my timesThe Korea Times

Business

Tech & ScienceCompaniesBanking & FinanceMost respected CEOsAPEC 2025Others
  • Companies

    Samsung, SK chip investment timelines leave room for adjustment

    Samsung Electronics and SK hynix announced a combined 800 trillion won ($516.4 billion) investment commitment to establish advanced chip plants in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province in Korea's southwest, but stopped short of providing a timeline for when the investments will be made or construction will begin, leaving room to adjust their spending plans until the long-term memory chip cycle becomes clearer. According to the government and the chipmakers, Samsung and SK will each invest 400 trillion won to build two advanced memory fabrication each in the region, for a total of four new fabs as part of the government’s “three megaprojects for Korea’s leap forward.” Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong named Gwangju as the candidate site, while SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won referred to the region as a whole. While announcing the massive plans while standing with President Lee Jae Myung, who have been urging the chipmakers to make investment in the southwestern region, the leaders refrained from specifying timelines for the new fabs. The companies also did not mention

    4 MIN READBy Nam Hyun-woo
    Samsung, SK chip investment timelines leave room for adjustment
  • Banking & Finance

    KakaoBank lands 4 papers at leading AI conferences

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    KakaoBank lands 4 papers at leading AI conferences
  • Companies

    LG Electronics to establish control tower for robotics business

    2 MIN READBy Nam Hyun-woo
    LG Electronics to establish control tower for robotics business
  • Companies

    Incheon airport operator to halve employee parking permits

    3 MIN READBy Lee Min-hyung
    Incheon airport operator to halve employee parking permits
  • Companies

    Court grants JTBC time for autonomous restructuring amid liquidity crisis

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Court grants JTBC time for autonomous restructuring amid liquidity crisis
Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
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.

Read more

Companies

SK Energy apologizes over worker death in factory fire

SK Energy Co., a major oil refinery in South Korea, issued an apology Saturday over the death of a worker in a pipeline fire accident the day before. The fire broke out at an SK Energy factory in Ulsan, Friday, during maintenance work on hydrogen facilities, resulting in the death of one person and injuring four others. "We take responsibility for the accident at our Ulsan plant and view it as a serious matter," the company said in the written apology. "We will immediately provide all necessary support to the bereaved family (of the dead worker) and do our utmost to ensure the swift recovery of the injured workers," it added. SK Energy said it will "faithfully" cooperate with the investigative authorities to identify the cause of the accident and devise measures to prevent any recurrences.

Oct 18, 2025By Yonhap
SK Energy apologizes over worker death in factory fire
Banking & Finance

Consumers open more overdraft accounts to bypass loan curbs

Banking consumers are increasingly turning to overdraft accounts and withdrawing cash — a trend widely seen as an attempt to bypass tightening lending regulations, data showed Friday. Known as a "minus account" in Korea, an overdraft account allows users to withdraw more than their available balance, up to a pre-approved limit. When the balance dips below zero, the account essentially functions as a short-term loan. This flexibility, however, comes at a cost, as interest rates are typically higher than those on standard personal loans. According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) obtained by Rep. Lee Yang-soo of the main opposition People Power Party, 542,279 new overdraft accounts were opened as of the end of June. At this pace, the FSS projects, the number of new overdraft accounts in 2025 will reach the highest level in the past five years. The number of new accounts rose from 837,780 in 2021 to 954,994 in 2022, peaking at 1.01 million in 2023 before falling to 891,788 in 2024. As of the end of June, the outstanding balance of overdraft accounts at 19 banks, including

Oct 18, 2025By Yi Whan-woo
Consumers open more overdraft accounts to bypass loan curbs
Tech & Science

Naver enhances AI search with personalized summaries

Naver is enhancing its search engine experience with artificial intelligence (AI), offering optimized and summarized AI-based search results. The tech giant announced Friday that it is hosting an event through Oct. 29 to encourage more users to experience its AI-enhanced searches, particularly for popular topics such as entertainment, sports and games. During the event, users who search for keywords related to entertainment, sports or games and click on the event banner in the search results will be randomly awarded Naver Pay points. Participants can join once per day throughout the event period. Since August, Naver has revamped search results for high-demand categories such as entertainment, sports and games using advanced AI technology, delivering a richer and more immersive search experience. Its AI engine comprehensively interprets users’ search intent, interests and the freshness of content in real time to recommend personalized results. It also optimizes the order and layout of content based on the purpose of each search. Results are arranged in a feed-style format, allowing user

Oct 17, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
Naver enhances AI search with personalized summaries
Banking & Finance

MBK rejects tax evasion allegations against chairman

MBK Partners denied allegations of domestic tax evasion involving the firm and its chairman, Michael ByungJu Kim, emphasizing that all taxes have been duly paid in full compliance with relevant domestic and international laws. A company official said Friday that the private equity firm has consistently filed and paid corporate and income taxes in every country where it operates, including Korea. “The chairman has also met his tax obligations in accordance with Korean law and the standards of the relevant tax authorities,” the official said. “Claims that he engaged in tax avoidance through nonresident filings are entirely unfounded.” The statement came in response to allegations raised Thursday during a National Assembly audit by the Strategy and Finance Committee, where lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) accused Kim, a U.S. citizen, of evading taxes in Korea. Lawmakers, including Rep. Chung Il-young, argued that Kim has earned significant profits domestically while paying little to no taxes, urging that he be summoned to testify and that a comprehensive tax

Oct 17, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
MBK rejects tax evasion allegations against chairman
Tech & Science

KT’s data leak impact grows, full extent still unclear

Telecom giant KT is continuing to uncover the scale of mobile payment fraud cases through new findings from its comprehensive investigation into carrier billing transactions conducted between Aug. 1, 2024, and Sept. 10, 2025, but the full extent of its users’ personal data exposure still remains unclear. “It’s true that a name, date of birth and gender are required when making a mobile payment. Our joint investigation team is currently examining internal servers and related systems in detail to determine how the hackers acquired the information,” a KT official said during a press briefing at its office in central Seoul on Friday. The company revealed that unauthorized connections to illegal femtocell base stations — fixed transceivers connecting devices to one another or to a wider area — had occurred since October last year, continuing for nearly a year before being discovered last month. An additional 16 illegal base stations were found to be used in the scheme, bringing the total to 20. Around 2,200 more customers were identified as having connection histories with these

Oct 17, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
KT’s data leak impact grows, full extent still unclear
Others

BCCK wins 2025 International Chamber of Year award

The British Chamber of Commerce in Korea (BCCK) has been named “International Chamber of the Year” at the 2025 British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Business Awards, in recognition of its outstanding service to members, innovative programming and leadership in strengthening United Kingdom–Korea business relations. The BCCK received the award from among more than 70 accredited chambers across the global British Chambers of Commerce network, for its dynamic events program, advocacy and commitment to helping members navigate an evolving business landscape. The award highlights the chamber’s success in providing a strong platform for British and international businesses to connect, collaborate and grow in Korea. “This recognition is a tremendous honor for our Chamber and our community,” said BCCK CEO Lucinda Walker, who accepted the award at the BCC Business Awards ceremony in London, Wednesday (local time). “Over the past year, we’ve focused on deepening our engagement with members and creating meaningful opportunities for collaboration between the U.K. and Korea. This award r

Oct 17, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
BCCK wins 2025 International Chamber of Year award
Companies

HD Hyundai promotes founder's grandson to chairman

HD Hyundai Executive Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun was promoted to chairman Friday, ending three decades of management at the family-owned shipbuilding group by non-family executives. The 43-year-old’s elevation follows his promotion last year to executive vice chairman from vice chairman. Incumbent Chairman Kwon Oh-gap will step down from management after the shareholders’ meeting scheduled for March next year, as the 74-year-old has been named honorary chairman. Following an earlier-than-expected year-end executive reshuffle, HD Hyundai announced the promotion of Chung — one of the grandsons of late Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung and the eldest son of Asan Institute for Policy Studies Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-joon, the group’s largest shareholder. Chung’s father, who entered politics as a lawmaker in the late 1980s, has not been involved in the company's management since then. “The latest executive reshuffle reflects our determination to pioneer a new era under new leadership amid increasingly fierce and diversified global business environments,” an HD Hyundai offi

Oct 17, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
HD Hyundai promotes founder's grandson to chairman
Companies

Biz leaders from Korea, Japan vow efforts for Seoul to join CPTPP

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren, pledged Friday to coordinate efforts for the Korean government to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). During the 32nd Korea-Japan Business Summit in Tokyo, the two business associations agreed that Korea's CPTPP participation is crucial to responding to unstable global trade conditions triggered by U.S. protectionism and supply chain disruptions. “The participants shared the view that Korea’s membership would help Japan and other existing members stabilize supply chains and promote cooperation in the trade of advanced materials,” FKI said in a press release. The CPTPP, a multinational trade pact led by Japan, serves as a high-standard free trade agreement among member nations. It currently consists of 12 countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. Although both the liberal Moon Jae-in and conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administrations pursued CPTPP memb

Oct 17, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Biz leaders from Korea, Japan vow efforts for Seoul to join CPTPP
Companies

Cambodia risk weighs on LCCs

Local airlines are worried about reduced tourist demand for flights to Southeast Asia, as multiple reports of Koreans tortured and abducted in Cambodia escalate tourists' fears. Low-cost carriers (LCCs) with a heavy sales reliance on Southeast Asian countries are particularly exposed to the abrupt shift in sentiment on travel to Cambodia, as it may disrupt travel not just to Cambodia but also Vietnam and Thailand — two particularly popular destinations for Korean overseas travelers. According to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, more than 1.95 million tourists visited Southeast Asia in August, the second highest after Japan, which topped the list with 2.16 million. Compared to full-service carriers, LCCs have a limited revenue structure, generating most earnings from the operation of passenger routes to mid- to short-haul routes and limited long-haul flights. Even if fears surrounding Cambodia do not have an immediate influence on earnings, the situation bodes ill for the budget airlines' earnings outlook. According to data from market tracker FnGuide, most L

Oct 17, 2025By Lee Min-hyung
Cambodia risk weighs on LCCs
Tech & Science

YouTube under fire over allegedly delaying reporting of service disruption

YouTube is facing mounting criticism after allegedly delaying the reporting of a major service disruption that left millions of users unable to access content, failing to meet the Ministry of Science and ICT’s regulations. The major video sharing platform experienced an outage on Thursday, which reportedly lasted for about an hour from approximately 8:17 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. Yet, Google Korea is said to have notified the government about YouTube’s outage at around 9:01 a.m. Under current regulations, major broadcasting and telecommunications providers must notify the ICT ministry within ten minutes in cases where a service disruption lasts for more than thirty minutes. Following the data center fire in Seongnam in 2022 that caused massive service disruptions, the ministry designated seven major platform operators, including Google, as key broadcasting and telecommunications providers subject to government disaster management oversight. However, Google Korea reported the disruption 44 minutes after it began, missing the reporting window mandated under the regulation. The YouTube service f

Oct 16, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
YouTube under fire over allegedly delaying reporting of service disruption
previous page
314315316317318
next page

Most Read in Business