Business

Hana Bank expands infrastructure financing, digital payment businesses in Vietnam

Hana Bank said Sunday it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) to expand infrastructure cooperation in Vietnam. The agreement was signed Thursday in Hanoi during the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum, with participation from Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation. The three parties agreed to explore joint projects across infrastructure, energy, urban development and green sectors. BIDV is a state-run lender and one of Vietnam's largest banks. The partnership aims to identify investment opportunities and support Korean companies expanding into Vietnam and other overseas markets, according to Hana officials. The three institutions plan to strengthen cooperation through expanded networks and joint initiatives in the coming years. Separately, on the same day, Hana Bank and its subsidiary Global Loyalty Network (GLN) launched a QR payment service in partnership with National Payment Corporation of Vietnam and BIDV, allowing Korean visitors to make payments in Vietnam using domestic bank

Apr 26, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin

Hana Bank expands infrastructure financing, digital payment businesses in Vietnam

Companies

Local elections reignite debate on $680 bil. chip cluster location

Politicians running in the June 3 local elections are adding to uncertainty over a semiconductor cluster under construction in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, with a combined 1,000 trillion won ($680 billion) investment from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. With the government maintaining an unclear stance in the debate over the chip cluster's location, candidates have pledged to attract semiconductor plants to their regions, raising concerns about potential setbacks in the mega project. Gumi Mayor Kim Jang-ho, who is seeking reelection as a candidate from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), vowed to bring a semiconductor fab to an industrial complex in his city in North Gyeongsang Province. "Dispersing semiconductor facilities is a global trend, considering TSMC's dispersion of facilities to four production bases and Japan's construction of chip clusters in both Hokkaido and Kyushu," he said April 14. "Part of the Yongin cluster should be moved to other regions, as the city doesn't have enough electricity and needs over 2 trillion won for the water supply." Gangwon Province Gov. K

Apr 26, 2026By Park Jae-hyuk

Local elections reignite debate on $680 bil. chip cluster location

Companies

Coupang founder faces mounting calls for stricter FTC scrutiny

Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk faces mounting regulatory scrutiny from the Korean government, as the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) mulls designating him the de facto controller of the e-commerce firm. The FTC is scheduled to determine soon whether to designate Kim, who also serves as chairman of the board of Coupang Inc., as the group’s “same person” — a legal term referring to the individual who effectively controls a conglomerate. Once designated as the controlling figure, he would face a wider range of regulatory scrutiny, requiring not only him but his relatives to submit extensive disclosures and comply with detailed investigations by the authorities. However, it remains to be seen whether the FTC will do so, as the move may trigger strong objections from the United States and potentially reignite trade friction between Seoul and Washington. Those in favor of increased regulation argue that such a move could help address lingering concerns surrounding Coupang, such as worker deaths at its logistics centers, data privacy breaches and a broad range of governance issues. “We collec

Apr 26, 2026By Lee Min-hyung

Coupang founder faces mounting calls for stricter FTC scrutiny

Companies

SK hynix wins IEEE award for HBM leadership

SK hynix has won the Corporate Innovation Award presented by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the company said Sunday. The IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization, with more than 400,000 members across 190 countries committed to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, and the award honors organizations that create outstanding technological innovations. “The company’s development and deployment of cutting-edge high bandwidth memory (HBM) solutions have not just enabled the high-speed, energy-efficient memory systems that modern AI (artificial intelligence) platforms demand, but represent foundational shifts in how AI systems are designed and scaled,” the IEEE said. “These innovations are not only critical to industrial progress but also to scientific research across disciplines.” SK hynix said the award recognizes the company’s contributions to accelerating the adoption of AI computing through HBM innovation and applications, highlighting its success in proactively presenting innovative HBM solutions and respondi

Apr 26, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo

SK hynix wins IEEE award for HBM leadership

Companies

InterviewNot sold in Korea, these Bhc menu items have become favorites abroad

Fans of Bhc, a Korean fried chicken franchise, may think that its signature menu items are consistent everywhere to reflect the brand's identity. But beyond customer favorites such as Kwassak King, Bburinkle and Soy Garlic King, there are menu items that are now thriving in the company’s restaurants abroad despite being almost completely unknown in their home market. How did these menu options end up being more popular outside Korea than inside it? Lee Seok-dong, a menu development team leader at Bhc operator Dining Brands Group, pointed to cultural differences. Bhc first introduced Mala Khan, a spicy fried chicken marinated in the "mala" spices used in Chinese hot pot, in 2019. Its time in the Korean market was short-lived, but consumers in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian markets, where strongly spiced dishes are common, couldn't get enough. Mala Khan remains one of the brand’s signature offerings in the region. “Mala Khan failed to become a regular menu item here,” Lee told The Korea Times in an interview at the company’s menu development center in Seoul’s Songpa Distric

Apr 25, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Not sold in Korea, these Bhc menu items have become favorites abroad

Tech & Science

Worxphere CEO on turning JobKorea into AI-led hiring platform

Three decades after launching one of Korea’s earliest online job platforms, JobKorea, its operator has rebranded itself as Worxphere, making a bold pivot from a legacy job board to an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven human resources (HR) tech platform that integrates its services and data to match employers and workers across the entire lifecycle of work. “We wanted to move beyond a name narrowly confined to ‘jobs’ and ‘Korea,’ and expand it to ‘work’ that covers the entire spectrum of what people do — under a new name that reflects our ambition to reinvent every work experience on the back of AI,” company CEO Yoon Hyun-jun said during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the Worxphere office in Gangnam District, Seoul. The rebranding reflects a structural shift as the company is consolidating a fragmented portfolio of platforms — including JobKorea for full-time roles, Albamon for part-time work, applicant tracking system (ATS) provider Ninehire, workplace review site Jobplanet and expat-worker platform KLiK – into a unified ecosystem. Yoon said the int

Apr 25, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee

Worxphere CEO on turning JobKorea into AI-led hiring platform

Business

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOKPolitics behind oceans ministry's cafeteria closure

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries was once again used by the Lee Jae Myung administration to court voters in Busan ahead of the local elections scheduled for June 3. Starting this month, the ministry began closing its cafeteria on the last Friday of every month. The decision came after nearby restaurant owners complained that the cafeteria’s opening in February hurt their earnings, as rents surged following the ministry’s relocation from Sejong to the southeastern port city last December. Announcing the decision Thursday through an unplanned press release, the Busan-headquartered organization acknowledged that the closure is intended to support nearby commercial districts. “After two months of operation, we found that about one-third of our employees use the cafeteria, while the rest dine at nearby restaurants,” the ministry said. “The cafeteria sources all ingredients locally and employs local residents.” Restaurants in Busan saw a temporary boost in customers during the first two months after the ministry’s relocation, when it did not operate a cafeteria. At the time, r

Apr 25, 2026By Park Jae-hyuk

Politics behind oceans ministry's cafeteria closure

Companies

Finance chief calls for biz sector innovation to sustain economic growth

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol on Friday urged Korea's business leaders to continue efforts to innovate and find new growth engines to support the country's economic growth in the face of industrial paradigm shifts, such as artificial intelligence transformation. Koo made the call in a meeting with the executives of major conglomerates, including Samsung Group, LG Group, Hyundai Motor Group, SK hynix, and Hanwha Ocean, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy. "Despite worsening external conditions, including the conflict in the Middle East, our economy posted preliminary real gross domestic product growth of 1.7 percent in the first quarter compared with the previous three months. This is the fastest quarterly growth in 5 1/2 years," Koo said, attributing the strong performance to efforts put in by private industries. "I hope our companies can continue innovation and make a leap forward as global leaders, rather than resting on their recent achievements, so that new growth engines, akin to the semiconductor industry, can emerge," he added. With the global industrial paradigm shi

Apr 24, 2026By Yonhap

Finance chief calls for biz sector innovation to sustain economic growth

Banking & Finance

Korea's 'Big 4' financial groups post record quarterly net income on higher lending rates, stock rally

Korea’s four largest financial groups — KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori —posted a combined 5.32 trillion won ($3.61 billion) in net profit for the first quarter of this year, marking a record high, company officials said Friday. The three top lenders individually set new highs for quarterly earnings, while Woori saw its net income inch down. Their performance was driven largely by stronger interest income as lending rates rose under the government pressure to curb household debt, alongside a surge in noninterest income amid a red-hot stock market rally. The recorded earnings came despite foreign exchange transaction losses stemming from the won’s weakness against the dollar. According to financial market data, KB Financial maintained its lead with a net profit of 1.89 trillion won, up 11.5 percent from a year ago. Shinhan followed with 1.62 trillion won, up 9 percent. Hana Financial logged 1.21 trillion won, the highest-quarterly net profit since the 2015 integration of Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank, while Woori became the only player with a decreased net profit of 604 billion wo

Apr 24, 2026By Park Han-sol

Korea's 'Big 4' financial groups post record quarterly net income on higher lending rates, stock rally

Tech & Science

LG Chem drives company-wide AI shift to boost efficiency

LG Chem is accelerating a company-wide transformation into artificial intelligence (AI), applying it across manufacturing and nonmanufacturing operations to improve customer value and operational efficiency. As part of its AI transformation strategy, the company is using AI to overhaul workforce development, introducing a new AI-powered career development system that analyzes individual competencies. Employees can assess required capabilities for their roles and receive curated learning resources and execution plans based on AI insights. In legal operations, LG Chem has implemented an AI contract review solution that automatically analyzes agreements against standard templates and internal compliance rules. It reduces contract processing time by up to 30 percent, the company said. Across its workflow systems, the company is leveraging various AI tools, including a chatbot integrated with its own systems and translators that can handle up to 24 languages. LG Chem has launched a company-wide AI analytics solution, called citizen data scientist, to enable employees without analytics experti

Apr 24, 2026

Korea, US unveil 3 investments in energy projects

Yongin national chip cluster construction begins this month amid compensation, fast-track risks

Doosan Enerbility-led consortium wins $618 mil. plant deal in Vietnam

AMCHAM, KCCI urge Korean firms to seize US opportunities

Beyond sponsorship, companies provide technology to sports

Business

Korea, US unveil 3 investments in energy projects

Yongin national chip cluster construction begins this month amid compensation, fast-track risks

Doosan Enerbility-led consortium wins $618 mil. plant deal in Vietnam

AMCHAM, KCCI urge Korean firms to seize US opportunities

Beyond sponsorship, companies provide technology to sports

Read more

Hana Bank expands infrastructure financing, digital payment businesses in Vietnam

Local elections reignite debate on $680 bil. chip cluster location

Coupang founder faces mounting calls for stricter FTC scrutiny

SK hynix wins IEEE award for HBM leadership

InterviewNot sold in Korea, these Bhc menu items have become favorites abroad

Worxphere CEO on turning JobKorea into AI-led hiring platform

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOKPolitics behind oceans ministry's cafeteria closure

Finance chief calls for biz sector innovation to sustain economic growth

Korea's 'Big 4' financial groups post record quarterly net income on higher lending rates, stock rally

LG Chem drives company-wide AI shift to boost efficiency

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