South Korea posts $11.1 billion current account surplus in September

SEOUL, November 7 (AJP) - South Korea's current account surplus reached 15.58 trillion won (US$11.1 billion) in September, marking its fifth consecutive month in the black, driven by robust exports, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday. The surplus was nearly double the $6.52 billion recorded in August and stands as the third-largest September figure on record. Outbound shipments rose 9.9 percent from a year earlier to $61.67 billion, extending gains for the 12th straight month

November 7, 2024

OPINION: South Korea's data center industry: growth and challenges amid power supply and regulatory pressures

SEOUL, November 7 (AJP) - The data center market influencers of technological advancements, such as implementation of cloud computing, deployment of 5G networks, government digitalization initiatives and increasing mobile and internet penetration, have significantly accelerated the demand for data centers. Asia is slower to experience the growth of AI adoption alongside generative AI when compared to the US, but the impending demand for increased data center capacities continues to exi

November 7, 2024

South Korea braces for trade headwinds as Trump returns to power

SEOUL, November 6 (AJP) - With his strong protectionist and America-first policies, Donald Trump’s likely return to the U.S. presidency is expected to exert mounting pressure on South Korea's export-driven economy. The former president has floated the idea of universal tariffs of 10 to 20 percent on goods from all other countries, and a 60 percent punitive tariff on Chinese imports. Former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has recently warned his policies could be “cata

November 6, 2024

Financial watchdog suspends Korea Zinc's rights offering

SEOUL, November 6 (AJP) - Korea's financial watchdog on Wednesday blocked Korea Zinc’s rights offering plan amid a battle over control of the world’s largest zinc smelter. The company announced on Oct. 30 it will issue new shares worth 2.5 trillion won ($1.81 billion), apparently to fend off a takeover bid from its largest shareholder, Young Poong, and MBK Partners. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) ordered Korea Zinc to correct its securities report submitt

November 6, 2024

BBQ Chicken to enter Indian market

SEOUL, November 6 (AJP) - Genesis BBQ, a major Korean chicken franchise, has signed a master franchise agreement (MFA) with India's Baramati Agro to enter the Indian market, the company said on Wednesday. Baramati Agro, established in 1988, operates across poultry processing, sugar production, retail, and agricultural product exports sectors, with nationwide logistics capabilities and raw material supply chains across India. "India's large youth population and signif

November 6, 2024

Coupang posts record Q3 revenue, operating profit up 29%

SEOUL, November 06 (AJP) - South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang reported on Wednesday an operating profit of 148.1 billion won ($110.9 million) in the third quarter, up 29 percent from a year earlier, while achieving record quarterly revenue of 10.69 trillion won ($7.87 billion), a 32 percent increase. The company's core product commerce segment, including Rocket Delivery and Fresh, generated revenue of 9.37 trillion won, up 20 percent year-on-year, while growth initiatives inc

November 6, 2024

Korean firms lose ground in global EV battery race

SEOUL, November 6 (AJP) - Despite slowing electric vehicle demand, global battery usage for EVs continued its upward trajectory this year, data showed Wednesday. The latest statistics from SNE Research, a Korean energy market research firm, also showed that South Korean manufacturers slightly lost ground to their Chinese rivals in the market. Total battery usage for all-electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid vehicles reached 599 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the first nine months of 202

November 6, 2024

Korea fines Meta $15.6 million for privacy breach

SEOUL, November 5 (AJP) - U.S. social media giant Meta Platforms has been fined 21.6 billion won (US$15.6 million) for collecting sensitive personal information of about 980,000 Facebook users without consent, the South Korean cyber watchdog said on Tuesday. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) found that Meta had gathered and shared data on users' religious beliefs, political views and sexual orientation with around 4,000 advertisers. The data was collected

November 5, 2024

Hyundai E&C signs Bulgaria nuclear plant design contract

SEOUL, November 5 (AJP) – Hyundai Engineering & Construction signed a 20 trillion won (US$14.5 billion) contract on Monday to design two nuclear reactors in Bulgaria, partnering with U.S.-based Westinghouse. The project will add two 2,200-megawatt Westinghouse AP1000 reactors to Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear plant located 200 kilometers north of Sofia. The plant currently operates two Russian-designed units. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2035, with the m

November 5, 2024

SK hynix to produce world's first 16-layer HBM chips early next year

SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) — SK hynix announced plans Monday to start production of the world’s first 16-layer high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips early next year. At the SK AI Summit 2024 in Seoul, CEO Kwak Noh-jung said the upcoming 48GB HBM3E chip, currently under development, demonstrates an 18 percent improvement in training performance and a 32 percent increase in inference capabilities over 12-layer versions in simulation studies. The chip uses Advanced MR-MUF (m

November 4, 2024