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    Termination of Homeplus rehabilitation endangers 12,000 workers

    A court decision on Friday to terminate the rehabilitation proceedings for cash-strapped discount store chain Homeplus has raised concerns for the company's 12,000 employees who could lose their jobs. After Homeplus first filed for rehabilitation in March last year, the retailer began reducing its offline outlets. Of the 126 locations, only 67 stores remain, while the number of employees dropped from 20,000 to about 15,000 following the downsizing. After the company sold its supermarket unit Homeplus Express to NS Shopping last month to secure more cash, the workforce dropped again to 12,000 people. If Homeplus ultimately goes into bankruptcy, the government will activate a substitute payment program, which would allow it to advance unpaid wages of up to 21 million won ($13,600) per employee and later recover the funds. Employees who lose their jobs would also be eligible for unemployment benefits equivalent to 60 percent of their average wages over the three months preceding their termination. The government also plans to provide at least 440 billion won in emergency liquidity to help sm

    2 MIN READBy Ko Dong-hwan
    Termination of Homeplus rehabilitation endangers 12,000 workers
  • Banking & Finance

    Toss to face stricter oversight as Korea's first fintech financial conglomerate

    2 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Toss to face stricter oversight as Korea's first fintech financial conglomerate
  • Banking & Finance

    Korea's brokerages are raking it in. Their stocks aren't.

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    Korea's brokerages are raking it in. Their stocks aren't.
  • Tech & Science

    Korea to establish low-Earth orbit communications network by 2035

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea to establish low-Earth orbit communications network by 2035
  • Tech & Science

    Korea to establish low-Earth orbit communications network by 2035

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea to establish low-Earth orbit communications network by 2035
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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.

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Companies

PhnyX Lab raises $4 mil. in funding round led by SK Networks

PhnyX Lab, a pioneering generative AI startup transforming operations in the life sciences sector, has announced the successful close of a $4 million seed round through a SAFE (simple agreement for future equity). The round was led by SK Networks, with participation from several prominent angel investors including Aidan Gomez, co-founder and CEO of Cohere, and Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol, both of whom are original co-authors of “Attention Is All You Need,” the paradigm-shifting paper that ushered in the transformer era and laid the foundation for today’s generative AI models. Their involvement follows extensive discussions with both Choi Sung-hwan, executive adviser to PhnyX Lab and COO of SK Networks, and Bae Min-seok, CEO of PhnyX Lab, reflecting a shared conviction in the transformative role of AI. “This funding marks an important milestone that reflects PhnyX Lab’s potential to fundamentally transform how life science companies work,” Bae said. “Our mission goes beyond improving efficiency — we’re reimagining the way critical work gets done, helpin

Aug 4, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
PhnyX Lab raises $4 mil. in funding round led by SK Networks
Business

KOTRA to offer consulting services to small businesses amid new US tariff

The state-run trade promotion agency said Monday it has launched a consulting program for small and medium-sized businesses to help them develop trade strategies following the recent trade deal between Seoul and Washington. Last week, Korea struck a trade agreement with the United States under which Washington began imposing 15 percent tariffs on Korean goods, down from the initially proposed 25 percent. The reciprocal tariffs went into effect Friday (U.S. time). The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said customs and trade experts began operating consulting desks at its headquarters in southern Seoul on Friday to help small exporters set up business strategies under the new Korea-U.S. trade deal. "With the reciprocal tariff rate confirmed at 15 percent, it has become necessary for exporters to devise full-fledged countermeasures," KOTRA President Kang Kyung-sung said. The agency said its separate hotline, launched in February, has offered 6,023 consulting sessions as of Friday. KOTRA added it will also offer on-site consulting programs to exporters in 12 major regions nation

Aug 4, 2025By Yonhap
KOTRA to offer consulting services to small businesses amid new US tariff
Banking & Finance

Seoul shares end higher on bargain hunting, US rate cut hopes; won sharply up

Korean stocks closed higher Monday as investors purchased blue chip shares at bargain rates after a steep fall last week and on heightened expectations for the U.S. Federal Reserve's pivot to monetary easing. The Korean won rose sharply against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 28.34 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 3,147.75. Trade volume was a little slim at 291 million shares worth 9.66 trillion won (US$6.98 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 677 to 209. Monday's gain came after the KOSPI fell at the steepest pace in nearly four months on Friday amid investor sentiment dampened by the government's proposal for a tax revision aimed at raising taxes on corporations and stock investors. Institutions and foreigners bought local shares worth 131.8 billion won and 83.3 billion won, respectively, while retail investors sold a net 300 billion won. "The KOSPI rebounded after a 3.9 percent drop last Friday on bargain hunting," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said. News reports on the ruling party's possible reconsideratio

Aug 4, 2025By Yonhap
Seoul shares end higher on bargain hunting, US rate cut hopes; won sharply up
Companies

US tariff deal unfavorable to oceans ministry's bid to control shipbuilders

The proposed transfer of the shipbuilding and offshore plant industry division to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries appears to be losing momentum, as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy convinced the United States to lower tariffs on Korea by proposing a revitalization of U.S. shipyards through Korean investments. Before the two countries signed a tariff deal on Thursday, the oceans ministry had emphasized the need for the transfer, citing potential synergy effects after the ministry's planned relocation from Sejong to Busan later this year. “If the division consisting of 10 officials is transferred to our ministry, we will perform 1,000 or even 10,000 times better,” Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo told reporters on July 24, despite Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan’s claim that the administration should remain cautious about the matter. “The shipbuilding industry relates to materials, components, equipment, machinery and digital industries, not just shipping,” Kim said July 21. According to sources from the government and ruling party, the latest tariff deal is expected t

Aug 3, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
US tariff deal unfavorable to oceans ministry's bid to control shipbuilders
Companies

Asiana fined $8.7 mil. for exceeding airfare hike limit

Asiana Airlines has been fined 12.1 billion won ($8.7 million) for violating the upper limit on airfare hikes, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Sunday. According to an investigation by the antitrust watchdog, the airline sold tickets for four routes at prices up to 28.2 percent higher than the permitted cap in the first quarter of 2025. Last year, the FTC ordered Asiana Airlines to keep its average airfare increases within the rate of inflation through 2034, as part of a precondition for the approval of Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana. Citing the graveness of the issue, the watchdog has decided to impose the fine and report the case to prosecution. “The measure was one of the key preconditions for our approval of the airlines’ merger, but Asiana violated it in the first year of its implementation,” an FTC official said. Asiana Airlines sold tickets at a range of 1.3 percent to 28.2 percent higher than the limit for the four routes between January and March. The routes include business-class flights from Incheon to Barcelona, Frankfurt and Rome. The investigation also showed

Aug 3, 2025By Lee Min-hyung
Asiana fined $8.7 mil. for exceeding airfare hike limit
Companies

Strong union pushback threatens Hyundai Motor’s US production shift

Hyundai Motor Group's plan to relocate production facilities to the United States is facing growing resistance, as its labor union is expected to gain greater leverage from the potential passage of a controversial pro-labor amendment in Korea. Last week, Hyundai Motor and Kia cleared a major trade uncertainty after Korea and the U.S. reached an agreement that reduced the auto tariff from 25 percent to 15 percent, putting the Korean carmakers on equal footing with their Japanese and European rivals in the world’s largest economy. However, they now face another major hurdle, as the ruling party is pushing to pass a bill to revise the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act — better known as the "yellow envelope bill" — which would expand collective labor rights. This would widen the scope of strikes, giving the carmakers' union members a stronger legal basis to walk out in protest against the relocation of production from Korea to countries such as the U.S. This may come as a major risk for Hyundai Motor Group at a time when it has to increase its production in the U.S. due to

Aug 3, 2025By Lee Min-hyung
Strong union pushback threatens Hyundai Motor’s US production shift
Companies

Companies respond to president's war on fatal workplace accidents

Companies with histories of fatal industrial accidents have been scrambling to bolster safety measures after President Lee Jae Myung publicly rebuked them for what he described as repeated, preventable workplace deaths. Firms are especially wary after Lee questioned the effectiveness of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAPA) and warned of tougher financial penalties for serious workplace incidents. SAPA, which took effect in January 2022, allows for a company CEO to be jailed if a major worksite accident occurs and sufficient safety precautions were not in place. POSCO Group launched a task force under direct oversight of Chairman Chang In-hwa on Friday to examine safety management across the company’s affiliates. The steelmaker said it is considering increasing investments in safety management, establishing a dedicated safety management subsidiary and launching a foundation to support the families of workers killed in industrial accidents. These moves came after the president described a spate of workplace deaths at POSCO E&C, the group’s construction arm, as “murders through

Aug 3, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Companies respond to president's war on fatal workplace accidents
  • Financial authorities weigh loan penalties for firms with serious industrial accidents
Tech & Science

InterviewSK Chemicals bets on plastic recycling to overcome industry downturn

SEONGNAM, Gyeonggi Province — SK Chemicals’ strong first-quarter earnings came as a surprise to investors, defying the ongoing slump in the domestic petrochemical industry following a global economic slowdown and an oversupply of low-priced Chinese products. During the first three months of the year, the company showed a 98.5 percent year-on-year jump in operating profits to 36.9 billion won ($26.6 million). The main driver was SK Chemicals’ green chemicals business division, focused primarily on producing copolyester, a plastic widely used in cosmetics packaging, household items and home appliances, due to its clarity, chemical resistance and processability. Along with U.S.-based Eastman Chemical, SK Chemicals maintains a duopoly in the global copolyester market. However, the company is now looking for a new source of income from plastic recycling. SK Chemicals Executive Vice President Kim Hyun-suk, who heads the Recycling Business Division, told The Korea Times in a recent interview that the company aims to make additional profits from the sector. “We’re developing new product

Aug 3, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
SK Chemicals bets on plastic recycling to overcome industry downturn
Companies

Major Korean shipbuilders launch joint task force for massive US investment project

Major Korean shipbuilders have launched a joint task force to support the government's cooperation with the United States under a recently agreed-upon large-scale investment project in the U.S. shipbuilding sector, officials said Sunday. The top three shipbuilders — HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries — along with the Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Association, have formed the TF and held an inaugural meeting recently, according to company officials. Their focus will be on supporting the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" (MASGA) initiative, under which the Seoul government has proposed investing $150 billion in the U.S. shipbuilding industry. It was part of a broader $350 billion investment package in the U.S. in exchange for Washington's lowering of reciprocal tariffs on Korean imports to 15 percent from the initial 25 percent. "There will be various ways to implement the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation, and the TF aims to support and facilitate those efforts," an official said. "The industry is working together with the gover

Aug 3, 2025By Yonhap
Major Korean shipbuilders launch joint task force for massive US investment project
Companies

KAIST student named runner-up at Merck Innovation Cup

A Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) student was named runner-up in this year’s Merck Innovation Cup after implementing eco-friendly chemistry principles into Merck’s chemistry designing software. Hwang Sunoo, a combined master’s and doctoral program student studying civil and environmental engineering, along with his multinational team, achieved the outcome in the Green Chemistry category of the competition, according to KAIST Friday. The school said Hwang was the only Korean among the German science technology firm competition’s 42 finalists. Hwang and his team designed an upgraded version of Merck’s Synthia by implementing the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry, a global framework for designing chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances in an effort to minimize environmental impact, promote sustainability and enhance safety in chemical practices. Merck evaluated the work as a “practically effective alternative” for Synthia, allowing it to minimize harmful byproducts in the chemical indust

Aug 2, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan
KAIST student named runner-up at Merck Innovation Cup
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