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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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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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Tech & Science

Samsung steps up acquisition drive, adds German HVAC firm to portfolio

Samsung Electronics is accelerating its acquisition drive across its portfolio, adding Europe’s largest air technology company, FlaktGroup, to its holdings. The company said Wednesday it signed a deal to take over a 100 percent stake in the Germany-based heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) company for 1.5 billion euros ($1.68 billion) from European private equity firm Triton. FlaktGroup was established in 1918 and stands as an energy-efficient air solution provider for a wide range of facilities, including data centers, airports, museums and commercial buildings. FlaktGroup has seen noteworthy growth in the global data center cooling market, with its energy-saving technologies and coolant distribution units gaining strong traction among large data center clients whose priority is achieving low-carbon and eco-friendly operations. Beyond data centers, FlaktGroup also serves more than 60 major global clients across the pharmaceutical, health care, food and beverage and plant industries. Samsung Electronics said it plans to finish the transaction by the end of this year. The dea

May 14, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
Samsung steps up acquisition drive, adds German HVAC firm to portfolio
Banking & Finance

Seoul shares up Wednesday morning on eased tariff woes

Korean stocks traded higher late Wednesday morning, led by gains from chips and defense shares amid eased global tariff concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 20.49 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,628.91 as of 11:20 a.m. On Wall Street overnight, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed higher on softer-than-expected U.S. inflation and optimism from a trade deal between the United States and China. In Seoul, semiconductor shares led the early increase over news of Nvidia's plan to supply 18,000 units of its artificial intelligence (AI) chip Blackwell to Saudi Arabia. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged up 0.7 percent and its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 4.28 percent. Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace advanced 2.36 percent, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) vaulted 5.23 percent. K-pop agency Hybe mounted 3.18 percent, and instant noodle maker Samyang Food went up 2.21 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,414.35 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., up 2.05 won from the previous session.

May 14, 2025By Yonhap
Seoul shares up Wednesday morning on eased tariff woes
Banking & Finance

Household borrowing rises sharply in April on increased home transactions

Household loans extended by Korean banks rose markedly in April, central bank data showed Wednesday, driven by a rise in housing transactions following state deregulatory measures. Banks' outstanding household loans stood at 1,150.1 trillion won ($813.65 billion) as of end-April, up 4.8 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the third consecutive monthly increase and a sharp acceleration from the 1.6 trillion-won increase seen in March. "Home transactions increased markedly in February and March, and their impact on loans had materialized in the following months," BOK official Park Min-cheol said. According to the data from the land ministry, apartment transactions nationwide jumped to 50,000 cases in March from 26,000 in January and 38,000 in February. The data for April is yet to be available. In Seoul, the number of apartment contracts rose from 3,300 in January to 6,200 in February and further to 9,300 in March. The increase in housing transactions followed the loosening of regulations on household lending by banks earlier this

May 14, 2025By Yonhap
Household borrowing rises sharply in April on increased home transactions
Tech & Science

SK Group's portfolio rebalancing gains momentum

SK Group is accelerating its portfolio rebalancing with the latest move to merge its subsidiaries as part of its ongoing effort to eliminate overlapping business and direct its focus on future technology such as semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI). The group's holding firm SK Inc. said Tuesday that its board has approved transferring SK Materials’ four semiconductor subsidiaries to SK Ecoplant and selling SK C&C’s Pangyo data center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to SK Broadband. Under the decision, the holding firm will contribute its shares of the three SK Materials subsidiaries — SK Trichem, SK Resonac and SK Materials JNC — to SK Ecoplant. SK Inc. will also hand over its control of SK Materials Performance to SK Ecoplant through share exchange. Following the transactions, SK Ecoplant will add four more semiconductor-related subsidiaries, standing as a semiconductor material specialist. Last year, it acquired Essencore, which manufactures DRAM modules, USB and MicroSD and SK Materials Airplus, which provides industrial gas for SK hynix’s chip manufacturing, from

May 14, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee
SK Group's portfolio rebalancing gains momentum
Tech & Science

For accurate map data

From left, Naver Executive Vice President Choi Seung-rak, National Geographic Information Institute (NGII) Director General Cho Woo-sug and Naver Lab Executive Vice President Lee Dong-hwan pose after signing a memorandum of understanding to revitalize the geospatial industry at NGII's headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Naver said Wednesday that the agreement aims to innovate location-based services by applying NGII's geospatial data and Naver Labs' digital twin technology to Naver Map's platform. Courtesy of Naver

May 14, 2025By Lee Gyu-leephoto
For accurate map data
Companies

CITEM to host Philippines’ largest food, beverage event next week

The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) will organize the Philippines’ largest international food, beverage and ingredients trade show next week. CITEM is an export promotion government agency under the Southeast Asian country’s Department of Trade and Industry. The agency said Tuesday it will host the International Food, Beverage and Ingredients Trade Show (IFEX) at the Exhibition Halls of the World Trade Center Metro Manila in the Philippines from May 22 to 24. The yearly exhibition has played a role since its inception in 2004 as a networking instrument for export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises of the global food and beverage industry. The event has showcased more than 5,000 global food products from over 700 companies through the years. More than 10,000 trade buyers and visitors from 50 countries are expected to visit this year’s show. “CITEM has developed an agile marketing tool for its thousands of participating exhibitors with food suppliers, manufacturers, traders, consolidators and private and public support organizations,” the

May 14, 2025By Jhoo Dong-chan
CITEM to host Philippines’ largest food, beverage event next week
Tech & Science

Korea to deploy new supercomputer from Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Korea will introduce a new supercomputer from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) under a contract that includes five years of maintenance and repair services, the science ministry said Wednesday. The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) signed a 382.5 billion-won ($270 million) deal with HPE to install the supercomputer by the first half of 2026, the Ministry of Science and ICT said in a press release. It will be the country's sixth state supercomputer. "In rapidly changing research and industrial environments, the new supercomputer will offer ultra high-performance computing services to sectors requiring large-scale, high-precision scientific and engineering calculations," the ministry said. Such computing power is also essential for artificial intelligence (AI)-related research projects, it added. The sixth state-designated supercomputer will be equipped with 8,496 graphic processing units (GPUs) produced by U.S. chipmaker Nvidia, delivering a performance capacity of 600 petaflops (PF), according to the ministry. One petaflop (PF) refers to the ability to perform

May 14, 2025By Yonhap
Korea to deploy new supercomputer from Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Companies

Theborn Korea chief points finger at YouTubers for fueling scandals

Food franchise mogul and Theborn Korea CEO Paik Jong-won criticized YouTubers and online trolls for fueling scandals against him and his company, highlighting the company's dedication to its franchisees and intent to keep developing regional economies outside the capital region through food festivals. Paik’s argument came after he and his company have been rocked by scandals and public criticisms, including issues with product sourcing, food safety and quality. The company is currently the target of police investigations on allegations of false advertising. During a series of press conferences on Monday and Tuesday, Paik said he has been maintaining “good ties” with his franchisees by supporting their businesses. The company now operates 22 brands with restaurant, takeout, pub and coffee shop sector franchises. He said his anti-fans have been uploading videos and posting photos trying to incriminate the company. “They kept reproducing and uploading videos and posts mentioning a few same problems we had blundered over and over again, even after I admitted those mistakes through o

May 14, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan
Theborn Korea chief points finger at YouTubers for fueling scandals
  • Food mogul halts all TV appearances amid multiple controversies
Foreign Affairs

Bessent says Korea presented 'very good' proposals in trade talks before election cycle

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that Korea put forward "very good" proposals in bilateral talks over trade and other related issues before the Asian country's election cycle kicked off, as Seoul is seeking to secure exemptions from new U.S. tariffs. Bessent made the remarks during a Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh as Seoul and Washington have been conducting trade consultations with a focus on tariff- and non-tariff measures, economic security, investment cooperation and currency policy. "Korea is going through a governmental change, but before they went into the election cycle, the Koreans came with very good proposals," the secretary said. He did not elaborate, but Seoul officials have said that they discussed with the U.S. ideas for economic and industrial cooperation, particularly in the shipbuilding industry — a sector that the U.S. wants to focus on given China's overwhelming shipbuilding capacity. Bessent also touched on trade talks with other Asian countries. "I've been focused on the Asia deals, of which obviously China is the largest. We've had very pr

May 14, 2025By Yonhap
Bessent says Korea presented 'very good' proposals in trade talks before election cycle
Tech & Science

Calls grow to prevent Google from transferring Korea's high-precision map data abroad

Calls are growing for the government to deny Google’s request to transfer Korea’s high-precision map data abroad. Scholars and industry analysts say Google’s move will come at the expense of data sovereignty, competitiveness and growth potential of budding Korean platform players whose innovation drives can be sourced from detail-oriented pools of high-quality geospatial information. The concerns follow Google's request made in February to provide 1:5,000-scale digital map data covering the entire country. Currently only lower-resolution 1:25,000-scale map data of Korea is available on Google, so the U.S. platform provides lower-quality mapping services than domestic map service providers here. The National Geographic Information Institute, a land ministry-supervised organization, will decide whether to approve the request by August. Experts note the high market value of high-precision data-reliant advanced innovation industries, estimated at 342 trillion won ($241 billion). This could soar to 796 trillion won by 2030 when including autonomous driving, smart city infrastructure an

May 13, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Calls grow to prevent Google from transferring Korea's high-precision map data abroad
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