Samsung Electronics reiterated Sunday that the merger of its two key affiliates that was allegedly fast-tracked to allow Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to wrest control of the conglomerate was completely legitimate. The company said in a statement that the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 2015 took place legitimately, a day before a review of the arrest warrant for Lee. The statement that started with, “Samsung is in crisis,” said, “To overcome this crisis, man

LG International Corp. and local software maker Hancom Group have partnered for joint overseas expansion, the companies said Thursday. On the same day, LG International Corp. CEO Yoon Chun-sung and Hancom Group Chairman Kim Sang-chul signed a partnership agreement to jointly advance into the global market and to discuss ways to cooperate, LG International Corp. said. Under the agreement, LG International Corp. will carry out marketing to export various products and solutions of Hancom Grou

The European Commission has resumed the screening of Hyundai Heavy Industries’ acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering after temporarily suspending the review amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the commission on Thursday. The EC said the “provisional deadline” of the screening would be Sept. 3 -- a delay from the initial plan of July -- on its website. Two months earlier, the site had shown the deadline of the screening as “suspended”

Loans taken out by self-employed people and businesses in the January-March period increased by the largest amount ever in the wake of the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. According to the quarterly statistics released by the Bank of Korea, the balance of loans by industry was 776 trillion won ($637 billion) at the end of March. It was up 34 trillion won from December last year, the largest increase since 2008 when the statistics began to be compiled. It was also up a record-high 13 percen

The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Wednesday its female leadership group Women in Korea has kicked-off the third edition of its mentorship program. The KGCCI WIR group started in 2017 as a cross-industry, cross-national network of female executives to help Korean females in middle management to unlock their leadership potential and accelerate value-driven leadership with a focus on gender, generations and geography. The WIR mentorship program was created in 2018, aiming

Three Korean shipbuilders have won a large-scale project worth $20 billion for liquefied natural gas vessels in Qatar, according to industry sources Tuesday. Qatar’s state-owned firm Qatar Petroleum said it has signed a deal with three South Korean shipbuilders -- Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries -- to reserve LNG ship construction capacity. Under the agreements, the Korean shipbuilders will reserve a major portion of

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has fined local delivery platform Yogiyo 468 million won (about $380,000) for abusing its superior position at the expense of small restaurants, officials said Tuesday. Yogiyo set up by German-based Delivery Hero in 2011 is a mobile and online food delivery platform that allows users to order food from restaurants. It has the second largest market share (26 percent) here following Baemin -- which was also bought by Delivery Hero last year, in a deal that

LS Cable & System said Monday it has developed a mobile application that allows users to find cables even without professional knowledge. The app called ConnectLS recommends most suitable cables for users with a couple of touches instead of calculating allowable current considering various conditions, LS C&S said. There are hundreds of types of cables used in power transmission networks, construction and industrial sites. ConnectLS recommends cables when a user selects various condi

The Korea International Trade Association said Monday it is joining hands with US-based Startup Junkie to back Korean startups to test their technologies and products overseas. The partnership deal was signed by chief of KITA’s innovation growth division Dong-ki and Louis Diesel, director and head of Asia at Startup Junkie, in Seoul. Startup Junkie is funded in large part by the Walton Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization led by the family of Walmart founder Sam Walton, as we

Korean Air said Friday that it will launch a mobile application service for passengers to check whether their baggage is safely loaded. The service will be provided for passengers on international flights from Incheon International Airport starting June 1. The app prevents errors in loading of the luggage by comparing the barcode information of the baggage transferred during check-in with the scan information onboard an aircraft, the firm said. It is available to any Skypass member who inst

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo emphasized his vision for the future at LG Science Park in Magok, Seoul, to mark the second anniversary of its opening, the group said Friday. On Thursday afternoon, Koo visited the complex and discussed the group’s digital transformation, artificial intelligence and securing talented people, according to the firm. At the site, he asked the employees to create a “culture of bold challenges,” saying, “When you do nothing or do not challe

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has approved Hyundai Oilbank’s plan to take over SK Networks’ gas station business, officials said Friday. Upon the approval, Hyundai Oilbank has become the second-largest in the industry in terms of the number of gas stations as it has acquired 306 SK Networks gas stations. SK Energy remains number one. The oil refining firm signed a contract with SK Networks to acquire its retail business of petroleum products on Feb. 28 and reported a bus

McDonald’s Korea said Friday it has won an award from the Korean government for its efforts to create decent jobs and implement employee-friendly policies. The firm received the 2020 National Industrial Award in the employment-friendly category on Thursday, hosted by the state-run Institute for Industrial Policy Studies and co-sponsored by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. McDonald’s Korea received the award for contributing to the

Posco said Thursday it has started cultivating sea forests ahead of the Oceans Day, which falls on May 31. The steelmaker said it has installed 100 Tritons -- the firm’s artificial reef brand made of steel slag -- and 750 Triton blocks approved by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, in waters off Namyang-ri, southern Ulleungdo, to create a 0.4-hectare sea forest. The 100 Tritons will be installed on the edge of the sea forest, where seaweed will grow, and 750 Triton blocks will be piled u

Companies should grab opportunities in electronics and mobility industries in the post-pandemic era as they will undergo vast changes, experts said during a two-day on-line seminar hosted by the Korea International Trade Association from Wednesday to Thursday. Among those attending the seminar broadcast live on YouTube were Hi Investment & Securities head of the center Ko Tae-bong, Kookmin University professor Jeong Gu-min and Future Designers CEO Choi Hyung-wook. They spoke on prospects

The production performance of many Korean companies was found to have deteriorated in the first quarter this year due to the global economic downturn and the impact of the pandemic, latest data showed Wednesday. Local corporate tracker CEOScore surveyed 127 companies, which submitted quarterly reports and disclosed their production capacity and performance, among the nation’s top 500 companies. According to the survey, the air transport sector was hit hardest as demand for travel a

LS Group said Wednesday it is strengthening its digital capabilities by increasing research and development in automation, big data and artificial intelligence technologies in response to digital transformation amid the pandemic. “It will be difficult for the time being as uncertainties in achieving this year’s management goals have increased due to the pandemic, but I hope you will take an extraordinary step forward,” LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol said in a recent message to

The market capitalization of large South Korean companies was hugely affected by the pandemic, with 89 of the nation’s top 100 by market value changing their rankings, according to latest data Tuesday. Local corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute surveyed changes in the rankings of the top 100 companies in market capitalization between Jan. 2 and May 22. According to the survey, the market cap of the top 100 companies in Korea stood at 1,082 trillion won ($876 billion) on May 22, an 8.5

LS Cable & System said Monday its photovoltaic cable has received international standard certification from Germany’s TUV SUD, a global certification authority. TUV SUD assessed that LS C&S’ 1,500 voltage direct current solar cables conform to functions and safety standards of International Electrotechnical Commission and European Standards, according to the cable maker. The firm expects the certification to serve as an opportunity to expand not only in the domestic marke

Major South Korean companies have resumed operations at their overseas plants and are speeding up business normalization since suffering disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. This month, the nation’s two tech giants, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, restarted their production plants in India, which had been shut down due to the host government’s strict containment measures. Now, they have restarted work at more than 90 percent of the global production bases they had shut do