Foreign investors beef up shareholder activism with legal clarity

South Korea introduced a law in February to support a new form of activism by “general” equity investors, enabling minority shareholders to have a say in corporate decisions. The revision of the Capital Markets Act has offered investors legal clarity in their move to boost shareholder value and adhere to stewardship codes. So far, four foreign investors have declared they are “general” investors in eight listed companies,” so that they can be more actively engage

MarketMarch 16, 2020

Wonho says sorry to fans, explains why he left Monsta X

Wonho said he decided to leave Monsta X to save the group after past allegations of cannabis use emerged, despite having never touched drugs. The singer, who was recently cleared of all drug charges following a police investigation, got candid in a recent interview with local news site Dispatch. “I didn’t want to see Monsta X break apart because of me. I thought the group could be saved if I left the group as soon as possible.” He also apologized to fans, saying, “I pr

K-popMarch 16, 2020

Minor league baseball player with fever tested for coronavirus, practices canceled

A South Korean minor league baseball player is awaiting the result of his test for the novel coronavirus after reporting to Monday's practice with a fever. The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization said Monday one player with their Futures League affiliate, Goyang Heroes, had a fever of 38.3 C when he was checked before entering the team's practice facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, just west of Seoul. The player, whose identity is being withheld, was immediately tested at a nea

BaseballMarch 16, 2020

'Don't sacrifice lives': doubts grow in Japan over Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO (AFP) -- Doubts are growing in Japan about the Tokyo Olympics, with growing opposition to holding them as scheduled and some urging officials not to risk lives by pressing ahead during the coronavirus emergency. Officials like Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach have repeatedly insisted preparations should continue to light the Olympic flame on July 24. But with events from the Premier League to NBA basketball scrapped, and Japanese s

Olympic GamesMarch 16, 2020

Bandi & Luni’s bookstore chain up for sale

The owners of the Seoul Book Center -- operator of South Korea’s third-largest bookstore chain, Bandi & Luni’s -- are looking to put their stake in the company up for sale through deal manager eBest Investment & Securities, the brokerage house said Monday. Founded in 1988, the Seoul Book Center operates 10 bookstores and stationery stores across the country, as well as an online bookstore. The deal is meant to give its owners, including CEO Kim Dong-kook and his father, Ki

MarketMarch 16, 2020

BTS' N. American concerts at risk of cancellation amid virus spread in US

Having canceled the inaugural Seoul leg of its new world concert tour series, "Map of the Soul Tour," K-pop boy band BTS is at risk of having part of the following American leg rolled back amid the ongoing coronavirus spread in the United States. The septet was to kick off the new world tour series in mid-April in Seoul with four concerts at Olympic Stadium. But the band's management agency, Big Hit Entertainment, canceled the inaugural Seoul leg in late February when COVID-19 showed

K-popMarch 16, 2020

Starbucks Korea extends coffee donation to hotline workers until end-March

Starbucks Korea said Monday it will expand its free coffee delivery it started in mid-February for workers at the disease control center hotline 1339 to the end of this month. According to the coffee chain, it has been providing 500 cups of coffee every day since Feb. 17 to three 1339 call centers, two operated by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul and Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, and one operated in cooperation by National Health Insurance Service. O

ConsumerMarch 16, 2020

Celltrion’s Cheongju plant passes FDA evaluation

Celltrion said Monday its Cheongju plant passed the US’ Food and Drug Administration’s additional inspection, opening up the path to a 1.2 trillion won ($985 million) human immunodecifiency treatment market. Celltrion manufactures three-drug-in-one-tablet HIV treatment CT-G07 at its plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The treatment is pending FDA approval for US commercialization. FDA had carried out an on-site inspection of Celltrion’s Cheongju plant in January to

IndustryMarch 16, 2020

Genexine, Binex to co-develop coronavirus vaccine GX-19

Korean companies Genexine and Binex will jointly develop potential COVID-19 vaccine “GX-19,” in hopes of preventing yearly seasonal flus showing respiratory symptoms, the companies said Monday. GX-19 will be a DNA vaccine, developed using Genexine’s platform technology and manufactured at Binex’s “good manufacturing practice”-abiding facility. A DNA vaccine involves a DNA delivery vector fitted with the genetic information of a particular virus, to which the

IndustryMarch 16, 2020

Korean firms on edge about rapid coronavirus spread in Europe, US

South Korean companies are feeling the strain as the new coronavirus spreads rapidly in their major production bases and premium markets -- Europe and the US. The cumulative number of confirmed cases in Europe totaled around 67,000 as of Monday, and the death toll exceeded 2,300. In the US the number of new cases increased by more than 1,000 over the weekend to about 3,100.  Europe, which the World Health Organization declared the “epicenter” of the pandemic on Friday, is h

IndustryMarch 16, 2020

Mirae Asset invests in US-based Impossible Foods

South Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group has invested some $150 million in Impossible Foods, a US-based startup that produces meat alternatives, according to reports Monday. Mirae Asset, along with several financial investors, participated in the latest funding round,” an investment banking source was quoted as saying by Financial News. “Mirae Asset was the only Korean firm and appears to be paying attention to the fast-growing meat alternative market.” Founded in 2

MarketMarch 16, 2020

Instsallaiton artist Anicka Yi chosen for Hyundai Commission show at Tate Modern

The Korean-American artist Anicka Yi was chosen as the sixth artist of the Hyundai Commission to hold an exhibition at the Tate Modern in London this year. 　 Yi is an installation artist whose work explores the links between art and science, addressing questions around migration, class and gender. Born in Seoul in 1971, Yi is now based in in US, according to Hyundai Motor, the co-organizer of Hyundai Commission. “Anicka Yi has developed a reputation for highly innovative work. Her inst

Arts & DesignMarch 16, 2020

Liberal proportional coalition off rocky start

The ruling Democratic Party’s efforts to launch a liberal coalition party to win more parliamentary seats via the new proportional representation system in next month’s general election got off to a rocky start as only minor parties with no seats in the legislature are expected to join. The Democratic Party said it would bring together all parties seeking to join the coalition by Wednesday, but it is yet to figure out its relationship with minor parties should it decide not to take

PoliticsMarch 16, 2020

Hyundai Motor to exempt W2.2b of franchise fees

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that it has decided to exempt franchise deposit of some 2,000 partner companies in charge of customer service across the country, which amounts to 2.2 billion won ($1.8 million). The automaker said 1,374 Blue Hands centers, a Hyundai Motor and Genesis’ official service provider, and 800 Auto Q centers, Kia Motors’ partner service and maintenance company, will have 50 percent of their franchise fees exempted for three months from March to May.  F

MobilityMarch 16, 2020

Seoul extends special quarantine to arrivals from Europe

South Korea on Monday extended special quarantine measures to cover arrivals from Europe, amid the surge in coronavirus cases in the region. 　 Previously six countries from the continent -- Italy, France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Netherlands -- were subject to tougher screening procedures. Similar measures have now been in place on arrivals from China, Japan, Iran, Hong Kong and Macao. 　 South Korean nationals and foreigners arriving from Europe are required to have their temperatures checke

Foreign AffairsMarch 16, 2020

Doosan Solus wins W100b battery foil deal in Europe

Doosan Solus said Monday that its subsidiary in Hungary had won a supply contract to provide 100 billion won ($82 million) worth of battery foil, used in electric cars, to a global battery manufacturer. According to the company, Doosan Corporation Europe clinched the four-year deal from 2021 to 2024. It is the second such deal for the overseas branch, the first having been signed around the end of last year. The South Korean copper manufacturer said the two contracts account for about 80 per

IndustryMarch 16, 2020

Korean Air uses passenger jets as cargo carriers amid virus woes

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest airline by sales, said Monday it has begun to use passenger jets to transport cargo on suspended routes amid the spreading coronavirus outbreak. Korean Air initially started to use grounded passenger aircraft to deliver cargo on routes to Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam and Qingdao of China on Friday, the company said in a statement.  "The company is in talks with aviation authorities to expand the alternative use of passenger jets as cargo

IndustryMarch 16, 2020

[Newsmaker] Coupang deliveryman found dead attempting late-night delivery

A deliveryman was found dead while working after midnight for Coupang. The exact cause of death is not known. According to the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union on Sunday, the 46-year-old contract worker, surnamed Kim, was found Thursday around 2 a.m. between the fourth and fifth floors of a residential building in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The building had no elevator. “Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, deliveries of heavy daily necessities such as rice, drinking wa

IndustryMarch 16, 2020

More firms adopt anti-virus steps for shareholder meetings

More South Korean companies are ramping up virus prevention measures for their upcoming shareholder meetings by adopting electronic voting to join the country's efforts to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. Of the some 2,300 listed firms here, a total of 314 companies, including Samsung Electronics Co. and Hyundai Motor Co., will hold shareholder meetings this week amid concerns of COVID-19 infections. South Korea has so far reported more than 8,200 coronavirus cases.  Accordi

IndustryMarch 16, 2020

S. Korea wants G-20 session for int'l cooperation on economy, crisis management: Cheong Wa Dae

South Korea hopes the leaders of the Group of 20 nations will hold a teleconference for international coordination on ways to overcome the economic crisis, not just for the purpose of sharing its widely lauded response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. President Moon Jae-in floated the idea in phone talks with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, last Friday. Chung Eui-yong, director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, also had a phone conversation with US National S

Foreign AffairsMarch 16, 2020