Financial watchdog probes 'overheated' battle for control of Korea Zinc

SEOUL, October 08 (AJP) – Korea's financial watchdog launched an investigation on Tuesday into possible unfair trading practices related to the ongoing battle for control of Korea Zinc. Lee Bok-hyun, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), ordered a probe into the "overheated" tender offers for the world's largest zinc smelter. "If any unfair trading, such as rumor-spreading, aimed at disrupting the tender offers is discovered, strict measur

October 8, 2024

Samsung Electronics estimates lower-than-expected Q3 earnings

SEOUL, October 8 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday that its third-quarter operating profit likely surged 274.5 percent year-on-year to 9.1 trillion won (US$6.7 billion), which fell short of market expectations and prompted the head of its chip business to issue a rare apology for the poor performance. In a regulatory filing, the tech giant estimated its July-September revenue reached a record high of 79 trillion won, up 17.21 percent from a year earlier, surpassing the pr

October 8, 2024

Game developers to showcase new titles at G-Star 2024

SEOUL, October 08 (AJP) - Korea's largest gaming exhibition, G-Star 2024, is set to showcase a range of new titles when it opens on Nov. 14 in Busan. The four-day event, sponsored by leading game developer Nexon for the first time in seven years, is expected to feature a record-breaking 3,281 booths, including 2,364 in the business-to-consumer (B2C) area and 917 in the business-to-business (B2B) section. Several major gaming companies have confirmed their participation, inclu

October 8, 2024

SK Bioscience to acquire stake in U.S. biotech firm

SEOUL, October 8 (AJP) - SK Bioscience, developer of Korea's first domestically produced COVID-19 vaccine, said Tuesday it will invest $3 million to acquire a stake in U.S.-based Fina Biosolutions. Fina Biosolutions possesses key technologies for conjugate vaccines that prevent diseases such as pneumococcal, meningococcal and typhoid fever. The company holds proprietary technology for manufacturing the CRM197 protein carrier, crucial in developing conjugate vaccines. SK Biosc

October 8, 2024

Toy market for adults surges as 'kidults' seek childhood nostalgia

SEOUL, October 7 (AJP) - Kim Geun-tae, a 27-year-old chip industry employee, recently found himself drawn to Loopy, a pink beaver character from the children's TV series “Pororo.” "I was so captivated by Loopy's expressive emojis on KakaoTalk that I ended up purchasing every series available," Kim said. Upon learning of a Loopy-themed pop-up store in Seoul, he made the hours-long trip from his home in Daejeon, just to buy a plushie and a figurine of

October 7, 2024

South Korea lags behind global competition in semiconductor, battery subsidies

SEOUL, October 07 (AJP) - Korea is falling behind in providing subsidies for semiconductor and battery industries compared to its global competitors, according to a report released on Monday by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). The United States, China and Japan are investing billions of dollars in these sectors, while Korea has yet to offer any subsidies in the sectors, the group representing large companies said. For example, China aims to increase its chip self-suffic

October 7, 2024

Samsung envisions AI integration across product lines

SEOUL, October 4 (AJP) – Samsung Electronics unveiled its vision for applying artificial intelligence across all product lines during its annual developers’ forum in the United States on Thursday. The 10th Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) attracted around 3,000 developers, partners and media representatives in San Jose, California, under the theme, “AI for All – A Decade of Open Innovation and Beyond.” The Korean tech giant announced plans to unify

October 4, 2024

Korea Zinc begins share buyback amid control battle

SEOUL, October 4 (AJP) - Korea Zinc, the world's largest smelter, said Friday it will undertake a share buyback with its partner, U.S. investment firm Bain Capital, to acquire up to 18 percent of its shares, to fend off what it calls a hostile takeover bid by its largest shareholder, Young Poong. Korea Zinc announced that it would start a share buyback with Bain Capital at a price of 830,000 won ($622), which is 80,000 won higher than the 750,000 won proposed by Young Poong and

October 4, 2024

Dried seaweed price soars at fastest rate in 37 years

SEOUL, October 4 (AJP) – The price of dried seaweed surged by 32.7 percent in September year-on-year, marking the largest increase in nearly 37 years, according to government data. The steep rise is attributed to poor harvests caused by abnormally high sea temperatures. The average sea surface temperature from June to August reached 23.9 degrees Celsius, the highest in a decade, delaying the seeding process and reducing supply. The state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp.

October 4, 2024