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  • Companies

    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.
  • Companies

    Lee to review mega chip cluster project next week

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee to review mega chip cluster project next week
  • 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
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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

HD Hyundai, Hanwha in fierce competition to build ships in US

Competition is heating up between HD Hyundai and Hanwha to take the initiative in the construction of vessels at U.S. shipyards amid the Donald Trump administration’s ambition to rebuild the country’s shipbuilding industry and curb China’s maritime expansion. HD Hyundai said Wednesday that officials from Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) toured its headquarters and shipyards this week to discuss detailed plans for the joint construction of container vessels at the U.S. company’s shipyards. ECO, which operates 18 commercial shipyards in the U.S., signed a partnership with HD Hyundai last month to jointly build medium-sized container vessels at the U.S. firm’s shipyards by 2028 and expand cooperation to include port cranes, a sector with heightened security considerations. HD Hyundai also dispatched a team of more than 10 experts to one of ECO’s shipyards last month to inspect facilities and provide consultation to enhance productivity. “HD Hyundai fully supports efforts to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry,” HD Hyundai Executive Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun said during h

Jul 24, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
HD Hyundai, Hanwha in fierce competition to build ships in US
Companies

Japan's tariff deal with US puts pressure on Korea over agriculture imports, Alaska gas project

Korea is facing growing pressure to increase American agricultural imports and participate in an Alaska gas development project in its tariff negotiations with the U.S., as Japan accepted these U.S. demands in return for lower “reciprocal” tariffs and sector tariffs on cars. As Seoul’s top negotiators prepare for scheduled talks with their U.S. counterparts on Friday, they now have a mission to cut the Donald Trump administration’s planned levy of 25 percent tariffs on Korea to Japan’s level or lower, to maintain the competitiveness of Korean companies. Washington and Tokyo reached a deal to reduce reciprocal duties on Japanese products to 15 percent from 25 percent. U.S. tariffs on Japanese cars also dropped to 15 percent from 27.5 percent, although the rate for steel and aluminum products remains unchanged at 50 percent. The deal came as Tokyo agreed to increase U.S. rice imports and invest in the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline project as a preparatory step toward buying LNG from the U.S. state. Trump said Tuesday (local time) that Japan would also open itself t

Jul 23, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Japan's tariff deal with US puts pressure on Korea over agriculture imports, Alaska gas project
Companies

Coway sees rosy future as overseas business gains traction

Home appliance maker Coway is enjoying a bright earnings outlook for the second quarter of this year, buoyed by solid growth in its businesses in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and other emerging markets. According to market tracker FnGuide, Wednesday, brokerages’ consensus for Coway’s second-quarter sales and operating profit stood at 1.22 trillion won ($883.7 million) and 233.1 billion won, respectively, up 12.55 percent and 10.37 percent from a year earlier. Reflecting the positive appraisal, Coway’s stock price rose 37 percent over the past three months, from 78,600 won on April 23 to 107,700 won on Tuesday. This outpaced the benchmark KOSPI’s 26 percent gain during the same period. Analysts attribute the rosy outlook to the solid growth in its overseas business. Hanwha Investment & Securities analyst Lee Jin-hyeob expects Coway will likely post 345.1 billion won in sales in Malaysia, up 20 percent from a year earlier. “There is no disappointment in Coway’s earnings, as the company has been delivering double-digit growth through product diversification and strengthened sal

Jul 23, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
Coway sees rosy future as overseas business gains traction
Companies

Kakao, Naver join relief efforts in flood-hit areas

Korea's major internet companies, including Kakao and Naver, have joined nationwide relief and recovery efforts in flood-hit areas, the companies said Wednesday. Kakao, the operator of the popular KakaoTalk messenger, said five of its affiliates, including Kakao Bank and Kakao Pay, have donated a combined 1.5 billion won ($1.08 million) in cash to support displaced residents and help restore affected areas. The company has also raised an additional 330 million won through an online donation campaign on its philanthropic platform, Together Kakao. Naver, the country's top portal operator, contributed 1 billion won for recovery efforts and collected another 300 million won through its donation platform, Naver Happy Bean. KT, Korea's second-largest mobile carrier, donated 1 billion won toward nationwide relief efforts. Some KT employees volunteered in the affected regions, delivering around 7,000 relief items to flood victims. At least 19 people have been killed due to torrential rains in central and southern regions, including Sancheong County in South Gyeongsang Province where flooding and l

Jul 23, 2025By Yonhap
Kakao, Naver join relief efforts in flood-hit areas
Companies

Hyundai Rotem submits bid for new tram project in Poland

Hyundai Rotem, the train manufacturing subsidiary of Korea's Hyundai Motor Group, has submitted a bid for a new tram project in Warsaw, Poland, marking its latest push into the European urban rail market, industry sources said Wednesday. According to the sources, Hyundai Rotem participated in a tender on Monday (local time) to supply a total of 160 new tram units to the Polish capital's tram operator. Hyundai Rotem reportedly proposed 21.96 million zloty, or approximately 8.3 billion won ($6.02 million), per single-direction tram and 21.03 million zloty per bi-directional tram. Czech rolling stock maker Skoda Transportation also participated in the bid, proposing 21.15 million zloty and 22.28 million zloty for the respective models, sources said. Hyundai Rotem previously won a 335.8 billion-won contract in 2019 to supply 123 trams to Warsaw, the delivery of which was successfully completed last year.

Jul 23, 2025By Yonhap
Hyundai Rotem submits bid for new tram project in Poland
Companies

KT&G hits record stock high on shareholder-friendly moves, stronger tobacco business

KT&G, Korea’s leading tobacco and e-cigarette manufacturer, has reached a record stock high, driven by sustained domestic market dominance and overseas growth opportunities. The company’s stock peaked at 144,000 won ($104) on July 14, marking a surge of over 50 percent from this year’s low of 87,300 won. KT&G attributes its record-high stock price to its shareholder-friendly policies and robust market expansion worldwide. Stock market analysts also remain positive about the company’s outlook, citing its proactive dividend strategy that is in line with the Lee Jae Myung administration’s drive to encourage private investment. According to KT&G, its record stock value came in the wake of the Lee administration’s inauguration last month, which helped boost investor sentiment and began addressing corporate valuation uncertainties inherited from the previous Yoon Suk Yeol government. The company described the current investment-friendly trend as a long-term 'money move,' contrasting it with the debt-fueled, overheated market of 2021, driven by pandemic-related instability. KT&G’s

Jul 23, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan
KT&G hits record stock high on shareholder-friendly moves, stronger tobacco business
Banking & Finance

Tougher measures to be introduced against illegal stock trading

Korea's financial regulator said Wednesday that tougher measures will be taken against unfair, illegal stock trading as part of efforts to root out such trading practices in the local stock market. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said revised enforcement decrees to the Capital Market Act and others will take effect starting October, under which those caught for illegal stock trading will face fines of up to twice the amount of their unjust gains, while the market monitoring system will be based on individuals rather than trading accounts. The current account-based system results in excessive monitoring and makes it difficult to detect links between accounts held by the same individual. Stock manipulators will be barred from the capital market for up to five years through restrictions on trading financial investment products and disqualification from serving as executives at listed companies. Major shareholders and executives involved in illegal or unfair trading cases will be publicly named shortly after a resolution by the Securities and Futures Commission under the financial re

Jul 23, 2025By Yonhap
Tougher measures to be introduced against illegal stock trading
Companies

BMW M stays on top in Korea’s performance car market

BMW Korea is maintaining its top position in the country’s high-performance car market, selling nearly 2,700 BMW M vehicles in the first half of this year, outpacing rivals. According to BMW Korea, it delivered 2,668 BMW M vehicles from January to June this year, up 20 percent from a year earlier. The growth was driven by a balanced performance across a wide range of M models rather than concentrated on a single model. The importer attributed the stable sales to BMW Group’s “power of choice” strategy, which offers a broad range of selections to customers seeking driving performance and a premium lifestyle at the same time. BMW Korea currently offers a total of 34 high-performance models ranging from sedans to SUVs and compacts to large vehicles. It also includes internal combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and full electric vehicles. In the first half of the year, the top selling models in the M high-performance segment were the M2 with 170 units, the XM with 157 and the M5 with 137. In the M performance segment, the M340i led with 271 units, followed closely by the M850i with 27

Jul 23, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
BMW M stays on top in Korea’s performance car market
Companies

Renault Korea, labor union reach tentative wage deal

Renault Korea Motors said Wednesday it has reached a tentative agreement with its labor union in this year's wage negotiations. Under the deal, the company will raise the base monthly wage by 103,500 won ($75) and provide a bonus of 2.5 million won to each employee, along with a separate 150 percent performance-based incentive. The two sides also agreed to establish a joint labor-management committee to review and improve the company's personnel management system ahead of next year's wage negotiations. The 20-member committee, composed of equal numbers of union and management representatives, will discuss issues such as peak-wage structure, base salary standards and working conditions.

Jul 23, 2025By Yonhap
Renault Korea, labor union reach tentative wage deal
Banking & Finance

Seoul shares open higher amid multiple US trade deals

Seoul shares kicked off higher Wednesday following news the United States had struck a tariff agreement with Japan and the Philippines. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 12.1 points, or 0.38 percent, to 3,182.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed amid a slide in tech shares and expectations brewed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks that he will meet with his Chinese counterpart in Stockholm next week for trade talks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 percent, and the S&P 500 edged up 0.06 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite, however, shed 0.39 percent as major semiconductor shares lost ground following reports the ambitious artificial intelligence project "Stargate," led by OpenAI and SoftBank, has been facing internal disagreements. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement over trade deals with Japan and the Philippines boosted hopes for eased trade uncertainties. In Seoul, tech giant Samsung Electronics lost 0.3 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix went down 0.93 percent. Defe

Jul 23, 2025By Yonhap
Seoul shares open higher amid multiple US trade deals
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