Businesses brace for near shutdown

As South Korea’s daily coronavirus tally rose to a new record on Sunday, local businesses are bracing for a possible upgrade in the country’s social distancing rules to the toughest level yet – a partial shutdown. While Level 3 of the government-set five-tier social distancing scheme is expected to decimate conventional retail industries, export-driven sectors such as mobile phones and semiconductor chips are less likely to be massively affected, experts and industry insiders

IndustryDec. 20, 2020

Hanjin Group speeds up asset divestments to cope with pandemic

Hanjin Group, which controls South Korea‘s largest aviation firm Korean Air Lines, is speeding up asset divestments to secure cash in an apparent effort to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, filings showed Sunday. Hanjin Group’s holding company Hanjin KAL is poised to sell a 100 percent stake in a golf course developer Jedong Leisure to an undisclosed buyer for 23 billion won ($20.9 million). The company, located in Jeju Island, has sought to lay out a golf course development project

MarketDec. 20, 2020

Local refineries to log massive losses, but recovery in sight

South Korea’s refinery industry is projected to hemorrhage massive losses of over 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) this year, but it may be nearing the end of a tunnel with the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, industry sources and experts said Sunday. As the demand for oil shows no sign of immediate recovery in the fourth quarter of this year, due to the prolonged coronavirus outbreak, four major Korean refineries -- SK Innovation, GS Caltex, S-Oil and Hyundai Oilbank -- are widely expected to

IndustryDec. 20, 2020

IPO market attracts record subscription deposits in 2020

The local initial public offering market was all the rage in 2020 as nearly 300 trillion won ($272.9 billion) poured in, three times more than 2018 or 2019, according to industry data on Sunday. This year’s IPO market will come to a close with materials firm Sukgyung AT making its debut on Wednesday. Other than special-purpose acquisition companies and companies that merged with listed firms, a total of 76 companies were newly listed on the nation’s main Kospi and secondary Kosd

MarketDec. 20, 2020

[Women in Finance 5] Singapore sees more women in senior management

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of special reports on the glass ceiling in the financial industry, focusing on South Korea’s market compared to other major economies. Funded by The Korea Press Foundation, the series will evaluate where Asia’s fourth-largest economy stands in terms of gender equality, reflect on changes being made, and explore ways to boost inclusion in the sector. -- Ed. SINGAPORE -- At Singapore’s three major local banks, women account for more than

MarketDec. 20, 2020

S. Korea mulls including rental assistance for virus-hit merchants in emergency handouts

South Korea is considering providing rental assistance to smaller merchants hard hit by the new coronavirus outbreak, when it will give them another round of emergency handouts next month, people familiar with the matter said Sunday. The move comes as more smaller merchants and self-employed people are facing the growing burdens of paying rental fees due to the government's order to suspend their business amid the protracted pandemic. The country is preparing to provide more than 3 trillion wo

EconomyDec. 20, 2020

Brokerages raise stock price outlook for 2021 on global recovery, ample liquidity

South Korean brokerage houses predicted the local stock market would continue its uptick move in 2021, citing signs of a global economic recovery and growing investor appetite for higher returns, data showed Sunday. Multiple securities companies set their upper-end target band for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) above 3,000 points, showing greater confidence from a month ago. Between end-October and early November, brokerages had expected a band of 2,100-2,700 points,

MarketDec. 20, 2020

KDB to discuss loan rollover for SsangYong this week

The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), the main creditor of SsangYong Motor Corp., is set to decide on whether to roll over maturing loans extended to the financially troubled automaker this week, industry sources said Sunday. Last week, SsangYong already missed the repayment of 60 billion won ($54.8 million) of debt to its three creditors. According to the sources, KDB will discuss whether to roll over 90 billion won in loans due Monday. The South Korean subsidiary of Indian carmaker Ma

EconomyDec. 20, 2020

[Weekender] What does the date on your milk mean?

No one wants to get sick from eating food gone bad. So it happens to be a common experience for Koreans to sniff and check the color of food to see if it is still edible, and to discard it when they find out a couple of days have passed from the “sell-by” date on the package. But just as the term indicates, it is not the deadline for the product’s consumption. It is the date by which the product must be sold. This confusion over the date labeling system is costing the soc

IndustryDec. 19, 2020

SK Group's Chey Tae-won elected as vice president of Asian sports governing body

Chey Tae-won, chairman of South Korea's SK Group, has been named vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), the top sports governing body on the continent. "The General Assembly elected a new OCA Vice President to serve as coordinator for the 90 sports federations that take part in the five OCA multi-sport games: Chey Tae-won, Vice President of the Asian Handball Federation and President of the Korea Handball Federation," the OCA said on its website after its general asse

IndustryDec. 18, 2020

KRX names former FSC vice chief as new chief exec

South Korea’s sole bourse operator has named Sohn Byung-doo, former vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, to take the new chief post of the Korea Exchange, according to the officials Friday. Sohn’s CEO appointment was approved by shareholders of the Korea Exchange, they added. Prior to the shareholders meeting, he was named as the single candidate for the position earlier this month. Sohn, 56, has had a 30-year career in the civil service. He worked at the Ministry

MarketDec. 18, 2020

Finance Ministry warns of growing economic uncertainty

With a new wave of coronavirus infections gripping the nation, South Korea’s economy this month faces growing uncertainties, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday. In its monthly economic report, called the “Green Book,” the ministry has upgraded its concerns on Asia’s fourth-largest economy by a notch, saying that the uncertainties are “expanding.” It has previously said that the uncertainties were “continuing” in the reports released i

EconomyDec. 18, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group unveils AI-based Korean-English translation app

Hyundai Motor Group said Friday it has developed a Korean-English translation app to support smooth communication among its employees in local and overseas offices. Dubbed the H-Translator, the app is based on artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm and is specialized in the automobile industry, the South Korean automaker said. Hyundai explained that it has come to develop the translator to support timely communication and strengthen work efficiency, as the company has been actively recrui

MobilityDec. 18, 2020

Korea urged to strengthen its own technology amid US-China trade war

South Korea needs to focus on strengthening its technical competence as the trade war between the US and China and tech decoupling continues, an economic researcher warned Friday. Speaking at an online conference entitled “Next Trend,” associate researcher Yeon Won-ho at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy said it is hard for South Korean businesses to benefit from the sanctions between the US and China as both countries are focusing on building their domestic indu

IndustryDec. 18, 2020

Coupang holds customer experience story contest

Online retailer Coupang is holding a contest of consumer experience stories, with prize money of 25 million won ($23,000) in total. Coupang users with stories to share should submit their entry to its website or on its mobile platform by Dec. 27. The retailer is best known for its next-day Rocket Delivery service. “We prepared this event to communicate with and express our appreciation to the customers,” said the e-commerce giant in a statement. “While this is a tough tim

ConsumerDec. 18, 2020

KOTRA fills in for Korean SMEs in Vietnam exhibition amid COVID-19 restrictions

The state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency is holding a “hybrid” exhibition in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City in an effort to help small- and mid-sized Korean firms, the agency said Friday. KOTRA opened a Korean booth at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, as part of the three-day specialized exhibition that runs from Thursday to Saturday. The event was organized by the city’s Department of Industry and Trade to help businesses boost production, develop

IndustryDec. 18, 2020

Mercedes-Benz sponsors LOL All-Star Event as exclusive partner

Mercedes-Benz Korea is sponsoring the year-end League of Legends event, in an extended move to promote the prestige automobile brand to the young generation, the company said Friday in a release. The 2020 League of Legends All-Star Event kicked off Friday to run until Sunday, in which the German automaker is to take part as the sole official partner. In September this year, Mercedes-Benz Korea became the first luxury car brand to be named the official partner of LOL publisher Riot Games and s

IndustryDec. 18, 2020

GM Korea workers OK revised 2020 wage deal

Unionized workers at GM Korea Co. agreed Friday to accept the company's revised wage proposals amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. GM Korea workers voted in favor of the second tentative wage and collective agreement deal in a two-day vote that ended on Friday. The workers rejected the first tentative deal earlier this month. In the second deal, GM Korea agreed to drop a damage suit filed against the union for strike-driven output losses and provide 4 million won ($3,600) per worker in perfo

IndustryDec. 18, 2020

SK Innovation reiterates Georgia plant benefits US economy

SK Innovation’s aggressive battery investments have trickle-down effects for local businesses in Korea and the US, the Korean firm claimed Friday, as it sought to burnish its contributions to the economy ahead of a lawsuit ruling in the US. The energy firm is currently building two electric battery plants in the US state of Georgia. The first of those, with capacity of 9.8 GWh of production a year, is expected to be finished and start test runs next year. It is due to enter full-fledged o

IndustryDec. 18, 2020

Korean Air CEO receives honor from French government for building ties

Korean Air CEO Cho Won-tae has been awarded with a gold medal of honor medal by the French government for his contributions to enhancing relations between Korea and France. During a ceremony in Seoul on Thursday, Franck Rieste, the visiting minister-delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness of France, bestowed the honor on the Korean businessman for continuing direct flights between the two countries despite a sharp decrease in passengers. The medal is given to those who have cont

MobilityDec. 18, 2020