South Korea’s obsession with a penguin character is nothing new, with Pororo the “little penguin” having charmed kids with his orange goggles and innocence for more than a decade. However, Pengsoo -- a penguin character that bears a striking resemblance to Pororo, but armed with a blunter persona -- has gained cross-generational popularity in recent months, even nudging investors to purchase related stocks.Digital education contents producer Uangel -- which signed a memorandum

The Korean Intellectual Property Office said Thursday it plans to help boost competitiveness of the local materials, parts and equipment sectors and reduce their reliance on foreign technologies through its system of IP big data. According to the nation’s top IP office, its plan involves four goals: cut back foreign dependency of materials, parts and equipment-related technology; innovate South Korea’s research and development system to a more IP-centered one; bolster IP competitiven

Hanwha Group’s defense technology unit was listed Wednesday, suggesting that succession plans are being hastened and Chairman Kim Seung-youn is ready to hand over the reins to his sons. Hanwha Systems currently has a market cap of nearly 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion) and traded slightly below its initial public offering price of 12,250 won at 11,100 won on its first day of trading on the benchmark Kospi.According to analysts and industry insiders, the company’s Kospi debut will hel

Green bond issuance in South Korea has more than doubled so far this year, compared to the cumulative total floated last year, data provided by local companies showed Tuesday.Green bonds are fixed-income securities that fund eco-friendly projects. The size of the bond market and diversity of its issuers have been increasing in recent years as firms deem it helpful to improve their corporate image and make investors feel environmentally conscious. According to disclosures issued by the firms, the

Amid a sluggish stock market, the top three South Korean conglomerates -- Samsung, SK and Hyundai Motor Group -- saw their market capitalizations rise this year, while values of the other top 10 plunged in the same period, data compiled by a local market tracker showed.According to FnGuide, the combined market cap of Samsung’s 16 listed subsidiaries increased nearly 18 percent, from Jan. 2 to Oct. 30, to 434.9 trillion won ($382 billion). Of the 16 subsidiaries, nine saw a growth in their

South Korea’s Shinhan Card said Thursday it has signed a three-year partnership agreement with US-based online retail giant Amazon, as it seeks to aggressively expand its list of global partners. According to the card issuer, an array of benefits will be provided for Shinhan Card users who use e-commerce and other services by Amazon. Both firms will first jointly launch a promotion on Nov. 15 for its customers seeking overseas direct purchases during the fast-approaching Black Friday sales

Dunamu, operator of global cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, said it has launched a comprehensive over-the-counter trading platform on Thursday that will allow users to both sell and purchase unlisted stocks.The platform dubbed U-Stockplus, released in the form of an app, is available for download on Google Play. It will be available as an iOS app in mid-November.  The fintech firm joined hands with local brokerage Samsung Securities and big data analytics company Deep Search to resolve the is

Asset manager Mirae Asset Global Investments has been a trailblazer among South Korean financial institutions in entering global markets. According to the asset management unit of Mirae Asset Financial Group on Wednesday, it was the first among its peers to establish a Hong Kong subsidiary in 2003. The move marked its first foray overseas. In 2005, it became the first Korean asset manager to launch an offshore fund and provided local investors early opportunities to make overseas investments.In

Asiana Airlines said Wednesday it has been bolstering its competitiveness and rolling out cost-cutting measures ahead of selling its controlling 31 percent stake.With the recovery of passenger traffic on its Chinese routes, Asiana is hoping to see a rebound in its earnings. About 578,000 Chinese tourists visited South Korea in August, increasing to the level before the conflict between Seoul and Beijing on the THAAD missile defense system in 2017. The carrier has also appointed separate managers

South Korean credit card companies have recently been tapping into and expanding their business in Vietnam, eyeing the Southeast Asian country’s growing economy while seeking to diversify due to a sluggish domestic market.The credit card unit of Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Card, announced last month that it has signed a deal worth 49 billion won ($41.9 million) to acquire a 50 percent stake in Vietnamese retail bank Finance Company Limited for Community. FCCOM is a wholly-owned subsidiary

Mirae Asset Daewoo said Monday that its Hong Kong branch has become the first South Korean brokerage to become an initial public offering underwriter on the US’ Nasdaq exchange for German biotechnology firm BioNTech. BioNTech raised $150 million in its IPO last month and started trading on Oct. 10. The firm’s shares were trading at $16.52 on Monday and its market value currently stands at around $3.7 billion.  Established in 2008, it specializes in so-called messenger RNA or mRN

Despite their disappointing earnings results so far, major South Korean listed firms are likely to see a robust performance next year in line with the recovery in the global chip industry, data compiled by a local market tracker showed Monday.According to FnGuide, the combined operating profit of 279 publically traded companies is projected to climb 26 percent next year on a consolidated basis to 165.8 trillion won ($142 billion) from 131.6 trillion won this year.Their net profit and sales are p

Woori Financial Group said Friday that it has helped finance small and midsized companies and startups with 6.6 trillion won ($5.6 billion) in loans as of September. The announcement came a day after Woori held a meeting of its innovation finance committee to discuss both existing and future plans to support SMEs and startups. The committee, led by Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung, was launched in May in an effort to improve access to financing for SMEs and startups.  The lates

IT giant Kakao and the nation’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group saw the biggest increase in their number of affiliates in the past three months among the country’s largest business groups, data showed Friday, reflecting their aggressive expansion plans. According to data released by the antitrust watchdog Fair Trade Commission, Kakao took 17 affiliates under its wing from August to the end of October, the highest number among other large businesses in the three-month period. SK G

Regarding the US Federal Reserve’s latest decision to cut interest rates, South Korea’s central bank on Thursday said the move will have a positive impact on the local economy, though other factors will be considered for its own rate cut decision.“On the principle that a US rate cut leads to a rise in stock prices and interest rate cuts, the latest decision is expected to contribute to growth in the global economy,” Yoon Myun-shik, senior deputy governor of the Bank of Ko

The head of South Korea’s self-regulatory organization of the financial investment services industry refused to step down on Wednesday despite a public outcry over recent allegations of verbal abuse of his staff -- behavior dubbed “gapjil” in Korean.“I have decided to continue as Korea Financial Investment Association chairman until the end of my term,” Kwon Yong-won said in a press conference held at the organization’s headquarters in Yeouido. “I w

Kyobo Life Insurance said Wednesday it had developed the world’s first artificial intelligence-based underwriting system that automatically analyzes and approves contracts with clients. The system -- named “BARO” in abbreviation of best analysis and rapid outcome -- employs machine learning technology, along with the ability to process large amounts of natural language data, according to the insurer. Like a human underwriter, BARO has the ability to insure or reject client

CORPORATE PR AWARDS/ GRAND PRIZESK TELECOMBy Yong Chul-yoonExecutive vice president of Communication CenterEarlier this year, SK Telecom’s innovative roaming service Baro won the best mobile technology breakthrough award in Asia at the 2019 Asian Mobile Awards. The event, held as part of this year’s Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, is Asia’s most prestigious award for the mobile and telecommunication industry. It is hosted by the GSM Association, which runs the annual MWC.&nb

CREATIVE AWARDS/ GOLD PRIZESHINHAN CARDBy Kim Il-bongGeneral manager of Brand CommunicationWe would first like to thank our customers who have always had faith in us. Shinhan Card is honored that The Korea Herald has recognized its “My DIY series: Deep Making Deep Taking Card” advertisement. With the beginning of a new digital era, Shinhan has deeply considered ways to provide customized services through technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence. The “Deep

Hanwha Systems, the defense technology unit of Hanwha Group, announced Monday that it is expected to raise as much as 460.1 billion won ($393.7 million) for its initial public offering and join the benchmark Kospi by the end of next month. The firm is offering around 32.9 million shares at 12,250 won to 14,000 won apiece, the firm said in a press conference. The exact share price will be determined Wednesday through book building before receiving investor orders Nov. 4-5.  NH Investment &am