Industry

  • Korean sets record 20-day exports Dec, chips make up a third of total exports
    Korean sets record 20-day exports Dec, chips make up a third of total exports SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) -South Korea posted a record for first 20-day monthly exports in December, driven by a 42-percent jump in chip shipments that now account for nearly a third of total exports, customs-cleared preliminary data showed Monday. According to the Korea Customs Service, exports for Dec. 1–20 climbed 6.8 percent from a year earlier to US$43.03 billion, marking a fresh record for the first 20-day period. Average daily exports, adjusted for working days, December 22, 2025
  • Hyosung Heavy wins European power equipment orders worth $170 million
    Hyosung Heavy wins European power equipment orders worth $170 million SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - South Korea's Hyosung Heavy Industries has secured a series of new orders for extra-high-voltage power equipment across Europe. The company said on Monday it won contracts worth more than 230 billion won ($170 million) this month in key European markets including the United Kingdom, Sweden and Spain, citing rising investment in power grids as countries accelerate energy transitions. In the United Kingdom, Hyosung Heavy Industries recently signed December 22, 2025
  • South Koreas NCSoft pivots to casual games with two acquisitions
    South Korea's NCSoft pivots to casual games with two acquisitions SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - South Korean game developer NCSoft said on Monday it is stepping up its push into the global mobile casual game market, announcing two acquisitions to seek new growth beyond its traditional focus on massively multiplayer online role-playing games. NCSoft, led by co-chief executive officers Kim Taek-jin and Park Byung-moo, said it will acquire global mobile casual game developer Lihuhu Games and South Korean studio Springcomes as part of a portfolio diver December 22, 2025
  • Samsung Biologics acquires GSK biopharmaceutical plant in U.S. for $280 million
    Samsung Biologics acquires GSK biopharmaceutical plant in U.S. for $280 million SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - Samsung Biologics said Monday it has signed an agreement with GSK plc to acquire a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland, marking the South Korean contract drugmaker's first production foothold in the United States. The deal, valued at about $280 million, will see Samsung Biologics America, a U.S. subsidiary, take over the 60,000-liter drug substance plant formerly operated by Human Genome Sciences. The asset transfer is expec December 22, 2025
  • Korean Inc. braces for tougher 2026 on FX risk and import-driven inflation: FKI
    Korean Inc. braces for tougher 2026 on FX risk and import-driven inflation: FKI SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) -More than half of South Korea's big companies predict a tough year ahead, citing challenging foreign-exchange conditions and sluggish domestic demand weighed down by inflationary pressure. According to a survey on corporate management conditions for 2026 by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), 52 percent of respondents forecast difficult management conditions next year, including 18 percent who expect the environment to be “very challengin December 22, 2025
  • Celimax serum tops Amazon Australia beauty bestseller rankings
    Celimax serum tops Amazon Australia beauty bestseller rankings SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - South Korean dermacosmetic brand Celimax's flagship product, the Retinal Shot Tightening Booster, ranked first overall on Amazon Australia’s beauty bestseller list, the company said on Monday. The product initially climbed to the top spot in the facial serums category during Amazon Australia’s International Brand Pavilion promotion before rising to No. 1 across the broader beauty category, which includes products from major global bran December 22, 2025
  • Samsung closes in on HBM race after winning top marks from Nvidia
    Samsung closes in on HBM race after winning top marks from Nvidia SEOUL, December 21 (AJP) -South Korea's Samsung Electronics is rapidly closing the gap with local rival SK hynix in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) race after securing top marks from AI chip frontrunner Nvidia, signaling a potential shift in the balance of power in next-generation memory supply. According Industry sources Sunday, Samsung Electronics recently received the strongest evaluation among memory makers in Nvidia’s HBM4 System-in-Package (SiP) testing, delivering s December 21, 2025
  • S. Koreas consumer watchdog orders compensation for SK Telecom data breach victims
    S. Korea's consumer watchdog orders compensation for SK Telecom data breach victims SEOUL, December 21 (AJP) - The Korea Consumer Agency has ordered SK Telecom to compensate victims of a data breach earlier this year with 100,000 won ($67.5) per person, a move that could result in total payouts of up to 2.3 trillion won if applied to all affected users. The Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission under the Korea Consumer Agency said Sunday that it reached the decision at a dispute meeting held on Dec. 18. "Based on the findings of a joint public-private inve December 21, 2025
  • Shinsegae Chairman Chung steps up US outreach, meets Trump Jr., AI and media leaders
    Shinsegae Chairman Chung steps up US outreach, meets Trump Jr., AI and media leaders SEOUL, December 21 (AJP) - Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group, has met with a series of high-profile political and business figures in the U.S. as part of efforts to strengthen the group's overseas network and explore new growth opportunities. According to Shinsegae Group on Sunday, Chung attended a Christmas dinner hosted by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and went on to meet key figures in Florida and Los Angeles from Dec. 16 to 18, including Donald Trump Jr., Misha La December 21, 2025
  • Coupang hit with shareholder class action in US over data breach response
    Coupang hit with shareholder class action in US over data breach response SEOUL, December 21 (AJP) - U.S.-listed Coupang Inc. is facing a shareholder class action lawsuit in California over its handling of disclosures related to a massive data breach. According to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday, Coupang shareholder Joseph Berry filed a class action suit against the company, its Executive Chairman Bom Kim, and Chief Financial Officer Gaurav Anand. In the complaint, plaintiffs' attorney Lawrence Rosen allege December 21, 2025