News

Bolsonaro left Brazil for the U.S. with a senior State Department official saying it would grant entry visas to him and his family, Reuters reported.

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

Hyundai Motor rose to 29th place in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2026 ranking, up two places from a year earlier, with its brand value reaching $25 billion, the automaker said Wednesday. The annual ranking by global brand consultancy Interbrand evaluates brands based on their financial performance, influence on consumers’ purchasing decisions and ability to build long-term loyalty. Hyundai also climbed to fourth among automotive brands from sixth in 2025, extending its streak of annual brand value growth to 17 consecutive years. Hyundai attributed the improvement to its strengthened vehicle lineup, investments in future growth areas such as physical artificial intelligence (AI) and software-defined vehicles (SDVs), and global marketing campaigns tied to major sporting events and cultural initiatives. “Seventeen consecutive years of brand value growth comes from customers who chose Hyundai and from the teams and dealer partners who earned that trust,” Hyundai Motor President and CEO Jose Munoz said. “Improving to fourth among automotive brands reflects both the strength of our

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

Samsung Wallet Money, a prepaid payment service jointly operated by Samsung Electronics and Woori Bank, has expanded overseas, allowing users to pay with their Galaxy smartphones worldwide without installing local payment apps, Woori Bank said Wednesday. Unlike other mobile payment services that require users to install and open a separate app and complete additional authentication steps at checkout, Samsung Wallet Money lets them pay by tapping their Galaxy phone on a contactless terminal. Launched in Korea last year, the service has since surpassed 3 million users. Customers link a domestic bank account to their Wallet Money account to top up their balance and make payments. The overseas rollout extends the service to Mastercard merchants worldwide and WeChat Pay merchants across China. “We take great pride in creating a new global payment experience with Samsung Electronics in Korea, a country with strengths in both smartphone manufacturing and digital finance,” Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan said during a press conference at the lender’s headquarters in Seoul. He summed up the serv

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

HD Hyundai, the holding company of Korea's leading shipbuilding conglomerate, on Wednesday reported a third-quarter net profit of 1.38 trillion won ($1 billion), up 40 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing it posted 2.91 trillion won in operating profit for the July-September period, compared with 1.7 trillion won a year ago. Revenue also rose 21.2 percent to 22.08 trillion won.

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

Evolution Metals & Technologies (EMAT), a Nasdaq-listed rare earth magnet producer, is making a big bet on Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, by building a facility capable of producing 10,000 tons of sintered rare earth magnets annually for export to the U.S. and to other global customers seeking to reduce their reliance on China's dominant rare earth supply chain. The company plans to invest approximately 300 billion won ($224 million) in Pohang, including 223.8 billion won earmarked for building initial production capacity on a 118,000-square-meter site at the Blue Valley Industrial Complex in the city by 2027. EMAT and the Pohang city government signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the investment project on Tuesday, with the city pledging administrative support for EMAT's plans. During an interview with The Korea Times, EMAT CEO Frank Moon stressed the need to distinguish between upstream and downstream operations. Citing China's dominance in the supply chain, he said geopolitical issues weigh heavily on the industry, and customers’ growing demand for alternatives to Chi

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

SK Broadband, the telecommunications unit of SK Group, is strengthening safeguards around a vital undersea cable linking Korea with Japan and Singapore, partnering with marine engineering specialist LS Marine Solution to speed up emergency repairs along vulnerable coastal stretches. The companies signed an agreement Tuesday to improve the reliability of the Southeast Asia-Japan Cable 2 (SJC2) submarine cable system, SK Broadband said Wednesday. Under the agreement, the companies will maintain emergency response vessels and specialized equipment while standardizing technical data and repair procedures in advance. The goal is to coordinate the entire recovery process, from dispatching crews to retrieving damaged cables, reconnecting lines and precisely reburying them on the seabed, reducing the time needed to restore service. The partnership will focus particularly on shallow coastal waters off Busan, where large vessels have difficulty operating and emergency repairs require specialized marine expertise and rapid response. SK Broadband will contribute cable analysis data and monitoring cap

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

The privatization of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) could gain momentum as the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) commissions a 1.8 billion won ($1.36 million) consulting project and the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) highlights the benefits of stronger competition among major defense companies. Although Eximbank and KAI have expressed reservations about a change in ownership, KAI’s slower growth compared to its defense industry peers, despite a boom in arms exports, is fueling calls for privatization. Eximbank is KAI’s largest shareholder, with a 26.41 percent stake. According to Rep. Ahn Sang-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party and other sources, Eximbank recently selected AT Kearney as the preferred bidder for the consulting project and is proceeding with the subsequent steps. The project will examine ways to strengthen Korea’s aerospace industry and foster global anchor companies. Reports that the project was initiated at the government’s request have also sparked controversy. On Oct. 20, KAI CEO Kim Jong-chool said the company’s ownership structure

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

Korea will accept an international arbitration ruling in favor of U.S. hedge fund Elliott Investment Management over the 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates, the justice ministry said Wednesday. The ministry decided not to file a suit seeking a cancellation of last month's ruling, which ordered Korea to pay about 153 billion won ($114 million) in damages plus interest to Elliott. Elliott originally filed the case in 2018, seeking compensation over losses from the controversial merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries. The U.S. hedge fund, which was a minority stakeholder of Samsung C&T, argued unfair mediation by the Korean government in the merger's approval. An international tribunal ruled in favor of Elliott in 2023, but the Korean government took the case to the High Court in London. It was eventually returned to the international tribunal for review in March. In the remanded ruling on Sept. 30, the tribunal recognized a causal relationship between Seoul's intervention for the approval of the merger and losses to Elliott.

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

The government plans to review security at more than 170 critical information infrastructure facilities managed by 111 private-sector organizations, officials said Wednesday, as cyber breaches continued across the financial sector. The checks follow President Lee Jae Myung’s order to strengthen safeguards across core national systems as suspected artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted attacks have spread across most major financial segments since a breach at Shinhan Bank was reported to authorities on Sept. 30. The facilities are designated under the Act on the Protection of Information and Communications Infrastructure because disruptions could significantly harm national security, the economy or society. They include telecommunications and internet data center systems run by SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus. The Ministry of Science and ICT will focus on how operators identify and address vulnerabilities in internet-facing assets, including servers and web pages. The review comes amid concerns that inadequately managed external access points may have enabled recent financial sector breache

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

Hanwha Group’s potential acquisition of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) could give the country’s aerospace and defense industry a much-needed boost in the global market, as privately owned defense firms have significantly outpaced their state-backed rival in sales growth. Yet transferring control of a strategically important company to a private conglomerate would also raise questions over national security, market concentration and the public investment underpinning its technological achievements. KAI has remained under state ownership since its establishment in 1999, with the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea as its largest shareholder, holding a 26.41 percent stake. Hanwha is the second-largest shareholder, with a 15.89 percent stake. KAI’s relatively modest growth compared with private-sector defense counterparts highlights the potential benefits of a change in ownership. Lagging behind other private defense firms, KAI’s annual sales reached 3.69 trillion won ($2.79 billion) in 2025, inching down from 3.81 trillion won in 2023. Over the same period, LIG Defense & Aerospac

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

Hana Financial Group has opened a digital classroom at a special education school in Seoul to help students with developmental disabilities explore career options and practice workplace skills, the group said Wednesday. The classroom at Miral School in Gangnam District is designed to give students hands-on experience in settings modeled on real workplaces, such as restaurants and cafes. The space is equipped with a range of digital learning tools, including a humanoid robot that can interact through voice conversations, virtual reality devices for vocational training, multimedia kiosks, interactive LED whiteboards and tablets for design practice. The classroom is the first step in Hana Financial’s wider program to aid students with developmental disabilities prepare for working life through digital learning and vocational training. The group plans to establish similar facilities at two more special education schools in Incheon and Daejeon by the first half of next year. Hana is also offering support for teachers and other school staff, with programs aimed at strengthening their profess

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

Hur Jin-soo, vice chairman of Korean bakery giant Sangmidang Holdings, met Gellert Global Group (GGG) Chairman George Gellert and U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner in Paris earlier this week to explore broader partnerships in overseas markets. Sangmidang said Wednesday that Hur discussed business developments and potential cooperation with Gellert and other GGG executives. Samlip, Sangmidang’s mass-market bakery subsidiary, could work with GGG to expand through U.S. supermarket and food service distribution networks and potentially enter Canada and Mexico, the Korean company said. U.S.-based GGG imports and distributes food products to retailers, food service distributors, restaurants, hotels, cruise operators and food manufacturers across North America. It sources more than 4,000 products from 60 countries and generates more than $1.7 billion in sales per year. The discussion first took place on Oct. 18 when Hur attended a reception for GGG’s partner firms at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Paris. Hosted by Kushner, the event brought together about 130 representatives

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

SK On, the battery manufacturing unit of SK Group, passed a major fire safety test for its energy storage systems (ESS), clearing a key hurdle as the company seeks to expand in the global market for grid-scale energy storage. The company said Wednesday that its ESS products met evaluation criteria under UL 9540A, a North American standard used to assess how thermal runaway in batteries can spread heat and fire to surrounding equipment. The large-scale fire test recreates conditions resembling an actual energy storage system fire, examining whether flames or dangerous heat spread to neighboring battery containers. The requirements were tightened in March to establish clearer criteria for assessing fire propagation. During the test, battery cells inside adjacent containers did not experience thermal runaway caused by heat from the container where the fire originated, and temperatures inside the containers remained within the evaluation limits, SK On said. The company attributed the result to a system design that releases heat gradually over an extended period, limiting sudden increases in h

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

The Fair Trade Commission's (FTC) latest sanction against Samsung Electronics is reviving questions over the consistency of its enforcement, as controversy persists over the timing and validity of the penalty. The dispute came shortly after the antitrust watchdog imposed a tentative fine of around 20 billion won ($15 million) on Samsung, Tuesday, for allegedly deceptive advertising related to its smart devices’ game optimizing service (GOS), which regulates processor performance to control heat and battery consumption during demanding gaming sessions. The regulator ordered Samsung to stop similar advertising, saying the company promoted the gaming capabilities of its flagship Galaxy S21 and S22 smartphone series and Galaxy Tab S8 tablets without disclosing GOS-related performance restrictions. The controversy dates back to 2022, when users accused Samsung of overstating gaming performance while restricting device capabilities through GOS. The company released a software update in March that year to address the complaints. The move, however, has raised doubts, as it came after the contr

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

The moves came after stocks were broadly higher on Tuesday, fueled by gains among semiconductor companies.

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

UBS reported a third quarter pre-tax profit of almost $3.6 billion.

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

As artificial intelligence (AI) servers pack more computing power into less space, the heat they generate is becoming a critical challenge for data centers, prompting LG Uplus and Ecolab Korea to develop standards for liquid cooling systems. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday at LG Uplus’ headquarters in Seoul's Yongsan District, to improve cooling system operations and establish procedures for managing coolant quality. The partnership combines LG Uplus’ expertise in building and operating AI data centers with Ecolab Korea’s water treatment and cooling fluid management technologies. The growing use of high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) has increased heat output in data centers, driving interest in liquid cooling, which can remove heat more efficiently than conventional air cooling. But coolant that deteriorates or equipment that is poorly maintained can undermine cooling performance and lead to hardware failures, making consistent monitoring and operating standards essential. LG Uplus will provide a large-scale liquid cooling test environment b

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, asset manager Mirae Asset Global Investments and Daishin Securities have become the latest victims of cyberattacks sweeping Korea’s financial sector, industry officials and financial authorities said Wednesday. Daishin Securities said in a press release earlier in the day that personal and credit information belonging to 38,490 customers had been leaked. The brokerage said it detected signs of unauthorized access by a hacker on Oct. 17 to a server linked to online securities account openings for discretionary investment services. Bithumb discovered Tuesday that personal information had been leaked following unauthorized access to its internal mobile groupware system. It is examining the scope of the breach, including whether customer information was compromised. A hacking incident was also reported at Mirae Asset Global Investments, prompting financial authorities to investigate the extent of the damage and the circumstances of the breach. The latest incidents came after Mirae Asset Life Insurance detected unusual activity in some of its systems Sunday

Summary supplied by the source. Open the original for the full article.