South Korea’s four oil refiners all recorded an “earnings shock” in the fourth quarter of last year. They took a direct hit from a loss from valuation of inventories due to lower oil prices and a lower refining margin from a supply excess and decrease in demand.SK Innovation Co. announced on Jan. 31

South Korea is jumping up to be a leading environmentally friendly car power as the country’s electric vehicle market expanded to the fifth largest in the world and hydrogen powered vehicle to the third largest last year. Nearly 100,000 green cars will be on the roads this year based on the cumulati

Anticipation is growing for a recovery in the Korean shipbuilding industry as the Hyundai Heavy Industries Group succeeded in winning orders since early this year.Hyundai Heavy Industries Group announced on January 30 that it landed an order for three very large crude oil carriers (VLCCs) including

SK Holdings, a global investment holding company, will make a full-fledged entry into the market of smart glass emerging as an energy-saving solution.SK Holdings announced on January 30 that it invested US$100 million in California-based smart glass maker Kinestral. Through this investment, the comp

South Korean shipbuilding giant, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, is seeking to acquire Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Accordingly, the domestic shipbuilding industry will see its “big three” system consisting of Hyundai Heavy, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. transf

Korean Air achieved the highest-ever sales since its foundation last year but its profitability deteriorated due to rising oil prices.The company announced on Jan. 29 that it posted 12.65 trillion won in sales and 692.4 billion won in operating income based on non-consolidated financial statements l

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) pledged to rebuild the Korean shipping industry during a christening ceremony for a very large crude oil carrier (VLCC) on Jan. 29.HMM held the christening ceremony for the 300,000-ton VLCC “Universal Leader” at the Mokpo Shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Enginee

Samsung Heavy Industries has landed an order for two LNG carriers worth 419.9 billion won.The shipbuilder announced on Jan. 29 that it concluded a contract with Celsius Tankers, a European ship owner, for the construction of two LNG carriers of 180,000 cubic meters.The vessels to be built are Saver

LS Industrial Systems Co. (LSIS) achieved a new milestone in its sales last year on the back of growth in its power infrastructure and smart energy businesses.LSIS announced on Jan. 29 that it posted 2.49 trillion won (US$2.22 billion) in annual sales and 205.10 billion won (US$183.29 million) in op

Hyundai Rotem Co. is facing a credit rating downgrade as it suffered a massive loss last year due to a provision set aside for construction losses.Investment banking (IB) industry sources said on Jan. 29 that Korea Investors Service Inc. (KIS) and NICE Investors Service Co. (NIS) are considering dow

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has decided to seek another court ruling with regard to the recent court decision to suspend the execution of sanctions against Samsung Biologics.The SFC announced on Jan. 29 that it would submit a written complaint against the suspension of execution on J

Since Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announced that Tesla would depart from its exclusive reliance on Panasonic batteries for its cars to be produced in China, battery makers in Korea and abroad have been keeping their eyes and ears alert. Yet many analysts believe that Chinese battery makers will be pref

Korea’s three major shipbuilders are looking forward to a big order for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from Qatar Petroleum (QP), a state-owned oil company in Qatar which has recently decided to mass-produce LNG.QP officials recently visited Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Ma

The labor union of General Motors (GM) Korea has stirred up a controversy by putting forward an unreasonable demand that the government pay on its behalf monthly livelihood allowance to workers who chose to remain in the closed Gunsan plant.When GM Korea shut down the Gunsan plant last year, an agre

Hyundai Motor will accelerate its penetration of the Vietnamese automobile market by establishing a sales joint venture with its local partner.The company announced on Jan. 24 that it signed an MOU on the establishment of a sales joint venture with Vietnam's Thanh Cong Group at its head office i

Samsung Electronics has regained a spot in Fortune's list of the world’s 50 most admired companies.Samsung Electronics ranked 50th in the list of "World's Most Admired Companies 2019" announced recently by Fortune, a leading U.S. economic magazine. The Korean electronics giant shared the spo

Hyundai Motor has delivered another earnings shock. The company announced on Jan. 24 that its operating profit reached 501.1 billion won in the fourth quarter of 2018, a drop of 35.4 percent from a year earlier. Yet the company’s sales in the four quarter increased 4.8 percent year on year.Hyundai M

LG Household & Health Care Ltd. delivered the highest fourth-quarter results in 2018. The company reported 1.7 trillion won in sales, up 14.2 percent year on year, 211 billion won won in operating profit, up 13.9 percent from a year ago. Its net profit reached 101 billion won, up 23.5 percent year o

Multinational pharmaceutical companies tend to stop domestic supply of essential drugs in a bid to raise their prices.Industry watchers said on Jan. 23 that Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company Kyowa Hakko Kirin Korea recently notified the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) that it wil

BMW Korea will additionally recall 108,000 cars with the possibility of erupting into flames following its first recall in August of 2018.The additional recall is a follow-up measure after the Joint Public-Private Investigation Team said in its investigation report that BMW should solve an intake ma