Samsung's Q2 earnings outstrip market predictions

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday announced its earnings guidance for the second quarter, which hinted at an earnings surprise despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on major products. The company forecast it would post 8.1 trillion won ($6.8 billion) in operating profit for the April-June period, up 22.7 percent on-year and 25.6 percent rise from the previous quarter. But the second-quarter revenue is estimated at 52 trillion won, declining 7.36 percent on-year and 6.02 percent on-quarte

TechnologyJuly 7, 2020

Tax revenue continues to decline in May

South Korea collected 31.9 trillion won ($26.6 billion) in taxes in May, down 13.2 trillion won from a year earlier, the finance ministry said Tuesday. Income tax revenue amounted to 7.8 trillion won in May, down 3.5 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Dues collected from companies reached 4.4 trillion won in the month, down 10.8 trillion won from a year earlier. Value-added tax revenue reached 2 trillion won in May, up 1 trillion won from a

EconomyJuly 7, 2020

[Exclusive] S. Korea’s Eximbank plans to finance Pakistan’s large-scale IT project

South Korea’s state-run policy lender Export-Import Bank of Korea plans to offer a $76 million-plus loan to Pakistan for IT-related projects including electronic intelligence, a top official told The Korea Herald on Monday. Eximbank established the Economic Development Cooperation Fund in 1987 to support industrialization and economic growth in developing countries as well as promote bilateral economic exchanges. “The size of the loan and project is expected to be larger than the

MarketJuly 7, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on US, China rally

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking an overnight stock rally in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 16.41 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,204.34 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment was boosted by hopes of the global economic recovery, buoyed by bullish stock gains in the United States and China. On Monday, the Shanghai Composite Index spiked 5.71 percent, the steepest hike since 2015, after Chinese state media empha

MarketJuly 7, 2020

S. Korea posts $2.29b current account surplus in May

South Korea posted a current account surplus in May, central bank data showed Tuesday, although its surplus more than halved from a year earlier on a sharp decline in exports caused by the new coronavirus pandemic. The country's current account surplus came to $2.29 billion in the month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marks a turnaround from a $3.33 billion deficit posted the previous month, the largest deficit since January 2011. However, it also mar

EconomyJuly 7, 2020

Samsung Q2 earnings beat estimate on chip biz, one-time gains

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday delivered market forecast-beating second-quarter earnings as strong demand for server chips apparently offset a slump in smartphone sales amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. In its earnings guidance, the South Korean tech giant expected its operating profit at 8.1 trillion won ($6.7 billion) for the April-June period, up 22.7 percent from 6.6 trillion won a year ago. The second-quarter operating income is far higher than the market consensus of 6.8 trillion

IndustryJuly 7, 2020

S. Korean IT leaders call for regulation changes for fair competition with foreign tech giants

The leaders of South Korea’s leading IT firms have called on lawmakers to change regulations for fair competition with foreign tech companies at the National Assembly on Monday. Kakao CEO Yeo Min-so, Naver CEO Han Seong-sook, Woowa Brothers CEO Kim Beom-joon and other tech leaders joined the forum held by lawmakers. “Local and foreign companies are offering their services here, but the regulations and penalties that bind them are seemingly different,” Kakao CEO Yeo said. W

TechnologyJuly 6, 2020

S. Korea holds ministerial level talks with Uzbekistan, strengthens economic ties

South Korea and Uzbekistan held ministerial talks in Seoul on Monday, where they agreed to accelerate discussions on business projects and push forward a bilateral free trade agreement. Korea’s Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo and Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Foreign Economic Affairs Sardor Umurzakov attended the meeting. It was the first ministerial meeting held face-to-face since the viral outbreak, according to officials explained. On the occasion, a fron

IndustryJuly 6, 2020

KAIST professor accused of leaking autonmous driving tech to China

A professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology is currently being investigated by the prosecution for allegedly handing over technology related to autonomous driving to China for financial gain, according to news reports and the ICT Ministry on Monday. The Daejeon Prosecutors‘ Office is currently investingating the professor, who reportedly received around 300 million won from a China-based college where he was dispatched for academic programs. The prosecutors ar

TechnologyJuly 6, 2020

Toss vows to fully compensate for losses from any fraud cases

Amid growing concerns over the security of online payment services, Viva Republica, operator of online bank Toss, said Monday that it would fully compensate its customers who fall victim to any type of financial fraud. The move came after unauthorized payments worth 9.4 million won ($7,860) were made on the financial technology platform in early June, raising questions over the safety of the mobile payment system. “Transactions via Toss should be considered safer than face-to-face bank

MarketJuly 6, 2020

[Time to Play] StoneAge World, Netmarble’s profitable game

Hollywood loves sequels because they guarantee success. In this sense, when South Korean game publisher Netmarble said it would launch a mobile version of StoneAge, expectations were running high. StoneAge was a popular PC game that was serviced between 2003 and 2015 in Korea where users could collect and tame dinosaur pets. However, not all sequels succeed, as witnessed by X-Men: Dark Phoenix and Men in Black: International. Unfortunately, StoneAge World is one of them. More often than not

IndustryJuly 6, 2020

Finance minister sees worse Q2 contraction, but vows positive growth in Q3

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Monday he expects South Korea's second-quarter economic contraction to be worse than the first quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the government aims to achieve economic growth in the third quarter. The nation's economy shrank 1.3 percent in the first quarter as the pandemic hit exports and consumption. The Bank of Korea predicted that the economy would contract 0.2 percent this year. "I think that the second-quarter growth rate will

EconomyJuly 6, 2020

LG Chem vows zero net carbon emissions increase by 2050

LG Chem will neutralize its net carbon emissions increase to make it zero by 2050, according to its “Carbon-neutral Growth 2050” initiative unveiled Monday.　 Carbon-neutral growth refers to reducing net emissions by the amount caused by business growth, making the total sum zero. According to the South Korean chemical company, it will cut 30 million metric tons of carbon emissions by 2050 from the projected 40 million tons, offsetting carbon emissions to the current level of 10 m

IndustryJuly 6, 2020

Kepco holds online exhibition for coronavirus-hit SMEs

Korea Electric Power Corp. said Monday it has launched a non-face-to-face export exhibition to introduce electrical equipment and materials manufactured by small and medium-sized enterprises hit by the coronavirus outbreak. According to the state-run utility, the online exhibition “Electric Power Equipment” showcases 190 electrical equipment and materials made by 61 SMEs who are members of Kepco Trusted Partners or investors of Kepco’s Energy Valley project. The exhibition

IndustryJuly 6, 2020

Seoul stocks rally on recovery hope, coming earnings report season

South Korean shares rallied Monday on hopes of economic recovery led by the government's extra budget and possible robust earnings from tech companies. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 35.52 points, or 1.65 percent, to close at 2,187.93. Trading volume was high at about 659 million shares worth some 12 trillion won ($9.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 573 to 267. Foreigners sold a net 258 billion won and indivi

MarketJuly 6, 2020

Samsung heir highlights ‘spirit of challenge’ for in-house startups

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong stressed the spirit of challenge toward the future at a meeting with employees in the startup program C Lab at the firm’s Suwon office in Gyeonggi Province on Monday. C-Lab is the South Korean tech firm’s in-house incubation program introduced in 2012 aimed at spreading creative organizational culture. Participating executives and employees will be given the opportunity to implement creative ideas they have come up with for one year.

TechnologyJuly 6, 2020

Supplier of remdesivir’s API under sudden focus

When demand for facial masks surged, prescient investors immediately set their eyes on nonwoven fabric suppliers who manufacture the ingredients. Now, as remdesivir has been anointed as the only drug to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as an emergency COVID-19 treatment, investors are paying attention to what constitutes the riboneucleic acid drug. Remdesivir is a nucleoside analogue, or a nucleoside RNA polymerase inhibitor. If that sounds like alien talk, the FDA explains

IndustryJuly 6, 2020

OB unveils lineup for “2020 CASS Blue Playground” livestream concert

Oriental Brewery’s flagship beer brand Cass unveiled the lineup for “Cass Blue Playground Connect 2.0,” its annual music festival, on social media Monday. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert will be livestreamed on its official YouTube channel and Facebook, on July 18 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., the company said. The lineup includes Sehun & Chanyeol of K-pop boy group EXO (EXO-SC), who were recently selected as Cass summer campaign models, K-pop girl group Red Velvet

ConsumerJuly 6, 2020

[Photo News] Absolut’s project for a breathing city

Pernod Ricard Korea President and CEO Jean Touboul (center) draws on a bottle that has been prepainted with Airlite, an eco-friendly paint, during the Absolut Eco Street Art Project held by the company in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on Monday. The liquor maker built a structure using container boxes, on which a graffiti artist Xeva depicted “The Breathing City,” using special eco-friendly paint Airlite. The Absolut Eco Street Art Project is Pernod Ricard Korea’s first attem

ConsumerJuly 6, 2020

Baemin Kitchen attracts Vietnam market with 'B-rated' humor marketing

Baedal Minjok, a South Korean food delivery app, said Monday it is making progress in expanding business in Vietnam with its shared kitchen service, helping Korean food franchises tap into the market there. The food delivery service, operated by Woowa Brothers, said it plans to open second and third Baemin Kitchen branches in Ho Chi Minh in the second half of this year, following the first store that opened in November 2019. The company presented its food delivery app Baemin in Ho Chi Minh in

ConsumerJuly 6, 2020