With Millennials and Generation Z -- those born from the 1980s onward -- emerging as major players in the luxury industry, South Korea ranked No. 10 in high-end fashion transactions last year, a report showed Wednesday According to Samjong KPMG, a Seoul-based consulting firm, the country’s luxury goods market size soared on-year by 29.6 percent to $5.8 billion in 2021. By 2024, it is projected to exceed $7 billion. Foreign luxury brands in major department stores in South Korea have see

South Korean steelmaking giant Posco said Wednesday that its high manganese steel which withstands extremely low temperatures has received technical approval from global energy firm ExxonMobil for usage in LNG storage tanks. The two firms joined in a technical partnership in 2020 to expand the use of high manganese steel which Posco succeeded in mass-producing for the first time in the world. High manganese steel is a new type of material that Posco has developed in 2013, by adding 10 to 30 p

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it has partnered with US software company Red Hat to develop software technologies for next-generation memory solutions, as the industry is anticipating the birth of software to be integrated in memory chip hardware. Red Hat, an IBM subsidiary, is known for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, a commercial open-source Linux operating system distribution developed by the company. Under the partnership, Samsung and Red Hat will jointly develop and validate a software tha

Standard Chartered Bank Korea said it will offer a special interest rate of up to 2 percent per annum to new customers opening a checking account by May 31. Launched in July last year, the SC My Signature account has been popular for its stable interest rate amid high market volatility. For those with over 100 million won ($79,140) in SC bank transactions, an interest rate of up to 1.7 percent will be applied to the amount in deposit for 31 or more days, the bank said. For those making their

South Korean tiremaker Kumho Tire said Monday that it has incorporated new and differentiated marketing strategies to accelerate business normalization. The tiremaker has launched a new commercial in April under the slogan, “There is no road you cannot go,” to express its belief that there is no road in the world that Kumho Tire can‘t go, said company officials. The commercial was uploaded to the tiremaker’s YouTube channel. Kumho Tire currently operates the largest Yo

South Korean information technology solutions firm LG CNS has come up with 52 real-life applications for artificial intelligence, in line with its move to expand AI-related consulting services, the company said Wednesday. The use cases will allow its clients to better identify what kind of AI solutions they would need, and help LG CNS recommend the most optimal solution to the clients, LG CNS said in a statement. For example, if a company is looking to avoid worksite disasters, LG CNS will r

South Korean recycled leather company ATKO Planning said Wednesday that it has been selected by German carmaker BMW as a potential business partner at a startup pitching event held at the Seoul Trade Exhibition Center on April 21. The annual event, BMW Startup Garage Open Innovation Pitching Day, is co-hosted by the automaker, the Korea Venture Investment Corp., and Korea’s trade promotion agency Kotra to select local enterprises that could work with BMW to accelerate the automaker&rsquo

South Korean telecommunication firm SK Telecom unveiled Wednesday plans to explore more use cases of quantum-protected chips used in Samsung Galaxy Quantum series smartphone, in hopes of entering mass market by the first quarter of 2024. The world‘s first-ever crypto chip solutions have so far been applied to the Galaxy Quantum series smartphone -- available for purchase only in Korea -- based on the quantum random number generator chip solutions SK Telecom developed jointly with Switzerl

T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, said Wednesday it has added three A330-300 planes to its fleet to open a new route and resume flights on international routes amid eased COVID-19 virus curbs. In February, T'way Air brought in its first A330-300 plane and has been operating it on the Gimpo-Jeju route since March 22. The second one arrived last month and the third has just been added. With the latest two A330-300s, T'way Air plans to open the Incheon-Singapore route and t

South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI said Wednesday it is building its first US plant in the state of Indiana along with its joint venture partner Stellantis, joining its crosstown rivals to secure its footing in the burgeoning electric vehicle market. The $2.5 billion plant, located in Kokomo, Indiana, is expected to break ground later this year and start operations in the first quarter of 2025. The companies said they aim to elevate its production capacity from the current 23 gigawatt-ho

South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI Co. said Wednesday it is investing $1.29 billion in an electric vehicle battery plant to be built in the US state of Indiana under a joint venture with Stellantis N.V. Samsung SDI will own a 51 percent stake in the $2.5 billion joint venture company set up with the Chrysler parent, and its investment could increase to as much as $1.57 billion in the long term, it said in a regulatory filing. Samsung SDI and Stellantis may boost their investment in the proje

  An employee of Woori Bank and his brother were indicted on Tuesday on charges of embezzling more than 60 billion won (US$47.4 million) from one of the nation's largest commercial banks.    The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said it indicted the brothers for embezzlement and violating the law on flight of domestic property. The employee, identified only by his surname Jeon, was also charged with forgery of documents.    The employee was arrested on April