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  • Companies

    Hybrid becomes Hyundai Motor's new US strategy

    Hyundai Motor is expanding hybrid production and local sourcing in the United States, in a strategic shift to blunt the impact of tariffs. The effort — unveiled at its 2026 CEO Investor Day on Wednesday — is centered on its plan to offer more than 10 hybrid models in North America by 2030, with a goal of making hybrids account for around half of its regional sales there. The strategy goes beyond expanding its hybrid lineup. Hyundai said it will raise its North American local parts sourcing target to 80 percent in the same timeline, up from the previous target of 60 percent, as it seeks to build a more localized supply chain and reduce exposure to trade-related costs. The vehicles will be produced at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama and Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia. The shift comes as Hyundai Motor faces a more uncertain U.S. auto market. The company is subject to a 15 percent tariff on automobiles, while uncertainty over future U.S. trade policy continues to weigh on the automaker's long-term investment decisions. To mitigate the risks, the carmaker is increasin

    2 MIN READBy Lee Min-hyung
    Hybrid becomes Hyundai Motor's new US strategy
  • Companies

    POSCO extends helping hand through global student volunteer program

    2 MIN READBy Nam Hyun-woo
    POSCO extends helping hand through global student volunteer program
  • Companies

    CJ OliveNetworks hosts AI tech challenge for healthy eating

    2 MIN READBy Jhoo Dong-chan
    CJ OliveNetworks hosts AI tech challenge for healthy eating
  • Companies

    Korean e-commerce platform SSG.com to spin off beauty, lifestyle biz

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korean e-commerce platform SSG.com to spin off beauty, lifestyle biz
  • Tech & Science

    Motif challenges national AI model project after elimination

    3 MIN READBy Lee Gyu-lee
    Motif challenges national AI model project after elimination
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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

Watchdog to slap $488.7 mil. fine on 4 starch makers for price rigging

Korea's fair trade watchdog on Tuesday decided to impose a record 747.6 billion-won ($488.7 million) fine on four starch producers for colluding to fix prices. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it made the decision after finding that Daesang Corp., Sajo CPK Ltd., Samyang Corp. and CJ CheilJedang Corp. fixed prices of starch and starch sugars from May 2018 to October 2025, noting the fine marks the largest amount for a single price-rigging case. Starch and starch sugar products are used in the production of foodstuffs, such as confectionery, bread, noodles, beverages and beer. They are also used in the manufacturing sector, including the production of paper and steel. "Thus, a hike in starch prices leads to chain effects across all levels of industry," the FTC said, noting the combined volume of related sales was estimated at 6.05 trillion won. According to the watchdog, the companies' executive-level officials reached an overall consensus, with other details, such as price targets and timing, discussed through follow-up working-level meetings. The FTC also ordered the companies to rese

Jul 7, 2026By Yonhap
Watchdog to slap $488.7 mil. fine on 4 starch makers for price rigging
Companies

Agoda fined $1.7 mil. for hidden fees, obscure refund policies

Korea’s media and communications regulator said Monday that it fined Agoda, a global travel booking platform, 2.42 billion won ($1.7 million) for failing to clearly disclose critical financial terms, including cancellation fees and hidden surcharges, to its users. The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) characterized the platform’s practices as a violation of the country’s Telecommunications Business Act. Following a sweeping investigation launched in September 2024, regulators concluded that Agoda had systematically obscured vital pricing information, potentially causing substantial financial harm to consumers booking flights and hotel accommodations. According to the commission, Agoda intentionally buried ticket refund conditions and change fees behind irrelevant hyperlinks labeled "Baggage Allowance and Policy," rather than displaying them on the primary booking interface. This design effectively prevented travelers from understanding their financial liabilities prior to purchase. The regulator also took aim at Agoda’s "Pay Later" feature. While the platform disp

Jul 7, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Agoda fined $1.7 mil. for hidden fees, obscure refund policies
Companies

LG Electronics Q2 operating profit hits record high on robust home appliance sales

LG Electronics Inc. on Tuesday estimated its second-quarter operating profit jumped 146.9 percent from a year earlier to a record high, driven by robust sales in its home appliance business. Operating profit is expected to total 1.57 trillion won ($1.02 billion) in the April-June period, compared with 639.4 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Revenue rose 14.9 percent on-year to 23.82 trillion won, also a record. Net profit was not immediately available. For the first half of the year, revenue climbed to a record 47.56 trillion won, while operating profit reached an all-time high of 3.25 trillion won. First-half operating profit also exceeded the company's full-year operating profit of 2.48 trillion won recorded last year. The strong performance was driven by solid sales of premium home appliances and televisions. Air conditioner sales also increased in overseas markets during the peak seasonal demand period, while continued growth in the company's vehicle components business helped offset uncertainties stemming from the geopolitical conflict in the Middle

Jul 7, 2026By Yonhap
LG Electronics Q2 operating profit hits record high on robust home appliance sales
Tech & Science

KAI, Naver team up to develop defense AI platform

Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Korean portal operator Naver will jointly develop an artificial intelligence (AI) foundation model tailored for the defense sector, the companies said Tuesday. KAI, the developer of the homegrown KF-21 fighter jet, Naver and its cloud arm, Naver Cloud, signed a memorandum of understanding for an aerospace and defense AI partnership at KAI's headquarters in the southeastern city of Sacheon on Monday. Under the agreement, the three companies will combine Naver's AI and cloud technologies with KAI's aerospace expertise and defense system integration capabilities to develop an AI foundation model optimized for defense applications. They also plan to strengthen sovereign AI capabilities for defense, develop proprietary AI models, advance physical AI technologies and expand the country's defense AI ecosystem. Sovereign AI refers to AI systems that are independently developed and operated to align with a country's data, language, regulatory and security requirements. Priority areas include autonomous flight and mission execution technologies for unmanned aer

Jul 7, 2026By Yonhap
KAI, Naver team up to develop defense AI platform
Companies

LG Energy Q2 operating profit plunges 77% on EV slowdown

LG Energy Solution (LGES), Korea's leading battery maker, said Tuesday its estimated operating profit plunged 77 percent in the second quarter amid a prolonged slowdown in the electric vehicle (EV) market. In the three-month period that ended in June, operating profit fell to 113.3 billion won ($74.1 million) from 492.1 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a press release. "Sluggish EV sales in the North American market and the suspension of operations at U.S. joint venture plants since early this year affected the quarterly results," a company spokesperson said. Ultium Cells, the joint venture between LGES and General Motors, temporarily halted operations at its first plant in Ohio and its second plant in Tennessee in January due to slowing demand. Sales rose 24.8 percent to 7.56 trillion won in the second quarter from 6.06 trillion won a year ago. LGES received a tax credit of 241 billion won under the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit (AMPC) program of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, the company said. Excluding the AMPC, the company posted an operating loss of 127.7

Jul 7, 2026By Yonhap
LG Energy Q2 operating profit plunges 77% on EV slowdown
Tech & Science

Samsung Electronics' Q2 profit tops Nvidia's record on AI chip boom

Samsung Electronics once again projected record-breaking earnings for the second quarter, Tuesday, forecasting an operating profit of 89.4 trillion won ($58.4 billion) and 171 trillion won in sales in its earnings guidance, driven by a global boom in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips. The company said its operating profit is estimated to have surged 1,810.3 percent from a year earlier and 56.2 percent from the previous quarter, while sales also jumped 129.3 percent year-over-year and 27.7 percent from the first quarter. The earnings estimate surpasses Samsung’s previous record quarterly operating profit of 57.23 trillion won in the first quarter of this year, extending its unprecedented streak to a third consecutive quarter of record revenue and operating profit. The second-quarter operating profit alone exceeded the company’s combined operating profit over the past three years, which totaled 82.9 trillion won — 6.57 trillion won in 2023, 32.7 trillion won in 2024 and 43.6 trillion won in 2025. The results also surpass the record quarterly operating profits posted by tw

Jul 7, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
Samsung Electronics' Q2 profit tops Nvidia's record on AI chip boom
Companies

Hanwha Ocean defeated by Germany’s TKMS in Canada submarine deal

Hanwha Ocean has lost its bid to supply Canada’s next-generation submarine fleet, after Ottawa selected Germany’s TKMS as the preferred bidder for the megaproject, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday. The decision marks a major setback for the Korean shipbuilder in Canada's 60 trillion won ($39.2 billion) project to replace the Royal Canadian Navy's aging fleet of four Victoria-class submarines with 12 new 3,000-ton diesel-electric vessels. The program also includes long-term maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services. Carney formally announced the selection of TKMS before his departure for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders' summit in Turkey. "This was a difficult, close decision between two highly qualified suppliers. Both the TKMS and Hanwha platforms met the capabilities of the Royal Canadian Navy, and both put forward strong proposals,” he said in his speech in Halifax, Canada’s largest Atlantic coastal city. Hanwha Ocean pitched a variant of its 3,000-ton KSS-III Batch-II submarine. The vessel, developed for the Korean Navy, features fu

Jul 7, 2026By Lee Min-hyung
Hanwha Ocean defeated by Germany’s TKMS in Canada submarine deal
Companies

SK hynix lowers Nasdaq ADR offering to $28 bil.

Chip giant SK hynix said Monday it plans to raise up to 43.14 trillion won ($28.14 billion) through a stock offering linked to the listing of its American depositary receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq market. The amount was revised down from 45.45 trillion won in an earlier plan, reflecting Friday's closing price of 2.42 million won on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), compared with 2.55 million won on June 23. In a regulatory briefing, SK hynix said it will issue up to 17.79 million new shares, equivalent to about 2.5 percent of its total shares, for the ADR listing scheduled for Friday. The subscription and payment dates are set for July 14, while the new depository receipts are scheduled to be listed on July 29. The exact amount will be confirmed after book building, the chipmaker said. ADRs refer to securities issued in the U.S. stock market that allow investors to trade shares of foreign companies. They allow companies to attract U.S.-based investors without a full listing of common shares. The world's second-largest memory chipmaker said the proceeds from the stock sale will

Jul 6, 2026By Yonhap
SK hynix lowers Nasdaq ADR offering to $28 bil.
Tech & Science

Gwangju Airport site chosen for southwestern chip hub

An airport in Gwangju has been selected as the site for a new semiconductor cluster, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are expected to build facilities there as part of the government’s megaprojects aimed at expanding the country's chip manufacturing capacity. The Gwangju Airport location was chosen during a meeting of officials from relevant government organizations and executives from the companies, which was held a week after the chip giants announced their massive investment plan totaling 800 trillion won ($522 billion) for the cluster. Gwangju Airport has both civilian and military functions, with civilian aircraft operating only domestic routes. Discussions have been ongoing about relocating the airport's operations to Muan, South Jeolla Province. “Among the shortlisted candidate sites in the southwestern region, the companies said the airport site is the most suitable one,” presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said in a press briefing. He explained that the airport site offers the strongest advantages due to its flattened terrain and strong tra

Jul 6, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee
Gwangju Airport site chosen for southwestern chip hub
Banking & Finance

Hana Bank begins round-the-clock FX trading services

Hana Bank began providing round-the-clock trading services, Monday, as Korea’s won-dollar foreign exchange market entered the first full day of its 24-hour operation. The change abolishes the previous trading window of 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following day, allowing global investors and other market participants to trade the won against the U.S. dollar at Seoul market rates regardless of the time of day. To mark the launch, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol visited Hana Bank’s dealing room in Seoul, where he observed the extended trading session alongside Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo and Hana Bank CEO Lee Ho-sung. The delegation also held a video call with the bank’s London branch, a registered foreign institution participating in Korea’s onshore FX market, to monitor market activity during European trading hours. Ahead of the transition, Hana Bank said it had strengthened its foreign exchange operations by opening Hana Infinity Seoul, the country’s largest FX dealing room, in 2024 and establishing a 24-hour operating system in step with the phased expansion of trading

Jul 6, 2026By Park Han-sol
Hana Bank begins round-the-clock FX trading services
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