Duty-free shops in Jeju partially reopen following pandemic-caused suspension

South Korea's major duty-free operators partially reopened their stores on the southern resort island of Jeju on Monday after suspending operations for months over the new coronavirus outbreak. Industry leader Lotte Duty Free and its rival Shinsegae Duty Free said they will resume the operations of the cosmetics and other sections of their shops in Jeju from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. during weekdays. The two major duty-free companies have suspended their in-city shops in Jeju since June due to falterin

IndustryOct. 5, 2020

Seoul stocks extend winning streak to 4th day on US stimulus hopes

South Korean shares jumped by more than 1 percent to extend their winning streak to a fourth session Monday, as investor sentiment improved on hopes for fresh economic stimulus in the United States. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 30.11 points, or 1.29 percent, to close at 2,358.0. Trading volume was moderate at about 746 million shares worth some 10.5 trillion won ($9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 647 to 211.

MarketOct. 5, 2020

S. Korean financial firms still vulnerable to cyber attacks overseas

A string of hacking attempts to break into South Korea’s financial institutions from abroad have continued in recent years, data showed Monday, prompting calls for financial authorities to impose tougher security measures. As of August, there have been a total of 37 hacking cases targeting local financial firms from overseas over the past five years, said Rep. Hong Sung-guk of the ruling Democratic Party, quoting data from the watchdog Financial Supervisory Service. The majority of fra

MarketOct. 5, 2020

McDonald's Korea pledges to increase environmentally-friendly stores

McDonald’s Korea announced Monday a new action plan aimed to promote sustainable growth for society and the environment. Through a video on its YouTube channel, the burger chain introduced the slogan, “Small but Great Changes for a Better Community,” and presented its action plans in four sectors that include the earth, keeping quality ingredients and supply, society, and employment. For the earth and the environment, McDonald’s Korea pledged to reduce its usage of pl

ConsumerOct. 5, 2020

S. Korea's mobile accounts top 70 million in Aug. on expanded 5G users

South Korea's mobile subscriptions topped 70 million in August thanks to a pickup in 5G users, data showed Monday. As of August, the country had 70 million mobile accounts, up 201,119 from the previous month, according to data from the ICT ministry. South Korea has a population of 51.8 million. The overall figure was boosted by a jump in 5G users, which reached 8.7 million, up 801,017 over the same period and accounting for 12.4 percent of total subscriptions. The monthly gain in 5G users mar

IndustryOct. 5, 2020

Open the way for short selling by retail investors, lawmaker says

South Korea’s stock market saw a combined 498 trillion won ($428 billion) worth of short selling transactions from 2015 to 2019, but a high bar exists for retail investors wishing to engage in the practice, a lawmaker said Monday. Ruling Democratic Party Rep. Lee Jung-mun said retail investors need greater access to short selling, and called for the introduction of legislation before the temporary ban on the short selling of listed shares here expires in March 2021. The annual volume o

MarketOct. 5, 2020

S. Korea to introduce rules for fiscal soundness in 2025

SEJONG -- South Korea plans to introduce rules to ensure fiscal soundness in 2025 as the nation is facing calls for more spending to counter slowing growth and an aging population. The rules, which are subject to parliamentary approval, aim to keep the growth rate of government spending at a level of nominal growth of gross domestic product (GDP), the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. Under the rules, the government plans to keep the nation's debt-to-GDP ratio to 60 percen

EconomyOct. 5, 2020

Kepco greenlights controversial Vung Ang 2 coal power plant project

Korea Power Corp. on Monday held a board meeting and decided to proceed with the Vung Ang 2 coal power plant project in Vietnam, according to the company.　 The South Korean state-run utility will build two 600-megawatt coal power plants in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam. The total cost is $2.2 billion and Kepco will invest 220 billion won ($189 million) to acquire a 40 percent stake in the project from China Light & Power. Samsung C&T and Doosan Heavy Industries will be in charge of engin

IndustryOct. 5, 2020

SK Chairman to hold meeting with CEOs on Jeju Island

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won will hold his first face-to-face meeting with group management since the pandemic this month. According to industry sources, Chey and CEOs of SK Group’s major affiliates will gather on Jeju Island to hold its annual meeting CEO seminar and to discuss next year’s management strategies. SK Group said it has not yet finalized a schedule for the annual event. Every year, the meeting has been attended by Chey and his family members, including Senior Vice

IndustryOct. 5, 2020

Online shopping soars 27.5% in Aug. as virus-wary shoppers stay home

Online shopping soared 27.5 percent from a year earlier in August, data showed Monday, as the coronavirus pandemic prompted more shoppers to buy goods via e-commerce platforms. The value of online transactions came to a record high of 14.38 trillion won ($12.29 billion) in the month, up 3.1 trillion won from the same month last year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The sharp increase in August was largely attributed to the pandemic that forced citizens to use online shops. The c

EconomyOct. 5, 2020

LG Chem tops global EV battery sales this year

LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's leading chemical company, topped global electric vehicle (EV) battery sales from January to August, a local market research firm said Monday. LG Chem accounted for a 25 percent share of the global EV battery market, in which a total of 64.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries were supplied during the January-August period, according to SNE Research. In the first eight months, global automakers used 15.9 GWh of LG Chem batteries. Chinese battery maker CATL came second

EconomyOct. 5, 2020

Samsung's Galaxy S20 FE smartphone to go on sale in S. Korea next week

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday the budget model of its Galaxy S20 smartphone will go on sale in South Korea next week as the tech giant aims to boost its handset sales amid the pandemic. The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (FE) will hit local shelves on Oct. 16 with a price tag of 899,800 won ($770), according to Samsung, the world's largest smartphone vendor. Pre-orders for the S20 FE opened Monday for local consumers, and they can receive the device starting Oct. 13. The S20 FE, which was un

TechnologyOct. 5, 2020

S. Korea, Cambodia to hold 3rd round of FTA talks

South Korea said Monday it plans to start its third round of free trade talks with Cambodia this week to outline details, in line with Seoul's efforts to diversify its export portfolio in Southeast Asia. The three-day virtual meetings, with a goal to come up with a finalized draft of the deal by the end of this year, will start Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries held their first round of negotiations in July, which was followed by another gather

EconomyOct. 5, 2020

[Monitor] Korea outperforms other OECD countries in GDP growth in Q2

Data released by the Bank of Korea on Sunday showed that South Korea performed better than other major countries in the second quarter in terms of gross domestic product growth. According to the BOK, Korea’s economy receded 3.2 percent on-year in the April-June period, but leaped to second place from the previous quarter’s 12th place. The list comprised the GDP growth rates of 36 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, plus China and

IndustryOct. 5, 2020

S. Korean manufacturing stays below par amid virus impact: IHS Markit

South Korea's manufacturing activity gathered ground for the fourth straight month in September but remained below par amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, a global market researcher said Monday. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the country's manufacturing sector stood at 49.8 last month, up 1.3 points from the previous month, according to a survey by IHS Markit. Yet the September figure was below the 50-point mark that separates contraction from expansion. PMI is a

EconomyOct. 5, 2020

S. Korean carmakers' US market share rises above pre-COVID levels

South Korean carmakers' market share in the United States rose above pre-coronavirus levels in the March-August period, helped by new models, an industry association said Monday. Local carmakers accounted for 8.9 percent of the US passenger car market during the cited period, up from the 7.7 percent during the December-February period, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) said in a statement. South Korea reported its first confirmed coronavirus case on Jan. 20, with its tota

EconomyOct. 5, 2020

BTS agency begins 2-day IPO subscription from individuals

Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of K-pop superstars BTS, attracted a promising amount of deposits from retail investors on the first day of a two-day subscription for its initial public offering (IPO) next week, probably the biggest share sale on the local market. The IPO subscription runs Monday to Tuesday, prior to the company's listing on Oct. 15. Small investors deposited some 8.6 trillion won ($7.4 billion) on the first day of their subscription. IPO managers said Big Hit E

MarketOct. 5, 2020

Big conglomerates report sales of 12tr won from collusion

SEJONG -- South Korea's big conglomerates have reported sales of some 12 trillion won ($10.3 billion) from collusion and price-fixing practices over the past six years, a report showed Monday. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) found that 21 business conglomerates colluded a total of 162 times between 2015 and August this year. The conglomerates reported sales of 11.7 trillion won from collusion during the period, the KFTC said in the parliamentary audit report. The KFTC fined them 654

EconomyOct. 5, 2020

Carmakers to promote new models in Q4 amid pandemic

South Korean carmakers are set to launch aggressive promotions to boost sales with new vehicles in the fourth quarter to offset weak sales in the previous three quarters amid the coronavirus outbreak, industry sources said Monday. The country's five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- reported an 18 percent on-year decline in sales to 4.2 million vehicles during the January-August period. Their domestic sales

EconomyOct. 5, 2020

Seoul stocks open tad higher on auto gains

South Korean shares opened a tad higher Monday, led by gains in automakers, after a long holiday. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.95 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,333.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment was boosted by hopes for fresh economic stimulus in the United States. Most large caps traded lower in Seoul. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.17 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shedding 0.6 percent. Hyundai Motor, the country's

MarketOct. 5, 2020