apr 1, 2026By Yonhap
Media watchdog chief asks Google for efforts to support small app developers

Airlines sharply raise fuel surcharges for April amid global oil price hike

Fuel surcharges for flights operated by South Korean airlines have surged by as much as threefold from the previous month in April due to the spike in global oil prices, industry watchers said Wednesday. Industry leader Korean Air Co. raised its international one-way fuel surcharge to between 42,000 won ($27.9) and 303,000 won for April, compared with 13,500 won to 99,000 won in March. On long-distance routes, such as those to New York, Chicago, Washington and Toronto, the surcharge rose 3.1 times to 303,000 won. Asiana Airlines Inc. also increased its surcharge range to between 43,900 won and 251,900 won for April, from 14,600 won to 78,600 won in March. Low-cost carriers that charge fuel surcharges in U.S. dollars also sharply raised costs, with Jeju Air Co. increasing rates to between $29 and $68, from $9 to $22 last month. With international oil prices continuing to climb, industry watchers have expressed concerns that surcharges in May could rise further, potentially pushing surcharges on U.S. routes to the 500,000-won level. Other observers said companies may further reduce their fli

Apr 1, 2026By Yonhap
Airlines sharply raise fuel surcharges for April amid global oil price hike

Samsung Biologics completes acquisition of US manufacturing facility

Samsung Biologics has closed the deal to acquire GSK’s facility in Rockville, Md., establishing the biopharmaceutical firm’s first manufacturing base in the United States, the company said Wednesday. In its regulatory filing, the Korean company said its wholly owned subsidiary Samsung Biologics America has completed the acquisition of Human Genome Sciences, which owns a drug substance manufacturing facility in the U.S. from GSK for a total of $353.1 million. Of the amount, $280 million is for the acquisition of the facility and equity, while the remaining $73.1 million was paid for the transfer of inventories and raw materials held by Human Genome Sciences. The deal’s closure came three months after Samsung Biologics announced the acquisition on Dec. 22 last year, as part of its efforts to mitigate risks stemming from the Trump administration’s tariffs on biopharmaceuticals, as well as to expand its contract drug manufacturing capacity beyond Korea. The Rockville site is comprised of two manufacturing plants with a combined 60,000-liter drug substance capacity, supporting both cl

Apr 1, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung Biologics completes acquisition of US manufacturing facility

Coupang accelerates Taiwan expansion as Korean exports gain momentum

Coupang, Korea’s largest online retailer, said Wednesday that it is intensifying its logistics investments in Taiwan, opening a fourth distribution center in Taoyuan and extending next-day Rocket Delivery to about 70 percent of the island. The expansion comes as the company reported that the number of small businesses selling on its platform surpassed 300,000 as of the end of last year, up from approximately 230,000 in 2023, a roughly 30 percent increase over two years. Small businesses refer to those with annual revenue of 3 billion won ($2.1 million) or less in Korea. Their combined transaction volume grew more than 20 percent year-on-year in 2024, compared with an average growth rate of 0.2 percent for small businesses nationwide during the same period, according to data from Korea Credit Data, a fintech platform serving small merchants. Coupang said more than 70 percent of small businesses on Coupang's platform are based outside the metropolitan area, in regions including Gyeongsang, Jeolla, Chungcheong and Gangwon provinces. So far, more than 10,000 such businesses have since gra

Apr 1, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Coupang accelerates Taiwan expansion as Korean exports gain momentum

Samsung raises price tags on foldable models due to production cost hike

Samsung Electronics has increased the prices of its foldable smartphones, reflecting rising memory chip prices and the recent volatility in the foreign exchange market, industry sources said Wednesday. The retail price of the 512-gigabyte (GB) edition of the clamshell-style Galaxy Z Flip 7 was revised to 1.73 million won ($1,148), up from 1.64 million won, according to the sources. The price of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 with the same storage, which opens like a book, also rose to 2.63 million won from 2.53 million won. Both smartphones were released in July. Samsung, however, has maintained prices for more affordable 256 GB models, as well as the Galaxy S26 series, which hit the shelves last month. The 512-GB Galaxy S25 Edge, released in May, saw its price rise to 1.74 million won from 1.63 million won. Industry watchers said the new prices appear to reflect rising global costs of key components, including memory chips, along with the recent volatility in the foreign exchange market. "With prices of key parts rising gradually, it was inevitable to raise prices for some products," a Samsung Elect

Apr 1, 2026By Yonhap
Samsung raises price tags on foldable models due to production cost hike

Korean Air to enter emergency management mode over soaring fuel costs

Korean Air, Korea's flag carrier, will enter emergency management mode this week to respond to rising fuel costs and other worsening external conditions, according to industry sources Tuesday. According to the sources, Korean Air Vice Chairman Woo Kee-hong posted an internal notice that it will implement an emergency management system starting Wednesday. Woo said the decision was made to cope with rising costs driven by surging fuel prices due to the ongoing Middle East conflict. The company will implement phased response measures to improve cost efficiency, he added. He warned that a prolonged period of high oil prices could seriously disrupt the company's ability to meet its business targets. "The measures are not a one-off cost-cutting effort but are part of broader structural efforts to strengthen the company's fundamentals," Woo said. Asiana Airlines Inc., the country's second-largest carrier and a Korean Air subsidiary, also entered emergency management mode last week. The broader airline industry is facing growing pressure as jet fuel costs, which typically account for about 30 perc

Mar 31, 2026By Yonhap
Korean Air to enter emergency management mode over soaring fuel costs

Business leaders in materials, supply chain, chips honored on Commerce Day

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) celebrated the 53rd Commerce Day on Tuesday, awarding Orders of Industrial Service Merit to 11 business leaders in the fields of materials, supply chains and semiconductors. KCCI Chairman Chey Tae-won, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and more than 400 leaders of businesses and commerce chambers across the country attended the ceremony at KCCI headquarters in Seoul, reaffirming their commitment to overcoming risks stemming from the Middle East crisis, rising tariffs and other economic headwinds. This year, participants focused on Korea’s preparedness for a challenging economic environment, emphasizing the need to follow in the footsteps of earlier business leaders who overcame past oil shocks through a united public-private approach. “The first Commerce Day in 1974 was much the same as today, when Korea faced difficulties from the first oil shock, including disruptions in energy supply and surging inflation,” Chey said. “Business leaders at the time did not stop. They pushed ahead with technological innovation and productivity improvem

Mar 31, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Business leaders in materials, supply chain, chips honored on Commerce Day

LG Chem shareholders reject governance proposals from British activist fund Palliser

Shareholders of LG Chem, Korea's leading chemical firm, rejected Tuesday governance reform proposals presented by British activist fund Palliser Capital, maintaining the company's existing management structure, according to company officials. Shareholders voted against the proposals at an annual shareholders meeting, with the National Pension Service (NPS), LG Chem's second-largest stakeholder, opposing the measures on the grounds they could infringe on board authority. Palliser had urged LG Chem to introduce advisory shareholder proposals, appoint a lead independent director and expand monetization of its stake in battery unit LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES), alongside share buybacks and cancellations. The London-based fund argued that LG Chem's "severe undervaluation" stemmed from the spin-off and dual listing of LGES, calling on shareholders to support its reform agenda. It also proposed introducing equity-linked compensation for executives and incorporating metrics, such as net asset value (NAV) discount and return on equity (ROE), into key performance indicators. LG Chem argued the pr

Mar 31, 2026By Yonhap
LG Chem shareholders reject governance proposals from British activist fund Palliser
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