KT to build 5G test facilities in S. Korea

KT Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Wednesday it will build 5G test facilities nationwide as part of the government's initiative to support companies developing new services on the high speed network. The 28.5 billion-won ($24.2 million) project is expected to be completed by 2023 and targets to provide small and medium-sized firms access to research versions of the 5G network to test nascent services, such as connected vehicles, drones and smart factories. The testing sites

TechnologySept. 16, 2020

Samsung Display touts OLED with tightest folds

Samsung Display said Wednesday that its latest organic light-emitting diode displays can fold with the narrowest gap compared with any rival product around the world that is commercially available as a smartphone component. 　Through technology optimization, this new and enhanced display can withstand around 200,000 folds despite using ultrathin glass instead of colorless polyimide, Samsung Display said. 　Samsung Display’s 1.4R OLED displays are used in Samsung Electronics&rsq

IndustrySept. 16, 2020

[Newsmaker] Celltrion on path to break W1tr in operating profit

  　Celltrion Group is expected to become the first Korean biologics drug company with an operating profit of over 1 trillion won ($850 million), financial data aggregator FnGuide projected Tuesday. 　To put things into perspective, in 2019 there were only six groups that had delivered such a performance: Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, Lotte, LG and GS. 　Celltrion Group is one of the few companies that has come out stronger from the unforeseen COVID-19 crisis. Comprising of biosimilars develop

IndustrySept. 16, 2020

Kakao Bank’s pre-IPO market value soars to 46 trillion won

Amid heated competition over public subscriptions in Korea’s initial public offering market, the local top internet-only bank’s valuation on the pre-IPO market has soared, exceeding the combined market cap of the four major financial groups here. According to over-the-counter trading platform U-stockplus on Wednesday, shares of Kakao Bank were trading over the counter at 126,000 won ($107) a day earlier, for a market value of 46.22 trillion won. The figure was far higher than the

MarketSept. 16, 2020

Samsung expands laundry lineup with small-size products

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday launched new small-size laundry appliances with upgraded artificial intelligence (AI) features to target single-person households and small families. Samsung added a 10-kilogram front-load washer and a 9-kg dryer to its Grande AI laundry lineup in the South Korean market. This is the first time Samsung has introduced a new washing machine with 10-kg capacity in the domestic market since 2014. The tech giant unveiled its Grande AI brand lineup of washing

IndustrySept. 16, 2020

Airlines to levy no fuel surcharges on intl. routes in Oct.

South Korean airlines will not impose fuel surcharges on international routes in October on low oil prices caused by the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Wednesday. The surcharge for one-way tickets on international routes will remain at zero next month, unchanged from a month earlier, according to the sources. Local air carriers' fuel surcharges on international routes will stay at zero for the seventh consecutive month, raising expectations that the zero rate may last down the ro

EconomySept. 16, 2020

Hyundai Samho delivers world's first LNG-powered container ship

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday it has delivered the world's first container ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) to a Singaporean shipping company. The LNG-powered container ship with a capacity of 14,800 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) is one of six ships to be built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries for Singapore's Eastern Pacific Shipping in a 2018 deal. The other ships will be delivered by the third quarter of 2022, the company said

EconomySept. 16, 2020

6 financial groups to make public governance structures on websites

Six financial groups in South Korea plan to make public their governance structures, financial health and other details on their websites later this month, the financial regulator said Wednesday. The integrated regulatory filing is meant to provide a clear picture to financial consumers on the financial group's risk factors, according the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The move could also help "improve the financial groups' risk management capabilities through market discipline,&qu

EconomySept. 16, 2020

Kia to produce 7 EVs on exclusive platform by 2027

Kia Motors is set to release seven electric vehicles by 2027 that will use the company’s dedicated EV platform, a move to speed up the transition to EVs in the growing eco-friendly car market. The first model, called CV and built on the Electric Global Modular Platform, or E-GMP, will be released next year, the automaker said Wednesday. Hyundai and Kia will establish the exclusive E-GMP next year. Kia Motors also said it will continue to build a lineup of electric vehicles both on ex

MobilitySept. 16, 2020

Global Komsco Daewoo boosts S. Korea’s minting prowess

Global Komsco Daewoo, a Korean cotton pulp maker in Uzbekistan owned by the state-run Korea Minting Security Printing and ID Card Corp., has become a major supplier of raw materials for banknotes to minting agencies in more than 10 advanced economies, the company said Wednesday. Cotton pulp is widely used in making bills, checks, gift vouchers, and secured bank papers. It also serves as a main material for synthetic chemistry products and new material textiles. Marking its 10th anniversary t

MarketSept. 16, 2020

SK Telecom launches cloud gaming service with Microsoft

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top mobile carrier, said Wednesday it launched a cloud gaming service in partnership with Microsoft Corp., joining other telecom operators to compete for the growing local cloud gaming market. The mobile carrier's 5GX Cloud Game service is powered by Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, allowing gamers to stream and play the US tech titan's Xbox console titles on Android smartphones and tablets. Microsoft officially released its cloud gaming service simultaneousl

TechnologySept. 16, 2020

S. Korea, Myanmar to discuss broadening economic ties

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to hold a virtual meeting with Myanmar to share ways to expand their economic ties and overcome economic jitters sparked by the new coronavirus pandemic. Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo plans to meet his Myanmar counterpart, Than Myint, later in the day through a videoconference to exchange ideas on pending economic issues between the two countries, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The gathering was originally scheduled to take place i

EconomySept. 16, 2020

[Monitor] China biggest semiconductor market for Korea

As the new US sanctions on China’s Huawei came into effect Tuesday, South Korea has stepped up monitoring on the impact of the ban on chip sales to the Chinese company. According to data by Korea International Trade Association, China was the biggest market for Korea to export semiconductors. From January through July, Korea exported a total of $22.49 billion worth semiconductor products to China, which accounted for 41.1 percent of the country’s total chip exports. And chip exp

TechnologySept. 16, 2020

Samsung's share in mobile AP market drops in Q2: report

Samsung Electronics Co.'s share in the global mobile application processor (AP) market dropped in the second quarter of 2020 from a year earlier, a report showed Wednesday, as the South Korean tech giant tries to expand its presence in non-memory business. Samsung, which makes the Exynos chipset, had a 13 percent share in the global mobile AP market in the April-June period, down 3 percentage points from a year ago, sharing the fourth spot with Apple Inc., according to market tracker Counterp

IndustrySept. 16, 2020

S. Korea's M&A activity brisk this year despite virus

Large South Korean companies have actively engaged in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) this year despite the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak, industry data showed Wednesday. Big businesses in Asia's fourth-largest economy spent a combined 11.45 trillion won ($9.7 billion) in 52 M&A cases in the first eights months of this year, according to the data from CEO Score. Big spenders include KB Financial Group Inc., a major South Korean banking group, which took over Prudential L

IndustrySept. 16, 2020

[Graphic News] Korea‘s ice cream exports rise 11% this year

　South Korean exports of ice cream swelled more than 11 percent in the first eight months of the year despite a slump in the country’s overall overseas shipments, official data showed.  　Overseas shipments of Korean ice cream products came to $47 million in the January-August period, up 11.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. 　The United States was the largest export destination for Korean ice cream, followed by China, Canada, Vi

BusinessSept. 16, 2020

Apple debuts discount watch, but no new iPhones ... yet

CALIFORNIA (AP) -- Apple introduced a cheaper version of its smartwatch, its latest attempt to broaden the appeal of its trend-setting products while many consumers are forced to scrimp during the coronavirus pandemic. The scaled-down Apple Watch follows on the heels of a budget iPhone the company released five months ago as the economy cratered and unemployment rates rose above the levels reached during the Great Recession more than a decade ago. Apple also took the wraps off a new high-end

TechnologySept. 16, 2020

S. Korea's exports of virus test kits rebound in August

South Korea's exports of coronavirus test kits rebounded in August as the world grappled with a resurgence of the novel coronavirus, data showed Wednesday. In the first 20 days of August, exports of virus test kits stood at $106 million, compared with $123 million in July. Exports of virus test kits in August are expected to rise 10 percent from a month earlier, according to the customs data. South Korea's exports of coronavirus test kits had declined since their peak in April. Accordin

EconomySept. 16, 2020

S. Korea's energy consumption dips 3.6% in H1

South Korea's energy consumption fell nearly 4 percent in the first half of the year due to an economic slowdown sparked by the coronavirus outbreak, a report said Wednesday. The country's overall energy consumption came to 112.6 million tons of oil equivalent (TOEs), down 3.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the report from the Korea Energy Economics Institute. The first-half drop follows a 0.6 percent on-year decline for all of 2019, which was the first annual drop in 10

EconomySept. 16, 2020

S. Korea recoups nearly 70% of bailout funds

South Korea has recouped 69.5 percent of the public funds it spent to bail out troubled financial and other firms since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the financial regulator said Wednesday. South Korea had retrieved 117.2 trillion won ($99.3 billion) out of the 168.7 trillion won in state funds spent to save firms from bankruptcy as of the end of June, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The recovery rate marks a slight rise from the 69.2 percent recorded at the end

EconomySept. 16, 2020