S. Korea to spend 94b won this year to develop homegrown COVID-19 vaccine

South Korea will spend a total of 94 billion won ($80.3 million) this year to help local firms develop homegrown vaccines and treatment drugs to fight the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Friday. The government also plans to set aside 260.4 billion won next year to develop vaccines and treatment drugs against the new coronavirus, officials said. The plan came after senior officials held a pan-government meeting with executives from pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms earlier in the day.

EconomySept. 25, 2020

Mobile carriers launch services, events to support noncontact Chuseok holidays

Korean mobile carriers are preparing a variety of communication services and events for people staying at home during the Chuseok holidays next week. KT, the country’s No. 2 telecom company by subscribers, said Friday it will launch a challenge using the rich communication service, known as RCS, which is aimed to encourage people to send messages to loved ones. The RCS, which is a free messaging service launched between the country’s three major mobile carriers, can open gro

TechnologySept. 25, 2020

KT, NGeneBio sign deal for genetic data-based digital health care service

There is a surge of movement from Korean telecommunications firms noticeably seeking to enter the digital health care market. KT on Friday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with local gene sequencing company NGeneBio to jointly develop a personalized health care product based on genetic data analysis. Earlier in the week, KT also said that it will work together with Medical Partners Korea to launch an information and communication technology-based epidemic control system in Kaz

IndustrySept. 25, 2020

S. Korea censored over 200,000 pieces of online data last year: report

South Korea censored over 200,000 pieces of online data in 2019, a report showed Friday, marking a slight decline from the previous year. The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), the country's censorship body, took action against 206,759 pieces of online data last year, such as blocking public access or deleting them, down from 238,246 in 2018, according to an annual report from the Clinical Legal Education Center under the Korea University's School of Law. The Korea Internet Tran

TechnologySept. 25, 2020

S. Korea's trade terms rise for 5th straight month in Aug.

South Korea's terms of trade rose for the fifth straight month in August, as import prices fell at a faster pace than export prices, central bank data showed Friday. The country's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of trade terms -- came in at 96.75 in August, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the fifth straight month of an on-year rise since April, when the trade terms posted the first on-year gain in over two

EconomySept. 25, 2020

[Monitor] No. of marriages plunges during pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic prolongs, the number of marriages that took place during the first seven months of this year fell to 17,080, according to Statistics Korea. The number of births in July alone was the lowest on record, while the number of deaths was the highest on record. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

IndustrySept. 25, 2020

Imported commercial car sales up 2.3% in August

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea rose 2.3 percent last month from a year earlier on robust sales of Mercedes-Benz trucks, an industry association said Friday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles rose to 318 units in August from 311 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. "Increased sales of Mercedes-Benz and Scania trucks helped the monthly results," a KAIDA official said. &

EconomySept. 25, 2020

Coronavirus sends S. Korea's consumer spending indoors plunging: expert

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a plunge in South Korean consumers' spending at department stores, cinemas and other large indoor facilities, an expert said Friday. In contrast, consumer spending at outdoor and small facilities, including neighborhood grocery stores and camping sites, has gone up, said Lee Jae-ho, head of the Digital Economy Institute of Kakao Mobility. "The COVID-19 outbreak has caused the frequency of visits to duty-free shops and department stores and large di

EconomySept. 25, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on US tech rebound

South Korean shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street helped by a US tech rebound.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.68 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,285.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index got off to a strong start after a 2.59 percent plunge the previous session. Stocks lifted despite uncertainties from the US presidential election in November, thanks to a rebound in tech heavyweights, such as Apple and Microsoft

MarketSept. 25, 2020

Prosecutors raid KEB Hana Bank over Optimus fund fiasco

Prosecutors on Thursday raided KEB Hana Bank‘s headquarters in Seoul in an apparent move to add fresh fuel to the investigation of Optimus Asset Management’s private equity fund misselling. KEB Hana Bank was one of trustee banks of the disputed funds. According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, investigators searched the lender’s consignment sales unit to seize computer drives and documents related to the case. The main purpose of the search is to fi

EconomySept. 24, 2020

[Newsmaker] Korean lawmakers to summon Google, Netflix chiefs

The National Assembly of South Korea has selected the chiefs of Google and Netflix’s Korean operations as witnesses at the upcoming audits scheduled for October to ask questions about their business practices. According to the country’s legislative body Thursday, Nancy Mable Walker, who represents Google Korea, will be asked to testify at the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee’s first audit on Oct. 7. The committee’s decision to summon Walker co

IndustrySept. 24, 2020

Standard Chartered CEO says S. Korea has potential to be Asia’s financial hub

London-based Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters said South Korea has the potential to rise as Asia’s key financial hub in a meeting with the head of the financial regulator here, the lender’s Korean subsidiary said Thursday. “(Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo and Winters) agreed on the potential of Seoul as Asia’s financial hub given the size of the Korean economy and Korea’s presence in global trade,” Standard Chartered Bank Korea

MarketSept. 24, 2020

Korean lenders struggle with New York hotel-retail project investment

Major South Korean lenders’ decision to invest some $100 million in a hotel and retail project at 20 Times Square in New York in 2018 has come back to bite them two years later, with the property’s foreclosure last year continuing to wreak havoc amid the coronavirus pandemic, sources said Thursday. In 2018, French Bank Natixis syndicated to local banks KB Kookmin, Hana and NH Nonghyup -- three of the five major lenders here -- and other Korean institutional investors. Some combined

MarketSept. 24, 2020

Netmarble launches storytelling game BTS Universe Story, second collaboration with BTS

Netmarble said Thursday it has launched BTS Universe Story in 173 countries, a storytelling game featuring 3D-scanned avatars of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. According to the South Korean game maker, in BTS Universe Story, users can create and participate in interactive, choose-your-own-adventure-style stories where their choices throughout the game lead to different outcomes. “BTS Universe Story is the second game Netmarble has made in collaboration with the boy ba

IndustrySept. 24, 2020

Afreeca TV provides fishing boats for free to streamers

Afreeca TV said Thursday it will provide fishing boats named “Ati” to streamers who wish to create fishing content. According to the Korean streaming services company, streamers will be able to rent Ati motorboats at a reservoir in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, and the Ati fishing boat at Kukdong harbor in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, from Afreeca TV for free when creating fishing content.  “The Ati motorboat can carry up to three passengers, while the 9.7-

IndustrySept. 24, 2020

Vice Minister warns against forex market volatility

South Korea’s vice finance minister on Thursday warned that the local foreign exchange market may face higher volatility amid external factors such as the COVID-19 resurgence in Europe and the reignited US-China conflict. “There are currently various factors which may increase volatility in the global financial market, including the resurgence of COVID-19 in Europe and the escalating tension between the US and China ahead of the US presidential election,” said Kim Yong-beom

EconomySept. 24, 2020

Shin & Kim LLC augments international tax service

Shin & Kim LLC, South Korea’s fifth-largest law firm by number of lawyers, said Thursday that it has enhanced its international tax practice by hiring four leading experts. Sunny Kim, a senior foreign attorney and expert in international tax and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, was named head of the international tax practice, the company said in a release. Kim frequently serves as a consulting expert for the Korean government on issues such as consolidated tax regime, partn

MarketSept. 24, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group works with leading AI scholars

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it has scouted Tomaso Poggio and Daniela Rus, experts on artificial intelligence, to work together on various projects of AI technology development. Poggio and Rus are serving as technology consultants and have been giving advice on utilizing AI to build planning and technological strategies for new business models, to establish a global research organization and to set investment directions for research infrastructures. Poggio, who heads the Center for Br

MobilitySept. 24, 2020

Posco receives dividends worth W50b from Roy Hill

Posco, a South Korean steelmaker, said Thursday it received dividends of about 50 billion won ($42.6 million) from Roy Hill Holdings, which operates an iron ore mine in Australia. According to Posco, the Roy Hill Holdings board of directors agreed to start profit-sharing for the first time, seeing the improved financial solvency and profit. Hancock Prospecting owns 70 percent of Roy Hill Holdings, and the remainder of the shares is held through a consortium, in which Posco is included along w

IndustrySept. 24, 2020

Proptech startup Kasa Korea attracts W9.2b in pre-series B funding

Kasa Korea, a property technology startup, said Thursday it has raised some 9.2 billion won ($7.8 million) in a pre-series B funding round. The latest funding was led by the state-run Korea Development Bank. Silicon Valley venture capitals and domestic investment firms, including Northern Light Venture Capital, and Kona I Partners, participated in the fundraising round as financial investors and interior firm Kukbo Design was involved as a strategic partner. The proptech startup has so far

MarketSept. 24, 2020