LG Display, the top display maker in producing high-end organic light-emitting diode panels for TVs, has launched a voluntary redundancy program for its factory workers in its latest bid to reduce costs after months of operational losses, according to industry sources on Wednesday. Workers at its manufacturing plants in Paju, Gyeonggi Province and Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, are eligible for voluntary retirement if they are over 40 years old. The company is offering severance pay for 36 m

AliExpress, an online direct purchase platform owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has revealed plans to invest 10 billion won ($7.6 million) in South Korea over the next three years to extensively regulate counterfeit goods sold on the platform, according to the firm on Wednesday. The announcement comes amid ongoing consumer complaints about counterfeit goods purchased through the platform since its official debut in Korea in 2018. "We feel an increased sense of responsibility

Posco Future M said Wednesday its Pohang plant in North Gyeongsang Province had started the supply of high-nickel cathode materials to the US-based Ultium Cells, the joint venture of LG Energy Solution and General Motors. Following its manufacturing plant in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, the Pohang site is the company’s second production base for high-nickel cathode materials. With the fast-growing demand for the materials from battery makers, it has moved up the schedule for commercia

Posco International announced Wednesday it has signed a contract worth 300 billion won ($229 million) to supply electric vehicle parts to an American manufacturer, ramping up its presence in the green vehicles industry. Under the contract, Posco International will supply electric vehicle reducers to a major automaker based in the US from 2024 until 2032. The company declined to reveal the name of the client, citing deal conditions. A reducer can adjust the rotational speed to increase the torque

The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, the nation’s leading mutual financial institution, said Wednesday it successfully hosted a three-day workshop in Kenya, to discuss ways to foster financial inclusion and a transition to sustainable growth in Africa. The workshop titled “Cooperatives for a Sustainable Transition in Africa” kicked off in Nairobi on Monday in collaboration with the International Cooperative Alliance and the University of Leuven in Belgium.

KB Financial Group Chief Digital Platform Officer Cho Young-suh (first from left, front row) and participants pose for a photo after the “2023 Hub Day," held at the KB Innovation Hub center in Seoul on Tuesday. Hub Day is an annual startup Demo Day hosted for the members of the KB Starters program, a startup accelerator program run by the financial giant. A total of 40 startups participated in this year’s event to share business ideas and seek partnership opportunities with KB s

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday that its premium brand's all-electric sports utility vehicle, the Genesis GV60, has been named the 2024 China SUV of the Year. According to the carmaker, the car won the top honor by a wide margin as it received a total score of 186, while the Lotus Eletre and the Geely Galaxy L7 received 121 and 107 points, respectively, among some 80 competitors. (Hyundai Motor Group)

By Chung Hwang-keun Minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs “Technology changes agriculture and, consequently, the lives of farmers,” said John May, chairman and CEO of John Deere, an American manufacturer of farm machinery and industrial equipment that is drawing the world’s attention for its advanced autonomous farming machines. By implication, he emphasized the necessity of technological innovation in agriculture, going beyond traditional ways of farming, to re

Twitch, a popular U.S.-based live game streaming platform, said Wednesday it plans to shut down its South Korean service in February next year due to high network usage fees in the country. In an announcement posted on its corporate blog, Twitch Interactive Inc. CEO Dan Clancy said the company "made the difficult decision to shut down the Twitch business in Korea on February 27, 2024." Clancy said the cost to operate Twitch in South Korea was "prohibitively expensive" and sai

Find the answer at the bottom. Large, voluminous and round white pottery vessels known as “moon jars” stand as quintessential examples of South Korea’s Joseon-era porcelain art. Originating from the late 17th century, these distinctive porcelain jars maintained their popularity through the late Joseon period, setting themselves apart as unique creations not replicated in China or Japan. The term "moon jar" is a relatively recent invention, created by Korean mode

South Korean stocks started a tad higher Wednesday led by gains in tech and financial shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 5.65 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,499.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, U.S. stocks finished mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreating 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edging up 0.3 percent. In Seoul, chipmakers lent support to the positive opening, with No. 1 Samsung Electronics rising 0.84 percent and

Top companies in South Korea boosted their donations in the first nine months of the year despite overall weaker earnings, a corporate tracker said. CEO Score, which tracks corporate management activities, said 264 out of the country’s top 500 firms by sales donated a combined 1.42 trillion won ($1.09 billion) to charities during the January-September period, up 25.1 percent from a year ago. CEO Score said the increase came despite the overall lackluster corporate performances during the p

The finance ministers of South Korea and Britain on Tuesday discussed the establishment of a bilateral economic dialogue and investment cooperation channels as follow-up measures to last month's summit of their leaders, Seoul's finance ministry said. During a video conference with Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt, South Korea's Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho voiced expectations for stronger bilateral cooperation on energy, supply chains a

South Korea's finance minister nominee on Tuesday said strengthening economic stabilization efforts for citizens' livelihoods while continuing the government's drive for reform would be the key priorities under his leadership. Choi Sang-mok, the nominee for the country’s top economic policymaker, made the remark during his first gathering with the local press Tuesday, following his nomination by the presidential office Monday. The former senior presidential secretary for eco

Global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. on Monday said it has promoted two associate partners, Kim Gi-hong and Moon Ho-joon, as partners. Having studied engineering at Seoul National University, Kim joined McKinsey & Co. in 2016 and has pursued a career across energy and infrastructure. Kim's experience involves leading diverse projects on strategic and practical proposals for oil refinery, petrochemical and construction businesses, and proposing management reforms for companies. Ki

China’s recent move to ramp up investment in organic light-emitting display panels is stoking fears among Korean display makers that they may face another fierce price war with their Chinese runner-ups, even over the most sophisticated display technology. Last week, China's top display panel maker, BOE Technology, announced a plan to invest 63 billion yuan ($8.84 billion) to build a production facility with 8.6-generation technology for OLED panels for laptops and tablet PCs. The amou

Lotte Shopping, the retail arm of Lotte Group, said Tuesday it is set to start the construction of a new logistics center in Busan in partnership with UK retail tech firm Ocado. Lotte held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility, called the Customer Fulfillment Center, which will be located on a 42,000 square-meter site within an industrial complex. As part of a partnership with Ocado signed in November last year, Lotte plans to adopt the UK firm’s artificial intelligence-based new

A sibling feud over the management of Hankook & Co., the holding company behind the world’s sixth-largest tiremaker, Hankook Tire & Technology, has been reignited, as the older of the two brothers has joined hands with a major private equity house to shore up his stake. Asia's largest private equity firm MBK Partners announced through a regulatory filing Tuesday that it has launched a public tender for Hankook & Co., offering 20,000 won ($15.23) per share under a goal to

South Korean defense firms are looking to expand their market presence in Africa and the Middle East as they showcase their latest cutting-edge weapons systems at the Egypt Defense Expo 2023 taking place at the country’s international exhibition center in Cairo this week. According to Korea Aerospace Industries and LIG Nex1 on Tuesday, the two companies participated in the EDEX for the first time this year. Korea Aerospace Industries, also known as the KAI, said it will concentrate on in

Farmers harvest gim, or dried seaweed, using a unique technique which involves repeating a drying and wetting process in the open sea, in waters near the fishing village of Taean, South Chungcheong Province, Tuesday. Gim is one of South Korea's top export items which has seen growing popularity overseas. Korean gim accounts for almost 70 percent of the global seaweed market. (Yonhap)