WeMakePrice goes bankrupt after failed turnaround

A South Korean court on Monday declared the bankruptcy of WeMakePrice, marking the end of a failed rehabilitation effort to revive the troubled e-commerce business. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court ruled WeMakePrice bankrupt, roughly a year and half after the platform filed for court receivership on July 29, 2024, along with its e-commerce affiliate Tmon. In 2024, WeMakePrice and Tmon struggled with delayed payments due to a liquidity crisis associated with its parent company, Qoo10 Group. Though WeMa

Nov. 10, 2025

[Photo News] Hana shares warmth through kimchi

SHARING WARMTH WITH KIMCHI — Hana Financial Group executives, employees and their families join a "gimjang," or kimchi-making, event at the group's headquarters in Seoul on Monday as part of the 2025 Modu Hana Day campaign. Some 250 people, including representatives of Hana's partner firms, participated in the annual event to donate kimchi to Youngnak Borinwon, a child care facility in central Seoul. Hana Financial Chair Ham Young-joo (center) said the firm will "share warmth with those experien

Nov. 10, 2025

Ex-Kakao CIO sues Mirae Asset over account hack loss

Kakao’s former Chief Investment Officer Bae Jae-hyun has filed a lawsuit against Mirae Asset Securities, seeking compensation for a hack of his account that allegedly resulted in losses of 11 billion won ($7.5 million). According to industry sources, Bae filed a lawsuit last month against Mirae Asset Securities, demanding that the brokerage house compensate him for the assets siphoned from his Mirae Asset account. Shortly after Bae was taken into custody in October 2023 on charges of stock price

Nov. 10, 2025

Major reshuffle to usher in ‘New Samsung’

Samsung Electronics is expected to announce a major leadership reshuffle as early as mid-November, industry officials said Monday. This would mark the first large-scale shake-up since Chair Lee Jae-yong’s legal uncertainties were lifted, and a key step in shaping the direction of the “New Samsung” era. Sources say the overhaul will emphasize generational transition and stronger execution capacity, elevating younger leaders and restructuring decision-making channels to accelerate strategic shifts

Nov. 10, 2025

Samsung keeps highest export control rating

Samsung Electronics said Monday it has retained the highest rating in South Korea’s Internal Compliance Program for export control, highlighting its efforts to apply strong compliance standards to its handling of strategic products such as semiconductors and network equipment. The rating, granted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, recognizes companies that voluntarily meet export control requirements for items subject to national security regulations. It rates companies according to

Nov. 10, 2025

SK Plasma inks deal with Indonesia’s sovereign fund for blood product plant

SK Plasma, a blood product unit of SK Discovery, said Monday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Danantara, Indonesia’s second sovereign wealth fund, to expand investment in blood product manufacturing infrastructure in the country. The discussions will center on PT SK Plasma Core Indonesia — a joint venture initially established by SK Plasma and the Indonesia Investment Authority, Indonesia’s first sovereign wealth fund — which is currently pushing to build a plasma fractionation p

Nov. 10, 2025

Korean food exports to Africa jump 72% on seafood demand

Korean food exports to Africa surged more than 70 percent in the first nine months of the year, emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for K-food globally, data showed Monday. K-food exports to African countries reached $174.3 million in the January-September period, up 72 percent from a year earlier. Export volume also rose 45 percent to around 183,000 metric tons, according to data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. Seafood accounted for more than 70 percent of total ship

Nov. 10, 2025

Hyundai Rotem accelerates push for Egypt's hydrogen tram projects

Korea’s leading railway systems provider, Hyundai Rotem, announced Monday that it is promoting its hydrogen-powered tram at Egypt’s largest transportation industry event to secure an early advantage in the country’s upcoming tram projects. Starting Sunday, the company began showcasing its hydrogen-electric tram system — set to be commercialized in Korea — at Smart Transport, Infrastructure, Logistics & Traffic for the Middle East & Africa 2025, which runs through Tuesday. To help visitors unders

Nov. 10, 2025

Otoki unveils halal-certified Jin Ramen in Indonesia

South Korean food giant Otoki on Monday announced one of its flagship instant noodle brands, Jin Ramen, has officially entered Indonesia, marking its entry into the Southeast Asian halal market. Indonesia is the world's second largest instant noodle market. Otoki acquired halal certification from Ulema Council — Indonesia's top body of Islamic scholars — in December 2024 and received its import license in August. Sales will begin this month, focusing on major hypermarkets. The launch is supporte

Nov. 10, 2025

Jeju seals first Singapore export deal for beef, pork

The Jeju Provincial Government said Sunday that a 3 billion won ($2 million) deal had been signed to export beef and pork to Singapore, the first since an agreement to allow meat exports there was reached earlier this month. The deal was finalized during the “2025 Invitation to Jeju, Korea” event at the Oasia Hotel in Singapore from Tuesday to Thursday, designed to promote exchanges between businesses from Jeju and Southeast Asia. A total of 19 Jeju-based companies took part in the event, holdin

Nov. 9, 2025

Top banking groups to inject W500tr into 'productive, inclusive' finance

KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group announced Sunday that they will each commit 110 trillion won ($75 billion) to promote productive and inclusive finance over the next five years. As a result, the country's five major banking groups — KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NongHyup — will allocate a total of 508 trillion won to steer away from relying on interest-based lending income and focus more on supplying venture capital, in line with the current administration’s policy direction. KB Fin

Nov. 9, 2025

Lotte begins operations at W5.7tr petrochemical plant in Indonesia

Lotte Chemical said Friday that it has launched operations at its 5.7 trillion won ($3.9 billion) petrochemical plant in Indonesia, aiming to expand its footprint in the nation’s chemical feedstock-dependent market. The company held a completion ceremony for the Lotte Chemical Indonesia New Ethylene (LINE) project in Cilegon, Banten province, Indonesia, attended by 300 key figures, including Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Lotte Chemical CEO Lee Young-jun and Indonesian President Prabowo Sub

Nov. 9, 2025

SK chief calls for strong fundamentals to lead in AI era

SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won has urged the conglomerate’s top executives to pursue operational improvement and bolster their core business expertise to take the lead in the artificial intelligence era. Chey made the remarks as he wrapped up the annual CEO Seminar at the SK Management System Research Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, the group said Sunday. The tech-to-energy giant’s top leadership, including Chey, Senior Vice Chair Chey Jae-won, Supex Council Chair Chey Chang-won, and over 6

Nov. 9, 2025

Kumho Petrochemical Group pushes carbon neutrality drive

Kumho Petrochemical Group said Sunday it will adopt carbon capture, utilization and storage, or CCUS, technology in its energy generation business and promote waste-to-resource recycling as part of its plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Spearheading related initiatives are the group’s major affiliates including Kumho Petrochemical, Kumho P&B Chemicals, Kumho Mitsui Chemicals and Kumho Polychem. Kumho Petrochemical recently renewed its “Zero Waste to Landfill” Gold certification for the

Nov. 9, 2025

Samsung chief's 'right-hand man' steps down

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Chung Hyun-ho, a longtime confidant and “right-hand man” to Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, is stepping back from frontline management as the company reorganizes its de facto management coordination unit. Samsung said Friday that Chung, who has led the Business Support Taskforce, will relinquish his role and remain at the company as a senior advisor to Lee. The taskforce — created in late 2017 after Samsung disbanded its powerful Future Strategy Office in the w

Nov. 7, 2025