EU-Korea FTA more beneficial for European automakers

[THE INVESTOR] European carmakers benefited more from the EU-Korea free trade agreement than their Korean counterparts, according to industry data on July 5. Data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association showed that domestic car manufacturers exported 383,698 units of cars to EU countries in 2015, reflecting a 28.6 percent increase from the 298,263 units in 2010. The EU-Korea FTA went into effect in 2011. In 2010, a total of 59,242 European cars were sold in Korea according to the Kor

MobilityJuly 5, 2016

Korea determined to carry on strong Olympic tradition in Rio

With the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games about a month away, Korean athletes and sports officials said Tuesday they are determined to carry on a strong Olympic tradition.The countdown to the first Olympics in South America will reach 30 days Wednesday, and the pre-Olympic media day at the National Training Center in Seoul on Tuesday provided an opportunity for the delegation leaders and medal hopefuls to discuss their goals.Kim Jung-haeng, co-president of the Korean Olympic Committee, said Kore

SportsJuly 5, 2016

New era of multinational K-pop groups dawns

A new generation of multinational K-pop groups is emerging, ready to take on the global music scene.Some earlier experimental groups, such as girl group ChoColat, created by Paramount Music in 2011, included members of German, Italian and Puerto Rican descent. The group, however, has not been active since 2013.  Miss A, one of K-pop’s most popular multinational groups with Chinese members Fei and Jia, is facing a shaky future with Jia having left the group’s agency JYP Entertainment in March. On

PerformanceJuly 5, 2016

Gov’t plans deregulation, R&D support for logistics industry

[THE INVESTOR] Robots, drones and Internet of Things will be deregulated, and receive state R&D support in a government drive to improve South Korea’s logistics industry.Under the plans unveiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on July 5, drone regulations will be eased to allow the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for courier services. As part of the plans, businesses involving drones weighing less than 25 kilograms will not be required to meet any capital requirements. In a

IndustryJuly 5, 2016

[Hallyu Power] B-boy Wing helps Korean break dancing take flight

When it was first introduced by young street dancers in New York City in the early 1970s, the distinctive art of break dancing, or B-boying, was widely seen as a nonglamourous, low-level style of street dance. Despite its absence from the mainstream pop culture spotlight, B-boying eventually made its way to Korea in the ’80s. For decades, however, break dancing was far from the mainstream and had just a small following among young, amateur dancers whose only opportunities to perform were on the

PerformanceJuly 5, 2016

Samsung Heavy workers to stage strike this week

Workers at Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a major Korean shipyard, said Tuesday that they will go on a partial strike this week to demand the company nix its tough restructuring plan, marking the first time that a troubled Korean shipbuilder faces a labor dispute.The group of workers at the company's shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, announced that the partial strike is scheduled for Thursday.(Yonhap)Samsung Heavy, a unit of the country's top conglomerate Samsung, does not formally al

IndustryJuly 5, 2016

Imports of European cars soar on Korea-EU FTA

Imports of European cars have grown at a faster pace than exports of Korean cars to the European market since Seoul's free trade agreement with the European Union went into force five years ago, industry data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments of Korean autos to the EU rose 28.6 percent from 2010 to 383,698 units in 2015, while the registration of European cars here skyrocketed 233.2 percent during the period to 197,396 units, according to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers

BusinessJuly 5, 2016

[DECODED] Can Genesis survive in the luxury car market?

[DECODED] Hyundai Motor’s aspirations to separate its premium brand Genesis from the globally recognized budget Hyundai image may take much longer than the company expects, market experts said. The nation’s largest automaker plans to completely separate Genesis by 2020 with six models so that luxury-seeking consumers no longer associate it with the cheap and mass-produced Hyundai brand when buying Genesis. “More than 10 years is expected for Genesis to be recognized as a truly separate brand fro

MobilityJuly 5, 2016

Nexon acquires stakes in server developer

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s top game developer Nexon said on July 4 that it has bought stakes in I Fun Factory, a game server engine developer, without disclosing the exact number of shares acquired.As a strategic investor, Nexon will strengthen its partnership with the company in various sectors by applying I Fun Factory’s game server engine technology into its game development and other services. 　“I Fun Factory has a competitive edge in the server engine sector ... we will closely cooperate

TechnologyJuly 5, 2016

[ANALYST REPORT] POSCO: Separate earnings solid, but consolidated results to disappoint

Consolidated OP of W676bn, 10.7% below consensus We believe separate 2Q16 OP of W652bn (+12% QoQ, +7.3% YoY) will miss our previous estimate by 9.3% and consensus by 3%. Due to expansion work at theGwangyang #5 blast furnace (from 3,950 cubic meters to 5,500 cubic meters), 2Q16 shipments should reach only 8.76mn tonnes; shy of our previous estimate of 8.96mn tonnes and the biggest reason for the lower OP outlook. Meanwhile, consolidated OP should reach W676bn (+2.5% QoQ, -1.5% YoY), 16.3% below

July 5, 2016

Samsung willing to learn from Google

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics on July 5 aired a 20-minute video, titled “Samsung Software Competitiveness Naked,” lamenting about its lack of software prowess directly comparing it with that of the US Internet giant Google. The video, aired early in the morning across Samsung Group’s key affiliates, pinpointed design architecture for software as the key to success stories of software powerhouses such as Google and Facebook. “Facebook’s key competitiveness is software architecture. We also s

TechnologyJuly 5, 2016

ESTsoft receives W10b funding to push AI business

[THE INVESTOR] Korean software developer ESTsoft, best known for its anti-virus solution ALYac, said July 4 it has secured a new funding worth 10 billion won (US$8.7 million) from local venture capitalist Atinum Investment.The new investment was made through a 5-year convertible bond that was acquired by Atinum Investment. The company said the new funding will be used mainly for artificial intelligence-related development and other security businesses. ESTsoft has poured resources into AI-based

TechnologyJuly 5, 2016

Hyundai Motor union says wage negotiations with management collapse

The union of Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday its negotiations with the management over wages have collapsed, a move that could lead to a strike at the largest Korean carmaker.The union made the announcement at its meeting with the management at Ulsan, the home to Hyundai's main assembly plants, located some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul. "There is no more patience," the union said in a message posted on its website as it strongly suggested that the unionized workers could stage a strike.Some

IndustryJuly 5, 2016

Lotte’s Shin Young-ja faces criticism for funneling company funds to her children

[THE INVESTOR] Embattled Lotte Foundation chief Shin Young-ja and her children are expected to face public scrutiny over some 4 billion won (US$3.47 million) worth of corporate funds they are suspected to have embezzled.  Shin is elder sister of Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin.And the bigger issue is that Shin funneled most of the money to her kids to be used as their personal allowances. Lotte Foundation chief Shin Young-ja /The Investor(Park Hyon-koo)Through a small company formed by Young-

CompaniesJuly 5, 2016

Tourism Ministry unveils plans for boosting tourism spending to W40tr

[THE INVESTOR] The government will form a 4,500-kilometer trail around South Korea, and introduce medical-cultural tour packages.These and other measures were included in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s plans for boosting the country’s tourism industry revealed on July 5. The Tourism Ministry’s plans are included in the government’s strategy for the service sector. The plans are aimed at raising domestic and foreign tourists’ spending in Korea to 40 trillion won (US$ 34.7 billion)

IndustryJuly 5, 2016