Samsung apologizes for union busting

Samsung Electronics and its de facto holding company Samsung C&T on Wednesday released a statement that included a public apology for the conglomerate’s efforts to disrupt the formation of trade unions at some of its affiliates. The apology was made one day after a Seoul court handed down jail terms to key executives of the electronics unit, including Lee Sang-hoon, Samsung Electronics’ chairman of board, and Chung Keum-yong, CEO of Samsung C&T. “The company acknowledge

TechnologyDec. 18, 2019

Samsung to churn out 14-nm AI chips for China’s Baidu

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it will start churning out artificial intelligence accelerators for China’s leading internet engine operator Baidu early next year. The South Korean tech giant and Baidu have worked together to develop the cloud-to-edge AI accelerator, dubbed as Baidu Kunlun, built on the Chinese firm’s neural processor architecture as well as Samsung’s 14-nanometer process technology with its proprietary Interposer-Cube package solution. Known as I-Cube techn

TechnologyDec. 18, 2019

Jeju Air to acquire budget airline Eastar Jet at W69.5b

Jeju Air, the country’s largest low-cost carrier by sales, said Wednesday that it had signed a deal to acquire 51 percent stakes in Eastar Holdings, the largest shareholder of a budget carrier Eastar Jet, in an apparent move to broaden its market share by absorbing an ailing air carrier.  Earlier this year, cosmetics-to-airline conglomerate Aekyung Group, which owns a 56.9 percent stake in Jeju Air, failed to takeover debt-ridden Asiana Airlines after the HDC Hyundai Development-Mirae

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

Asiana introduces mobile service to check baggage loading status

Asiana Airlines said Wednesday it has introduced a mobile service for passengers to check whether their baggage is safely loaded.Those who fly with Asiana can check the status and the location of the baggage real-time via the carrier’s mobile application.The service will enhance passenger convenience and minimize the departure delay as location of luggage can be tracked during emergencies and baggage can be easily removed when the passenger gets off the plane, the company said.While the se

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

McDonald’s Korea manager touches heart with story of helping disabled customer

McDonald’s Korea Managing Director Melanie Cho visited a store on Jeju Island to express her appreciation to a store manager there for helping a young customer who was terminally ill and offering him an unforgettable restaurant experience, the company said Wednesday. According to McDonald’s Korea, Lee Sung-min, a 20-year-old store manager of Nohyung branch in Jeju, helped a family with a child suffering from polio in May. He moved the family’s seat to a more comfortable ch

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

[Newsmaker] Prosecutors, police at odds over possible 1980s wrongful murder conviction

Police and prosecutors have issued conflicting views on a controversial forensics report that was used as key evidence in convicting a 53-year-old man surnamed Yun of the eighth of the notorious Hwaseong serial killings.Police on Wednesday disputed prosecutors’ suggestion that the 1989 forensic report that led to the suspected wrongful conviction had been a “fabrication,” saying the tested samples had not been manipulated.This follows a statement from the prosecutors Tuesd

Social AffairsDec. 18, 2019

Xi heads to Macau for China handover anniversary party

MACAU (AFP) -- Chinese president Xi Jinping will land in Macau on Wednesday as the city prepares to mark 20 years since the former Portuguese colony was returned, a celebration that stands in stark contrast to months of unrest in neighbouring Hong Kong.Security has been ramped up ahead of Xi's three-day visit which culminates on Friday's anniversary.China's authoritarian leadership is keen to showcase Macau as a successful example of its "one country, two systems" model, with party lea

World NewsDec. 18, 2019

Listed firms' cash-generating capability worsens

The amount of cash generated by major listed firms via business operation declined in the first three quarters of the year, portending a decline in their dividend payments and capital spending going forward, an industry tracker said Wednesday.According to CEO Score, the combined free cash flow of 258 out of the top-500 listed companies in the January-September period reached a combined 12.05 trillion won ($10.33 billion), down 58 percent, or 16.6 trillion won, from last year's 28.7 trillion won.

EconomyDec. 18, 2019

Minor parties reach deal over details of electoral reform bill

Three minor parties and one fringe group reached a deal over a contentious electoral reform bill on a parliamentary fast-track Wednesday in an effort to apply new rules for next year's general elections.But it is still uncertain whether the ruling Democratic Party will accept their agreement as it adamantly opposes the adoption of a new way of allotting proportional representation seats.The DP and its four rivals are seeking to produce a single deal over the adoption of a new proportional repres

PoliticsDec. 18, 2019

Noul‘s innovative Malaria diagnosis solution acknowledged at Grand Challenges Meeting

Blood cell diagnosis startup Noul was acknowledged at the 2019 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting for its innovative Malaria diagnosis solution, miLab, the company said Wednesday. The Grand Challenges Meeting is an annual gathering of global organizations promoting global health care. This year’s event held in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, was co-hosted by the African Union, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health, Grand Challenges Canada, the United States Agency for International D

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

Moon to hold bilateral summit with Abe in China next week

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold his first one-one-one summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 15 months next week, when they visit China for an annual group meeting involving a Chinese leader, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday.The summit plan raises expectations for a possible breakthrough in efforts to end a monthslong trade fight between the two sides.The trade spat is attributable to deepened disputes over a historical issue.Abe earlier broke the news, sayin

Foreign AffairsDec. 18, 2019

Chips, cars, biomedicines to lead 3% export growth next year: KOTRA

South Korea’s exports are forecast to rise by 3 percent in 2020 to exceed $550 billion, led by key industries including chips, automobiles and biomedicines, according to a state-run trade agency on Wednesday. This year’s exports are expected to total $540 billion, down 10.7 percent from last year, the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency said. This is a bit lower than the Korea International Trade Association’s prediction of $543 billion, which represented a 10.2 percent on-

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

S-Oil collects donations for children with biliary obstruction

South Korean oil refinery S-Oil, which is wholly owned by Saudi Aramco, has donated 145 million won ($130,000) to help children in low-income families suffering from biliary obstruction, the firm said Wednesday.The fund has been gathered by some 1,800 company executives and employees donating less than 10,000 won each from their wage for several months, the company explained.Biliary obstruction occurs when one of the ducts that carry bile from liver to the intestine gets blocked. Without treatme

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

Seoul likely to send troops to Strait of Hormuz

The South Korean government is likely to send military forces to join a US-led multinational coalition to defend the Strait of Hormuz early next year.According to military sources, the 4,400-ton destroyer Wang Geon of the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit is scheduled to leave Busan late this month to relieve the destroyer Kang Gam-chan which is currently operating in the Gulf of Aden.The Wang Geon is expected to arrive in the Gulf of Aden in mid-January, and start anti-piracy operations and escorting

DefenseDec. 18, 2019

Colorful light show to illuminate Seoul's winter night

A nighttime light show will take place in central Seoul for about two weeks to celebrate the end of this year and the beginning of next year, municipal officials said Wednesday. The light show, dubbed "Seoul Light," will be staged at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, or DDP, from Friday to Jan. 3, according to officials at the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation.The show featuring a mix of colorful light and visuals and music will be held every hour from 7 p.m. to

CultureDec. 18, 2019

About 1m households receive W421b in employment promotion allowance

About 1 million households in South Korea received a total of 421 billion won ($361 million) in employment promotion allowance for the first half of this year, government data showed Wednesday. The allowance for employment promotion has been offered to low-income workers since 2009 as part of the government's initiative to narrow wage inequality. During the January-June period, 960,000 households received an average 440,000 won per home in employment promotion allowance, the National Tax Service

EconomyDec. 18, 2019

S. Koreans' weekly working hours decline in 2018

South Koreans' weekly working hours fell slightly in 2018 from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, as a growing number of people are seeking to strike a balance between their work and personal life.The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that South Korean men and women worked 41.5 hours a week on average in 2018, compared with 42.8 hours in 2017.South Koreans' weekly working hours have been gradually declining since 1990, when they worked 53.8 hours a week. Nevertheless, South

EconomyDec. 18, 2019

Hyundai Heavy fined W21b for violating subcontracting law

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it fined Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co., the nation's largest shipping conglomerate, 20.8 billion won ($17.8 million) for allegedly violating a law on subcontracting. Hyundai Heavy is accused of forcing its subcontractors to start works without prior notification about the values of the contracts between 2014 and 2018, the Fair Trade Commission said in a statement. Also, Hyundai Heavy had unilaterally demanded its subcontractors cut pr

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

DRAM spot prices rebound, boding well for S. Korean chipmakers

Spot market prices for DRAM chips have begun to rebound this month, a market report showed Wednesday, boding well for South Korean chipmakers that are eager to improve their earnings.The spot price of 8-gigabit DDR4 DRAM, a benchmark price for the category, reached $3.02 as of Tuesday, rising more than 10 percent from a year low of $2.73 on Dec. 5, according to market tracker DRAMeXchange.DRAM spot quotes surged 24 percent in 10 days during July following Japan's export curbs on key semiconducto

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

EU opens in-depth review of Hyundai Heavy's acquisition deal

The European Union has launched an in-depth review of the proposed deal by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries to take over its smaller local rival, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. The world's single largest economic bloc's European Commission said it will decide by May 7 whether the takeover, if completed, is likely to significantly impede effective competition.The commission has expressed concerns after its preliminary investigation that the merger between the tw

IndustryDec. 18, 2019