
Korean Cinema Chain CGV Weighs IPO of Its Theater Effects Unit
South Korean cinema chain CJ CGV Co. is considering an initial public offering of its CJ 4DPlex theater-technology affiliate.
The discussions are at an early stage and CJ CGV hasn't yet committed to a timeframe, nor the amount of capital it would seek to raise in a listing.

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Business Wire
9 hours ago
- Business Wire
Hyundai Card Becomes First in Asia to Achieve UL Solutions Healthy Building Verifications for Cultural and Leisure Facilities
NORTHBROOK, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- UL Solutions (NYSE: ULS), a global leader in applied safety science, today announced that four properties operated by Hyundai Card, a leading South Korean credit card company and a subsidiary of the Hyundai Motor Group, have become the first cultural and leisure buildings in Asia to receive UL Verified Healthy Building Marks, demonstrating a commitment to creating healthier and more sustainable indoor environments for employees and guests. The unique Hyundai Card structures, all located in Seoul, that received Healthy Building verifications from UL Solutions include the Cooking Library, which contains thousands of cookbooks, multiple restaurants and spaces for cooking classes; the Music Library, home to a vast collection of music and publications, a concert venue and music studio; Vinyl & Plastic, containing over 10,000 vinyl records from around the world; and Iron & Wood, a high-tech training facility for golf enthusiasts. 'Operating cultural and leisure facilities inside healthy buildings that prioritize the well-being of both visitors and staff helps foster a positive atmosphere while enhancing learning and enjoyment,' said Sean McCrady, vice president and general manager of the Enterprise Sustainability group at UL Solutions. 'Hyundai Card's achievement as the first in Asia to earn UL Verified Healthy Building Marks for its cultural and leisure properties demonstrates a clear commitment to the health and comfort of guests and employees. We at UL Solutions value their trust in our work to help them realize this important milestone.' UL Solutions developed the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark to meet the growing demand for healthier indoor spaces. The program helps communicate a positive message, differentiating indoor spaces with verified occupant health and well-being marketing claims. By addressing the unique challenges of indoor environments, the verification program promotes continual improvement and provides visibility into potential challenges, allowing early mitigation through practical solutions. For Hyundai Card facilities to earn a UL Verified Healthy Building Mark, UL Solutions assessed them against rigorous evaluation, testing and analysis methodologies by industry-recognized, third-party organizations, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), World Health Organization (WHO) and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Both the Music Library and Vinyl & Plastic received the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for Indoor Air and Water, which verifies the buildings for indoor air quality (IAQ) and water quality. To earn this achievement, the two buildings underwent an evaluation of their heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and were also assessed for waterborne pathogens and contaminants to help verify water quality. The Cooking Library and Iron & Wood both achieved the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for Indoor Environment. The most holistic look at a building's indoor environment within the UL Solutions Verified Healthy Building program, the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for Indoor Environment conveys these buildings have achieved performance in five critical areas of assessment, including air, water, hygiene, light and acoustics. 'The UL Healthy Building Verifications at four of our iconic Hyundai Card facilities underscore our commitment to health and safety and help build confidence and trust among our employees and our guests who visit these buildings for world-class music, food and leisure experiences,' said a Hyundai Card representative. 'We are excited to have worked with UL Solutions to help us demonstrate how we have actively addressed potential indoor environment risks to help improve overall health.' As part of this proactive effort, UL Solutions also conducted evaluations in three office buildings at Hyundai Card's headquarters in Seoul and confirmed the indoor air quality of these spaces for employees. About UL Solutions A global leader in applied safety science, UL Solutions (NYSE: ULS) transforms safety, security and sustainability challenges into opportunities for customers in more than 110 countries. UL Solutions delivers testing, inspection and certification services, software products, and advisory offerings that support our customers' product innovation and business growth. The UL Mark serves as a recognized symbol of trust in our customers' products and reflects an unwavering commitment to advancing our safety mission. We help our customers innovate, launch new products and services, navigate global markets and complex supply chains, and grow sustainably and responsibly into the future. Our science is your advantage.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
South Korea election hit by misinformation
A photo of the frontrunner bowing to a Mao Zedong statue? News reports claiming US President Donald Trump endorsed a long-shot candidate? Not true, just examples of South Korea's election misinformation problems. With the country set to vote on Tuesday for a new leader to replace ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over a botched martial law declaration, there has been an explosion of false claims online. AFP takes a look at some of the worst offenders: - What are the claims? - Many of the claims focus on foreign interference, tapping into local fears of meddling by China, or fabricating support for the conservative camp from the United States. One of the most prominent falsehoods circulating online suggested weaknesses in the overseas voter registration system, with Chinese nationals exploiting the system to cast fraudulent ballots. "Even foreigners can vote as long as they have an email address!" read one widely shared post, which AFP Fact Check debunked. - Who gets targeted? - Opposition leader and election frontrunner Lee Jae-myung is a popular target for disinformation. Many claims focus on his purported allegiance to Beijing -- feeding into a long-running narrative among conservatives that casts progressive candidates as sympathetic to, or even controlled by, China. For example, photos debunked by AFP journalists showed Lee kowtowing to a Mao statue, and wearing a face mask with the Chinese flag on it. This trend reflects the fact that many voters are less swayed by claims politicians are pro-North Korea, said Choi Jin-bong, a media communications professor at Sungkonghoe University in Seoul. "It's now the claim that progressives are subservient to China that resonates -- especially amid worsening US-China tensions," he told AFP. "Even when false, these narratives remain politically useful to conservatives as a last-ditch effort to blunt what looks like an inevitable Lee victory." - What about the conservative candidate? - The disinformation involving South Korean conservatives tends to focus on their ties to the United States. Doctored images have shown Trump supporting former prime minister Han Duck-soo's presidential campaign announcement. Han since dropped out of the race, after a failed bid to become the conservative People Power Party (PPP) nominee. Another claim involved a popular right-wing YouTuber falsely telling his 1.5 million subscribers that the Pentagon had endorsed PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo. US Forces Korea told AFP it was "completely untrue". But even if they are patently false, the claims "remain persuasive because they benefit political actors", Lee Jun-han, a politics professor at Incheon National University, told AFP. "They tap into Korea's polarised landscape and its geopolitical anxieties, rallying each side with narratives that play on fear, identity and outside influence." - What about AI? - In April, a deepfake video surfaced showing Lee supposedly ending a hunger strike -- which he went on in 2023 to protest then-president Yoon's policies -- and joking about eating fried chicken. The video, which was shared widely in South Korea's right-wing online ecosystem, was generated using a real photo of Lee in a hospital bed. An AFP analysis identified numerous signs of AI manipulation -- disappearing background elements, warped body parts and inconsistent surroundings. The video was fake, but it fed into a pre-existing narrative that Lee's protest was performative. "AI-driven misinformation poses a serious threat to democracy by obstructing voters' access to reliable information," said Song Kyeong-jae, a democracy and technology expert at Sangji University. "When decisions are made based on manipulated content, they are irreversible -- and the resulting social and political consequences can be profound." - Fudged numbers - Other claims have also sought to misrepresent pre-election polling, which has consistently shown Lee commanding a large lead over his conservative rivals. A viral graphic, shared days before early voting began, falsely claimed PPP candidate Kim was leading Lee in recent polls. In reality, the numbers came from January and February, and the original source clearly listed the survey dates. These were deliberately cropped out to mislead viewers into thinking the results were current. Official May polls showed Lee with a commanding lead of five points or more. sks/ceb/oho/sco/rsc


CNBC
a day ago
- CNBC
South Korea exports fall as tariffs hit U.S., China shipments
South Korea's exports fell in May for the first time in four months, as shipments to the United States and China dropped on global trade conflict triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. Exports from Asia's fourth-largest economy, an early bellwether for global trade, declined 1.3% from the same month last year to $57.27 billion, government data showed on Sunday. "Declines in exports to both the United States and China, the two biggest markets, suggest U.S. tariff measures are having an impact on the global economy as well as our exports," said South Korean Industry and Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun. The first decline since January followed rises as strong chip sales had offset downward pressure from Trump's tariff threats. The May decline, however, was milder than the 2.7% fall forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. On a working-day adjusted basis, exports in fact rose 1.0%. China and the United States agreed in mid-May to a 90-day truce, significantly unwinding their tariffs on each other, after months of back-and-forth retaliatory measures, but Trump on Friday accused Beijing of violating the agreement and threatened to take tougher action. He also said he would double global tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50%. Trump's "reciprocal tariffs", including 25% duties on South Korea, are on a 90-day pause for negotiations. South Korea's May shipments to the United States fell 8.1% and those to China fell 8.4%. Exports to the European Union rose 4.0%, those to Southeast Asian countries fell 1.3%, while those to Taiwan surged 49.6%. Exports of semiconductors jumped 21.2%, thanks to robust demand for advanced memory chips, but car exports fell 4.4% due to U.S. tariffs and production at Hyundai Motor's new factory in the U.S. state of Georgia, according to the ministry. South Korea's imports fell 5.3% to $50.33 billion, bringing the monthly trade balance to a surplus of $6.94 billion, the biggest since June 2024.