The Consumers Union of Korea (CUK) revealed on Feb. 1 that consumer complaints related to AliExpress, an e-commerce platform operated by China’s Alibaba, have surged significantly.According to the CUK, the Consumer Consultation recorded a fivefold increase in complaints related to AliExpress last ye
Last year, South Korea’s online shopping transactions nearly reached 230 trillion won (US$172.67 billion), setting a new all-time record. The surge was attributed to a sharp increase in travel demand and the unprecedented milestone of overseas direct purchases surpassing 6 trillion won for the first
Cho Dong-chul, the president of Korea Development Institute (KDI), publicly issued a stark warning on government debt, going so far as to state, “The country will collapse.” In particular, he cautioned that South Korea’s national debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio could skyrocket to over 250
The pharmaceutical patent disputes between domestic biosimilar companies and original pharmaceutical firms are escalating.According to industry sources on Jan. 31, Samsung Bioepis and Celltrion are embroiled in patent disputes with original pharmaceutical companies.Alexion Pharmaceuticals, a subsidi
SK Networks, through its US affiliate, which has expanded direct and indirect investments in early-stage companies home and abroad, harnessing its global network and investment management processes, has successfully attracted external limited partners (LPs), a rare move in the world of corporate ven
Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Aerospace presented their state-of-the-art defense technologies to Dr. David Perry, President of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI), who visited Hanwha facilities from January 23-24. The CGAI is recognized as Canada’s leading source of expertise on global affairs an
In 2023, South Korean and Japanese tourists took first place in the rankings of the numbers of foreign tourists to Japan and South Korea. This is attributed to an improvement in bilateral relations following a South Korea-Japan summit, the Korean Wave, and weaker Japanese yen effects.The Korea Touri
Italian supercar brand Lamborghini sold more cars in South Korea than in its home country of Italy in 2023.Lamborghini, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2023, sold 10,112 units globally, up 10 percent from the previous year, the company said on Jan. 31. This was the first time Lamborghini ha
Kia Corp.’s market capitalization has outstripped Hyundai Motor’s. The automaker’s record-breaking earnings and strong shareholder return policy paid off handsomely, stock market experts say. Some of them believe that there is a remaining upside as the price-to-earnings ratio (PBR) is still below 1x
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) has set a target of US$700 billion for South Korea’s exports next year, with a plan to attract US$35 billion in foreign direct investment in Korea and US$150 trillion in private investment.MOTIE Minister Ahn Duk-geun said in a briefing at the Sejong
Korean Air has received approval for its merger with Asiana Airlines from Japan’s competition regulator, facing the final hurdle in its quest to become Korea’s megacarrier.The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), Japan’s competition authority, approved the merger of Korean Air and Asiana on Jan. 31.T
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at bk@nhqv.com -- Ed.The two terms that defined last year’s stock market were ‘new cold war’ and ‘supply chain reshaping’. In 2024, decoupling between DMs and EMs is to become a new market-defining feature. Today, the US’s bu
Doosan Bobcat has successfully commercialized Korea’s first hydrogen forklift.Doosan Bobcat announced on Jan. 31 that they held a “First Hydrogen Forklift Rollout Ceremony” at their forklift factory in Incheon on Jan. 30.The shipped first hydrogen forklift from Doosan Bobcat is a 3-ton model equippe
Samsung Electronics has emerged as the leading investor in semiconductor capital expenditures (CAPEX) globally over the past ten years.Andrea Lati, a researcher at TechInsights, announced during a press briefing at SEMICON Korea 2024 on Jan. 31 that “the semiconductor market will exhibit a robust gr
SK hynix has announced plans to release its 5th generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), named HBM3E, this year, and aims to launch HBM4 by 2026.Kim Chun-hwan, vice president of SK hynix, revealed these plans during his keynote speech at SEMICON Korea 2024, held at COEX in the Samseong neighborhood o
Samsung Electronics has forecasted a return to profit for its memory business in the first quarter. The company is confident in the continuous recovery of the memory industry, driven by the growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) market. Consequently, Samsung Electronics plans to significantly in
Lithium-for-earth and Hydro Lithium announced on Jan. 31 that two technologies invented by Dr. Jun Woong -- Lithium Extraction from Saline and Other Sources (CULX), and Environmentally Friendly Lithium Hydroxide Production Using Water (CULH) -- have recently been granted patent registrations in mult
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea announced on Jan. 29 that it will start accepting applications from Jan. 30 for this year’s K-City Network Global Collaboration Project. This initiative aims to establish a smart city cooperation network with foreign nations and suppo
POSCO Group is making significant strides into the clean hydrogen sector in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), a state-owned petroleum company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).POSCO International announced on Jan. 31 that it has signed a “strategic cooperation agreement
South Korean trading firm SK Networks is joining hands with the Bow Capital, the U.S.-based venture capital firm, to pursue a transformation into an investment company focused on the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.SK Networks announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the