Number of KakaoPay Securities subscribers reaches 2 million

KakaoPay Securities, the stock brokerage arm of mobile messenger giant Kakao, said Monday that it saw its number of subscribers exceed 2 million some six months after the firm’s official launch on Feb. 27. The number of stock trading accounts has been on an upward trend ever since -- 600,000 in March, 800,000 in April, 1.2 million in May, 1.4 million in June, and 1.7 million in July. The number of new accounts grew by 27.8 percent monthly.　 Monthly fund investments made via the brokerag

MarketSept. 7, 2020

[Herald Interview] TBT aims to link innovation-seeking conglomerates with startups

The coronavirus pandemic is pressing Korean conglomerates to seek innovation for growth. At the same time, a recent change in the nation’s law, allowing a chaebol with a holding company structure to own a venture capital house, is expected to add vigor to the startup ecosystem here. Before the revision, corporations turned to venture capital houses to indirectly invest in startups. The revision, however, still highlights the existing role for local venture capital houses -- to intervene

MarketSept. 7, 2020

Bio sector benefits most from K-New Deal Indexes

In line with the “Korean New Deal” economic stimulus package proposed by the administration of President Moon Jae-in, the nation’s sole bourse operator launched indexes on Monday that will be tracked by a 20 trillion won ($16.85 billion) “New Deal Fund.” On its first day, the bio index enjoyed a rally. The Korea Exchange announced the five stock indexes -- for secondary batteries, bio, internet and games, as well as a comprehensive index encompassing all four secto

MarketSept. 7, 2020

Seoul stocks rebound on Samsung, bio gains

South Korean shares rebounded Monday, led by an advance in top cap Samsung Electronics and some bio stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 15.97 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,384.22. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 16.9 trillion won ($14.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 641 to 224. Foreigners sold a net 247 billion won, while retail investors purchased a net 543 bil

MarketSept. 7, 2020

GIG, Total, HHI team up for offshore wind project in Ulsan

Top executives of Green Investment Group, Total and Hyundai Heavy Industries on Monday held a webinar to exchange ideas on how to cooperate regarding 1.5 gigawatts of floating offshore wind projects in Ulsan. GIG, a UK investment entity focused on green transition, and Total, a French oil and gas company, are set to co-develop the offshore wind power farms near the city. Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho hosted the webinar, attended by GIG global head Mark Dooley, Total Senior Vice President Julien

IndustrySept. 7, 2020

Korea’s social media penetration rate ranks third in world

  South Korea’s social media penetration rate has reached 87 percent, the third highest among nations around the globe, according to a local report Monday. South Korea’s social media penetration rate as of the first quarter this year was 80 percent higher than the global average of 49 percent, according to the latest report by DMC media and Digieco, an economic research institute affiliated with KT. The report, which quoted related data collected by We Are Social, added that

TechnologySept. 7, 2020

S. Korea’s welfare spending to grow W40tr by 2024

South Korea’s mandatory spending on welfare is projected to increase 40 trillion won ($33.6 billion) by 2024, amid growing concerns of the coronavirus pandemic and heavier tax burdens, a government budget proposal showed Monday. Social welfare spending would gain an average 7.6 percent annually from this year to 2024, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s four-year fiscal management plan submitted to the National Assembly. Spending for this year stood at 119.7 trilli

EconomySept. 7, 2020

Eastar to cut half of employees for new deal

Embattled Eastar Jet Co. said Monday it will reduce its workforce by more than half as part of efforts to find a new investor after Jeju Air Co. scrapped its plan to acquire the smaller budget carrier amid the coronavirus pandemic. Eastar plans to lay off 640 workers, or 53 percent, of its 1,216 employees on Oct. 14 before it begins the process of finding a new investor, Eastar Senior Vice President Kim You-sang said over the phone. "Our lead managers and two private equity funds (that h

IndustrySept. 7, 2020

BOK to hold monetary policy meetings online if distancing hits Level 3

In continued efforts to combat the prolonged coronavirus outbreak, the Bank of Korea will reportedly operate its own video conferencing platform in mid-September and hold its monetary policy board meetings online if the current anti-virus steps are raised to the highest Level 3, officials said Monday.  “The BOK has decided to implement its own video conferencing system in all regional headquarters as early as in the middle of this month after completing system optimization process

MarketSept. 7, 2020

SK Innovation pushes for 3rd EV battery plant in Hungary

SK Innovation Co., a South Korean refining-to-battery conglomerate, is pushing for its third battery plant in Hungary, people familiar with the issue said Monday. SK Innovation has begun a process of selecting subcontractors for the construction of the proposed plant, they said. SK Innovation denied that the selection process has begun, saying no decision has been made in regard to the third Hungarian plant. "We have just concluded that there is a need for further investments to prepare

IndustrySept. 7, 2020

Samsung to close TV factory in China

Samsung Electronics Co. will close its TV manufacturing plant in Tianjin, China, sources here said Monday, as the company tries to boost efficiency in its supply chain management. The South Korean tech giant plans to cease operations at its sole TV plant in China from end-November, according to the sources. The plant has some 300 workers. A Samsung official said the decision is part of its efforts to improve efficiency at its production bases worldwide amid fierce competition in the indus

IndustrySept. 7, 2020

Kakao inks deal to build data center south of Seoul

South Korean internet giant Kakao Corp. said Monday it will establish a data center in a city south of Seoul in an industrial-educational cooperation project. Under a deal with Hanyang University and the Gyeonggi provincial government, the data center will be built on the university's campus in Ansan, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul, at a cost of 400 billion won ($337 million).    Kakao Corp., which operates the country's most-used mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said ground will

EconomySept. 7, 2020

McDonald’s receives PM commendation for environmental efforts

McDonald’s Korea has received the Prime Minister’s Commendation award for eco-friendly business operation, the company said Monday. The fast food chain received the award for its efforts to reduce the use of plastics and switch to more eco-friendly packaging. In May, the company ditched plastic lids for its ice cream McFlurry and it continues to introduce electric motorcycles for its McDelivery service to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The award was granted on the 12th anniversa

IndustrySept. 7, 2020

Pandemic drives down overseas sales in Q2

South Korea’s top 100 companies by revenue saw overseas sales drop 19.8 percent in the second quarter year-on-year due to the global economic downturn caused by the pandemic, data showed Monday. According to the Federation of Korean Industries, which analyzed the disclosure data of the nation’s 100 largest companies, their overseas sales declined 19.8 percent to 146.3 trillion won ($123 billion) in the April-June period from a year earlier. This is compared with the first quarter

IndustrySept. 7, 2020

[Photo News] New Rolls-Royce Ghost

Models introduce Rolls-Royce’s luxury sedan the new Ghost at the automaker’s Seoul boutique, Monday. The new Ghost adapts a version of the 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 engine with a maximum power of 571 horsepower and a maximum torque of 86.7 kilogram-meters. The new vehicle can be ordered from Monday and will be delivered to customers sequentially from December this year. (Yonhap)

MobilitySept. 7, 2020

Savings banks' H1 net up on increased interest income

South Korean savings banks reported 14.5 percent growth in their combined net profit for the first half of this year from a year earlier due to a sharp hike in interest income, data showed Monday. The combined net income of the 79 savings banks stood at 684 billion won ($576 million) for the January-June period, compared with a profit of 597.6 billion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income rose 9.5 percent on-year to 3.2 tril

EconomySept. 7, 2020

Samsung inks W8tr 5G equipment deal with Verizon

Samsung Electronics will supply 5G network equipment for Verizon, the world’s largest mobile carrier by revenue, through a deal worth 7.9 trillion won ($6.6 billion), according to the company’s regulatory filing Monday. The deal marks the biggest network equipment export for Korea, while officially signaling that Samsung has entered the US 5G market. According to the filing, Samsung will provide an array of 5G solutions including equipment for Verizon for the next five years.

TechnologySept. 7, 2020

Naver webcomic's monthly active users top 67m in Aug.

The webcomic arm of South Korea's top portal operator, Naver Corp., said Monday that the number of its monthly active users, or MAUs, surpassed 67 million globally last month. Line Webtoon, a global service provided by Naver Webtoon Corp., said its MAUs rose 2 million in August from a month earlier. The company said it brought in over 80 billion won ($65 million) in content transactions last month and expected to reap in 1 trillion won for this year. Naver Webtoon, more commonly known as Lin

IndustrySept. 7, 2020

[Monitor] Korea achieves largest current account surplus in 9 months

South Korea‘s current account surplus increased to a nine-month high in July as exports fell at a slower pace than imports as major economies started to resume trades after the pandemic lockdowns, according to data by the Bank of Korea. The current account surplus reached $7.45 billion in July, up from $6.88 billion the previous month. The figure was the largest surplus since October 2019, when the country posted a surplus of $7.83 billion. Korea achieved the surplus for the third stra

IndustrySept. 7, 2020

S. Korea's tourism income hits 17-year low in Q2 due to coronavirus pandemic

South Korea's tourism income hit a 17-year low in the second quarter of this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Monday. For the April-June period, the country posted $1.19 billion in tourism income, down 78.6 percent from $5.57 billion over the same period last year, according to data by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). From three months earlier, it tumbled 65.5 percent from $3.46 billion. It is the lowest quarterly amount since 2003, when South Korea's t

EconomySept. 7, 2020