Viet Nam continues to stand as S. Korea's 3rd-largest trade partner in 2023

SEOUL -- Viet Nam maintained its position as South Korea's third-largest trade partner in 2023. The main product category that was shipped to Viet Nam was semiconductors, followed by flat-screen displays and petroleum-based products. South Korea forged a diplomatic relationship with the Republic of Vietnam in 1956 but it was severed in 1975 due to the fall of Saigon during the Viet Nam War (1955~1975). South Korea established diplomatic ties with the Socialist Republic of Viet

February 5, 2024

Shinsegae's convenience store chain to make foray into Cambodia

SEOUL -- Riding Hallyu (Korean cultural wave), Emart24, a convenience store chain operated by South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae, is set to make a foray into Cambodia. The 24-hour supermarket store franchise will offer South Korean products including food and everyday necessities. Convenience stores in South Korea are shops full of surprises that also play the role of a cultural center. While the stores offer daily necessities such as socks, and tee-shirts, they also sell Hall

February 2, 2024

S. Koreans spent $171.1 bln through ecommerce platforms in 2023: market data

SEOUL -- South Koreans spent a total of more than 227 trillion won ($171.1 billion) through ecommerce platforms in 2023, earmarking the biggest-ever recorded amount since the total online transaction exceeded 200 trillion won in 2022. According to a survey of 1,001 South Korean adults randomly contacted through their mobile phone numbers, conducted by South Korean pollster Gallup Korea in July 2023, 97 percent of adults used smartphones. People aged 60 years and more showed a dist

February 2, 2024

Domestic sales of eco-friendly vehicles increase 24.3% on-year in 2023

SEOUL -- South Korea's domestic sales of eco-friendly vehicles including electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, stood at 558,112 units in 2023, up 24.3 percent year-on-year. It was the first time the country saw annual sales of environmentally-friendly vehicles exceed 500,000 units. South Korea's transport ministry data shows that there are 25.94 million registered vehicles as of December 2023, 2.12 million vehicles are eco-friendly cars -- hy

February 1, 2024

POSCO International partners with UAE's state oil producer for blue hydrogen business

SEOUL -- POSCO International, a trading arm of South Korea's steel group POSCO, will work with an Abu Dhabi-based state oil company to push for blue hydrogen business. After creating a blue hydrogen infrastructure, POSCO International will supply the clean energy source to POSCO's steel plant in South Korea’s southern industrial city of Gwangyang starting in 2029. Blue hydrogen is favored by industries because of its reasonable production cost compared to green hydro

January 31, 2024

Samsung Electronics records operating profit of $2.1 bln in 4Q 2023, down 34.4% year-on-year

SEOUL -- Amid the sluggish global semiconductor market, Samsung Electronics saw its sales and operating profit decrease in the fourth quarter of 2023. The tech giant's operating profit of about 2.8 trillion won ($2.1 billion) in 4Q 2023, down 34.4 percent from the same period a year ago. The conglomerate announced its financial report on January 31 and said that Samsung recorded 67.78 trillion won in sales and an operating profit of 2.82 trillion won. The sales also indicate a

January 31, 2024

Doosan Enerbility to establish carbon capture utilization and storage infrastructure in Thailand

SEOUL -- Doosan Enerbility, a key player in South Korea's power industry, has partnered with Thailand's state-run power producer to provide carbon capture utilization and storage technology for factories in the Southeast Asian country. The two sides will also carry out research projects related to low-carbon power generation technologies. Carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) uses special equipment to collect carbon dioxide created after burning fossil fuels or bio

January 30, 2024

S. Korean luxury goods ecommerce platform Balaan achieves profit in 4Q 2023

SEOUL -- South Korean luxury goods ecommerce platform operator Balaan has seen its first quarterly profit in the fourth quarter of 2023, about eight years after the online luxury product shopping service was launched in 2015. Buoyed by the robust performance in the domestic market, the ecommerce platform operator is poised to expand into the global market. The three years of the COVID-19 pandemic provided a wide range of opportunities in South Korea's online luxury goods mar

January 30, 2024

CHA Meditech makes foray into Thailand's aesthetics market with filler brand 'HyaFilia SMV'

SEOUL -- CHA Meditech, an aesthetics wing of South Korea's biopharmaceutical company CHA Biotech, has made a foray into Thailand's filler market estimated to be worth at least 90 billion won ($67.4 million). After receiving state approval from the Thai government in October 2023, the South Korean filler producer cooperated with a local distribution company to launch the filler brand "HyaFilia SMV." According to CHA Meditech's communications manager Kim Woo-gy

January 27, 2024

S. Korean food firms predicted to join '3 trillion-won sales club' boosted by sales at home and abroad

SEOUL --South Korean food companies, propelled by the global popularity of Korean cuisine and the influence of Hallyu, the Korean cultural wave, are achieving remarkable success. Market analyst FnGuide's data indicates that three major South Korean food companies -- Pulmuone (a food product and ingredient maker), CJ Freshway (a food solution company), and beverage maker Lotte Chilsung -- are anticipated to achieve sales exceeding three trillion won ($2.2 billion) in 2023. Pulm

January 25, 2024