Buoyed by oil prices, producer prices see first growth in 5 months

Buoyed by the recovery of global oil prices, South Korea’s producer price index rose 0.5 percent on-month in June, ending a monthslong slide, the nation’s central bank said Tuesday. The producer price index for all commodities and services here inched up 0.5 percent on-month to 102.52, data released by the Bank of Korea showed. It had remained flat in May after extending a decline in the February-April period, weighed down by the coronavirus pandemic. “The recovery of global

EconomyJuly 21, 2020

GC strategically offloads North American unit to Grifols

Offshore North American business units had become a burden for GC Holdings amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has, for instance, made it difficult for the Korean pharma to bring its workforce back and forth to focus on advancing into the region. The company’s decision to offload Green Cross BioTherapeutics for $460 million to Grifols was a timely and strategic way out, a GC official told The Korea Herald on Tuesday. GC Holdings on Monday notified its shareholders that it intended to sell t

IndustryJuly 21, 2020

Seoul stocks spike by 1.4% on vaccine hopes, EU stimulus deal

South Korean shares closed up 1.4 percent on Tuesday after leaders of European Union (EU) member nations reached a massive stimulus package deal to support pandemic-hit economic activities. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 30.63 points, or 1.39 percent, to close at 2,228.83. Trading volume was high at about 906 million shares worth some 15.5 trillion won ($12.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 565 to 279. Foreign

MarketJuly 21, 2020

LS Cable launches next-generation network product

LS Cable & System said Tuesday it has launched a local area network cable that can send data and power as far as 200 meters at the same time. The cable called SimpleWide is double the limits of current LAN cables in the market that can only transmit about 100 meters, the company said. LS C&S said SimpleWide is intended to be used mostly for connecting internet protocol cameras, phones, CCTVs and internet of things devices. No separate power cables and electrical outlets are required.

IndustryJuly 21, 2020

Samsung, Hyundai Motor to cooperate on future cars beyond batteries

Discussion and cooperation on future mobility technologies are seemingly picking up speed between South Korea’s two biggest conglomerates, Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group, raising expectations on tangible business partnerships on development of next-generation vehicles and automotive solutions. The company’s de facto leaders, Lee Jae-yong of Samsung and Chung Euisun of Hyundai Motor, met officially on Tuesday for the second time this year to discuss future mobility tec

TechnologyJuly 21, 2020

Posco’s quarterly earnings plunge as steel demand falls

South Korea’s largest steelmaker Posco disclosed Tuesday that its sales declined by 15.9 percent on-year to 13.72 trillion won ($11.44 billion) with operating profit plunging 84.3 percent to 13.72 trillion won in the second quarter. “The sales volume of steel products and prices have fallen due to sluggish global demand and worsening market conditions caused by the coronavirus outbreak,” the company said. The firm’s other affiliates in the global infrastructure sector,

IndustryJuly 21, 2020

Kurly founder named among world’s top female fundraisers

Founder of Seoul-based same-day deliery startup Kurly, Sophie Kim, was listed among the top 10 female founders in the world by fundraising, data showed Tuesday. The founder of Market Kurly had raised the eighth-most money on the list as of June, raking in a combined $282 million since Kurly’s inception in 2014, according to data compiled by Businessfinancing.co.uk, a research and information provider in UK. Kim was the only Korean and one of four from Asia. The list of Asian entreprene

MarketJuly 21, 2020

Seoul's commercial properties market less affected by coronavirus: reports

South Korea‘s commercial real estate market has been relatively less affected by the pandemic as the demand for both prime offices and logistics assets remains stable partly thanks to high liquidity and profit-seeking investors, reports showed Tuesday. The higher market liquidity coupled with the resilience of the economy, has instead beefed up competition for deals involving “core assets,” or prime office buildings that offer investors a stable source of income. “The

MarketJuly 21, 2020

Naver newly invests in 2 data-related startups

An accelerator for tech startups operated by Naver Inc., South Korea's largest internet portal operator, said Tuesday it has made new investments in two promising tech startups. Naver's D2 Startup Factory, also known as D2SF, said it has selected the two startups that have expertise in developing solutions that are essential in data processing. "The amount of data processing is increasing 61 percent every year globally," said Yang Sang-whan, an official in charge of D2SF, adding tha

IndustryJuly 21, 2020

Growth of S. Korea's total assets slows in 2019

South Korea's overall wealth grew at a slightly slower pace than a year before in 2019, central bank data showed Tuesday, amid a prolonged decline in exports that also kept its economy growing at the slowest pace in a decade. The country's national assets came to 16,621.5 trillion won ($13.84 trillion) as of the end of last year, up 6.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the national balance sheet from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The rise marks a slowdown from an 8.2 percent on-year incre

EconomyJuly 21, 2020

Chartered flights to bring bizmen to Vietnam, China this week

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to send businessmen on chartered flights to Vietnam and China this week as the new coronavirus pandemic has virtually suspended global air traffic, disrupting their travels. Under the plan, around 570 businessmen from 240 companies will start being sent to Vietnam on chartered airplanes Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Through August, South Korea plans to send 1,500 workers to the Southeast Asian nation. The flight to Chin

MobilityJuly 21, 2020

S. Korea to expand FTA network to overcome virus pandemic

South Korea said Tuesday it will speed up efforts to expand its free trade agreement (FTA) networks to overcome the economic jitters sparked by the new coronavirus pandemic. "South Korea will not only focus on opening markets but seek to build a sustainable partnership with developing nations on the back of FTAs," Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said during a conference with business organizations and companies held in Seoul. The remark came amid concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic is

EconomyJuly 21, 2020

SK Telecom to export 5G mobile edge computing tech with Hewlett Packard Enterprise

South Korea's leading telecom operator SK Telecom Co. said Tuesday it has partnered with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to export its 5G mobile edge computing (MEC) technology. The carrier signed an agreement to form a consortium with the Asia Pacific and South Korea units of HPE to provide the key 5G technology to global telecom operators. The consortium is currently in talks with telecom operators in Malaysia and Thailand and plans to target North American and European markets, according

TechnologyJuly 21, 2020

Samsung, Hyundai Motor heirs set to discuss cooperation in mobility biz

Heirs of South Korea's top two conglomerates -- Samsung and Hyundai Motor -- will discuss possible cooperation in the electric vehicle (EV) and mobility businesses, the groups said Tuesday. Lee Jae-yong, Samsung's de facto leader, shared his views on future mobility solutions with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun following his visit to the automaker's Namyang Research & Development Center in Hwaseong, south of Seoul.  Lee was accompanied by Samsung Electronic

MobilityJuly 21, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on vaccine hopes

South Korean shares opened higher on the back of positive progress in the development of the new coronavirus vaccines. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.94 points, or 0.95 percent, to 2,219.14 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment improved, following reports on the progress shown in early data for the three potential COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Most large caps traded higher in Seoul. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 1.48 percent,

MarketJuly 21, 2020

Samsung to introduce 5 new devices at online event on Aug. 5

Samsung Electronics Co. will unveil five new products at its upcoming launch event, the company's mobile business chief said, with a focus on delivering new experiences. In an editorial posted on the company's website on Monday, Roh Tae-moon, who heads Samsung's mobile communications business, said the South Korean tech giant will introduce five new devices at the Galaxy Unpacked event on Aug. 5. For the first time, the event will be broadcasting live from South Korea, according to Samsung.

TechnologyJuly 21, 2020

S. Korea's exports drop 12.8% in first 20 days of July

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports dropped 12.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of July amid the economic fallout from the new coronavirus, customs data showed Tuesday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $24.6 billion in the July 1-20 period, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The daily average exports during the 20-day period also declined 7.1 percent. The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted trade and halted production around the globe, with a rising number of cou

EconomyJuly 21, 2020

Naver moving oversea data center from Hong Kong to Singapore

Naver Corp., South Korea's top internet portal operator, said Monday it is moving its overseas data backup center from Hong Kong to Singapore amid privacy concerns in the Chinese territory. Concerns about leaks of personal information arose after China implemented a new security law in Hong Kong early this month. Naver said it is in the process of changing the host country of backup data servers to Singapore from Hong Kong. "(We) deleted all backup data saved at the center in Hong Kong

TechnologyJuly 20, 2020

LG Display to begin to mass-produce OLED panels in China soon

LG Display Co., South Korea's major display panel maker, said Monday it will begin to mass-produce OLED panels soon at its factory in Guangzhou, China, after a one-year delay due to the new coronavirus outbreak. LG Display said it is currently producing 8.5 generation OLED panels at the factory on a small scale but will begin mass production soon. The company completed the construction of the factory in August 2019, but its plan to produce the panels was largely held off due to the COVID-19 p

TechnologyJuly 20, 2020

S. Korea’s household debt-to-GDP ratio is highest in the world: report

Taking impact from the COVID-19 fallout, South Korea’s household debt compared to its economic size has become one of the world’s highest, while its debt grew at one of the fastest paces during the first quarter this year, a report showed Monday. As of the end of March this year, Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its household debt stand at 97.9 percent of its gross domestic product, which was the highest among the 39 countries reviewed by the US-based Institute of Internatio

EconomyJuly 20, 2020