South Korea will establish a government-wide commission for the comprehensive management of supply chains of items necessary for major industries and the people's everyday lives amid growing supply chain risks, the finance ministry said Monday. The government also plans to create a fund to secure critical items and support investment in relevant facilities as the country seeks to reduce dependence on China and other nations to better ensure stable supply chains of key items, according to th

Local banks are considering a financial support program worth 2 trillion won ($1.52 billion) for owners of small businesses by giving back a part of their loan payments, amid prolonged inflation and high interest rates. The measure was discussed Thursday during a task force meeting of local financial institutions and regulatory bodies aimed at finding means to support the public livelihood, industry sources said Sunday. The first of the collective efforts is set to be a cash-back rewards scheme

South Korea’s exports of dried seaweed and Korean instant noodles, called ramyeon, are expected to hit record highs this year, according to government data and industry sources, Sunday. According to data from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, outbound shipments of dried seaweed reached $670 million between January and October, up 20.4 percent on-year. Dried seaweed exports continued to increase in November to reach $702 million as of Nov. 10, topping the previous record of $690 milli

Renault Korea Motors is pinning high hopes for next year to be the beginning of a complete turnaround after years of struggle, as the French automaker has big plans for 2024 and beyond, its CEO says. “Next year, we will have two big events. One related to the brand uplift and one related to the launch of the Aurora 1,” said Renault Korea Motors CEO Stephane Deblaise in an interview with The Korea Herald at the automaker’s office in Seoul on Dec. 5. The Aurora 1, codenamed AR1,

The Korea Water Resources Corp., or K-water, said Saturday it attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference to represent South Korea while seeking international cooperation on tackling climate change. COP is an annual multilateral decision-making forum on climate change where almost every country gathers to address the climate crisis. Kicking off on Nov. 30, this year’s COP28 forum was held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, with the aim of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees

SK Group said Sunday it has formed an alliance with Korean energy firms and business groups to expand the voluntary carbon market, which allows carbon emitters to offset their emissions by purchasing carbon credits. On Friday, a total of 11 institutions and enterprises signed a multilateral memorandum of understanding to form an alliance for the "Environmental Protection Credit Market," on the sidelines of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also called COP28, which take

Samsung Group Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won are set to travel to the Netherlands this week to strengthen business ties with ASML, the sole provider of equipment critical in producing advanced chips. The heads of South Korea's top two conglomerates are accompanying President Yoon Suk Yeol on his state visit to the Netherlands from Monday to Thursday. There, they will visit ASML's headquarters in Veldhoven, and also explore the Dutch firm's newly built cle

Diverse, a Korean metaverse and game development company, said Monday that its Web3 gaming platform Creta has secured a new partnership with Thomas Vu, the renowned producer of the League of Legends game. Under the partnership, Creta agreed to support the game incubation business led by Vu, through which promising game developers can obtain ideas, resources and funding opportunities. Vu started his gaming career as a producer at Namco Bandai Games and Electronic Arts -- the publisher of the Sims

South Korean aerospace and defense firm LIG Nex1 has decided to acquire a 60 percent stake in American quadruped maker Ghost Robotics for some 315 billion won ($240 million) to secure a future growth platform and penetrate the US defense market. In a regulatory filing on Dec. 8, LIG Nex1 disclosed its plan to purchase the controlling stake in Ghost Robotics. For the deal, the Korean company will inject 187.7 billion won into LNGR, a specially formed entity provisionally named for this acquisitio

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top carmaker, and its sister company, Kia Corp., are set to post combined exports of 2 million units in 2023, data showed Sunday, on the back of the post-pandemic market recovery. Hyundai and Kia shipped 945,062 and 867,136 respective units of automobiles over the January-October period, according to the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association. The combined figure represented a 17.5 percent rise from the same period in 2022, the data showed. Considering

South Korea's exports of dried seaweed hit a new record on the back of growing awareness of healthy food around the globe, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of dried seaweed, called "gim" in Korean, reached $670 million over the January-October period, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The ministry noted the combined export volume came to $700 million as of Nov. 10, surpassing the previous record of $690 million for the en

China's consumer prices experienced their fastest decline in three years this November, while factory-gate deflation deepened, indicating increasing deflationary pressures as weak domestic demand casts doubt on the economic recovery The consumer price index dropped 0.5 percent both from a year earlier and compared with October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Saturday. That was deeper than the median forecasts in a Reuters poll, which predicted 0.1 percent declin

DS Dansuk, South Korea’s resource recycling company, on Friday threw its hat into the ring as the last candidate for a market debut this year, with bold plans for businesses ranging from biodiesel to battery and plastic waste recycling. “After the initial public offering, we will set up additional production facilities and invest more in research and development to create a strong foothold as a global brand leading the circular economy," said DS Dansuk co-CEO Kim Jong-wan during

South Korean stocks gained more than 1 percent Friday, led by the strong performance of big-cap tech shares that tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The local currency sharply rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 25.78 points, or 1.03 percent, to finish at 2,517.85. The secondary KOSDAQ jumped 2.11 percent to end at 830.37. The Kospi's trade volume was moderate at 421.4 million shares worth 7.69 trillion won (US$5.88 billion), with winners ou

Hanwha Aerospace said Friday it has clinched a deal with the Australian government to supply 3.2 trillion won ($2.4 billion) worth of armored tanks. Hanwha Defense Australia, the company’s subsidiary in Australia, is poised to deliver 129 units of Hanwha’s Redback infantry fighting vehicles by 2028. The tanks will be manufactured in a new plant in Australia set to complete construction next year. Hanwha said it will be supplying military equipment designed for export for the first ti

LG Energy Solution said Friday that it has signed an agreement with Impact Clean Power Technology, a leading Polish battery systems manufacturer, ramping up its foray into the European market for commercial electric vehicles. ICPT, established in 2005, operates the GigafactoryX near Warsaw, which manufactures and assembles advanced battery systems for larger EVs such as electric buses and trucks. Under the agreement, the Korean battery giant will supply 200,000 nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) ba

Mercedes-Benz’s new E-Class sedan is hitting the Korean market in January next year, the Korean unit of the German luxury carmaker said Friday. The 11th generation E-Class is a complete revamp from the 10th version launched in 2016. In Korea, the car claimed the No. 1 spot in sales for seven consecutive years among foreign brand cars. Korea is Mercedes-Benz’s fourth-largest market globally. The new model, unveiled at the digital world premiere this April, underwent a full change to f

Citibank Korea has been named the Best International Bank in Korea for 2023 by Asiamoney, a monthly financial magazine published in Hong Kong, the bank announced Friday. Asiamoney explained that it selected Citibank Korea for the latest award, as it demonstrated significant improvements in performance across various financial metrics, citing tangible gains in total revenue and net income compared to the previous year. The bank showed particularly strong growth in the corporate banking businesses

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Friday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 20.03 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,512.10 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, all three major US indexes gained ground, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite up 1.37 percent, as communication and IT shares rallied on favorable news in the artificial intelligence sector. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, jumped more than 5 percent on t

South Korea logged a current account surplus for the sixth straight month in October on the back of a trade surplus, a reduction in the service deficit and increased dividend income from overseas, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus reached $6.8 billion in October, widening from the surplus of $5.42 billion the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. October's surplus came as the country's trade balance has remained