CheongKwanJang launches Donginbi ginseng cosmetics on Amazon.com

CheongKwanJang said Monday it had officially launched its premium ginseng cosmetics brand Donginbi on Amazon’s US site. Opening its own brand shop on the world’s biggest ecommerce platform, CheongKwanJang said it will expand its business to target US customers who are interested in K-beauty and oriental medicine cosmetics. The cosmetics brand will offer a total of 20 skin care products via its online shop, including flagship products like the 1899 Single Essence and the 1899 Sig

ConsumerSept. 28, 2020

No tomato in burgers? Typhoon damages cause tomato supply shortage

Retailers are suffering from a tomato supply shortage, after farmland was damaged by the record-long summer monsoon season and a number of typhoons that hit the country this summer, according to the food industry on Monday. Local burger chain Lotteria recently posted an announcement on its website and in stores informing customers that it may temporarily stop selling or change ingredients used for burgers that use tomatoes, including the Hanoo Bulgogi Burger, AZ Burger, Wagye Edition II and H

ConsumerSept. 28, 2020

Kakao Pay eyes IPO next year

After the successful market debut of its online games unit earlier this month, Korean mobile messenger giant Kakao is gearing up for another initial public offering next year, this time with its payment services unit, industry sources said Monday. Kakao Pay is set for an IPO during the first half of next year, the company said, adding that it had recently chosen local brokerage firm KB Securities as its leading underwriter. The company plans to apply for approval from the Financial Supervisory

MarketSept. 28, 2020

Celltrion trio gains on merger scheme

Stocks of biotechnology firm Celltrion and its subsidiaries -- Celltrion Healthcare and Celltrion Pharm -- often called the “Celltrion trio,” were mixed Monday over a merger plan announced late last week. Celltrion Pharm, which runs sales operations for chemical and biosimilar drugs produced by Celltrion, saw its stock soar 19.55 percent to 123,500 won ($105.20) in the morning trading session, while Celltrion Healthcare’s stock jumped 8.32 percent to 95,000 won in intraday t

MarketSept. 28, 2020

SC Bank Korea partners Toss to launch short-term personal loan

Standard Chartered Bank Korea said Monday it has partnered with Toss -- a financial services app operated by Viva Republica -- to launch a short-term lending program on Wednesday.  Under the partnership, SC Bank Korea outsources credit evaluation process to Toss. SC Bank Korea is the first lender operating here to outsource credit evaluation of customers to a fintech company. SC Bank Korea receives application for the program via Toss’ mobile app and requests the fintech company t

MarketSept. 28, 2020

Antitrust watchdog drafts law to regulate online platforms

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Monday that it has drafted a bill to regulate dominant online platform operators as unfair trade has become a reality in the sector amid the surge in digital transactions caused by the pandemic. The proposed Act on the Fairness of Online Platform Transactions will be announced for 40 days starting Sept. 28. “As the platforms’ influence and position are strengthened in the digital economy, there are also various threats that hinder the

IndustrySept. 28, 2020

Insurers' lending rises 1% in Q2

Loans extended by South Korean insurance companies rose 1 percent in the second quarter from a quarter earlier, the financial regulator said Monday. Insurers' outstanding loans totaled 240.9 trillion won ($205 billion) as of the end of June, up 2.5 trillion won from the end of March, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement. Their loans to households fell 0.9 percent to 120.1 trillion won in the second quarter from a quarter earlier, while lending to companies rose 3 perce

EconomySept. 28, 2020

Consumer financing firms' H1 net up 22% on decreased provisions

Consumer financing firms in South Korea saw their combined net profit rise 22.2 percent on-year in the first half of the year due to a sharp decline in loan-loss provisions, data showed Monday. The combined net profit of 110 credit-specialized financial firms stood at 1.33 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in the January-June period, compared with a profit of 1.08 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income rose 3.1 percent on

EconomySept. 28, 2020

Internet banking transactions at new record high in H1

South Korea's internet banking services continued to grow in the first half, with the number of users and daily transactions rising to new highs, central bank data showed Monday. The number of internet banking, including mobile banking, came to 164.8 million as of end-June, up 3.5 percent from six months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure is the simple sum of all registered users at 18 internet and mobile banking service providers in the country, meaning t

EconomySept. 28, 2020

Temporary ban sees short selling shrink over 95%

A ban on short selling shares on Korean bourses for most investors curtailed the practice by nearly 97 percent, data showed Monday. Institutional investors in South Korean stock market short sold 20.4 billion won ($17.4 million) worth of stocks a day on average from March 16 to end-August, according to data obtained by Democratic Party Rep. Park Kwang-on from the watchdog Financial Supervisory Service. That was down from 654.2 billion won a day from January to March 13.　 Certain authorized i

MarketSept. 28, 2020

Creditor invites preliminary bidders for Hanjin Heavy

Cash-squeezed Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Monday its main creditor Korea Development Bank (KDB) has invited preliminary bidders in order to sell its controlling stake in the shipyard. KDB plans to finalize the preliminary bidding by Oct. 26 to sell all or part of the 83.45 percent stake in Hanjin Heavy Industries, the shipbuilder said in a regulatory filing. The 83.45 percent stake is owned by seven local financial institutions including KDB and three Filipino financi

EconomySept. 28, 2020

Biz sentiment for Oct. still remains weak on virus impact: survey

Business sentiment in South Korea remains weak for October due mainly to the new coronavirus' impact on major industries, a local think tank said Monday. The business survey index of the country's top 600 companies by sales came to 84.6 for October, slightly up from the 83.5 for September, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement.  A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark means the opposite. The BSI has stayed b

EconomySept. 28, 2020

[Monitor] Coronavirus resurgence drives down consumer confidence

Consumer sentiment in South Korea has shrunk for four months, as the government strengthened rules on social distancing amid the second wave of coronavirus infections.  According to a survey released by the Bank of Korea, the consumer sentiment index in September was 79.4, down 8.8 points from August. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

BusinessSept. 28, 2020

Kia's local plant unfazed by 3 new cases

Kia Motors Corp. said Monday most of its domestic plants are in operation as three new coronavirus cases reported Sunday were not related to assembly line workers.   Kia said Sunday three assembly line workers in the Sohari plant in Gwangmyeong, south of Seoul, were infected with the coronavirus but corrected the information the following day.  "The three confirmed cases turned out to be related to relatives of the plant's assembly line workers. So the plant's operation wa

EconomySept. 28, 2020

LG launches new voice-controlled massage chair

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's major home appliance maker, on Monday unveiled a new massage chair with a voice control feature as it aims to boost health care products amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend. The new model of LG's HealingMe massage chair, MH60G, comes with a voice-activated system with which users can set massage courses and strength control, the company said. It also automatically detects users' shoulder width and leg length to set a comfortable position for massage

IndustrySept. 28, 2020

Samsung tipped to log strong Q3 earnings on solid chip biz, mobile sales recovery

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to report strong third-quarter earnings, analysts here said Monday, as its mainstay semiconductor business remained solid despite a decline in memory prices, while its mobile and home appliance sales soared on pent-up demand amid the pandemic. Samsung was projected to log 63.95 trillion won ($54.5 billion) in sales in the July-September period, up 3.1 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit was estimated to surge 33.7 percent on-year to 10.4 tril

IndustrySept. 28, 2020

Seoul stocks open sharply higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Monday, taking a cue from US stock rallies during the weekend. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 19.48 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,298.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local stocks got off to a strong start, tracking strong advances by US tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft and Tesla. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.26 percent to 10,913.56 the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1

MarketSept. 28, 2020

Q3 economic growth tipped to rebound: minister

The South Korean economy is expected to rebound in the third quarter from a trough three months earlier, but the pace of recovery may be sharply curbed by a flare-up in virus cases, the finance minister said Monday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will make all-out efforts to boost the economic growth in the fourth quarter with massive fiscal spending. "A rebound in the economic growth is tipped to be considerably limited by the resurgence of COVID-19," Hong said in

EconomySept. 28, 2020

[Advertorial] LG Chem promotes environmental CSR

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading chemical company, is pushing ahead with its environmental corporate social responsibility vision “Green Connector.” The chemical company’s new CSR vision is dedicated to help conserve biodiversity, foster green education, expand use of renewable energy and support eco-friendly social enterprises. The company said it will newly recruit around 20 students to work with local ecologists on the ecosystem of Bamseom, a pair of uninhabited isle

BusinessSept. 27, 2020

[Eye on Business] How Green New Deal rekindled Shinsung E&G’s dimming solar power biz

One year after Shinsung E&G launched a solar power business, the 2008 global financial crisis came, forcing the government to shut down subsidy programs for the industry. In 2010, a tsunami of cheap Chinese products flooded the market, leaving the Korean companies to shelve their solar power business. Despite the aggravating market conditions, Shinsung E&G Chairman Lee Wan-keun stood firm, increasing investments to develop solar cell and module technologies and expanding production c

IndustrySept. 27, 2020