my timesThe Korea Times

Business

Tech & ScienceCompaniesBanking & FinanceMost respected CEOsAPEC 2025Others
  • Tech & Science

    Samsung Electro-Mechanics bags $294 mil. MLCC supply deal with US Big Tech firm

    Samsung Electro-Mechanics will supply multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for artificial intelligence (AI) servers to a U.S. Big Tech firm, signing a $294 million (454 billion won) contract. The company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it has signed a one-year supply deal that will begin on Jan. 1 next year. The company did not identify the customer, but sources said it is a U.S. cloud service provider. The deal accounts for approximately 9 percent of the component division's 2025 revenue of 5.2 trillion won. MLCC is a component that stabilizes power for semiconductors and other electronic devices. As power fluctuations in servers can directly affect performance, MLCCs have become increasingly important in AI server environments. AI server applications require high-performance MLCCs that can withstand the harsh operating conditions created by intensive computing workloads, such as high heat and greater stress for warpage. AI servers contain more than 10 times as many MLCCs as conventional servers. A typical AI graphics processing unit is equipped with more than 20,000 MLCCs, mea

    2 MIN READBy Nam Hyun-woo
    Samsung Electro-Mechanics bags $294 mil. MLCC supply deal with US Big Tech firm
  • Companies

    Incheon airport operator to halve employee parking permits

    3 MIN READBy Lee Min-hyung
    Incheon airport operator to halve employee parking permits
  • Companies

    Court grants JTBC time for autonomous restructuring amid liquidity crisis

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Court grants JTBC time for autonomous restructuring amid liquidity crisis
  • Companies

    SK Chemicals boosts decorative film flexibility with new SKYPEL material

    1 MIN READBy Lee Kyung-min
    SK Chemicals boosts decorative film flexibility with new SKYPEL material
  • Banking & Finance

    Woori Financial's bid to take Tongyang Life private continues to stall amid shareholder backlash

    2 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Woori Financial's bid to take Tongyang Life private continues to stall amid shareholder backlash
Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
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.

Read more

Companies

Korean chip industry wary despite exemption from US reciprocal tariff

With U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of a 25 percent tariff on Korean imports, Korea's semiconductor industry let out a sigh of relief Thursday for being excluded but remained cautious as sector-specific tariffs loomed near. The White House on Wednesday (local time) said some goods, including semiconductors, steel and automobiles, would not be subject to the new tariff plans, imposing a minimum 10 percent "baseline" tariff on exports from all countries to the United States and country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs that include 25 percent duties for Korea. Industry officials remained vigilant as the U.S. administration has signaled separate sector-specific duties for those items. Korea's leading chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, have not issued official statements, but they are actively discussing strategies to mitigate risks from any future trade policies. "There are still uncertainties," said an official from a Korean semiconductor company, who asked not to be identified. "The global semiconductor value chain is highly complex, and major U.S. tech companies play a

Apr 3, 2025By Yonhap
Korean chip industry wary despite exemption from US reciprocal tariff
Business

Auto, chip sectors spared from US reciprocal tariffs but face imminent damage from sectoral duties

The United States plans to impose 25 percent reciprocal tariffs on a broad range of Korean imports starting next week, but spared automobiles, semiconductors and steel products from the measure. The exemption, however, does not necessarily signal relief for these core sectors of Korea's export-driven economy, as they are already subject to, or are expected to soon face, separate sector-specific tariffs under U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" trade policy. According to data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Korea's exports to the U.S. totaled $127.8 billion in 2024, up 10.4 percent from the previous year, marking the highest annual tally on record. Of the total, automobile exports accounted for $34.7 billion, or 27.2 percent. Semiconductors and memory chips, including DRAM modules, reached $8.2 billion, representing 6.4 percent of the total. Steel exports were valued at $2.9 billion, or approximately 2.3 percent. According to the U.S. International Trade Administration, Korea was the fourth-largest steel exporter to the U.S. in 2024, supplying 9 percent of

Apr 3, 2025By Yonhap
Auto, chip sectors spared from US reciprocal tariffs but face imminent damage from sectoral duties
Companies

Will Seoul-Beijing-Tokyo FTA emerge against Trump?

A trilateral economic ministers' meeting between Korea, China and Japan is prompting speculation that the three countries may reach a long-delayed free trade agreement (FTA) amid U.S. tariff threats. For now, however, Korea remains cautious about leveraging this solidarity, wary that it could be perceived as a challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump announced, Wednesday (local time), plans to impose 25 percent "reciprocal" tariffs on Korea. China and Japan face respective new rates of 34 percent and 24 percent. Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun held a trilateral meeting Sunday with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, Wang Wentao and Yoji Muto, respectively, marking the first such gathering since 2019. Even though the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy — committed to continuing discussions with the two Asian economic powerhouses on the agreement — described the meeting as another milestone in trilateral cooperation, it also emphasized that it did not necessarily pave a shortcut to finalizing a trilateral FTA. “We have been discussing the FTA for quite some time. The joint

Apr 3, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan
Will Seoul-Beijing-Tokyo FTA emerge against Trump?
Banking & Finance

NH Financial, IBK embrace whistleblower system to curb employee misconduct

NongHyup Financial Group and state-run lender Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) have embraced a whistleblower system in a move to prevent employee misconduct, including embezzlement and poor screening of loans, market watchers said Wednesday. Propelling the rushed efforts are poorly granted loans of over 88 billion won ($60 million) reported at the state lender and 108 billion won for the agriculture-oriented financing service provider. The IBK figure was 24 billion won at the time of the occurrence, but further investigation revealed the amount to be nearly triple the initial figure. This adds to over 187 billion won in financial irregularities at local banks last year, a five-year high and a 27-fold increase from 6.8 billion won in 2020. The state lender said it established a committee to oversee an internal whistleblowing system. The five-member committee with three outside figures will spearhead reform and report progress to the board of directors. The lender’s whistleblowing system, K-Whistle, operated by Korea Business Environment Institute, will allow IBK employees to report miscond

Apr 3, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
NH Financial, IBK embrace whistleblower system to curb employee misconduct
Companies

Korea to engage in negotiations with US over tariffs

As the U.S. decided to impose 25 percent “reciprocal” tariffs on Korean imports Wednesday (local time), the country’s government and businesses are bracing for impact, while seeking measures to offset potential damage to the world’s 12th-largest economy. Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the tariff plans, Korea’s acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo presided over an emergency economic strategy meeting of ministers and urged the government to come up with “all available responses.” “Given the gravity of the looming global tariff war, the government must mobilize all available resources to overcome the trade crisis,” Han said during the meeting at Government Complex Seoul. Han instructed Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun to “work closely with businesses to thoroughly analyze the details and impact of the reciprocal tariffs,” and to “proactively engage in negotiations with U.S. counterparts to contain potential damage,” noting that Trump’s announcement marks the beginning of negotiations. During the "Make America Weal

Apr 3, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
Korea to engage in negotiations with US over tariffs
Companies

Cosmax breaks ground in Thailand for growing ASEAN beauty market

Cosmax, a major original development manufacturing (ODM) company in Korea for beauty product brands, broke ground on its second manufacturing plant in Thailand to boost supply for the country and the Southeast Asian region, according to the company, Wednesday. The new plant’s groundbreaking took place in Bang Phli District on Thursday. The company invested 1.5 billion baht ($43.9 million) into building the four-story structure with a total floor area of 36,000 square meters. The scale is four times larger than the existing plant of the company’s Thai subsidiary, Cosmax Thailand. The new plant's construction is scheduled for completion September 2026. The new plant will triple Cosmax Thailand’s overall production capacity, raising it up to 230 million items per year. The company said the new plant is designed to boost eco-friendly management, reducing voltaic organic compounds emissions and wastewater and recycling production waste. The plant has already acquired certifications from the Thai government for drug safety and halal and vegan qualifications. The new plant’s constructio

Apr 3, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan
Cosmax breaks ground in Thailand for growing ASEAN beauty market
Business

US unveils 26% 'reciprocal' tariff on S. Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans Wednesday to impose a minimum 10 percent "baseline" tariff on all imports to the United States and "reciprocal" tariffs, including 26 percent duties for South Korea, as he seeks to reduce America's trade deficits and bolster domestic manufacturing. Trump made the much-anticipated announcement on the baseline and reciprocal tariffs, which will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday and at 12:01 a.m. next Wednesday, respectively, as he hosted the "Make America Wealthy Again" event at the White House Rose Garden. He declared a national emergency on concerns over America's "large and persistent" trade deficits and invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to address the emergency through the imposition of new tariffs. South Korea and others on what the Trump administration called the "worst offender" list keenly watched the announcement on what Trump hyped up as "Liberation Day," as they have been struggling to navigate through the growing list of the Trump administration's new tariffs. "This is Liberation Day ... April 2, 2

Apr 3, 2025By Yonhap
US unveils 26% 'reciprocal' tariff on S. Korea
Business

Korean Air joins hands with Anduril for autonomous drone development

Korean Air, Korea's flagship air carrier, said Wednesday it has signed an initial agreement with U.S. defense technology company Anduril Industries for joint development in autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs). The memorandum of understanding (MOU) includes the joint development of AAVs in both Korea and the United States, and collaboration to enhance capabilities for manned-unmanned teaming, Korean Air said. Korean Air said it has been actively advancing AAV technology, including the production of medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles for the Korean military. The partnership with Anduril is expected to support Korea's defense sector while opening opportunities for domestic firms in the global unmanned vehicle market, the company added. Founded in 2017, Anduril is a U.S. defense contractor specializing in artificial intelligence (AI), drone development and data analytics. Its corporate value is estimated at $28 billion. The latest agreement follows Korean Air's recent $32.7 billion deal to purchase 20 aircraft from Boeing and procure spare engines from GE Aerospace, signaling the airline'

Apr 2, 2025By Yonhap
Korean Air joins hands with Anduril for autonomous drone development
Banking & Finance

Financial fraudsters exploit K-pop craze among foreign students

As an avid fan of the K-pop boy group Seventeen, Ashurova Mehrona was all too familiar with photo cards — a must-have item for K-pop enthusiasts. Yet, she never imagined that this token of fandom could be used in financial scams targeting foreign students. "You might appreciate how valuable and collectible these items can be. If you’ve ever traded photo cards or bought them from a seller, it’s clear how much trust is involved in these transactions," said Mehrona, a Tajikistan national currently studying at Kyungpook National University. Photo cards, featuring the faces of K-pop stars, are randomly included as a gift with album purchases. Fans often trade or buy the cards online to complete their collections. When supply is limited, demand and prices can skyrocket. In a surprising twist, scammers are exploiting foreign students' passion as well as their occasional financial struggles. A scammer poses as a buyer and approaches a photo card seller online — often a foreign student living in Korea — asking to purchase a card. The seller provides their bank account information for pa

Apr 2, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo
Financial fraudsters exploit K-pop craze among foreign students
Tech & Science

Naver faces challenges in global expansion bid

Korea’s dominant web portal, Naver, is striving to expand globally, but its efforts face uncertainty despite a new strategic division and the return of founder Lee Hae-jin to the board. As of Tuesday, Naver reorganized its global business divisions, appointing former Chief Financial Officer Kim Nam-sun to lead its strategic investment division and drive the company’s global investments. The company also established a strategic business division to put greater emphasis on businesses in overseas markets, including Saudi Arabia. In February, Naver established Naver Arabia as the control tower of its Middle East businesses, including digital twin and Arabic large language models. The moves came in the wake of Naver founder Lee’s return as the company’s board chairman, which was approved during the company’s annual general meeting of shareholders on March 26. After leaving the company’s board in 2017, Lee has held a position called global investment officer, reflecting the company’s bid to expand into the global market. Naver said it expects Lee’s return will “accelerate the

Apr 2, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
Naver faces challenges in global expansion bid
previous page
533534535536537
next page

Most Read in Business