[News Focus] Female discouraged workers up 30% since 2017

SEJONG -- South Korea saw its number of people aged 15 or over who have abandoned looking for jobs increase sharply over the past three years, data from a government agency showed. The data also suggested that women far outstripped men in this category during the first 41 months of President Moon Jae-in’s 60-month term. According to figures held by Statistics Korea, the number of discouraged workers was 498,000 in May 2017, when the Moon administration took office. The monthly figure,

EconomyNov. 22, 2020

Korea’s sovereign wealth fund joins climate change coalition

South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corp. said Sunday that it was now a member of the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund, the world’s largest multilateral working group convened by sovereign wealth funds across the globe to promote cooperation on climate change.  Established Dec. 12, 2017, at the “One Planet Summit” -- a global coalition launched by the French government and the UN to work together on climate change -- the fund exists to develop a f

MarketNov. 22, 2020

Retail giant E-Land suspends operations at nearly half of stores due to ransomware attack

South Korean fashion and retail conglomerate E-Land Group said Sunday it has suspended operations at nearly half of its stores in the country due to a ransomware attack. The group said its corporate network system was attacked by ransomware early in the morning. Such a malware attack has forced 23 of its 50 branches of NC Department Store and NewCore Outlet to halt their operations, E-Land added. Ransomware is software that intentionally blocks users from accessing their digital files unless

IndustryNov. 22, 2020

65% of manufacturers expect status quo in biz environment in Biden era: poll

Nearly two-thirds of South Korean manufacturing firms believe that the business environment will not change much under the forthcoming Joe Biden administration in the United States, a poll showed Sunday. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), 65.3 percent of local manufacturers answered that they expect no significant changes in the business environment with the new US government. The survey, which asked 300 firms earlier this month, showed that

EconomyNov. 22, 2020

SK Telecom, Samsung develop advanced cloud native core network system

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's leading mobile carrier, said Sunday it has developed a next-generation cloud native core network system with Samsung Electronics Co. that can provide better 5G services. A core network is the central part of a telecommunications infrastructure that handles key tasks, including device certification and quality of service management, for mobile subscribers to access various services. SK Telecom said its latest core network is the first in the industry to meet the

TechnologyNov. 22, 2020

Eco-friendly cars make up over 3% of total vehicles registered in S. Korea

Environmentally friendly cars, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen-powered cars, make up more than 3 percent of the total vehicles registered in South Korea, a report from the country's transport ministry showed Sunday. There were 766,464 green vehicles registered in South Korea as of end-October, accounting for 3.16 percent of the total vehicles here, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation. This is the first time that the share of eco-fri

EconomyNov. 22, 2020

[Weekender] Spending time by yourself? You are not alone

A streamer is broadcasting an online eating show, or mukbang. Fans get their snacks and drinks ready, take photographs and share them on the streamer’s web page with stories and comments. The streamer goes over the photographs and reads comments as if they are having a table talk. The streamer holds up his glass and offers a toast to tens of thousands of viewers. Though they are e-connected, it somehow creates a sense of togetherness. The increasing number of one-person households on

IndustryNov. 21, 2020

KB Financial union’s attempt to hire outside director falls through yet another year

KB Financial Group labor union’s attempt to convince shareholders to appoint two outside directors recommended by them fell through Friday, deflating the union’s yearslong efforts to enter the boardroom. Following a shareholders meeting held in the morning, KB Financial Group said that the appointment of outside director candidates Sustinvest CEO Ryu Young-jae and Seoul National University environmental studies professor Yun Sun-jin was “rejected” based on the votes cas

MarketNov. 20, 2020

Kospi anticipated to hit all-time high within year on foreign buying

As South Korea’s main bourse hit its yearly high for a third consecutive session on Friday, investors’ expectations have mounted for a fresh yearly high as early as within the year. The Kospi closed at 2,553.50, up 6.08 points or 0.24 percent, from the previous session’s close. It began trading lower at 2,544.06 and experienced a roller-coaster trading session but ended strongly. Retail investors and foreign investors net purchased 123.9 billion won ($111.21 million) and 102

MarketNov. 20, 2020

Seoul court rules against state health insurer on compensation suit against tobacco firms

After a six-year court battle, a Seoul court ruled against the National Health Insurance Service in the case filed against major tobacco companies, saying there was no direct link with the insurer’s financial burden and the firms’ business activities. NHIS first filed a compensation suit Against KT&G, the leading tobacco manufacturer here, and the local headquarters of British American Tobacco and Philip Morris, claiming that their sales of cigarettes had caused extra costs fo

IndustryNov. 20, 2020

S. Korean banks adopt stricter lending rules for overdraft accounts

South Korean banking groups are set to tighten lending rules for overdraft accounts, lowering borrowing limits amid government efforts to put a brake on the nation’s fast-growing household debt, industry data showed Friday. The five major commercial banks here -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana and NH NongHyup -- have started lowering limits for their key overdraft account products designed for “high-income individuals and professionals” from an average 200 million won ($179,

MarketNov. 20, 2020

AstraZeneca vaccine results to be out around Christmas, SK Bioscience already manufacturing

AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s co-developed COVID-19 vaccine AZD1222 has shown immune response in older adults enrolled in a phase 2 clinical trial of the drug. Phase 3 clinical trial results are anticipated to be released around Christmas, the researchers said Friday. SK Bioscience, the Korean vaccine producer who in July signed with AstraZeneca to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine, confirmed with The Korea Herald on Friday that manufacturing has been going without a glitch. AZD

IndustryNov. 20, 2020

Korean Air to push for employees’ leave of absence instead of restructuring

Korean Air President Woo Ki-hong said the firm would push for employees’ leave of absence instead of cutting headcount once the merger with Asiana Airlines takes place. “Korean Air has never undergone artificial restructuring over the past 51 years,” Woo told reporters after the 22nd Tourism Industry Committee meeting in Seoul on Friday. “In order to increase efficiency after the merger, (some) employees will take a leave of absence until the end of the coronavirus cr

MobilityNov. 20, 2020

USITC postpones final ruling on Medytox, Daewoong’s BTX trade secret suit

The US’ International Trade Commission on Friday once again delayed its final ruling on a trade secret suit between Korean companies Medytox and Daewoong involving a botulinum toxin strain. The ITC did not elaborate on the reason for the postponement, but the agency‘s website indicates that the whole organization is teleworking since March this year due to COVID-19, suggesting that the pandemic may have interfered with its regular workflow. This is the second time the ITC has postp

IndustryNov. 20, 2020

Korean Air's Asiana acquisition faces bumpy road after injunction

Creditors' plan to sell the debt-laden Asiana Airlines Inc. to its bigger rival Korean Air Lines Co. faces a bumpy road as a local equity fund has filed an injunction against the plan. On Tuesday, Asiana's main creditor, the Korea Development Bank (KDB), signed an investment agreement with Korean Air's parent Hanjin KAL Corp. to inject 800 billion won ($723 million) into Hanjin KAL through a rights offering and convertible bonds. Hanjin KAL will then participate in a 2.5 trillion-won stock sal

MobilityNov. 20, 2020

Card spending up 6.3% on-year during nationwide shopping festival in Nov.

Card spending made during a massive nationwide annual shopping festival earlier this month rose 6.3 percent from a year earlier, the trade ministry said Friday, amid the new coronavirus outbreak. Card spending amounted to 37.4 trillion won ($33.5 billion) in the Nov. 1-15 period, when the country held the annual Korea Sale FESTA, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The shopping festival involving major retailers, manufacturers and traditional markets drew a total of 1,784

ConsumerNov. 20, 2020

[Monitor] Price gap widens for planned towns around Seoul

Despite the two towns having been planned and built around the same time in the early 1990s, the price gap between apartments in Bundang and Ilsan is getting wider each year, showed a report by KB Kookmin Bank’s real estate services platform Liiv On and real estate information service 10000-Lab. Bundang and Ilsan are among the five “new town” projects announced in 1989 by the Roh Tae-woo administration to help with real estate price stabilization and housing supplies. The comm

IndustryNov. 20, 2020

Apple, mobile carriers release new iPhone 12s in S. Korea

Apple Inc. and South Korea's three major telecom operators started shipping the iPhone 12 mini and the 12 Pro Max on Friday. The launches of the smallest and the largest versions of Apple's latest devices follow the release of the standard 12 and 12 Pro models in the local market late last month. The iPhone 12 mini comes with a 5.4-inch screen, compared with the standard model's 6.1-inch display, while the 12 Pro Max has a 6.7-inch screen. Apple's latest generation of smartphones are the comp

TechnologyNov. 20, 2020

Big firms gird for tougher social distancing amid virus surge

Big businesses in South Korea are taking preemptive steps to brace for tougher social distancing due to a recent surge in new coronavirus cases, sources said Friday. Seoul on Thursday raised its five-tier social distancing scheme by one notch in the greater Seoul area and some other areas where COVID-19 infections have soared recently. The Level 1.5 alert is largely aimed at limiting the number of people in closed areas and mass gatherings to rein in the spread of the flu-like virus. Accordin

IndustryNov. 20, 2020

BOK expected to freeze key rate at record low next week: poll

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is expected to freeze its policy rate at a record low of 0.5 percent next week, as it will likely gauge the impact of the protracted pandemic on the economy, a poll showed Friday. In a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, all 14 analysts polled predicted the BOK will freeze the base rate at its rate-setting meeting next Thursday. They also forecast the BOK to stand pat on the rate during the remainder of the year and even throughout

EconomyNov. 20, 2020