Netflix launches separate content office in Korea

Netflix confirmed Thursday that it has established a branch office in Korea named Netflix Entertainment Korea to double down on its commitment to original content produced here. Launched in September, Netflix Entertainment Korea is responsible for content discovery, support and investment, while the existing Netflix Services Korea will carry on its overall service operation in the country. Netflix has run separate content branches in countries where the performance of original content is p

IndustryNov. 26, 2020

Seoul stocks close at all-time high on improved growth forecast

South Korean stocks closed at a fresh all-time high Thursday as the central bank's revised growth forecast boosted investor sentiment, despite an eight-month high in daily virus cases here. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 24.37 points, or 0.94 percent, to close at 2,625.91 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 12.5 trillion won ($11.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 433 to 3

MarketNov. 26, 2020

Study says woman was reinfected with COVID-19 shortly after recovering

A young, previously healthy person who caught and recovered from COVID-19 was infected again with a different strain of the pathogen, a recent study in South Korea shows. A 21-year-old woman who had been admitted to a hospital with mild COVID-19 symptoms in Seoul in March tested positive again in April, six days after being discharged on March 30, according to the study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. She was screened again after she reported a cough that kept getting wo

TechnologyNov. 26, 2020

Samsung maintains lead in NAND flash market in Q3: report

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its top spot in the global NAND flash market in the third quarter of the year on the back of increased revenue, a report showed Thursday. The South Korean tech giant, also the leader in the DRAM sector, had a 33.1 percent share of the global NAND flash market in terms of revenue in the July-September period, up 1.7 percentage points from a quarter earlier, according to market tracker TrendForce. Samsung's revenue from NAND flash products came to a total of

IndustryNov. 26, 2020

Korean bio IPOs to watch out for in 2021

After the explosive listing of SK Biopharmaceutical in June this year, initial public offerings of biologics companies are anticipated to continue their strong streak in 2021.   　Among those already known to be coming to the market next year, the ones attracting the most attention are SK Bioscience and HK inno.N, formerly CJ HealthCare.   　SK Bioscience, under SK Chemical and SK Discovery in SK Group’s governance structure, is a vaccine maker. The company boasts the world&rsqu

IndustryNov. 26, 2020

Worst is over for Korean economy but not in recovery yet: BOK chief

South Korea’s central bank chief said Thursday that the worst for the nation’s economy is over but it is still not on the road to recovery, while the bank held the key interest rate steady at a record low. “The high uncertainties stemming from the circumstances surrounding the possible early commercialization of the vaccine and the spread of COVID-19 around the globe have led us to believe in the need to maintain the current (dovish) stance,” said Lee Ju-yeol, governor o

EconomyNov. 26, 2020

Korea Investment launches first Vietnam leverage ETF

Korea Investment Management, a fund operating under Korea Investment Holdings, has launched its first Vietnam leverage exchange-traded fund on South Korea’s main bourse, the Kospi, on expectations of a rally in Vietnamese stocks, the company said Thursday. The KINDEX Vietnam VN30 Futures Leverage (H) ETF tracks VN30 Futures. Launched in 2017, VN30 Futures are the Southeast Asian country’s first tradable stock index futures.　 It uses the Bloomberg VN30 Futures index to provide inves

MarketNov. 26, 2020

CU reveals plans to offer in store currency exchange

CU provided details Thursday on plans to allow foreign currency exchange at its convenience stores early next year. BGF Retail, the operator of the convenience store brand, has signed a partnership with a local fintech startup U Fintech Hub, which provides a small overseas remittance service, in a step to launch foreign currency exchange service at its local branches, they said. Under the deal, the retail giant will receive technical support from the fintech firm to develop the service platf

MarketNov. 26, 2020

Daesang eyes Middle East with Korean food products

South Korean general foods company Daesang said Thursday that it is branching out into the Middle Eastern market, which serves a population of about 4 billion, with popular food products such as halal-certified kimchi and tofu. Daesang said it has teamed up with 21 stores in Qatar, including Carrefour, Lulu and Spar. In Iraq its products are being distributed through Carrefour and Majidi Mall, with plans underway to expand its presence in the region to countries including Saudi Arabia and Israe

ConsumerNov. 26, 2020

Posco shares achievements from pro bono program

Posco International, a South Korean general trading company, celebrated the achievements of its corporate social responsibility project known as “pro bono volunteers” Thursday. The volunteer team -- made up of employees skilled in the fields of marketing, human resources and finance -- worked with social enterprises for the last six months, offering them mentoring. Some of the beneficiaries included Dodohan Collabo, a media content platform focusing on youth policy; Eunhasoo Art Mu

IndustryNov. 26, 2020

LG Display teams up with startups for OLED smart home life

LG Display is seeking to expand the use of organic light-emitting diode display panels at smart homes by teaming up with startups. On Thursday, LG Display announced eight candidates out of some 80 startups who have taken part in a contest the company has hosted since July to select open innovation partners. The eight are Roha, TheFamilyLab, AllBlanc, Verses, Yeastudio, VTouch, BeJewel and Volla. From here, the candidates will proceed to the next round where three finalists will be narrowed do

IndustryNov. 26, 2020

S. Korean mobile carriers eye more cloud gaming users as demand grows

South Korean telecom operators are targeting wider market penetration of cloud gaming services by expanding availability, industry officials said Thursday, amid strong demand from mobile gamers. The country's three major carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- have in recent months opened up their subscription services that stream console games on smartphones to other carrier users and networks. Last week, LG Uplus expanded its 5G cloud gaming service GeForce NOW's availabil

TechnologyNov. 26, 2020

KT announces first IPTV export to Thailand

South Korean mobile carrier KT said Thursday the company’s Internet Protocol television service is now available in Thailand, marking the first export case of IPTV platform technology to a foreign country. Dubbed the “3BB GIGA TV,” KT’s IPTV platform combined with over-the-top media service is being made available in the Southeast Asian country staring Thursday under a 24 billion won ($21.7 million) deal. KT worked with 11 local partners over the past 15 months via

TechnologyNov. 26, 2020

SK Telecom spins off mobility business

  SK Telecom announced Thursday the mobile carrier’s shareholders approved the spinoff of its mobility business unit as part of enhancing the carrier’s future mobility solutions. Approved by 99.98 percent of its shareholders, a new mobility business dubbed as T Map Mobility will be established on Dec. 29 as a wholly owned subsidiary. The unit has been operating SKT’s T Map service, the largest mobile navigation service whose users doubled from its rival Kakao’

TechnologyNov. 26, 2020

Daewoo Shipbuilding succeeds in ship-to-ship LNG loading test

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Thursday that it has succeeded in a ship-to-ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) loading test for the first time in the global shipbuilding industry. The ship-to-ship LNG loading test was aimed at streamlining procedures to verify the safety of newly built LNG carriers' tanks and to save on test costs, Daewoo Shipbuilding said. Before the ship-to-ship LNG loading test, newly built LNG carriers were usually sent to local LNG terminals far away

IndustryNov. 26, 2020

Korea Air wins W290b F-16 maintenance deal

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Thursday it has received a 290 billion won ($260 million) F-16 maintenance order in the United States.  In the 10-year deal signed with the US Department of Defense, Korean Air will be in charge of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work for the life extension of the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft deployed to the US air forces in South Korea and Japan, the company said in a statement. The national flag carrier has been providi

MobilityNov. 26, 2020

S. Korea to roll out more digital services amid pandemic

South Korea will start to unveil more digital services, from mobile identification to artificial intelligence (AI) doctors, as the pandemic limits face-to-face contact, the ICT ministry said Thursday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it has named key services to support for digital transition amid the pandemic, including rolling out mobile identification for public servants from this year and mobile driver's licenses from next year. The ministry said it will also pursue a test service for

TechnologyNov. 26, 2020

Samsung maintains top spot in Western Europe smartphone market in Q3: report

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained the top spot in the Western Europe smartphone market in the third quarter of the year, a report showed Thursday, despite sales decline. The South Korean tech giant shipped 10.3 million smartphones in Western Europe in the July-September period for a 35.6 percent market share, according to industry researcher International Data Corp. (IDC). The figures were slightly down from a year ago when the company shipped 11 million smartphones for a 35.8 percent marke

TechnologyNov. 26, 2020

S. Korea to reduce operation of coal plants to cut fine dust emissions over winter

South Korea said Thursday it plans to reduce the operation of some coal-powered plants over the winter in line with efforts to cut the emission of fine dust. Under the plan, the country will halt the operation of from nine to 16 coal-powered plants over the season, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. Other plants will be required to maintain their power output at 80 percent of capacity depending on demand. South Korea first adopted the reduction scheme last year. Throug

EconomyNov. 26, 2020

[Monitor] Major firms see overseas sales increase despite pandemic

The top 100 companies in South Korea saw their overseas sales inch up in the third quarter this year despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Federation of Korean Industries showed Tuesday. According to the data, the companies marked a combined 181.9 trillion won ($164 billion) in revenue from their overseas operations, up 1.6 percent from a year ago. Compared to the second quarter, it is an increase by 24.1 percent. The increase came from a rise in demand from major exporting coun

IndustryNov. 26, 2020