Lee says S. Korea, Italy are 'optimal partners' for business cooperation

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that South Korea and Italy are optimal partners for business cooperation and that the countries could build a "new industrial order" by working together. Lee made the remarks in his opening remarks at a business roundtable in Rome, held to explore ways to enhance economic cooperation between South Korea and Italy. During his summit with Italian President Sergio Mattarella a day earlier, the two leaders agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a special strategic pa

June 13, 2026

Hanwha Ocean edges out HD Hyundai in W7.8t KDDX bid

Hanwha Ocean edged out HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in the bid for South Korea's destroyer project worth about 7.8 trillion won ($5.1 billion), bringing a long-delayed naval modernization program a step closer to implementation. According to defense industry sources, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration has completed its evaluation of proposals submitted by Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for the detailed design and lead ship construction phase of the Korean Destroyer Next

June 12, 2026

LG Energy Solution ends patent dispute with China’s Sunwoda through licensing deal

LG Energy Solution has effectively ended a two-year legal dispute with Chinese battery-maker Sunwoda through a patent licensing agreement covering the South Korean battery-maker’s lithium-ion technologies. Tulip Innovation, which manages and licenses lithium-ion battery patents on behalf of LG Energy Solution and Japan’s Panasonic Energy, announced Thursday that it had reached a licensing deal with Sunwoda. Under the agreement, the parties will withdraw all ongoing legal actions in Germany, Chin

June 12, 2026

SK hynix reviews use of external AI tools, including ChatGPT

SK hynix is reviewing the use of external generative artificial intelligence models, including ChatGPT, inside the company, as Korea’s major chipmakers move to bring AI deeper into day-to-day work. The move comes as companies are looking beyond AI as a simple productivity tool and seeking to use it more broadly in research and development, decision-making and internal management. According to industry sources on Friday, SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung outlined the company’s plans to review the adopti

June 12, 2026

Samsung office raided over alleged insider trading tied to takeover of robotics firm

Prosecutors raided the headquarters of Samsung Electronics Co. over suspicions employees of a local robotics company gained unfair profits using insider information when it was acquired by the chipmaker, legal sources said Thursday. Investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office carried out a search-and-seizure operation at the chipmaker's headquarters in Suwon, south of Seoul, the sources said. Financial authorities have referred a total of 16 people, including the head of th

June 11, 2026

Korea Zinc outpaces Young Poong in governance ratings amid proxy battle

Korea Zinc, the world's biggest refined zinc smelter, said it achieved full compliance with all 15 core corporate governance indicators in 2025, improving from the previous year and significantly outpacing rival Young Poong amid an ongoing battle for management control. According to the company's 2025 Corporate Governance Report released earlier this week, Korea Zinc posted 100 percent compliance with the Korea Exchange’s core governance indicators, up from 80 percent in the 2024 report. The com

June 11, 2026

OpenAI’s Sam Altman to meet Samsung, Kakao, Naver in Korea

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is returning to South Korea this weekend for talks with Samsung Electronics, Kakao and Naver, as the ChatGPT leader looks to deepen partnerships with Korean technology companies in AI infrastructure, workplace adoption and consumer services. Altman is scheduled to arrive in Korea on Sunday afternoon and begin his main itinerary Monday, according to industry sources on Thursday. His first major stop will be Samsung Electronics’ Digital City campus in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province

June 11, 2026

Samsung, SK hynix chip investment hopes build in Korea's southwest

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are being floated as possible investors in new semiconductor facilities in Korea's southwest, fueling hopes that the Honam region could host its first major chip production base, even as both companies say no such plans have been decided. The speculation has gathered momentum among local officials and political figures as the Lee Jae Myung administration presses major conglomerates to expand investment beyond the Seoul metropolitan area and use large-scale projec

June 11, 2026

KKR sees corporate reform unlocking Korea's valuation potential

US investment firm KKR highlighted South Korea as one of Asia's most compelling valuation opportunities, arguing that ongoing corporate governance reforms could unlock significant upside, the firm said Thursday. In its midyear 2026 outlook report, "The Divergence Conundrum," Henry McVey, head of Global Macro & Asset Allocation and chief investment officer of KKR Balance Sheet, described Korea's corporate reform story as "one of the more underappreciated opportunities in Asia," alongside Japan. T

June 11, 2026

Coupang hit with record W624.7b privacy fine

South Korea’s privacy watchdog imposed a record 624.68 billion won ($409 million) fine on Coupang over a massive data breach and unauthorized tracking of users’ online activity. The Personal Information Protection Commission said Thursday the penalty was approved at a plenary meeting the previous day after it found that the e-commerce giant had failed to maintain basic safeguards for customer data, citing poor management of authentication signing keys and weak access controls. The penalty is the

June 11, 2026

Woori Bank to launch digital wallet service for foreign tourists

Woori Bank said Thursday it plans to launch a dedicated digital wallet for overseas tourists to South Korea in the second half of this year to simplify payments and improve access to local financial services. The bank said it signed a memorandum of understanding with fintech startup Crosshub on Wednesday to improve payments for foreign visitors and jointly develop financial services that address payment challenges commonly faced by those travelling to Korea. Under the partnership, the two compan

June 11, 2026

FKI highlights $240b Korean investment at Congressional Baseball Game in Washington

The Federation of Korean Industries said Thursday it participated for the second consecutive year as a sponsor of the annual Congressional Baseball Game in Washington as part of efforts to promote Korean companies' investment in America. At the CBG held at National Parks in Washington, FKI said it promoted over $240 billion in investments made by Korean companies in the US since US President Donald Trump's first term, through activities including video advertisements, promotional booths and a sk

June 11, 2026

[Contribution] Demystifying Chinese tech equities’ lagging performance

By Raymond Cheng While global tech rides an unprecedented AI-driven supercycle to historic highs, the Hang Seng Technology Index tells a starkly different story of disconnect. Driven by soaring AI capital expenditure, the MSCI World IT Index has surged over 20 percent year to date, whereas HSTECH has slumped with a negative return. Understanding the structural and macroeconomic forces behind this glaring divergence is critical to determining whether China’s technology sector represents a genuine

June 11, 2026

OpenAI's Sam Altman to visit Samsung Electronics for talks on AI adoption

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will meet with executives of Samsung Electronics Co. in South Korea next week to discuss the company's efforts to integrate artificial intelligence into its business operations, industry sources said Thursday. Altman is scheduled to visit Samsung's office in Suwon, south of Seoul, on Monday, where he will deliver a lecture on the transformative impact of AI technologies and strategies for AI-driven workplace innovation, they said. The visit comes as the South Korean technol

June 11, 2026

Another S. Korea-operated vessel transits through Strait of Hormuz

Another vessel operated by a South Korean shipper has successfully passed through the crisis-stricken Strait of Hormuz, marking the second case of its kind, Seoul's oceans ministry said Thursday. The vessel is a liquefied natural gas carrier operated by a Korean shipping company under a charter agreement with a foreign party, with eight Korean crew members on board, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Details of the ship, the company and the foreign charterer were undisclosed. The

June 11, 2026