GM Korea's Oct. sales rise 4.1% on strong demand for SUV models

GM Korea Co. said Monday its sales rose 4.1 percent last month from a year earlier, helped by increased sales of its sport utility vehicle models despite the coronavirus pandemic. The South Korean unit of General Motors Co. sold 31,391 vehicles in October, up from 30,158 units the previous year, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales climbed 11 percent to 7,064 units last month from 6,394 a year ago. Exports were up 2.4 percent to 24,327 from 23,764, it said.  Robust sales of S

IndustryNov. 2, 2020

Samsung family in line to inherit W17tr of stocks

Members of the bereaved Samsung ownership family are expected to see major net worth boosts, as the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee left behind massive amounts of stocks they -- including heir apparent Lee Jae-yong -- stand to inherit, data showed Monday. Late Chairman Lee’s personal fortune in the form of stocks -- subject to a handover to the families -- was worth a combined 17.7 trillion won ($15.6 billion) as of Thursday’s market closing, according to data from financial market infor

MarketNov. 2, 2020

[News Focus] De facto jobless increases 60,000 in a month

SEJONG -- The Korean government was pinning hopes on recovery in employment in the second half of the year, though the tally of the jobless increased sharply between March and May in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the number of “unemployed plus underemployed” showed signs of gradually falling during the summer, the monthly figure bounced back in September. According to the Supplementary Index III for Employment, as determined by Statistics Korea, the number of “de

EconomyNov. 2, 2020

SsangYong's Oct. sales rise 0.6% on increased exports

SsangYong Motor Co. said Monday its sales rose 0.6 percent last month from a year earlier helped by increased exports. SsangYong Motor sold 10,197 vehicles in October, up from 10,135 units a year ago due to strong overseas demand for its SUV models despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales fell 5.4 percent to 7,612 units from 8,045 during the same period, but exports jumped 24 percent to 2,585 from 2,090, it said. The SUV-focused carmaker said it will ex

IndustryNov. 2, 2020

Luc Donckerwolke appointed as chief creative officer at Hyundai Motor

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it has appointed Luc Donckerwolke to chief creative officer in charge of design-related communications for the Genesis brand, electric vehicle Ioniq and its fuel cell vehicles. Donckerwolke originally joined the South Korean automotive group in 2016, gradually overseeing design for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands as the chief design officer before resigning in March to focus on his health. He is returning to the group following temporary time away in which he t

MobilityNov. 2, 2020

Hyosung T&C invests W60b in Turkey to expand spandex production

Hyosung T&C said Monday it planned to invest 60 billion won ($52.9 million) in the Cerkezkoy area near Istanbul, Turkey to more than double the size of its spandex production plant with an annual capacity of 15,000 metric tons by July next year. The fiber production unit of Hyosung Group said the spandex plant production capacity in Turkey would be about 40,000 tons when the expansion is completed. The firm’s decision came from Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon’s judgment that a

IndustryNov. 2, 2020

Han Sung Motor opens digital showroom to promote Mercedes-Benz cars

In the era of the “fourth industrial revolution,” digitalization is inevitable for businesses. In this vein, Han Sung Motor, an official Mercedes-Benz dealer, is presenting a digital pop-up store to promote the German-brand and its vision for digitalizing the automobile industry. On Friday, the auto dealer held a three-day showroom, dubbed Han Sung Digital Park in Coex, Seoul. There, the auto dealer displayed Mercedes-Benz EQC 400, the first electric vehicle for the automaker, and

MobilityNov. 2, 2020

LG Electronics reaffirms plan to build 2nd R&D center in Vietnam

LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker in South Korea, on Monday reaffirmed a plan to build its second research and development (R&D) center in Vietnam as it tries to expand its presence in the Southeast Asian market. LG recently signed an agreement with Vietnamese real estate developer Trung Nam Land Joint Stock Co. to set up the center at the Da Nang Information Technology Park Tower in Danang, central Vietnam, according to the sources. The deal follows the company's memorand

IndustryNov. 2, 2020

Renault Samsung halts plant operations amid pandemic

Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Monday it will suspend the operation of its sole plant in South Korea for two days to control its inventory amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  Renault Samsung will halt the operation of the Busan plant, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Monday and Tuesday to manage inventory and production amid weak sales, the company said in a statement. The company said it plans to have its employees work during daytime from Nov. 10-30. The South Korean unit of R

IndustryNov. 2, 2020

Jin Air begins cargo delivery to US amid pandemic

Jin Air Co., the budget carrier unit of Korean Air Lines Co., said Monday it has begun transporting cargo to the United States to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Jin Air has become the country's first low-cost carrier to deliver cargo to the US. Jin Air delivered 23 tons of displays and other high-end electronics on its B777-200ER passenger jet from Incheon to Los Angeles on Sunday, the company said in a statement. "The company is planning to deliver more value-added cargo to the US a

MobilityNov. 2, 2020

S. Korea to allow people to exchange foreign bills at convenience stores

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance ministry said Monday it will allow people to exchange the Korean currency for foreign currency banknotes at convenience stores starting next year, as part of its efforts to ease regulations in the foreign exchange market. Under the move, people can ask banks to exchange the Korean won for foreign bills via smartphone applications, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. They can then get the foreign bills at automated teller machines in convenience s

EconomyNov. 2, 2020

Samsung to unveil new mobile AP next week in China

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it will unveil its new mobile application processor (AP) next week as the South Korean tech titan eyes to sell more non-memory chips to smartphone manufacturers. The Exynos 1080 chipset will be introduced at an event in Shanghai, China, on Nov. 12, according to the company. Samsung has yet to unveil the specifications of the new mobile AP, but sources said it is built on a 5-nanometer process and uses ARM Ltd.'s latest Cortex-A78 central processing unit (C

IndustryNov. 2, 2020

BOK to take market-stabilizing measures if needed over US election: governor

South Korea's central bank will take measures to stabilize the financial markets in a timely manner when needed as the outcome of the US presidential election could increase market volatility, its head said Monday. Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said that volatility in the financial markets at home and aboard could increase, depending on the outcome of the US election, set for Tuesday, amid concerns about a resurgence in COVID-19 cases in Europe, according to the central bank. "The

EconomyNov. 2, 2020

S. Korean manufacturing just above par in Oct.: IHS Markit

South Korea's manufacturing activity entered an expansionary phase for the first time this year in October on increased new orders, a global market researcher said Monday. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the country's manufacturing sector stood at 51.2 last month, up 1.4 points from the previous month, according to a survey by IHS Markit. It represents the first time this year for South Korea's PMI, a key measure of factory activity in a country, to surpass the 50-point mark that separ

EconomyNov. 2, 2020

Exports of instant noodle, kimchi on rise amid pandemic

South Korea's exports of instant noodles and kimchi products rose sharply in the first nine months of the year on the back of rising demand for ready-to-eat meals and healthy foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments of instant noodles jumped 36.3 percent on-year to $456 million during the January-September period, while those of kimchi jumped 38.5 percent to $109 million over the cited period, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agricult

EconomyNov. 2, 2020

[Monitor] Korea aims to see over 1M EVs by 2025

The Korean government on Friday announced the national strategy for future automobile proliferation and market domination, at Hyundai Motor’s factory in Ulsan. With Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki and officials from the Ministries of Trade, Environment, Transport in attendance, President Moon Jae-in pledged innovation in convenience, price and demand for future automobiles, aiming for 1.13 million electric vehicles and 200,000 hydrogen vehicles on the road by 2025. (khnews@heraldcorp

IndustryNov. 2, 2020

Celltrion inks supply agreement for COVID-19 test kit in US

South Korean biopharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Monday it has signed an agreement worth 210 billion won ($185 million) to supply a diagnostic kit for the novel coronavirus in the United States. Under the agreement, Celltrion's rapid antigen kit, Sampinute, will be distributed by Prime Healthcare Distributors in the US The kit was co-developed by local health care firm BBB. Sampinute won an emergency approval by the US Food and Drug Administration for commercialization late last month

IndustryNov. 2, 2020

Apple's ECG monitoring app available in S. Korea

Apple Inc. said Monday its electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring app on Apple Watch is now available in South Korea as the US tech giant tries to expand its presence in the wearables market here with upgraded health-related features. Apple said local consumers who have Apple Watch Series 4 or later can use its ECG app through software updates after it recently secured an approval from South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Apple's ECG app records a person's heartbeat and rhythm using se

IndustryNov. 2, 2020

SK Telecom pilots AI program for dementia diagnosis

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Monday it has started testing an artificial intelligence (AI) program that can detect dementia by listening to patients' speech. The carrier said it partnered with Seoul National University College of Medicine last year to develop the program to allow early diagnosis of the disease. The two will start testing the program at major hospitals and the country's dementia centers this month to improve the program's accuracy. The AI program

TechnologyNov. 2, 2020

24 added to antitrust watch list in Aug.-Oct. period

The number of companies affiliated with major conglomerates under tight restrictions increased in the August-October period, data showed Monday, as they increased investment in financial or content firms. The total number of affiliates under such restrictions reached 2,325 as of the end of October, up 24 firms from three months earlier, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Major business groups newly launched or acquired 56 new affiliates, while offloading 32 others. Under South Ko

IndustryNov. 2, 2020