[INTERVIEW] AMCHAM optimistic over Korea's LNG investment in US

North American shoppers are becoming a major revenue driver for GS25, a leading Korean convenience store chain, with foreign spending at its outlets more than doubling this year and expanding beyond traditional tourist districts in Seoul. GS Retail, which operates GS25, said Thursday that sales to North American customers rose 130.9 percent from a year earlier during the January-August period, the fastest growth among international customer groups. North American customers accounted for about 30 percent of GS25’s foreign customer sales, their largest share on record, while customers from Greater China accounted for about 40 percent. The gap between the two groups narrowed to roughly 10 percentage points, according to GS Retail’s analysis of its customer data. North American shoppers showed a preference for canned beer, wine and spirits, as well as sports drinks, energy drinks and other beverages, with canned beer sales particularly strong. Customers from Greater China showed stronger demand for dairy products and convenience foods, including milk, fermented milk products, noodles and

LG CNS has partnered with U.S. investment firm General Atlantic to co-invest in global enterprise technology firms, the IT services unit of Korea's LG Group said Thursday. Enterprise technology refers to business software and artificial intelligence (AI) that support core operations in industries such as manufacturing, finance, logistics and energy. The two sides signed the agreement Sept. 24 at General Atlantic's headquarters in New York. LG CNS President and CEO Hyun Shin-Gyoon and Martin Escobari, General Atlantic's co-president and head of global growth equity, attended the signing ceremony. Under the deal, the two companies will look for and consider investing in enterprise software and AI companies. LG CNS said the size and terms of each investment will be disclosed once a target company is confirmed. General Atlantic manages $130 billion in assets as of June 30. It has more than 900 employees in 20 countries and over 45 years of experience investing in technology companies. LG CNS plans to use the partnership to diversify beyond its information technology services and AI transforma

Finda is stepping up its efforts to innovate its artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven financial products with the appointment of its first-ever chief product officer (CPO). The fintech company said Thursday that it has appointed Ahn Joong-hyun, former vice president of NEXUS, to the newly created position. Ahn is a fintech veteran with 20 years of experience across the financial and IT sectors, including e-commerce, internet-only banking, financial platforms and blockchain. His experience spans financial service planning, platform development, business model creation and service operations. In particular, he was involved in the launch of several of Korea's major fintech services, including Naver Pay, Toss Bank and Karrot Pay, helping bring new financial products to market. The new CPO was part of the launch team for Naver Pay, where he helped develop its payment services and fraud detection system. At Toss Bank, he designed core financial products and systems, including account opening, fraud detection, anti-money laundering and authentication. He later led Karrot Pay, helping dri

LG Electronics will invest 150 billion won ($110 million) to set up a new U.S. chiller factory and expand production lines in Korea to meet rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) data center cooling systems, the company said Thursday. The plant will be established in Windsor, Virginia, and is scheduled to begin production in the first half of 2027. It will have 32,000 square meters of floor space on a 170,000-square-meter site and manufacture air-cooled chillers primarily for AI data centers. LG Electronics will also add air-cooled chiller production lines and upgrade equipment at its factories in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, by the end of this year. A single-conveyor system spanning all manufacturing stages will improve productivity and enable multiple lines to operate simultaneously. North America hosts more than half of the world's AI data centers. According to market tracker Omdia, global data center power requirements are forecast to rise from 226 gigawatts this year to 420 gigawatts in 2030, with 60 percent concentrated in North A

YONGIN, Gyeonggi Province — Korea’s ambitious plan to expand domestic semiconductor production capacity and strengthen its position in the global chip supply chain will take another step forward this month, as construction is set to begin on the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster National Industrial Complex in Gyeonggi Province this month. The initiative, however, is not free from possible delays, including compensation for residents and businesses already at the site and pressure to meet fast-track construction deadlines ordered by President Lee Jae Myung, who is determined to capitalize on soaring artificial intelligence (AI)-driven memory demand before it cools. Two semiconductor clusters are currently planned in Yongin’s Cheoin District. One is the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster General Industrial Complex, where SK hynix is already building its memory chip fabs, and the other is the Yongin System Semiconductor Cluster National Industrial Complex, which is set to break ground this month and will house Samsung Electronics’ foundry and memory fabs. The Korea Land & Housing Corp. (LH),

A consortium led by Korean plant builder Doosan Enerbility has secured an 840 billion-won ($618 million) deal to build a gas-fired power plant in Vietnam by 2030, the company said Thursday. The consortium, formed by Doosan Enerbility and Vietnam's energy service company PetroVietnam Technical Service Corp. (PTSC), will build the O Mon 3 gas-fired combined-cycle power plant for PTSC's parent company, Petrovietnam (PVN), at a site about 180 kilometers southwest of Ho Chi Minh City, the company said in a press release. The latest engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract comes after Doosan Enerbility won a 900 billion-won deal in June last year, in a consortium with a local company, to build another gas-fired combined-cycle power plant at the same site for PVN by 2028. "We will focus on winning further deals from PVN, as the Vietnamese company plans to build gas-fired power plants in the central and northern parts of the country, in addition to the O Mon 3 and 4 projects," a company representative said. Doosan Enerbility has secured five gas-fired power plant deals, including

Renault Korea Motors, the Korean unit of France's Renault S.A., said Thursday its sales fell 24.7 percent in September from a year earlier amid weak demand at home. The automaker sold 6,556 vehicles last month, down from 8,710 units a year earlier, the company said in a release. Domestic sales dropped 45.2 percent on-year to 2,289 units last month, while exports backtracked 5.8 percent to 4,267 units.

LEGO Group has unveiled its first Dragon Ball set, created with the participation of a Korean designer at the Danish toymaker. The 1,764-piece LEGO Icons Dragon Ball Shenron & Goku set, developed in partnership with Japanese animation studio Toei Animation, will go on sale Nov. 4, the company said. Icons is LEGO's product line aimed at adult builders. Dragon Ball, created by the late Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama, follows a boy named Goku on adventures to collect seven magical orbs known as Dragon Balls. Gathering all seven summons Shenron, a dragon that grants a wish. First published in 1984, the manga was adapted into an anime series by Toei that drew a worldwide following. The set recreates the scene in which Shenron rises from the seven Dragon Balls, with a young Goku riding his magic cloud, the Flying Nimbus. Seven bricks at the base represent the Dragon Balls, and the Goku minifigure can be detached and repositioned. A display stand and a plaque bearing the Dragon Ball logo are included. Lee Jae-won, a Korean designer who works at LEGO's headquarters in Billund, Denmark, too

Hyundai Motor, Korea's biggest carmaker, said Thursday its sales fell 16 percent in September from a year earlier, as there were fewer working days due to the Chuseok holiday. Hyundai sold 307,998 vehicles last month, down from 366,731 units in 2025, the company said in a press release. Domestic sales plunged 25.7 percent to 49,022 units from 66,001 a year earlier, while overseas sales declined 13.9 percent to 258,976 units from 300,730. "Fewer working days due to Chuseok and delayed demand for new models affected the monthly numbers," the carmaker said. Hyundai plans to launch the all-new Tucson sport utility vehicle (SUV) in the domestic market as it expands its SUV lineup. From January to September, cumulative sales backtracked 7 percent to 2,886,763 vehicles from 3,105,346 a year earlier. Domestic sales dropped 16.3 percent to 448,181 units in the first nine months from 535,458 a year earlier, while overseas sales declined 5.1 percent to 2,438,582 units from 2,569,888.

Three consortia led by Korean tech companies will unveil their artificial intelligence (AI) services developed under a government-led project within this month to provide all citizens with access to AI, government and industry sources said Thursday. The three teams — led by SK Telecom, KT and Kakao, respectively — are set to launch a closed beta version of their AI services sometime in October, the sources added. The government's "AI for All" project unveiled in July came amid efforts to lower Korea's dependence on foreign AI models and boost the domestic AI sector. Developers are required to use domestic AI models for at least 50 percent of the offered AI services, with government funding and graphic processing unit (GPU) support. Developers have set a monthly active user target of 5 million for their envisioned services, with Kakao vowing to expand the figure to 10 million by 2027 and 30 million by 2030. Korea plans to inject an additional 250 billion won ($184.37 million), starting next year, to further advance the services, which include costs to secure some 2,000 GPUs. According

Hayfin Capital Management opened a new office in Seoul, Thursday, expanding its presence in the Asia-Pacific region following Samsung Life's investment in the firm as a strategic minority shareholder. Located at Three IFC in Yeouido, in Seoul's financial district, the office will provide on-the-ground coverage for Hayfin's growing base of Korean institutional investors and partners. "The Seoul office's focus is on understanding the needs of Korean institutional investors, connecting them effectively with the global team and enhancing the overall quality of client service," said Choi Si-jin, head of Korea at Hayfin. Choi, newly appointed to lead the office, has nearly two decades of experience in investment and institutional capital formation. He previously served as head of private equity for Asia-Pacific at UBS Asset Management and held senior roles at Wilshire Associates in Hong Kong, Samsung Life and Samsung Asset Management. The office opening follows Hayfin's management buyout, which closed in February 2025. Samsung Life, Mubadala and AXA IM Prime participated in the transaction as