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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?
  • 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
  • Companies

    JoongAng Ilbo puts controlling rights up for sale amid creditor workout

    1 MIN READBy Jung Min-ho
    JoongAng Ilbo puts controlling rights up for sale amid creditor workout
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Banking & Finance

Will Kyobo’s SBI takeover revive interest in struggling savings banks?

Kyobo Life Insurance’s acquisition of SBI Savings Bank — the largest player in Korea’s savings bank industry — has drawn interest in whether the deal could revitalize mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the sector, which has been grappling with declining profitability and worsening asset quality, industry officials said Wednesday. There are currently 79 savings banks operating in Korea, but many are small in terms of loan volume and face rising delinquency rates, prompting ongoing calls for industry-wide restructuring. Insiders say it may take time for the M&A market in the savings bank sector to gain meaningful momentum, as the industry remains in a slump with few players willing to jump in. They noted that Kyobo Life’s acquisition of SBI is considered an exceptional case, largely due to the bank’s strong position in the industry and its long-standing business ties with the insurer. On Monday, Kyobo’s board of directors approved a plan to gradually acquire a 50 percent plus one share stake in SBI Savings Bank by October 2026. The shares will be purchased from SBI Holdings,

Apr 30, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Will Kyobo’s SBI takeover revive interest in struggling savings banks?
Companies

HS Hyosung vice chairman leads pre-APEC global meeting in Toronto

HS Hyosung Group Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang led a series of global meetings in Toronto last week in preparation for this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Korea, sending a unified message to commerce leaders from the 21 member economies, the major Korean materials developer said Wednesday. Cho, the chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), presided over five working-group meetings during the second ABAC gathering held from April 23 to 26, with discussions centered on growing economic uncertainties in global trade triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures introduced earlier this year. According to HS Hyosung, Cho noted that participants shared concerns over how the mounting uncertainties could disproportionately impact Asia-Pacific nations and pose significant risks to businesses operating in the region. To address the issue, Cho emphasized the importance of maintaining free and open global trade as a foundation for sustainable prosperity in the region, according to HS Hyosung. As part of this effort, he proposed enhancing

Apr 30, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan
HS Hyosung vice chairman leads pre-APEC global meeting in Toronto
Companies

USIM leak at SK Telecom drives customers to budget mobile carriers

Customers are turning to budget mobile carriers as SK Telecom struggles to meet soaring universal subscriber identity module (USIM) replacement demand following its recent security breach, industry officials said Wednesday. Sales of budget carriers' USIMs have spiked at retail outlets such as convenience stores, while bank-affiliated budget carriers are also experiencing an increase in users. Convenience store chain CU reported that sales of budget USIMs from April 22 to Monday jumped 205.3 percent compared to the previous week. At 7-Eleven, sales rose by 180 percent week-on-week, while Emart24 saw an 84.2 percent increase. On Monday alone, GS25 recorded a 1,153 percent surge in budget USIM sales compared to a week ago. "USIMs usually don’t experience sharp fluctuations in sales, so the sudden spike indicates strong customer demand," a CU official said. "We will increase order volumes as much as possible." The disruption began on April 18, when SK Telecom discovered signs of a cyberattack and a large-scale leak of customers’ USIM data. In response, the company pledged swift action an

Apr 30, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo
USIM leak at SK Telecom drives customers to budget mobile carriers
Tech & Science

What you need to know about SKT data breach

What happened? On April 22, SK Telecom announced that it had detected a breach in its internal system on April 18. It was confirmed the following day the hacker stole USIM-related information using malicious code to attack the system. How did SK Telecom notify the public about the hack? On April 22, SK Telecom uploaded a press release on its official website and sent emails to reporters. The company also began sending text notifications to customers, but some had still not received them as of Wednesday. No notices in English have been issued so far, leaving non-Korean-speaking customers in the dark. What is the current situation? SK Telecom said Friday that it would provide free USIM card replacements, and that it currently had 1 million in stock. As of Tuesday, 280,000 customers had received new cards. The company plans to secure 5 million cards by May, though this still falls short of the amount needed, as SK Telecom has over 23 million customers. SK Telecom is also offering a free USIM Protection Service, but it does not work for customers who are overseas and using roaming services. Th

Apr 30, 2025By Kim Bo-eun
What you need to know about SKT data breach
Companies

Hyundai Motor, GM Korea unlikely to gain much from eased US auto tariff

Hyundai Motor Group and General Motors (GM) Korea are unlikely to benefit much from the United States’ latest auto tariff relief, as the program is aimed at giving temporary incentives to U.S.-assembled cars only, experts and industry officials said Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation Tuesday (local time) to give automakers a credit for up to 15-percent of the value of vehicles finished in the U.S. in the first year. The figure goes down to 10 percent in the second year. The country decided to soften the tariff rule less than a month after it slapped a 25-percent tariff on all automobile imports, beginning April 2. However, Hyundai Motor, Kia and GM Korea will not be able to enjoy much benefit from the eased tariff rule, according to experts. The three automakers rely heavily on exports to the U.S. “They still export a huge number of vehicles to the world’s largest economy, and exported cars will not benefit from the latest incentive,” said Lee Ho-geun, an automotive engineering professor at Daeduk University. The Trump administration is under growing pres

Apr 30, 2025By Lee Min-hyung
Hyundai Motor, GM Korea unlikely to gain much from eased US auto tariff
Companies

SK Telecom preparing for possible data leak of all 25 million customers: CEO

Ryu Young-sang, chief executive officer (CEO) of SK Telecom, said Wednesday the company is preparing for the worst-case scenario that a recent cyberattack may have leaked the universal subscriber identity module (USIM) data of all 25 million subscribers. "In the worst-case scenario, we are bracing for it," Ryu said during a parliamentary session in response to a question by Rep. Choi Soo-jin about whether all customer data may have been leaked. SK Telecom, the largest mobile carrier in Korea with 25 million subscribers out of a population of 50 million, detected the cyberattack on April 18 and discovered signs of a large-scale leak of customers' USIM data. Ryu acknowledged that the incident could be considered the worst hacking case in the nation's telecommunications history. He also admitted to "procedural issues" in how the data breach was reported to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). SK Telecom has come under fire for reporting the incident two days after detection, missing by far the 24-hour notification requirement mandated by law. Following the revelation, the company pled

Apr 30, 2025By Yonhap
SK Telecom preparing for possible data leak of all 25 million customers: CEO
Companies

Police launch formal probe into SK Telecom's customer data leak

Police said Wednesday they have launched a formal investigation into a recent hacking incident involving SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile carrier, that has prompted a rush of customers seeking to replace their USIM cards or transfer to other carriers. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's cyber investigation unit said it formed a 22-person task force to look into the alleged cyberattack on April 18, when the carrier detected signs of a massive leak of customers' universal subscriber identity module (USIM) data. "We have swiftly secured relevant digital evidence and activated a mutual assistance system involving domestic and foreign partners to look into the details of the hacking and its mastermind," a police official said. In response to the data leak, the carrier has offered free replacements of USIM chips for all of its 23 million users. The police, who had been conducting an internal probe into the case, decided to launch a formal investigation in consideration of the high level of public interest and concern it has attracted.

Apr 30, 2025By Yonhap
Police launch formal probe into SK Telecom's customer data leak
Foreign Affairs

Korea, US to launch working-level talks on tariffs this week

Korea and the United States will hold working-level talks this week to set details of their recent agreement concerning the Donald Trump administration's tariff scheme, Seoul's industry ministry said Wednesday. The two-day "technical discussions" will begin on Wednesday (U.S. time) in Washington as a follow-up to last week's agreement to craft a package deal on the new U.S. tariffs and ways of bilateral economic and industrial cooperation before the 90-day pause on the tariff measures expires on July 8, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The upcoming discussions will be attended by officials from the ministry and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). "This round of technical consultations is intended to finalize the framework for discussions regarding U.S. tariff measures. We will actively seek exemptions from reciprocal tariffs, item-specific tariffs, such as those on automobiles and steel products, and any new levies that may be introduced in the future, in order to minimize damage to our businesses," senior ministry official Jang Sung-gil

Apr 30, 2025By Yonhap
Korea, US to launch working-level talks on tariffs this week
Banking & Finance

Woori Financial floats $280 mil. in hybrids

Woori Financial Group, a major Korean banking group, said Wednesday it has raised 400 billion won ($280 million) by selling hybrid securities to bolster its capital base. The hybrid bonds have a coupon rate of 3.45 percent, according to Woori Financial. Woori Financial, whose flagship is major lender Woori Bank, said it has jacked up the amount from an initially planned 270 billion won due to more-than-expected subscriptions.

Apr 30, 2025By Yonhap
Woori Financial floats $280 mil. in hybrids
Defense

Korea to spend $79.1 mil. on developing next-generation defense technologies

Korea will invest 113.4 billion won ($79.1 million) this year to develop next-generation defense technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and robots, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The figure marks a 32.3 percent increase from the corresponding tally for 2024, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The investment will be funneled into 132 projects, including the development of an amphibious mobile reconnaissance robot and a micro-suicide drone system, as well as developing next-generation weapons systems for exports. The government will also create a civil-military council on naval vessel maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) as part of efforts to strengthen the country's defense cooperation with the U.S., the ministry said. "To lead the fast-evolving defense market, we need to achieve technological innovations through convergence of the cutting-edge technologies of the private sector, including AI and drones, and the defense sector," First Vice Industry Minister Park Sung-taek said.

Apr 30, 2025By Yonhap
Korea to spend $79.1 mil. on developing next-generation defense technologies
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