Google postpones Play Store commission in Korea

Google on Monday delayed its policy to charge a 30 percent commission on payments made via the Google Play Store as South Korean app developers geared up for a legal battle against the US tech giant. According to an online notice posted by Google in the afternoon, it pushed back its plan to enforce the obligatory in-app purchasing policy for newly registered apps to Oct. 1 from Jan. 20. Google has recently come under fire from Korean lawmakers after it decided in September to push forward wi

IndustryNov. 23, 2020

Samsung Heavy wins record-largest order from Europe

Samsung Heavy Industries has won orders worth $2.5 billion from European shipowners, according to the firm’s regulatory filings Monday. It is the shipbuilder’s largest single order achieved since its establishment in 1974. The shipbuilder said it signed the contract with European shipowners to supply blocks and equipment for ships. The contract period runs until December 2025. The order volume is equivalent to 38.2 percent of last year’s total sales. The value of the order is

MobilityNov. 23, 2020

Korea holds online job fair for foreign-invested firms

The South Korean government on Monday opened the 15th Job Fair for Foreign-Invested Companies. The job fair this year will be held online through Friday, according to the organizers. The event is co-hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Financial Supervisory Service. The event is designed to help participating foreign-invested companies in Korea find local staff, the organizers said. This year

IndustryNov. 23, 2020

S. Korea’s housing market polarization grows

The number of multiple-home owners with five or more homes hit a record high last year, while the number of nonhomeowners also grew, data showed Monday, reflecting an intensifying housing market polarization in South Korea. The data came amid growing doubts on the effectiveness of the Moon Jae-in administration’s series of real estate measures focused on levying heavier taxes on multiple-home owners and adopting stricter loan rules.  Owners of five or more homes increased 0.75 perce

EconomyNov. 23, 2020

[News Focus] Korean industries eye impact of Biden's carbon plans

US President-elect Joe Biden’s ambitions to curb carbon emissions are set to bring significant changes to the economic landscape for South Korea’s exporters. During his campaign, the 77-year-old Democrat said he wanted to introduce a border carbon adjustment mechanism. The scheme would impose a tax on carbon-intensive imports from heavy polluters such as China, leveling the playing field for producers in advanced countries that pursue rigorous environmental standards. Simultane

IndustryNov. 23, 2020

Nexon seeks global biz boost with PUBG-style shooting game

After a major regulatory setback in China, Nexon is striving to turn things around in other regions by releasing a new first-point-shooter game that offers a twist on Krafton’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, a battle royale shooter that pits 100 players against each other. According to the South Korean game company Monday, its Stockholm-based subsidiary, Embark Studios, is developing a brand-new team-based multiplayer shooting game that will allow Nexon to target the North American

IndustryNov. 23, 2020

Oriental Brewery to brew beer with solar power

Oriental Brewery said Monday it will brew beer with solar power to pursue RE100, a global initiative to source 100 percent of electricity consumption from renewable energy sources. According to South Korea’s largest beer maker by revenue, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Kepco Energy Solution and Aeonus to construct solar power generation facilities that will supply clean electricity to three OB beer factories in Gwangju, Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province and Icheon in Gy

IndustryNov. 23, 2020

Daewoong to repurpose Foistar as COVID-19 treatment by January

Dawoong Pharmaceutical said Monday that it had finished recruiting volunteers for a phase 2 clinical trial in hopes of repurposing its Foistar tablets as the “Tamiflu of COVID-19.” Daewoong said it anticipates the official use of Foistar as a preliminary COVID-19 drug to begin in January 2021. Foistar, a trade name for camostat, helps prevent the spike on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, from docking onto human cells, inhibiting the virus from multiplying within the bo

IndustryNov. 23, 2020

Seoul stocks near all-time high on foreigners' buying spree

South Korean stocks rose for a fourth consecutive day to near an all-time high Monday on massive foreign buying, backed by hopes for a quick economic recovery, shrugging off concerns over a resurgence of the new coronavirus. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 49.09 points, or 1.92 percent, to close at 2,602.59 points, after reaching as high as 2,605.58 points at one point. Monday's closing price is just shy of the index's a

MarketNov. 23, 2020

ESR-controlled industrial REIT gears up for W357.3b IPO

South Korea’s real estate investment trust, indirectly controlled by Hong Kong-listed real estate platform ESR, said Monday that it is gearing up for an initial public offering that will raise 357.3 billion won ($321.3 million) before a listing on the main stock bourse, Kospi, to attract retail investors to its industrial portfolio. The new REIT, dubbed ESR Kendall Square REIT, will become the first listed REIT dedicated to logistics properties in Korea if the IPO goes ahead as planned l

MarketNov. 23, 2020

Mercedes-Benz Korea goes digital for better customer satisfaction

Mercedes-Benz Korea said it is strengthening its digital-based customer experience for preemptive and professional services. The automaker said it is steadily investing in expanding digital-based services that customers can use without having to visit showrooms and service centers in person. One of the digital services is “Sales Touch,” an integrated digital sales platform that carries out all the necessary procedures for vehicle contracts through mobile or tablet devices without

MobilityNov. 23, 2020

Hyundai, Kia rank fourth in global EV market

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors overtook German brand BMW to rank fourth in the global electric vehicle market this year, data showed Monday. Local research company SNE Research said Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 130,000 EVs in the global market between January and September this year. The figure is up 40.7 percent from the same period last year. The strong performance was driven by a surge in sales of the Kia Niro, Hyundai Kona, Kia XCeed Plug-in Hybrid and Hyundai Porter 2 Electric. The co

MobilityNov. 23, 2020

Lotte Card issues ESG bonds for those affected by COVID-19

South Korean credit card issuer Lotte Card has issued social bonds worth 150 billion won ($135 million), the company said Monday. The newly issued bonds, a type of environment, social and governance investment, are aimed at supporting the socioeconomically vulnerable population and creating jobs. Funds raised from the bond issuance will be used to pay settlement costs in advance for mom-and-pop stores and small businesses, which have been bearing the brunt of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

MarketNov. 23, 2020

Late Samsung chairman’s stocks rise further in value

Since the passing of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee on Oct. 25, stocks of the conglomerate’s seven affiliates, including Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T, rose 13.8 percent on average, according to data released Monday. The increase is thought to be driven by expectations of an economic recovery as well as increased dividend payouts to help late Samsung chairman’s heirs pay inheritance taxes. Samsung Electronics, the crown jewel of the nation’s largest co

MarketNov. 23, 2020

Driven by foreign buying, Kospi hits all-time closing high

Buoyed by a foreign investors’ buying spree that continued into a 13th consecutive session, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi reached a fresh all-time closing high on Monday, amid growing expectations by local brokerage houses that the main bourse could rise further next year. The main bourse rose 49.09 points, or 1.92 percent, to end at 2,602.59, eclipsing the 2,598.19-point mark reached Jan. 29, 2018. The index is now also only 4.51 points off an intraday high of 2,607.10 seen Jan. 29

MarketNov. 23, 2020

Hankook Tire to supply tires for GM's new pickup trucks

South Korea’s leading tire manufacturer Hankook Tire & Technology Co. will supply tires for General Motors‘ new pickup trucks, the company said on Monday. The Dynapro MT2, Hankook Tire’s most extreme off-road all-season brand, will be supplied for the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado Heavy Duty and GMC Sierra HD, two models that share a platform. Having won the Red Dot Design Award, the tire boasts additional off-road grip due to angled V-shape shoulder scallops, according to the

MobilityNov. 23, 2020

Home interior design app Ohouse secures $70 million in investment

Home interior design platform Ohouse has raised 77 billion won ($70 million) in a new round of Series C funding from investors including technology investment firm Bond, the app’s operator, Bucketplace, said Monday. IMM Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital and Naver Corporation were among the existing investors that participated in this round, the company added. This raises the company’s total funding to 88 billion won ($80 million). Launched in 2014, th

ConsumerNov. 23, 2020

SkyLabs, Chong Kun Dang team up for heart-monitoring ring

SkyLabs and Chong Kun Dang are initiating sales of ring-type heart monitoring device CART-I for the mass market starting December, SkyLabs announced Monday. Chong Kun Dang has paid SkyLabs 2.5 billion won ($2.2 million) to SkyLabs for the rights to business-to-consumer sales of the CART-I cardio tracker in Korea. Chong Kun Dang will also have priority negotiation rights for exports to Japan, China, India and the Middle East. In turn, it will provide SkyLabs with a base for further technology

IndustryNov. 23, 2020

Manufacturing sentiment soars for Nov. despite pandemic: poll

South Korea's manufacturing confidence improved sharply to a record high in November despite the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Monday. The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET) said its professional survey index (PSI) for the manufacturing sector's business conditions came to 133 for November, up from 124 the previous month. November's PSI remained above the benchmark 100 for six months running and reached the highest-ever point. A PSI reading above

IndustryNov. 23, 2020

Yuhan gets $65m from Janssen for lazertinib milestone achievement

Yuhan Corp. made a regulatory filing Monday saying that the company is to receive $65 million in milestone payment from Janssen Biotech. This is roughly 4.3 percent of Yuhan’s total consolidated equity capital, which as of Monday stands at 1.65 trillion won ($1.48 billion) -- strengthening the company’s financial soundness.　 Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson company, is researching the effects of the combined use of its bispecific antibody amivantamab and Yuhan’s third-generat

IndustryNov. 23, 2020