(Courtesy of Samsung Electronics) Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top memory chipmaker, established a team for a billions-of-dollars high-bandwidth memory chip supply deal with Nvidia Corp., the global artificial intelligence semiconductor giant, to beat the HBM market leader SK Hynix Inc. The task force with about 100 excellent engineers has been working to improve manufacturing yields and quality with the first aim to pass Nvidia’s tests as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang asked the South Korean company to raise the yields and quality of 8-layer and 12-layer HBM3E chips for supply, according to ..read more

The Hyundai NEXO FCEV (Courtesy of Hyundai Motor) South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. plans to introduce a next-generation model of the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) NEXO crossover for the first time after its launch in 2018 as early as the second quarter of 2025 to cement its leadership in the global eco-friendly segment. Hyundai Motor has recently explained the new version’s differences from the current model to the existing customers and user clubs while getting their feedback, according to company sources on Sunday. The carmaker reportedly unveiled a larger fuel ta ..read more

Four Seasons Hotel in central Seoul Globally renowned hospitality companies, including Aman, Rosewood and IHG Group, are rushing to South Korea to launch new five-star luxury hotels in Seoul and other major cities to ride on the tourist boom post-pandemic. According to the hospitality industry on Sunday, Marriott International Inc., the world's No. 1 hotel chain, will take over the management rights of the InterContinental Hotel Seoul in Samseong-dong, Seoul and open a new hotel under Marriott’s premium brand of Westin in the second half of this year. Currently, Marriott operates two five-st ..read more

Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun (left) shakes hands with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington, D.C. on April 12, 2024 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The US government has given automakers additional flexibility on battery mineral requirements, allowing electric vehicles containing graphite from China to be eligible for tax credits until the end of 2026. South Korea, home to the world’s leading battery makers LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co. and SK On Co., welcomed the US decision, saying the US decision is a win for Korean and other global automakers and battery manufacturers ..read more

Mobile messenger app Line (right) is indirectly owned by Korea's Naver and Japan's SoftBank (Courtesy of Nikkei) TOKYO – South Korea’s tech giant Naver Corp. said on Friday that Japan’s administrative guidance for Naver to sell down its control in LY Corp., the operator of popular mobile messenger app Line in Japan, is unprecedented. Choi Soo-yeon, chief executive of Naver, said she is undecided on Naver’s relationship with LY. However, Naver is ready to accept Tokyo’s request to separate its information technology infrastructure from LY. “An administrative directive demanding a reduction in ..read more

Hanon Systems' modular car platform for electric vehicles are supplied to Volkswagen Hankook Tire and Technology Co. on Friday reached a preliminary agreement to buy a stake in Hanon Systems Corp., the world’s second-largest heat pump systems maker for automobiles, from private equity firm Hahn & Co. for 1.37 trillion won ($1 billion). The tire maker’s holding firm Hankook & Company Co. signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase a 25% stake in Hanon Systems from Hanhn & Co., the latter's largest shareholder with a 50.5% stake. With the deal, Seoul-based Hahn & Co. is sh ..read more

Financial Services Commission's Vice Chairman Kim Soyoung speaks on the measures to boost the value of listed firms on May 2, 2024  South Korea’s listed firms are undervalued compared with companies in public markets of developed and emerging countries, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on Friday. The price-to-book (P/B) ratio of the firms on the Kospi 200 Index was 1.0, based on their closing prices on May 2 and 2023 year-end financial statements, KRX found. The index is comprised of the 200 largest traded local stocks on the main bourse, representing around 90% of the KRX’s total m ..read more

South Korea's HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (HD KSOE) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., partnered with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to capture a large electric propulsion ship market. HD Hyundai announced on Friday that the day before, they signed a cooperation agreement with ABS for shipboard high-voltage direct current (MVDC) classification regulations and research" at the Seongnam (Gyeonggi Province) HD Hyundai Global R&D Center. MVDC is a technology that transmits high-voltage electricity between 1.5-100 kilovolts in direct current, attracting atte ..read more

The Hyundai hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric truck Xcient (Courtesy of Hyundai Motor) Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s top automaker, geared up its hydrogen truck business in the US with a partnership with California to expand its presence in the eco-friendly commercial vehicle market of the world’s largest economy. Hyundai Motor on Thursday celebrated the official launch of NorCAL ZERO Project, California’s initiative for zero-emission freight transportation to the San Francisco Bay Area and California’s Central Valley. “The project demonstrates how the transport energy transition is ach ..read more

Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong TBILISI, US – The Bank of Korea (BOK) will go back to square one on monetary policy as stronger-than-expected economic growth in the first quarter and delayed rate cuts in the US may make the factors it had closely monitored before a rate move not worthy of consideration, its governor said on Thursday. BOK Governor Rhee Chang-yong told reporters that the first-quarter economic growth surprised him and he needed to examine whether the factors that drove the gross domestic product expansion would be short-lived or not. His remarks followed the US Federal ..read more