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  • Companies

    Will Homeplus liquidation decision be postponed again?

    Homeplus has submitted an amended rehabilitation plan just three days before a court deadline, but its failure to secure a crucial 200 billion won ($129 million) capital injection is increasing uncertainty over whether the troubled retailer will face liquidation, industry sources said Wednesday. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court will now assess the feasibility of the revised proposal to determine whether to continue with rescue proceedings or dissolve the company. Although the current deadline expires this Friday, expectations are rising that the court will defer the date once more to review the new submission. The country’s second-largest retail chain, controlled by private equity firm MBK Partners, filed for corporate rehabilitation on March 4 last year after struggling with financial difficulties and facing credit rating downgrades. The original deadline for court approval of its rehabilitation plan was March 4 this year, but the court first extended it to May 4 before granting an additional extension until this Friday. Bankruptcy law dictates that a rehabilitation scheme must receive appr

    3 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    Will Homeplus liquidation decision be postponed again?
  • Tech & Science

    SK hynix finishes filing for US depositary share offering

    2 MIN READBy Nam Hyun-woo
    SK hynix finishes filing for US depositary share offering
  • Companies

    Renault Korea's June sales plunge 45 % on weak demand

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Renault Korea's June sales plunge 45 % on weak demand
  • Companies

    GM Korea's June sales rise 6.6% on robust overseas demand

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    GM Korea's June sales rise 6.6% on robust overseas demand
  • Companies

    Hyundai Motor's global sales down in June on weaker demand

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Hyundai Motor's global sales down in June on weaker demand
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Banking & Finance

Savings banks, capital firms join fray to court foreign residents

Financial services for foreign residents in Korea, once dominated by banks, insurers and card companies, are now expanding into a wider range of financial institutions, including savings banks and capital firms eager to tap into new growth opportunities, industry officials said Tuesday. As of 2024, Korea is home to about 2.65 million foreign residents. With their spending on the rise and demand for better financial services increasing, financial institutions are stepping up efforts to attract this market with tailored products and services. However, amid growing concern over delinquency rates, savings banks and capital firms are focusing primarily on clients who can provide solid collateral or verifiable income. JB Woori Capital has expanded the range of foreign residents eligible for its used car installment and auto-backed loan products. Previously limited to F-series visas, which primarily cover overseas Koreans and marriage migrants, the offers now include H2 visas for work and visits, E7 visas for specific activities and E9 visas for nonprofessional employment. The company has also i

Sep 16, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Savings banks, capital firms join fray to court foreign residents
Banking & Finance

Korea-Japan stablecoin remittance trial succesfully concludes 1st phase

Korean participants in Project Pax said Tuesday that they had successfully completed the first phase of technical verification for a cross-border stablecoin remittance initiative between Korea and Japan. On the Korean side, participants included major banks such as Shinhan Bank, Kbank and NH NongHyup Bank, alongside Web3 companies including Fair Square Lab and Korea Digital Asset Custody. The Japanese side was represented by Shoko Chukin Bank and fintech firms such as Progmat and Datachain. The organizations held a project completion briefing in Tokyo on Sept. 10 to share the outcomes of the initiative. The verification process involved converting Korean won into a Korean won-pegged stablecoin domestically, transferring it via blockchain infrastructure, and then converting it into Japanese yen upon arrival. The stablecoin was applied only to the cross-border segment of the remittance, while the existing domestic banking network was retained. Kbank reported that the stablecoin-based transactions were processed faster and at a lower cost compared to traditional international remittance sys

Sep 16, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo
Korea-Japan stablecoin remittance trial succesfully concludes 1st phase
Companies

Tariff gap with Japan further threatens Korea’s US car sales

Korean carmakers are now exposed to higher risks of losing price competitiveness in the United States as their Japanese counterparts begin gaining an edge with a reduced tariff rate of 15 percent there. Starting Tuesday, Japanese vehicles exported to the U.S. face the lowered tariff instead of the earlier rate of 27.5 percent, following the completion of their bilateral trade agreement. This is casting a gloomy outlook for Korea’s major carmakers as they are still subject to a 25 percent tariff in the U.S., even after Korea and the U.S. reached a broad deal to reduce it down to 15 percent. It remains unclear when the reduced tariff rate will take effect, as both countries are still fine-tuning the details of their agreement before it is signed. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, who arrived in Washington on Monday (local time) to meet his counterparts for the trade talks, hinted that Korea will not rush discussions for the sake of reaching a deal, saying the "devil's in the details." As for Japan's lowered auto tariff, he said, "We are making efforts to ensure the auto tariff will be reduced t

Sep 16, 2025By Lee Min-hyung
Tariff gap with Japan further threatens Korea’s US car sales
Tech & Science

PHOTO Changes in M87 black hole

This combined photo shows changes in the magnetic field of the Messier 87 (M87) black hole observed in 2017, 2018 and 2021. The Korea AeroSpace Administration said Tuesday that the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration, a group of global observatories united to image emissions around supermassive black holes, has observed the black hole’s shadow and ring of light. While the size of the shadow and surrounding ring stayed the same, the direction of the ring, which shows the shape of the magnetic field around the black hole, changed from year to year. Korean researchers made a key contribution to the EHT team by analyzing changes in the magnetic field using self-developed software. Courtesy of EHT Collaboration

Sep 16, 2025By Nam Hyun-woophoto
[PHOTO] Changes in M87 black hole
Companies

Nongshim to release 2nd batch of instant noodles featuring 'KPop Demon Hunters'

Nongshim, Korea's leading instant noodle maker, said Tuesday it will release a second batch of its popular Shin Ramyun product featuring characters from the global hit animated movie "KPop Demon Hunters" this week. The limited special product, part of a collaboration launched last month, comes in packs of six Shin Ramyun cup noodles. Each cup features a member of the film's virtual girl group Huntrix — Rumi, Mira and Zoey — on the packaging. Sales will begin at 10 a.m. Friday through the company's online shopping mall. Nongshim said the first batch of 1,000 units sold out in less than two minutes late last month. "We prepared more units than the first release to meet strong demand," a company official said. The company said the collaboration was facilitated by the movie's realistic depiction of Korean food, including cup noodles and snacks that closely resemble its products.

Sep 16, 2025By Yonhap
Nongshim to release 2nd batch of instant noodles featuring 'KPop Demon Hunters'
Banking & Finance

Hana Bank supports small exporters struggling with US tariffs

Hana Bank has launched a preemptive financial assistance package for small and medium-sized companies heavily dependent on the U.S. market to address the impacts of tariffs, the lender said Tuesday. The move comes as concerns grow over falling export volumes, tightened liquidity conditions and weakening credit profiles within Korea’s industrial base — especially in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. U.S. tariffs are expected to hit Korean businesses hard, since the world’s largest economy remains Korea’s second-biggest export destination, amplifying spillovers from trade uncertainties into employment, supply chains and investments. According to the company, CEO Lee Ho-seoung held a meeting with a group of CEOs from 10 export-reliant firms in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province. The province is where large industrial complexes are based, with many of their businesses tied to U.S. exports. The participants voiced concerns about potential credit downgrades, lowered loan limits and surging borrowing costs amid a bleak business outlook. Hana said it would ease credit evaluation criteria,

Sep 16, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Hana Bank supports small exporters struggling with US tariffs
Companies

Gov't launches probe into purported attempt to sell SK Telecom client data

The science ministry said Tuesday it has launched an official probe into a purported attempt to sell personal data allegedly leaked from South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom. The move came after a global hacking group, Scattered Lapsus$, posted on its Telegram channel that it would sell SK Telecom's client data for $10,000, adding that 42 South Koreans had already made contact. "After being aware that a global hacking group has seized SK Telecom's client data and is seeking to sell it, we requested the mobile carrier to submit related materials and plan to check the facts through on-site inspections," the Ministry of Science and ICT said. The group claimed the data includes customers' IDs, names, phone numbers, emails, addresses and birth dates. The group also threatened SK Telecom, saying it must engage in negotiations or all of the 27 million users' data would be released. The company reported in April that private data of its entire user base may have been leaked in a cyberattack on its network servers. The government also recently launched a probe against No. 2 mobile carrier KT

Sep 16, 2025By Yonhap
Gov't launches probe into purported attempt to sell SK Telecom client data
Companies

HD Hyundai clinches 2nd European supply deal for power circuit breaker

HD Hyundai Electric has clinched a new supply deal in Europe with its eco-friendly high-voltage circuit breaker, marking its second contract with a European company as it accelerates its push into the region. The electromechanics firm said Tuesday it has signed the deal with a Finnish engineering, procurement and construction company to ship 14 units of its high-voltage circuit breaker, the 145 kV SF6-Free. This is the Korean firm’s second supply deal for the circuit breaker following a deal with a Swedish company in May. The 145 kV SF6-Free is an eco-friendly product that uses no sulfur hexafluoride, better known as SF6, a gas with a global warming potential 23,500 times greater than carbon dioxide. It is the first product of its kind and was independently developed by HD Hyundai Electric. Global demand for high-voltage circuit breakers is rising due to increasing electricity consumption worldwide. Alongside power cables, distributors, transformers and smart grids, circuit breakers are essential for electricity distribution. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global circuit br

Sep 16, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan
HD Hyundai clinches 2nd European supply deal for power circuit breaker
Companies

SK Telecom launches ChatGPT promotion in collaboration with OpenAI

Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom said Tuesday it has joined hands with OpenAI to launch a promotional event for ChatGPT Plus subscribers. Under the promotion, SK Telecom will provide discount coupons to new ChatGPT Plus users, allowing them to use the service for two months free with a one-month subscription, marking the developer's first such collaboration with a local mobile carrier. SK Telecom has been maintaining close ties with OpenAI, co-hosting a hackathon in 2023 while jointly participating in the MIT GenAI Impact Consortium with six other businesses. The company said it will continue to pursue a two-track strategy of developing its own AI model while expanding cooperation with overseas partners. In August, a consortium led by SK Telecom was selected as one of five teams eligible to receive state support to develop homegrown AI foundation models as part of the government's goal of making the country a global leader in the field. "By bolstering the two-track strategy of seeking global ties and self-empowerment, we plan to expand a customer-oriented AI ecosystem," said Lee Jae-

Sep 16, 2025By Yonhap
SK Telecom launches ChatGPT promotion in collaboration with OpenAI
Companies

SK On opens all-solid-state battery pilot plant for commercialization by 2029

SK On completed construction of a pilot plant for all-solid-state batteries, reaching a major milestone for the firm's plan to commercialize them by 2029, the battery manufacturer said Tuesday. All-solid-state batteries are widely considered to be next-generation batteries due to their key upsides, such as lower risks of igniting and exploding. The company will produce prototypes of the batteries and validate their quality at the pilot plant in Daejeon. “This pilot plant will serve as a cornerstone for SK to leap forward as a strong and resilient company in addressing any changes in business environment,” SK On CEO Lee Seok-hee said. “We aim to remain at the forefront of commercializing all-solid-state batteries to accelerate electrification.” SK On plans to commercialize the batteries with an energy density of 800 watt-hours per liter, with a long-term goal of extending the figure to 1,000. The 4,600-square-meter plant uses SK On’s own warm isostatic press pre-technology to develop the batteries, marking the first application of this solution in Korea, according to the company.

Sep 16, 2025By Lee Min-hyung
SK On opens all-solid-state battery pilot plant for commercialization by 2029
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