Seoul stocks open nearly flat on valuation pressure

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Thursday on valuation pressure, after the benchmark index closed at an all-time high the previous session despite the new coronavirus concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.45 point, or 0.02 percent, to 2,676.35 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded choppy, with strong advances by chipmakers offset by institutional and foreign selling. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.2 percent to 29,8

MarketDec. 3, 2020

S. Korea seeks to nurture 100,000 talents in AI sector by 2025

South Korea plans to nurture 100,000 talented individuals in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector by 2025 by supporting related graduate schools and colleges centering on software development, the finance minister said Thursday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki also said the country plans to spend more than 23 billion won ($21 million) next year to support software firms' marketing in and forays into overseas markets. "Through AI-related graduate schools and colleges focusing on software d

EconomyDec. 3, 2020

Imported car sales rise 7.5% in Nov. amid pandemic

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rose 7.5 percent in November from a year earlier due to strong demand for German cars, an industry association said Thursday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles climbed to 27,436 units last month from 25,514 a year earlier despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. From January to November, foreign carmakers sold 243,440 autos, up 13 percent from 214,780 in the

EconomyDec. 3, 2020

Samsung's Tizen OS largest TV streaming platform worldwide: report

Tizen, a Linux-based operating system developed by Samsung Electronics Co. and Intel Corp., is the world's largest TV streaming platform, a report showed Thursday, thanks to Samsung's robust smart TV sales in the third quarter of the year. Tizen accounted for 12.5 percent of connected TV devices in use, beating other platforms like LG's WebOS, Sony PlayStation, Roku TV OS, Amazon's Fire TV OS and Google's Android TV to top the global TV streaming platform market, according to industry tracker

TechnologyDec. 3, 2020

Major banks' home rental loans grow at record pace this year

Major banks in South Korea saw their "jeonse" home rental loans increase at a record pace this year amid soaring jeonse rates, industry data showed Thursday. Outstanding jeonse loans extended by the country's five major lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup -- came to 103.3 trillion won ($94 billion) as of end-November, up nearly 23 trillion won from last year. It marks the first time that the amount of yearly jeonse loans has exceeded the 20 trillion-won level.

EconomyDec. 3, 2020

S. Korea's FX reserves up for 8th straight month in November

South Korea's foreign reserves rose for the eighth straight month in November, thanks to an increase in investment returns, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's foreign reserves came to a record high of $436.3 billion as of end-November, up $9.87 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bull

EconomyDec. 3, 2020

2021 budget to help S. Korea's economy rebound from virus fallout: finance minister

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday that next year's budget will help South Korea's economy recover from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Hong made the remarks shortly after the National Assembly passed a 558 trillion-won ($506 billion) budget for 2021, a net increase of 2.2 trillion won to help virus-hit small merchants and secure vaccines. "Next year, (the government) will surely achieve our economy's recovery and rebound," Hong said in a Facebook post.

EconomyDec. 2, 2020

Fund manager sentenced to 2 yrs in prison in hedge fund scandal

A Seoul court sentenced a fund manager to two years in prison Wednesday for fraudulently selling financial products of a hedge fund implicated in a massive fraud and lobbying scandal.    The former chief of a branch office of Daishin Securities Co. in southern Seoul was indicted in June for misinforming his clients while selling some 248 billion won ($225 million) worth of funds of Lime Asset Management Co. Lime Asset has been under probe since July last year over its alleged cover

BusinessDec. 2, 2020

Sales of electronic devices, appliances jump amid pandemic: Homeplus

Homeplus said Wednesday the overall sales of IT home appliances jumped 46 percent from March to November, compared to the same time last year, with increased remote working and homeschooling amid the pandemic. Sales of tablet PCs in the period saw an explosive growth of 426 percent, and laptops and printers also witnessed a sales increase of 25 percent respectively, the retailer said. Large home appliances, such as televisions and refrigerators, were also popular this year, with the sales ri

ConsumerDec. 2, 2020

KITA chief sees exports rise 6 percent in 2021, driven by bio, chips

South Korea’s exports will recover next year to invigorate economic growth, which has been slowed in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, a trade association chief said Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference, Korea International Trade Association Chairman Kim Young-ju said the organization foresaw export growth of more than 6 percent, and that the country’s trade volume will recover back above the $1 trillion mark next year. “OECD predicted Korea’s economy to grow 2.8 p

IndustryDec. 2, 2020

[Photo News] Ballantine promotes its single malt whiskies

South Korean actors Jung Woo-sung (left) and Lee Jung-jae pose for a picture at a pop-up shop designed to promote Ballantine’s Single Malt Whisky at cultural complex KOTE in Insa-dong, central Seoul, last Friday.  The two actors, official models for the Scotch whisky brand, had a film shoot the same day.  The pop-up shop will be open to the public for free until Sunday and offers six single-malt whiskies, according to the brand. Visitors must wear masks. The shop is also limit

IndustryDec. 2, 2020

Samsung tops smartphone production in Q3: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the top global smartphone manufacturer in the third quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, as demand for its mobile devices increased in advanced markets amid the pandemic. Samsung led the industry in terms of smartphone production with 78 million units in the July-September period, up 42 percent from a quarter earlier, and accounted for 23.2 percent of the total share, according to market researcher TrendForce. "This result reflects Samsung's continu

IndustryDec. 2, 2020

Pandemic pushes major banks to offer early retirement

South Korea’s major banks have been asking employees to accept early retirement to cut costs amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Wednesday.  More than 1,700 employees at the nation’s five major commercial banks here -- Woori, Hana, Shinhan, KB Kookmin, NH NongHyup -- were offered early retirement between the end of December last year and early this year, industry data showed. To cope with financial setbacks stemming from the pandemic, local banks ar

MarketDec. 2, 2020

Posco International offers consultations to startups

Posco International said Wednesday that it has partnered with the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development to support small and midsized ventures and startup companies in entering overseas markets. Posco International and the institute held an online conference on the day to offer business consultations to 25 startup companies in fields including artificial intelligence, smart cities and the environment, the company said. From the business experience and global networks

IndustryDec. 2, 2020

Hanwha Q Cells 1st to gain TUV Rheinland’s solar module certification

Hanwha Q Cells has become the world’s first solar module manufacturer to pass international product testing institute TUV Rheinland’s new Quality Controlled PV certification. TUV Rheinland’s QCPV certification is an extended stress test program based on International Electrotechnical Commission technical standards. Compared to the IEC’s certification, which only conducts a short-term credibility test on solar modules, the QCPV certification comprises three stages: shor

IndustryDec. 2, 2020

Samsung ranks 2nd in African smartphone market in Q3: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the second-largest smartphone vendor in the African smartphone market in the third quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, as the South Korean tech giant tries to expand its presence against Chinese competitors. Samsung accounted for 20 percent of the African smartphone market in the July-September period in terms of units, down from a 24 percent share a year ago, according to market researcher International Data Corp. (IDC). China's Transsion continued its

IndustryDec. 2, 2020

Seoul stocks set another record high; Korean won surges

South Korean stocks hit another all-time high Wednesday for the second consecutive session on the back of optimism surrounding COVID-19 vaccines and US stimulus. The Korean won sharply rose to an over 29-month high against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 41.65 points, or 1.58 percent, to close at 2,675.9. Trading volume was high at 1.05 billion shares worth around 16.9 trillion won ($15.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 475 to 353. Forei

MarketDec. 2, 2020

Korean Air vows no layoffs despite Asiana takeover

Korean Air’s president has said there would be no layoffs as a result of its takeover of Asiana Airlines. Woo Kee-hong, the airline’s president, said during a press briefing on Wednesday that most staff at both airlines would stay despite the takeover as Korean Air had “no plans to reduce supply.” His remarks come one day after a court ruling cleared the first legal hurdle for the acquisition. The share price of Asiana, which had been on the rise since the announcement

MobilityDec. 2, 2020

Kospi rises 10th-sharpest among G-20 bourses in November

South Korea’s main bourse, Kospi, kept pace with the rallies of major stock markets in Group of 20 economies in November amid hopes of a global economic recovery and new coronavirus vaccine developments, data showed Wednesday. The Kospi index soared 14.3 percent through November, breaking the previous monthly increase record of 13.52 percent set in April 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This was the 10th-largest increase out of the 20 market indexes representing G-20 nations

MarketDec. 2, 2020

Two in three South Koreans long to travel abroad next year: survey

Nearly two-thirds of South Koreans are hoping to travel to another country next year, according to a new survey by e-commerce platform TMon Inc. Among those 1,800 surveyed over a five-day period last month, 64 percent said they wanted to travel abroad in 2021, of which 57 percent said they will do so after getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Over half of respondents said they wanted to go on holiday with family and spend at least five days traveling. The findings come as reports of a breakth

ConsumerDec. 2, 2020