DSME liquidity concern eases

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering is to receive $470 million from four ship owners earlier than expected, easing concerns about the liquidity of the money-losing shipbuilder, industry sources said Tuesday. The plan was disclosed ahead of the upcoming expiry of its corporate bill, according to the sources. The Korean shipbuilder said that the four ship owners agreed to make payments earlier than expected and they are expected to do so no later than next month. Another client company that

IndustryAug. 2, 2016

S-Oil supports Korean team at Rio Paralympics

Korea’s third-largest oil refiner S-Oil provided financial support for the Korean national team for the Rio 2016 Paralympics as part of its continuous efforts to raise awareness for the event, the company said Tuesday. S-Oil CEO Nasser al-Mahasher presented 100 million won ($90,200) at the inaugural ceremony for the 2016 Paralympics national team, held in Seoul. The financial support is aimed at boosting the national Paralympics team’s pride and widen the awareness of the event, it added. S-Oil

IndustryAug. 2, 2016

Foxconn joins bidding war for Tongyang Magic

Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry, more widely known as Foxconn, is joining a bidding war to acquire Tongyang Magic, a South Korean appliance maker whose key business includes water purifier rental service. According to news reports on Tuesday, Foxconn has recently hired a global securities firm as the deal advisor. The deal is expected to be carried out through Japan’s Sharp that the company acquired in April. “Foxconn sees business synergies among its manufacturing prowess, Sharps’ brand pow

IndustryAug. 2, 2016

Yanolja aims to elevate Korea's motel industry

Yanolja, a South Korean motel booking app operator, on Tuesday said it will lead the way in transforming public perceptions of local motels from unclean, shabby spaces for sex to high-quality, affordable lodging options for locals and foreigners.While Westerns perceive motels as simplistic, cheap lodging facilities, Koreans have long considered motels -- often referred to as “love motels” here -- as private spaces rented usually for the objective of sex, rather than for accommodation.Yanolja fou

IndustryAug. 2, 2016

Hyundai chairman seeks Europe momentum amid low growth

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo left for Europe on Tuesday to oversee the Russian, Slovakian and Czech markets hit by the Brexit vote, the company’s official said. The chairman plans to visit the automaker’s factories in the three nations to monitor sales and market conditions. “We should make a breakthrough starting from the European market, which is expected to see record-breaking sales this year, amid slow growth in the global auto market,” Chung said in the company’s statement. “

MobilityAug. 2, 2016

Former KDB chief’s home, office raided in DSME probe

[THE INVESTOR] Kang Man-soo, the former head of Korea Development Bank, has come under scrutiny in the expanding Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering probe, with the prosecution raiding his home and office on Tuesday.Kang, a former finance minister and former presidential advisor, is one of the closest aides of former President Lee Myung-bak. Kang Man-sooAccording to reports, the prosecution believes that Kang was involved in the wrongdoing of two former DSME CEOs -- Nam Sang-tae and Ko Ja

Aug. 2, 2016

Consumer prices in July rise at slowest pace in 10 months

South Korea’s consumer price index rose 0.7 percent last month on-year, the slowest in 10 months, according to Statistics Korea on Tuesday.Due to falling international oil prices, the inflation rate has remained in the zero percent territory over the last three months, well below the central bank’s target of 2 percent for 2016-2018.In light of forecasts that global oil prices will decrease to around $30 per barrel on overcapacity rather than rebounding toward $50 later this year, it remains unce

Aug. 2, 2016

Korea to build more public EV charging stations

The South Korean government on Tuesday announced plans to invest a total of 200 billion won ($181 million) into building more public charging stations for electric vehicles, with the aim to nurture the growth of the local EV market.　The Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy and the state-owned Korea Electric Power Corp. plan to build 150 public charging stations in Seoul, Jejudo Island and other parts of the country by the end of this year.　The 150 public charging stations -- 60 in Seoul, 60 in

IndustryAug. 2, 2016

‘Naver tops e-commerce market’

South Korea’s portal giant Naver ranked No.1 in the nation’s electronic commerce platform, Mirae Asset Securities said Tuesday.The brokerage said in its report that Naver took nearly 20 percent of the market share in the second quarter of this year mainly thanks to its diversity of shopping channels and its easy-to-use online payment system.Naver’s total e-commerce revenue for the cited period reached 80.8 billion won, a 21.1 percent increase from the first quarter, according to the report.Mirae

IndustryAug. 2, 2016

Samsung, SK hynix up memory chip investment

Memory chipmakers -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix -- are spurring investment as Chinese tech giants are making an aggressive push into the semiconductor business backed by their government, analysts said.Chinese conglomerate Tsinghua Unigroup recently acquired half of the state-run chipmaker XMC. The tie-up is viewed by industry watchers as helping China move toward the goal of self-sufficiency in memory chips. Tsinghua Unigroup reportedly plans to set up memory chip factories with an invest

TechnologyAug. 2, 2016

SK Telecom, Nokia develop portable LTE network that fits in a backpack

South Korean network operator SK Telecom and Nokia on Tuesday said they have jointly developed a backpack-size portable Long Term Evolution network system tailored for rescue operations and emergency services.Compact enough to fit inside a backpack, the new portable LTE network system is equipped with a standalone base station as well as additional communications solutions, according to SKT.“The portable all-in-one PS-LTE system is a ground-breaking solution that enables communication among firs

TechnologyAug. 2, 2016

4-year-old in coma after being locked in overheated bus

A four-year-old child remained in a coma for the fifth day on Tuesday, after being left in an overheated kindergarten bus for nearly eight hours. 　The Gwangju District Police said the teacher in charge, Jeong, 28, the chief teacher Lee, 34, the bus driver Lim, 51, and the kindergarten director Park, 52, have been booked for professional negligence. The four are accused of neglecting the victim between 9:10 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. on July 29. The hottest temperature that day was 35.5 degrees Celsius. 

Social AffairsAug. 2, 2016

Ewha to suspend career college establishment

Ewha Womans University will suspend the plan to establish a lifelong education college following protests from students, university dean Choi Kyung-hee announced Monday afternoon at a press conference. Tension between the school administration and students has persisted, as students perceive Choi -- with a reputation among the student body for making unilateral administerial decisions -- as merely delaying the plan, while still being reluctant to call it off. Choi Kyung-hee (Yonhap)The establish

Social AffairsAug. 2, 2016