Han Sung Motor launches AMG Playground club for Mercedes-AMG owners

Han Sung Motor, an official dealer of Mercedes-Benz in Korea, said Wednesday it has launched the AMG Playground membership club for its customers, offering opportunities for activities and networking among Mercedes-AMG owners.  AMG Playground has invited new owners of Mercedes-AMG vehicles to join the club. Those who purchased more than two Mercedes-AMG vehicles at Han Sung Motor since 2017 or those who have purchased a vehicle in the Mercedes-AMG GT lineup will be categorized as AMG Mani

MobilityJuly 1, 2020

Audi’s first electric SUV e-tron 55 quattro lands in Korea

Audi Korea said Wednesday the brand’s first electric-powered sport utility vehicle Audi e-tron 55 quattro has been launched in Korea.  Audi e-tron 55 quattro had its world premiere in San Francisco in 2018. Sales began in Europe in March last year.  As the brand’s very first all-electric SUV, the automaker said it focused on the vehicle’s power and high-efficient energy recovery function that works through two electric motors. Audi e-tron 55 quattro exerts a m

MobilityJuly 1, 2020

Kakao Pay Securities highlights fun factor in stock trading

Riding the wave of contactless service, Kakao Pay Securities, a brokerage backed by mobile messenger operator Kakao, said Wednesday that it would take the stock trading scene to the next level by adding a dab of fun to investment activities and launching easy-to-use services. “Because of high barriers in the investment and financial sectors for the public, there are even new terms being coined, such as geum-al-mot in Korean, to describe financially illiterate people despite high digital

MarketJuly 1, 2020

Auto sales fall 22% in H1 amid pandemic

South Korea's vehicle sales fell 22 percent in the January-June period from a year earlier, as the new coronavirus outbreak continued to affect the automobile industry, industry data showed Wednesday. The five carmakers in South Korea -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- sold a combined 3,033,798 vehicles in the first half, down from 3,866,229 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. Hyundai Motor and Kia

MobilityJuly 1, 2020

Tmon undergoes makeover to pursue profit under new CEO

E-commerce is booming, particularly due to the pandemic. With just one click, customers can get almost anything they desire delivered to the doorstep within a day, or even hours. Major e-commerce companies such as Coupang and Tmon are reportedly seeing their annual turnover pass over the trillion-won mark, and similar companies have been springing up, presenting new services that maximize consumers’ convenience. But contrary to the attention these e-commerce firms are receiving, the ind

ConsumerJuly 1, 2020

Posco wins industry leadership award in 2020 Global Metals Awards

South Korea’s largest steelmaker Posco won the steel industry leadership award at this year’s Global Metals Awards, the company said Wednesday. Posco said it was selected as the winner at the awards ceremony, hosted by S&P Global Platts, for its business performance turning out relatively better than its competitors in times of protectionism spreading globally and worsening market conditions. The Global Metals Awards recognize those that motivate the metals industry to new w

IndustryJuly 1, 2020

Amorepacific, 11st forge strategic partnership

Cosmetics giant Amorepacific Group said Wednesday it has signed a strategic partnership with 11Street, an e-commerce platform, to reinforce its digital sales. Amorepacific CEO Ahn Se-hong and 11Street CEO Lee Sang-ho signed the joint business partnership deal at the cosmetic firm’s headquarters in Seoul. Under the agreement, Amorepacific will broadcast monthly live commerce shows on 11Street to promote its makeup products. The previous live broadcasts in April and May promoted Amorepa

ConsumerJuly 1, 2020

COVID-19, seafood, home meal: popular keywords for online shopping in H1

“COVID-19,” “seafood” and “home meals” have risen as popular keywords for online shoppers in the first half of this year, online grocery platform Market Kurly said Wednesday. Market Kurly said it analyzed sales data it collected from January to June and found that products related to the three keywords saw jumps in sales. Sales of items in the living and health category on the platform, such as face masks, grew by 170 percent compared to the year before.

ConsumerJuly 1, 2020

Samsung SDI marks 50th anniversary with emphasis on ‘supergap’ initiative

South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI on Wednesday celebrated its 50th anniversary at its headquarters in Giheung, Gyeonggi Province, pledging to lead the next half-century with a “supergap” initiative. The supergap initiative is a strategy led by Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and de facto leader of Samsung Group, to widen its technology gap with competitors. “Samsung SDI must secure supergap technology that can offer the highest level of quality and

IndustryJuly 1, 2020

SK to deliver free gas coupons to thousands of coronavirus heroes

SK Energy, an affiliate of SK Innovation, said Wednesday it will deliver free gasoline coupons worth 100,000 won ($83) to thousands of front-line fighters in the battle against the coronavirus outbreak. According to SK Energy, the giveaway is to be held through July 22, where participants can access the lists of heroes posted on www.sk-oilro.co.kr and choose those they would like to support. Then, SK Energy will deliver the free gas coupons to each of the selected candidates. Candidates inc

IndustryJuly 1, 2020

Boryung to invest W24b in innovative US health care firms through Hayan I, L.P.

Boryung Pharmaceutical said Wednesday it will make an incremental 24 billion won ($20 million) investment in innovative US health care firms. The investment will be carried out over three years by Hayan I, L.P., which is a corporate venture capital fund established in the US by Boryung. Boryung Pharmaceutical plans to strengthen its pipelines for novel drugs development through open innovation with the promising companies it invests in in the US. Boryung’s US entity, Hayan Health Netwo

IndustryJuly 1, 2020

Samsung Display to mass-produce QD panels from 2021

Samsung Display said Wednesday it anticipates to begin mass production of quantum-dot panels from 2021. The company held a celebratory event at its facility in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, where CEO Lee Dong-hoon oversaw the delivery of the first batch of QD manufacturing equipment. “Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, our close collaborative ecosystem with global partners enabled us to carry out our QD investments according to plan,” said Choi Joo-sun, chief of large-size display

IndustryJuly 1, 2020

Yuhan in-licenses GI Innovation’s allergy treatment pipeline for $1.2b

Yuhan Corp. announced Wednesday it has licensed GI Innovation’s next-generation allergy treatment pipeline in a deal that could potentially total $1.2 billion. 　“I am very pleased by this collaboration with GI Innovation to develop the next-generation allergy treatment across all four major allergic diseases; allergic asthma, chronic urticaria, atopic dermatitis and food allergy, improving the lives of pediatric and adult patients who suffer from allergies” said Yuhan Preside

IndustryJuly 1, 2020

Seoul stocks edge down over Hong Kong security law

South Korean shares closed a tad lower Wednesday, erasing earlier gains amid rising US-China tensions over a new security law in Hong Kong imposed by China's central government. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 1.63 points, or 0.08 percent, to close at 2,106.70. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 10.1 trillion won ($8.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 482 to 356. Foreigners sold a

MarketJuly 1, 2020

Watchdog urges full compensation for damages from ponzi-involved Lime fund

South Korea’s financial watchdog Financial Supervisory Service on Wednesday urged 10 financial institutions to fully compensate for investors’ losses, holding them accountable for their inadvertent decision to draw investments in the disgraced Lime Asset Management’s trade finance fund. In an unprecedented move, financial institutions -- including seven banks and three brokerage houses -- will be forced to reimburse a total of 161.1 billion won ($133.8 million) in principal of

MarketJuly 1, 2020

Korean PEF inches closer to KDB Life acquisition

Korean private equity firm JC Partners has become a preferred bidder to buy a controlling stake in KDB Life Insurance, in policy lender Korea Development Bank’s move to exit from a troubled financial institution that has strived to turn around amid restructuring. JC Partners was the sole participant in the open bidding process to sell KDB Life Insurance, whose 92.73 percent stake is jointly controlled by KDB and investment house Consus Private Equity, according to KDB on Wednesday. The bi

MarketJuly 1, 2020

Samsung to hire 1,000-strong chip, AI manpower this year

Samsung Electronics plans to hire as many as 1,000 specialized experts in chip design and artificial intelligence by the end of this year, the tech giant said Wednesday. The company has already employed around 500 experts with master’s degrees and doctorates in semiconductors and AI in the first six months of the year, as part of its preparations for future technologies and businesses. It is planning to hire 500 more experts as part of accelerating a move towards the future, amid grow

TechnologyJuly 1, 2020

[Exclusive] S. Korea’s drive to develop pan-Asia stock index ends in failure

South Korea’s drive to launch the first pan-Asian benchmark comprising major blue chip stocks in the region appears to have fallen apart, thanks to political differences and a lack of interest from larger markets. The project, led by the nation’s bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX), was designed to attract more foreign capital in the stock market, and was hoped to be a precursor of becoming a new financial hub in Asia. Tentatively named the Asia Index, it was modeled after the Eu

MarketJuly 1, 2020

Exports continue to fall in June but show signs of recovery

South Korea’s exports in June decreased by 10.9 percent at $39.2 billion, as against $44 billion in the same month last year, latest data released Wednesday showed. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, exports have been on a downward trend for four consecutive months, struggling amid the global economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The average daily exports decreased by 18.5 percent on-year -- the figure was minus 18.3 percent in May. However, the pace of

IndustryJuly 1, 2020

HMM holds naming ceremony for HMM Hamburg

HMM said Wednesday it held a naming ceremony for the world’s largest container ship HMM Hamburg. It is the fifth of the seven ships that HMM ordered from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. The South Korean shipping firm is slated to receive a total of 12 24,000 TEU-class ships -- seven from DSME and five from Samsung Heavy Industries -- by September this year. Among the 12 ships, six vessels have already been deployed on European routes so far, including HMM Algeciras, which

MobilityJuly 1, 2020