South Korea’s conglomerate LS Group is in negotiations with US investment behemoth KKR over the sale of LS Automotive, the group’s automotive electric parts-making unit, according to news reports Wednesday.To buy out the 100 percent stake of LS Automotive, KKR is expected to pay the market capitalization of around 1 trillion won ($0.88 billion), said the reports. LS Mtron currently owns a 100 percent stake in LS Automotive.  (LS)LS Automotive is the nation’s top domestic automotive switch and re

Starting in July, the maximum parental leave subsidy for a second child will rise to 2 million won ($1,753) a month for the first three months, the Welfare Ministry said Sunday.In November 2014, the government started to provide a 1.5 million won monthly financial incentive when a second parent takes parental leave to care for their second child. The move was an effort to encourage more fathers to participate in child care and help couples to have a second child.The government will raise the amo

Faced with tightened government regulations on the environment and increased competition from cheap imports under a number of free trade pacts, livestock farmers have been struggling to support their businesses. Demand for livestock products, on the other hand, has been growing, as more people in developing countries become able to afford meat. According to recent market data, meat production capacity is expected to double by 2050, reaching 465 million metric tons a year from 229 million metric

South Korean air carrier Asiana Airlines received its first A350-900 aircraft and held a welcoming ceremony at Incheon Airport on Wednesday.Asiana Airlines has now become the world’s 12th and the nation’s first carrier to operate the world’s newest wide-body airliner. 　Asiana Airlines’ President Kim Soo-cheon attended the event after departing from Toulouse, France, via the company’s first A350. Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo (left) and Asiana Airlines President Kim Soo-cheon have a ha

South Korea’s leading oil refiner SK Innovation said Tuesday that its operating profit increased 19 percent to surpass 1 trillion won ($887 million) in the first quarter. (Yonhap)The firm’s sales also reached 11.3 trillion won during the same period, up 20 percent from the same period last year.SK Innovation said the increases in sales and profit are largely contributed to the success of non-refining businesses, including its chemical and lubricating oil businesses.The operating profit in non-re

Despite its recovery in the first quarter, South Korea’s Consumer Confidence Index ranked near the bottom among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to OECD data Monday. The Consumer Confidence Index is an indicator designed to measure consumers’ perception of their economic situation. A reading below 100 indicates that pessimistic consumers outnumber optimists.In March, Korea’s index reached 99.06, increasing for the sec

South Korea‘s leading chemical company LG Chem withdrew its suit against British investment bank Barclays for allegedly failing to identify a fraudulent account, the Seoul Central District Court said Friday. (Yonhap)LG had sought 24 billion won ($21 million) in damages from Barclays, claiming that the bank failed to fulfill its duty of preventing an erroneous remittance of money by matching the beneficiary and the account owner.In March last year, upon receiving an email from what the company be

The South Korean government on Thursday laid out the bidding process for constructing a new airport in Gimhae.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the bidding will be conducted through international competitive bidding procedures. After reviewing bidders’ project proposals, the ministry will go through the qualification and evaluation processes and choose a winner in June.(Yonhap)The selected operator will carry out an extended feasibility study and devise a general plan over

GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo, who is also the chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, participated in the group’s quarterly board meeting on Wednesday and emphasized on the need to prepare for the uncertain future. GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo (GS)Encouraging on the group’s latest achievements, including the implementation of LNG terminal in Boryeong and GS Retail’s investment in K bank, Huh urged the board members to keep improving the overall competitiveness of GS and to prepare

Started as mobile messaging app characters, the characters of Kakao Friends have now been named the most popular in South Korea, beating out the former No. 1, the eponymous character from “Pororo the Little Penguin,” the Korea Creative Content Agency said Wednesday.The Kakao Friends are eight characters introduced on KakaoTalk in 2012. They remained outside of KOCCA‘s top 10 list until 2014, but moved up quickly, seizing the second spot in 2015.A view inside the Kakao Friends flagship store in G

CHAMISUL SETS RECORD -- Sales of Hite Jinro’s Chamisul crossed the 1 trillion won ($87 billion) mark last year, the first time for the country’s soju brand. Chamisul was first introduced in the market in 1998. Since its debut, about 1.7 billion bottles have been sold, the company said. (Yonhap)

Workers in their 20s and 30s spend an average of 14,800 won ($12.9) daily, with unmarried workers spending more than those who are married, according to a survey conducted by JobKorea Tuesday. The job search portal recently surveyed 2,427 workers, who are in their 20s and 30s, and asked nine questions regarding their daily expenses during work hours. Of the total 2,427 workers, 1,320 people were married and 1,107 were unmarried. The survey found that the average daily spending of unmarried

KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu attended the Beijing Ktoon Showcase at the Korea Content Beijing Business Center Friday. The showcase promoted KT’s webtoon platform KTooN, as well as its cartoons and related products. The third-largest webtoon platform in the country began in 2015 in Korea and now aims to commercialize in the Chinese market.  (KT)Around 50 firms, including Chinese online streaming platform Sohu and popular Chinese online comic artwork platform Kuaikan, participated in the showcase. Kauik

Starting his second term at the telecom operator, KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu said the company is seeking opportunities to expand abroad, not only as an internet service provider but also as a platform provider. Hwang visited Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Saturday to deliver lectures in front of some 120 students and professors, including Shane Greenstein, the Martin Marshall professor of business administration.  KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu (KT)It was the engineer-turned-chairman’s

In celebrating its 130 years of leading the automotive industry with innovative technologies, Mercedes-Benz Korea is working to expand its contribution to pass on its technology prowess and foster young talents.Early last month, Mercedes-Benz Korea signed a memorandum of understanding to support the launch of the Ausbildung program in Korea, in cooperation with the Korean-Germany Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Students attend an Automotive Mechatronic Traineeship program offered by Mercedes-B

Hyundai Motor Co. sold more than 20,000 units of its Creta crossover utility vehicle overseas in March on strong local demand for subcompact CUVs, the country's top carmaker said Sunday.  (Yonhap)Hyundai currently produces the Creta subcompact front-wheel-drive crossover at its plants in India, Russia and Brazil for local demand and exports. Total sales hit 22,194 in the month, company data showed. The Creta is powered by either a 1.4-liter gasoline or a 1.6-liter gasoline engine, he said, addin

South Korean cosmetics makers are heading for dim first-quarter earnings, caused by China's boycott of products made by local companies in the wake of a diplomatic standoff over the deployment of a US missile defense system, analysts said Sunday.  (Yonhap)Industry leader AmorePacific Corp. is forecast to have made 315.1 billion won ($276.5 million) in operating profit for the January-March period, down 6.7 percent from a year earlier, according to a report by Samsung Securities Co. Its sales are

CLINICAL EXPRESS -- TNT Express Korea employees explain “TNT Clinical Express” to an audience at the Bio Korea International Convention 2017, at Coex in Seoul, Wednesday. The TNT Clinical Express is TNT‘s special handling service that began in 2002 for temperature-sensitive clinical samples and supplies. (TNT Express Korea)

Celltrion, a South Korean pharmaceutical company developing biosimilars, submitted a request to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for approval to sell Herzuma, the company spokesperson said Wednesday. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)Herzuma, also known as CT-P6, references the blockbuster breast cancer drug Herceptin by Genentech, and is used for treatment of metastatic breast cancer and early stage breast cancer. 　Partnering with Japanese pharma firm Nippon Kayaku, Celltrion is