S. Korea's 2020 domestic steel demand forecast to hit 11-year low

South Korea's domestic demand for steel is forecast to hit the lowest level in 11 years in 2020 due to the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, a trade body said Thursday. The Korea Iron & Steel Association said domestic steel demand is likely to reach the 48 million-ton range this year, down around 8 percent from 53.2 million tons a year earlier, as manufacturing, construction and other key industries were stung by the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure is projected to be the lowest since th

EconomyDec. 17, 2020

ITC favors Medytox over Daewoong in botulinum toxin strain dispute in final ruling

A US trade panel has upheld its preliminary ruling by siding with South Korean drugmaker Medytox Inc. in a trade dispute, saying its local rival Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. copied the manufacturing process of a botulinum toxin strain, industry officials here said Thursday. In a final decision, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ordered a 21-month ban on imports of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's botulinum products into the United States. The ruling, however, reduces an initial 10-year ban p

IndustryDec. 17, 2020

S. Korea, US extend $60b currency swap deal by another 6 months amid pandemic

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States have agreed to extend a $60 billion bilateral currency swap agreement by another six months in an effort to help ease market uncertainties amid a global resurgence of coronavirus infections, the US Federal Reserve Board (FRB) said Wednesday. In late March, the Bank of Korea and the US Federal Reserve signed the bilateral currency swap facility to help ease financial market jitters caused by the pandemic. The swap agreement, which is se

EconomyDec. 17, 2020

Canada pension fund to invest W300b into fried chicken franchise BHC

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) plans to invest 300 billion won ($275 million) into BHC Co., a fried chicken franchise operator in South Korea, an industry source said Wednesday.  CPPIB, Canada's biggest pension fund, is scheduled to sign a contract with BHC to become one of the new investors for the Korean firm, according to the source.  BHC saw sales grow 34 percent on-year to 318.6 billion won in 2019, and its operating profit jumped 62 percent on-year to 97 billion w

IndustryDec. 16, 2020

Hanwha’s defense arms sign joint defense research pact with US

Hanwha Corp. and Hanwha Defense, the two defense affiliates of Hanwha Group, have signed an agreement on collaborative research and development of key defense items and technologies, officials said Wednesday in a release. The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement -- CRADA -- was signed Dec. 10 by the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center -- DEVCOM AC -- and the two Hanwha affiliates. CRADA refers to a cooperative mechanism that enables the US government

IndustryDec. 16, 2020

NPS likely to log 7% return on investments: welfare minister

South Korea’s National Pension Service is likely to log a 7 percent return on its investments this year, the nation’s welfare minister said Wednesday. “Investment environments seem to be on a recovery path with domestic and global economic indices improving and the (local) stock market hitting record highs recently,” said Park Neung-hoo, minister of health and welfare, who chairs the NPS’ asset management committee. “The fund operator will be able to ac

MarketDec. 16, 2020

Hyundai Samho to spin off industrial equipment division

Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., a midsized shipbuilder here, will turn its industrial equipment division into a wholly owned subsidiary to boost the division's competitiveness, its parent Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Wednesday. The new entity, named Hyundai Infra Solutions Co., will be launched on May 3 next year, Korea Shipbuilding said in a regulatory filing. Hyundai Samho will focus on the construction of ships, while the envisioned spin-off entity will be de

EconomyDec. 16, 2020

Bitcoin rally continues on institutional interests

Bitcoin on Wednesday came under market watch after it spiked nearly to $20,000 earlier this month and continued its rally for days, on the back of institutional investors diversifying their portfolios. The most popular cryptocurrency remained above $19,000 per coin for a third straight day Wednesday morning, according to Upbit, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges here operated by local financial technology firm Dunamu. After the digital coin reached a recent high of $19,850 on Dec. 1,

MarketDec. 16, 2020

New CEO vows to put Samsung Biologics on top of game in a decade

Samsung Biologics’ newly appointed chief executive officer John Rim vowed in his inaugural address on Wednesday to put the company in the front of the race in contract research, development and manufacturing. Samsung Biologics will continue to make preemptive investments in the contract manufacturing organization (CMO) business, in order to maintain its position as having the world’s largest biologics manufacturing facility. As for the relatively new businesses of contract develo

IndustryDec. 16, 2020

GS Group donates W4b to Community Chest of Korea

South Korea’s eighth-largest conglomerate GS Group has donated 4 billion won ($3.67 million) to the Community Chest of Korea, in a gesture to help the socially vulnerable, the group said Wednesday. The business group has been making year-end donations to the charity organization since 2005 and the latest contribution has brought the accumulated total amount to 60 billion won. “We hope to offer help and comfort to those who are going through difficult times due to the COVID-19 cris

IndustryDec. 16, 2020

Conglomerate owner families tilt toward ‘inter-chaebol’ marriages

South Korea’s conglomerate owner families are increasingly turning away from the political world and seeking matrimonial ties with peer chaebol families, corporate tracker data showed Wednesday. Of the incumbent conglomerate owners’ offspring, the majority have married other “chaebol kids,” reflecting the growing preference within business circles for inherited wealth. According to data compiled and released by CEO Score, 153 out of 317 chaebol owner family members,

IndustryDec. 16, 2020

Samsung imposes ban on travel, face-to-face meetings

Samsung Electronics has tightened measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus on its campuses, including a temporary travel ban on its employees, ahead of a possible upgrade in social distancing rules by the government, the tech giant said Wednesday. A task force on pandemic response within its semiconductor division on Tuesday sent a notice to the executives and employees about enhanced rules banning nonessential trips and visits to public facilities such as restaurants and cafes o

TechnologyDec. 16, 2020

Firms switch strategy as 2021 tech shows go online

The year 2021 is approaching, but the tech world won’t have the excitement it used to have at the beginning of each year. As the unrelenting pandemic forbids in-person tech fairs, where major brands used to unveil innovative new products and technologies, local firms seem to be adjusting their strategies for new launches. The Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s largest event of its kind, which normally takes place in Las Vegas in early January, is set to be held on a virtual

TechnologyDec. 16, 2020

Naver, Kakao excluded from toughened watch list of financial conglomerates

Financial authorities on Wednesday ruled out Big Tech firms Naver and Kakao as subjects to one of the “three fair economy bills,” designed to rein in dominance of conglomerates and add transparency to corporate governance here. “At the moment, Kakao and Naver do not meet the standards,” Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman Doh Kyu-sang said in a briefing of related ministries for the revised bills. Companies with two or more financial units and total assets of

MarketDec. 16, 2020

Seoul stocks hit fresh record high on US stimulus hopes

Seoul stocks hit fresh record high on US stimulus hopes South Korean stocks snapped their two-day losing streak to end at a fresh record high Wednesday, backed by optimism over the US stimulus talks and positive reports related to US biotech company Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.97 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 2,771.79.Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares wo

MarketDec. 16, 2020

Stock investment loans surge as Kospi hits new high

The Kospi hit a new all-time high on Wednesday on growing hopes over US stimulus talks and reports on vaccine candidates, closing at 2,771.79. The tech-heavy Kosdaq also rose to 939.65, marking its highest level in nearly 19 years. Amid the continued stock market rally, the total amount of loans taken out for stock investments by individuals in South Korea has exceeded 19 trillion won ($17.37 billion) for the first time, market data showed. After crossing the 19 trillion-won mark Monday, the

MarketDec. 16, 2020

LG Display’s 88-inch 8K OLED wins Prime Minister’s accolade

LG Display’s 88-inch 8K organic light-emitting diode display won the Prime Minister’s accolade at 2020 Korea Tech Show on Wednesday. The prized display is the first product with such cutting-edge specifications to be commercialized in the world, LG Display said. Prior to LGD’s 8K OLED, the advanced 8K display market had been dominated by liquid crystal displays. LGD’s 8K OLED is expected to be a game changer with every one of its 33 million pixels controllable for del

IndustryDec. 16, 2020

Samsung denies rumors of Galaxy Note series discontinuation

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday denied rumors that it will discontinue the Galaxy Note series next year, saying the flagship phablet line will live on despite the rise of other premium devices. Speculation has arisen recently that Samsung may reconfigure its premium smartphone lineup with Galaxy Z foldables and Galaxy S devices after ditching the Galaxy Note family that is highlighted by S-Pen stylus features. "We are preparing to release the Galaxy Note series next year," a Sa

IndustryDec. 16, 2020

Korean Air, labor union agree to wage freeze, furlough amid pandemic

Korean Air Lines Co. and its labor union have agreed to freeze wages and put 70 percent of employees on furlough in the first half of 2021 to ride out the fallout of COVID-19, officials said Wednesday. About 70 percent of 12,600 employees at South Korea's largest air carrier have been taking unpaid leave since April as part of cost-cutting efforts to overcome the impact of the pandemic. In this year's negotiations, the management and the labor union agreed to freeze wages and maintain the furl

MobilityDec. 16, 2020

Pandemic is negatively affecting overseas property fund: FSC

The market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service said Wednesday the novel coronavirus outbreak has been posing a negative impact to the country’s real estate funds that invest in overseas properties.  A real estate fund is an investment vehicle designed to pool money from both individual and institutional investors to trade in properties. To profit, the funds usually either purchase commercial real estate for lease or provide loans to companies working on infrastructure and industri

MarketDec. 16, 2020