employment stability

Economy S.Korea’s job growth slows for 2nd straight year in 2024  

South Korea’s job growth slowed last year amid a prolonged slump in the country’s construction, manufacturing and retail sectors, boding...

Foreign exchange NPS initiates strategic currency hedging to unleash up to $48.2 billion

The National Pension Service (NPS), South Korea’s state-run pension fund and the country’s largest institutional investor, is set to beg...

Energy KEPCO expects all-time high $207 mn in 2024 overseas investment returns

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), the state-run utility company, expects to post its highest-ever overseas business performance this year, thanks ...

Business & Politics South Korea’s sovereign credit rating stable: S&P, Moody's, Fitch

South Korea’s sovereign ratings remain stable despite the political turmoil caused by the short-lived martial law declaration of President Yoo...

Private equity Hong Kong-based PEF Affinity Equity to acquire control of Lotte Rental

Affinity Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based investment firm, will acquire a controlling stake in South Korea’s No. 1 car rental and leasing co...

Markets BOK to buy repos to counter martial law-driven market tantrum

South Korea’s central bank will provide "unlimited" liquidity to the country’s financial markets by purchasing repurchase agreements, or...

Business & Politics S.Korea to ease rules for employment permit system

The South Korean government plans to revamp its employment authorization system to allow foreign workers to stay in the country longer. Foreign...

Executive reshuffles Samsung to replace chiefs of 3 key posts: Memory, foundry, system LSI

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to replace the three key posts of its semiconductor business — memory, foundry and system LSI — as the Sou...

Automobiles Hyundai, Kia gets triple A credit rating from S.Korean agencies

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. said on Monday they received AAA ratings, with Stable outlooks for both companies, from Korea Ratings Corp., Nice In...

Energy Hanwha Q Cells sells 142 MW solar power plant in Washington

Hanwha Q Cells Co., a solar panel manufacturing arm of South Korea's Hanwha Solutions Corp., said on Wednesday that it sold a 142-megawatt solar pow...

Corporate bonds POSCO Int'l wins first credit rating from S&P, Moody's

South Korea's POSCO International Corp. said on Thursday that it received its first-ever credit ratings from Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Moo...

Tech, Media & Telecom LG CNS, Seoul National Univ. to establish DX talent program

South Korea's LG CNS Co. signed an agreement with Seoul National University's Department of Industrial Engineering on Tuesday to develop talent in d...

Economy Vietnamese lead influx of foreign workers with Korean dream

On Aug. 31, 2004, 92 Filipinos, wearing T-shirts and white caps, entered Incheon International Airport determined to make money in South Korea and r...

Banking & Finance Shinhan Financial builds disaster response system

South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group announced on Sunday that it established a disaster response system to provide swift and substantial assistance...

Batteries Samsung SDI, Sungkyunkwan Univ. to develop battery engineer

Samsung SDI Co., the world’s sixth-largest electric vehicle cell maker, will establish a Department of Battery Engineering at Sungkyunkwan Uni...

Retail Lotte Mall writes success story in Hanoi with Koreanization

Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi, a mega commercial complex in Vietnam, has hit a sales milestone of 200 billion won ($145 million) less than one year sin...

Economy S.Korea’s inflation holds below 3% for 3rd straight month

South Korea’s headline inflation stayed in the 2% range for the third straight month in June after its slowest rate of increase in 11 months, ...

Corporate bonds Hanwha Life Financial Services gets A+ credit rating

South Korea's Hanwha Life Financial Services said on Tuesday it received an A+ (Stable) credit rating from Korea Ratings, becoming the first domes...

Corporate bonds Hyosung Chemical receives negative credit rating outlook

South Korean credit rating agency NICE Investors Service Co. (NICE) downgraded Hyosung Chemical's credit rating outlook from stable to negative on W...

Insurance Kyobo Life gets Moody's A1 credit rating for 10 consecutive years

South Korea's Kyobo Life Insurance Co. announced on Tuesday that it has received an A1 (stable) insurance financial strength rating from Moody's Rat...

Economy S.Korea’s inflation slows to 10-month low amid tight policy

South Korea’s headline inflation slowed to a 10-month low in May as the Bank of Korea kept its interest rate policy tight, adding to the centr...

IPOs HD Hyundai Marine IPO sees strong demand from retail investors

South Korea’s HD Hyundai Marine Solution Co. has attracted billions of dollars from retail investors in subscription deposits for the ship mai...

Corporate bonds Korea’s bond sales up in February; corporate bonds remain buoyant

Bond sales in South Korea amounted to 71.8 trillion won ($54.4 billion) in February, 12.4% up from a month prior, according to a report from the Kor...

Real estate IGIS Asset halts sale process of controlling stake

Key shareholders of South Korea’s IGIS Asset Management Co., one of the largest real estate firms in Asia, have decided to halt the process of...

Economy S.Korea’s GNI per capita rebounds in 2023 as won stabilizes

South Korea’s gross national income (GNI) per capita rebounded last year as the won currency stabilized amid signs of a recovery in exports fr...

Energy KHNP, Centrus sign LOI for nuclear fuel supply

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) announced on Monday that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the US-based Centrus Energy Corp. to...

Economy Korea's job growth at 10-month high despite weak youth employment

South Korea’s job increases rose for a second straight month to a 10-month high in January thanks to higher employment of the older, although ...

Economy S.Korea’s labor gains slow in November with fewer jobs for young people

South Korea’s nonfarm payroll growth slowed in November after the country with the world’s lowest fertility rate marked its 13th straigh...

Chemical Industry IMM among shortlisted bidders for special chemicals maker Songwon

Competition to acquire Songwon Industrial Co., one of the world’s top specialty chemicals makers, is heating up as the South Korean company an...

Food & Beverage CJ Freshway to boost smart farming business

South Korea’s CJ Freshway Corp. announced on Monday that it will launch a smart farm contract cultivation business in 2024. South Korea's...