Doosan Group revives controversial plan to merge two subsidiaries

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Korea's Doosan Group is reviving plans to merge subsidiaries Doosan Bobcat and Doosan Robotics, two months after abandoning the proposal amid investor and regulatory opposition. Doosan Robotics and Doosan Enerbility, Bobcat's parent company, said they held separate board meetings Monday and approved a restructuring plan, under which Bobcat, a construction equipment manufacturer, will be separated from its parent and affiliated under Robotics. Ene

October 21, 2024

Jewelry, watches drive luxury sales rebound in Korea

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Jewelry and watches are driving a sharp recovery in South Korea's luxury goods market this year, according to industry data released Monday. Three major department stores reported overall luxury sales rebounded this year, with quarterly growth rates around 10 percent. The market expanded 22.3 percent in 2022 and 5.8 percent in 2023. Hyundai Department Store saw jewelry sales increase 33.5 percent, 29.9 percent and 33.4 percent in the first three quar

October 21, 2024

KB Kookmin Bank opens two new branches in India

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - KB Kookmin Bank opened new branches in Chennai and Pune, two key economic hubs in India, on Monday. With these additions, the bank now operates three branches in India, including its Gurugram branch, which opened in 2019. This expansion follows four months after the Reserve Bank of India granted final approval for the new branches in June. The Korean bank explained that Chennai serves as a commercial and manufacturing hub in southern India. Pune in weste

October 21, 2024

Court rejects Young Poong's injunction against Korea Zinc buyback

SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - The Seoul Central District Court on Monday once again dismissed an injunction filed by Young Poong Corp. to block Korea Zinc from acquiring its own shares in the ongoing battle for control of the world's largest zinc smelter. Young Poong, Korea Zinc's largest shareholder, along with private equity firm MBK Partners, recently increased their stake in the company from 33.13 percent to 38.47 percent through a public tender offer that concluded on Oct.

October 21, 2024

Online lender K-Bank delays IPO, citing weak demand

SEOUL, October 18 (AJP) - K-Bank, a Korean internet-only bank, on Friday postponed its initial public offering (IPO) to next year due to insufficient demand from institutional investors. The bank announced that it had submitted a withdrawal notice to the Financial Services Commission regarding its KOSPI listing, originally scheduled for late this month. The bank cited insufficient demand during the recent institutional investor book-building process. "With a total of 82 m

October 18, 2024

Korea to require e-commerce businesses to pay sellers within 20 days

SEOUL, October 18 (AJP) - The Korean government plans to require e-commerce businesses to pay sales proceeds to sellers within 20 days after a consumer confirms a purchase, the Korea Fair Trade Commission announced Friday. The FTC also plans to require them to deposit at least half of the sales proceeds in financial institutions to ensure that sellers can recover some of their money if a platform goes bankrupt. The FTC announced these law revisions as part of efforts to prevent e

October 18, 2024

Samsung unveils fastest graphics memory chip to power AI systems

SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics announced on Thursday that it has developed the industry's first 24-gigabit GDDR7 (graphics double data rate 7) memory chip, designed to power next-generation artificial intelligence systems. The new chip offers the highest capacity and fastest speed in the graphics memory market, capable of processing data at over 40 gigabits per second. The new DRAM is expected to be used in various applications, including PCs, game consoles, AI

October 17, 2024

Korea unveils 8.8 trillion won package to support chip industry

SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) – The South Korean government announced on Wednesday that about 8.8 trillion won (US$6.4 billion) will be injected into the semiconductor ecosystem by 2025. The comprehensive support package, unveiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, includes low-interest loans, fund investments and support for infrastructure and manpower development. Of the total investment, 4.7 trillion won will be provided through financial support programs, including 4.25

October 16, 2024

E-commerce surge drives sharp growth in Korea's delivery industry

SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - South Korea's parcel delivery industry has seen a 52.9 percent increase in volume over the past three years, with the average person receiving more than 100 packages annually in 2023, according to a report released Wednesday by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The report attributes this growth to "4C" factors: China-commerce, Competition, Consumer benefit and Cost down. The influx of ultra-low-priced products from Chines

October 16, 2024

LG CNS unveils AI-based marketing platform for U.S. market

SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - Korea's IT solutions provider LG CNS has introduced its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered marketing platform, LG Optapex, to the U.S. advertising market. The company said Wednesday it showcased the platform at Amazon's unBoxed 2024 event in Austin, Texas, Monday. LG Optapex, an enhanced global version of LG CNS's marketing optimization platform (MOP), uses AI and mathematical optimization to streamline digital marketing efforts. The pl

October 16, 2024