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  • Companies

    Hefty fines loom for Baemin, Coupang Eats as FTC rejects self-correction bids

    The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has rejected self-correction proposals from the country's top two food delivery platforms, Baedal Minjok, informally known as Baemin, and Coupang Eats, paving the way for fines that could amount to tens of billions of won over allegations that they abused their market dominance, the antitrust watchdog said Thursday. The regulatory authority rejected the companies’ applications for a consent decree — a mechanism that allows firms to resolve antitrust cases without admitting liability by offering voluntary remedies — ruling that they did not meet the legal requirements to initiate such a settlement process. Following the latest decision, the watchdog will resume its formal review to determine the illegality of the practices and the scale of sanctions. The watchdog’s probe into the two companies has focused on finding alleged anti-competitive practices, including unfair treatment of affiliated partner restaurants and deceptive advertising. According to the FTC, Baemin and Coupang Eats forced restaurants to accept terms in food prices, minimum order am

    2 MIN READBy Lee Min-hyung
    Hefty fines loom for Baemin, Coupang Eats as FTC rejects self-correction bids
  • Companies

    Hyundai Motor to build green hydrogen power system at Antarctic research station

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Hyundai Motor to build green hydrogen power system at Antarctic research station
  • Banking & Finance

    AI-generated complaints create new headaches for insurers

    3 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    AI-generated complaints create new headaches for insurers
  • Tech & Science

    SK hynix ships 12-high HBM4E samples to customers

    2 MIN READBy Nam Hyun-woo
    SK hynix ships 12-high HBM4E samples to customers
  • Tech & Science

    Anthropic opens Seoul office to expand ties with Korean AI ecosystem

    3 MIN READBy Nam Hyun-woo
    Anthropic opens Seoul office to expand ties with Korean AI ecosystem
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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

Hyundai Rotem launches Korean high-speed train service in Uzbekistan

Hyundai Rotem said Wednesday that its newly supplied high-speed trains began commercial operations in Uzbekistan on Tuesday (local time), marking the first time a Korean-built high-speed train has entered commercial service overseas. The trains are operating on a 1,020-kilometer route linking Tashkent, the capital of the Central Asian country, with Khiva, a historic Silk Road city in the country’s western region. The line is the longest railway route in Uzbekistan. The high-speed trains were designed based on the KTX-Eum, a distributed traction high-speed train whose reliability has been proven through commercial operations in Korea. The trains feature dust-resistant designs to withstand extreme heat and desert environments. Hyundai Rotem expects the launch to contribute to improvements in Uzbekistan’s transportation infrastructure. Travel time between Tashkent and Khiva is projected to be cut roughly in half to about seven hours. The company added that the project is also expected to create a ripple effect across Korea’s high-speed rail ecosystem. More than 600 domestic parts supp

May 6, 2026By Lee Min-hyung
Hyundai Rotem launches Korean high-speed train service in Uzbekistan
Banking & Finance

KakaoBank reports record earnings in Q1 on one-off factor

Leading online lender KakaoBank said Wednesday it posted record earnings in the first quarter due to one-off income. Net profit during the January-March period rose 36.3 percent from a year earlier to a record high of 187.3 billion won ($128.4 million), the company said in a regulatory filing. Its operating profit fell 13.89 percent on-year to 157.6 billion won over the cited period. Revenue increased 4.43 percent to 819.3 billion won. The company attributed its strong earnings to one-off income from the recent listing of Indonesian digital bank Superbank, in which Kakao Bank participated as a key investor. Its non-interest income totaled 302.9 billion won, while interest income amounted to 819.3 billion won. As of end-March, the number of the bank's customers had stood at 27.27 million. Its monthly active users reached 20.32 million.

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
KakaoBank reports record earnings in Q1 on one-off factor
Companies

Coupang swings to net loss in Q1 amid fallout from data breach

U.S.-listed e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. said Wednesday it swung to a net loss in the first quarter amid fallout from a massive customer data breach in Korea. The company posted a net deficit of $266 million in the January-March period, compared with a net profit of $114 million a year earlier, Coupang said in a press release. Coupang also turned to an operating loss of $242 million in the first quarter from a net profit of $154 million a year ago, while sales rose 8 percent on-year to $8.5 billion. Coupang Korea, which generates more than 90 percent of the group's total revenue, has faced strong public backlash following the disclosure of a data breach in November 2025 involving some 33.6 million customers. It marked the company's largest net and operating losses since the fourth quarter of 2021. Coupang had steadily narrowed its operating losses beginning in 2022 and returned to operating profit in the third quarter of that year. Sales in the product commerce segment, its core online shopping business, rose 4 percent on-year to $7.2 billion in the first quarter. Revenue from the developi

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
Coupang swings to net loss in Q1 amid fallout from data breach
Companies

Korean battery firms take hit as more EV projects in US fall through

Repeated cancellations of electric vehicle (EV) production projects in the United States are weighing on Korean companies that had planned to supply batteries, prompting them to tighten partnerships with European automakers. SK On is reconsidering its plan to supply $10 billion worth of batteries to Nissan Motor’s Canton plant in Mississippi after the Japanese carmaker decided not to produce EVs at the U.S. facility. The move follows SK On’s decision last December to dissolve its joint venture with Ford Motor amid slow progress in the U.S. carmaker’s electrification efforts, raising concerns about the Korean battery maker’s business there. In March last year, SK On agreed to supply 99.4 gigawatt hours of high-nickel batteries to Nissan, marking the first time a Japanese automaker would use the Korean company’s products. However, after delays in its electrification strategy, Nissan informed dealers and parts suppliers in the U.S. on April 30 that it would cancel a $500 million project to produce electric SUVs in Canton. "Canton does have a future that will include diverse powertr

May 6, 2026By Park Jae-hyuk
Korean battery firms take hit as more EV projects in US fall through
Companies

PHOTO HMM on edge

An employee enters the office of HMM Ocean Service in Busan, HMM's ship management subsidiary running a fleet control center, Tuesday, a day after an explosion aboard the Korean shipping firm-operated vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. With all 24 crew members unharmed, the damaged ship will be towed to a nearby port in Dubai to verify the cause of the explosion and carry out repairs. Yonhap

May 5, 2026By Park Jae-hyukphoto
[PHOTO] HMM on edge
Banking & Finance

Korea Eximbank forges strategic partnership with Uzbek ministry

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Uzbekistan's investment ministry to establish a strategic partnership, the state-run lender said Tuesday. The signing ceremony took place Sunday in Samarkand, on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank. Under the agreement, the two sides will expand cooperation in industrial development and strengthen information sharing to help stabilize supply chains. The partnership will also cover investments in energy transition and green infrastructure, as well as collaboration in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The MOU follows an agreement reached last December between the two countries' deputy prime ministers for economic affairs. The signing ceremony was attended by Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and Eximbank CEO Hwang Ki-yeon. Uzbek officials in attendance included Deputy Prime Minister Khodjaev Jamshid Abdukhakimovich, Finance Minister Kuchkarov Djamshid Anvarovich and Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Gulamov Shokhrukh Khasanovich. Eximbank said

May 5, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea Eximbank forges strategic partnership with Uzbek ministry
Companies

Samsung Electronics board chair warns of economic fallout from planned strike

Samsung Electronics's board chairman on Tuesday expressed concerns over the potential economic impact of a planned general strike by unionized workers and called for the dispute to be resolved through dialogue, the company said. "As chairman of the board, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the current situation and apologize for causing concern," Chairman Shin Je-yoon said in a message posted on the company's intranet. He warned that both management and labor could lose in a worst-case scenario, noting that such an outcome could hurt the broader economy, including weakened business competitiveness, loss of customer trust and losses for shareholders and investors. Unionized workers earlier announced plans to stage an 18-day general walkout from May 21 to June 7, demanding higher performance-based bonuses. Some estimates suggest the strike could cost the Korean tech giant up to 30 trillion won ($20.3 billion) if it runs from May 21 to June 7. Last month, Samsung Electronics posted an operating profit of 57.23 trillion won for the first quarter, up from 6.68 trillion won a year earlie

May 5, 2026By Yonhap
Samsung Electronics board chair warns of economic fallout from planned strike
Banking & Finance

Parents skeptical about gov't decision to allow credit cards for minors

The government’s decision to allow the issuance of credit cards to minors aged 12 and older has drawn skepticism from parents Tuesday, with some raising concerns about early exposure to overspending and the potential for delinquency. Credit cards had previously been limited to adults aged 19 and older, but the minimum eligibility age was lowered through a revision to the enforcement decree of the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act, which took effect Monday. A woman in her 40s surnamed Kim, who lives in Seoul’s Gangseo District and has a 13-year-old daughter, expressed doubts about the move, questioning whether a credit card is necessary when her child already has a debit card. Her daughter currently uses KakaoBank's "mini card," a debit card designed for teenagers, through which she receives a monthly allowance of 100,000 won ($67). "I don't see the need for a credit card, since it's ultimately a system where I have to pay for what my daughter spends," she said. "It feels like a policy designed to benefit card companies. If misused, it could lead to delinquencies or other side e

May 5, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Parents skeptical about gov't decision to allow credit cards for minors
Companies

Mom's Touch, Burger King return to M&A market with increased earnings

Private equity firms are resuming efforts to sell their fast food franchises, as the businesses have become more attractive investment targets amid growing demand for affordable meals during prolonged inflation. KL&Partners recently sent requests for proposals to major investment banks and accounting firms to select an underwriter for the sale of Mom's Touch & Co. After acquiring a 57 percent stake in Mom's Touch for 200 billion won ($135 million) from its founder in 2019, the Korean private equity firm delisted the chicken sandwich chain by purchasing the remaining 43 percent stake in 2022 and sought to sell the company the same year. However, the attempt fell through as potential buyers balked at the 1 trillion won valuation. Following the failed sale, KL&Partners expanded Mom's Touch stores overseas, increasing revenue by 14.6 percent year-on-year to 479 billion won last year and operating profit by 22.2 percent to 89.7 billion won. While the Chinese fast food chain Tastien has been mentioned as a potential buyer, industry officials are closely watching whether KL&Partners can secure

May 5, 2026By Park Jae-hyuk
Mom's Touch, Burger King return to M&A market with increased earnings
Companies

Renault Korea struggles with declining sales of strategic Filante crossover

Renault Korea reported a sharp sales decline last month, hit by falling domestic demand for the carmaker’s new strategic Filante crossover and sluggish exports of its other models. Renault sold a total of 6,199 vehicles in April, down 40.5 percent from a year earlier, as it posted a steep decline in both Korea and overseas markets amid prolonged economic uncertainty and rising fuel costs, the company said. Domestic sales fell 23.4 percent to 4,025 vehicles, while exports suffered a steeper decline of 58 percent to 2,174 units during the same period. For the local market, the Filante crossover drove its sales with 2,139 units, followed by the Grand Koleos SUV at 1,550 units. However, Filante’s April sales dropped by more than half from a month earlier, raising concerns that the strategic new model may lose its market traction earlier than expected. Renault Korea started the delivery of the Filante premium crossover to local customers in mid-March, pinning high hopes on the vehicle as its new revenue driver following the robust success of the Grand Koleos SUV. Exports also remained slug

May 5, 2026By Lee Min-hyung
Renault Korea struggles with declining sales of strategic Filante crossover
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