South Korean mobile carrier LG Uplus will face hefty fines issued by the nation’s tax authority for not paying value-added tax for some of its smartphone sales, according to the firm Friday. The National Tax Service recently imposed a fine of 3.1 billion won ($2.7 million) on the firm for not paying value-added tax in the process of selling smartphones to US forces in Korea over five years since 2013.  (Yonhap)The 3.1 billion won fine is only for the year 2013, and the penalty is expected to be

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles looking into the South Korean government and businesses quest toward renewable energy. -- Ed.One year on since the Moon administration vowed to put more emphasis on renewable energy, it still has to address controversy over energy prices and its decision to do away with nuclear power, as well as conflicts with residents near renewable energy facilities. In December 2017, the government announced “Renewable Energy 3020,” aiming to increase renew

Struggling for a breakthrough in the unfavorable whiskey industry in South Korea, Pernod Ricard Korea has been pushing to downsize and restructure, including plans for the sale of a local brand and an early retirement program.The local unit of the French beverage company Pernod Ricard currently runs two corporate bodies here: Pernod Ricard Korea that sells imported brands such as Ballantine’s, Absolut and Royal Salute; and Pernod Ricard Korea Imperial that sells local whiskey brand Imperial. Ami

Steelmaker Posco’s operating profit surpassed 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) for the first time in seven years due mainly to record-high profits from its overseas arms in Indonesia and India, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. Posco said it posted 64.9 trillion won in sales, 5.5 trillion won in operating profit and 1.8 trillion won in net profit last year. Its sales rose 7.1 percent and its operating profit jumped 19.9 percent on-year.  (Yonhap)The growth was mainly driven by record-high

South Korean conglomerate Hyosung Corp. hosted a seminar with academics and researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in an effort to seek new business models, according to the firm Wednesday. On Tuesday, MIT professors and six global startups visited Seoul to participate in the MIT industrial liaison program seminar hosted by Hyosung. The program is designed to support global companies and MIT academics in building business partnerships. Through the program, MIT introduces its

With a month to go before Saudi Arabia shortlists bidders for its nuclear power plants, the chief of South Korea’s state-run utility company Kepco believes preparation for the bid is going well. Saudi Arabia plans to build two power plants -- a total of 2.8 gigawatts -- with an investment of $12 billion by 2030. It is currently reviewing five consortium bidders, including a Korea Electric Power Corp.-led consortium, US-based Westinghouse Electric Corp., China General Nuclear Power Group, a Frenc

South Korea will be more active in attracting foreign companies with high-end technologies, offering better incentives and improved regulations, according to the government Tuesday. “We will focus on attracting foreign companies that can upgrade the nation’s traditional manufacturing sectors -- petrochemicals, high-end manufacturing, materials and automobiles -- by integrating with new services and technologies,” said Lee Ho-joon, chief of investment policy division at the Ministry of Trade, Ind

Saudi Aramco will become the second-largest shareholder of Hyundai Oilbank with the purchase of an up to 19.9 percent stake in the Korean firm.Hyundai Oilbank said Monday it had signed an investment deal with Aramco, with the expectation of raising up to 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in a pre-initial public offering round. Aramco estimated the firm’s value to be 10 trillion won and set the value of each share at around 36,000 won. A pre-IPO round enables investors to participate in growing a f

The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a forum Thursday to discuss the prospects for the nation’s economic growth.The speakers at the forum shared the view that the economic partnership between the two nations should move forward to adopt the “fourth industrial revolution.” During the forum, Stephan Auer, German Ambassador to Korea, said, “The most important growth engine in our bilateral business cooperation could soon become the fourth industrial revolution with its various

A debate is brewing in South Korea over the idea of introducing a dual-class stock structure, with proponents supporting it for the sake of startups and innovative businesses, while critics worry that such a system would invite abuse by conglomerates.In a dual-class stock structure, a single company can issue different classes of shares -- for instance, class A shares could be reserved for founders and executives and carry more voting power while class B shareholders could have limited voting ri

Leaders from Korea’s major business associations and the Presidential Committee on New Southern Policy gathered Thursday to form an alliance to help Korean entrepreneurs seek better opportunities in the emerging ASEAN market. The business alliance for ASEAN comprises 21 key business associations, including the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the Korea Federation of Banks and the International Contract

Korea Gas Corp. is seeking to take the lead in the global liquefied natural gas market on the strength of its solid leadership in the South Korean market and continued investment at home and abroad.The state-run company currently provides natural gas to more than 90 percent of the nation with its 72 natural gas storage facilities and pipes measuring a combined 4,848 kilometers in length.  Kogas’ offshore project in Myanmar (Kogas)Kogas is now expanding its business in the global market and is pa

Apple is exploiting local telecom companies for profit by unfairly collecting advertising funds, economists representing South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said last week during a second hearing on the matter.Yonhap“Apple’s (superior) position in business dealing with local telecom firms is recognized based on economic analysis. (Apple) collecting advertising funds are merely additional ways of exploiting telecom carriers’ communications service profits,” FTC investigators were quoted as having te

The National Pension Service is increasingly under pressure to apply stricter yardsticks on their investments and management at invested firms, with growing risks from owners resulting in revenue and stock price drops. Political debates are also coincidentally brewing over whether the emphasized exercise of voting rights on governance issues would lead to more responsible investment of the state pension operator or to excessive state or social influence in the business realm. In July last year,

LG Chem plans to make an investment of 1.2 trillion won ($1.07 billion) to expand its battery plants in Nanjing, China by 2020 to respond to the growing demand for electric mobility, according to the firm on Thursday. Under the contract, the Korean battery maker is slated to make an investment of 600 billion won for cylindrical battery cells mainly used for digital devices and another 600 billion won for pouch battery cells used for electric cars. LG Chem’s battery plant in Nanjing, China (LG Ch

South Korean Trade Minister Sung Yun-mo is slated to leave for the United Arab Emirates on Saturday to discuss further partnerships with his counterparts in the energy sector as a follow-up to the summit in March of last year. The minister is also slated to express the government’s strong willingness to support the maintenance of the Barakah nuclear power plant should a Korean bidder win, ministry officials said Wednesday.During his stay, the minister, accompanied by CEOs of the Korea Hydro & Nu

Samsung SDI’s battery packs will be used for new electric motorcycles of the US motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson, according to the Korean battery maker on Tuesday. The US firm’s first electric motorcycle, called Livewire, will feature Samsung’s batteries and will be able to travel 180 kilometers on a single charge. This is twice as long as the firm’s prototype electric motorcycle, Project Livewire, which ran 97 kilometers on a single charge in 2014. Livewire will be able to go from zero t

Hanwha Q Cells, the solar cell manufacturing arm of Hanwha Group, took up the largest share in the German solar module market last year, according to German research firm EuPD Research. Hanwha’s share in the market stood at 11.5 percent, up 4.3 percent from 2017. It is followed by two German firms, Heckert Solar and IBC Solar, which had 8.2 percent and 7 percent share each. Hanwha Q CellIts major products in the module area are Q.HOME, a household energy storage solution that comprises modules,

(LG Electronics)LG Electronics’ premium robotic vacuum Cordzero R9 ThinQ, designed by artist Kenny Scharf, is showcased. The appliances decorated with pop-art graphics will be displayed at Scharf’s solo exhibition “Super Pop Universe” at Lotte Museum of Art in Seoul until March 3. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

South Korean shipbuilders regained the top spot in the global market share of shipbuilding orders last year, beating their Chinese counterparts for the first time in seven years due mainly to a surge in demand for liquefied natural gas carriers. The industry, which has just turned a corner, still faces challenges in offshore drilling. According to London-based offshore and energy tracker Clarkson Research, global orders of Korean shipbuilders stood at 12.6 million compensated gross tonnage last