S. Korea's financial market stable but to face more problems: BOK

South Korea's financial market will continue to be stabilized, but the economic fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic may increasingly become more serious and real down the road, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday. "While economic activities will gradually resume from the second half of the year, the financial market will continue to be more stabilized, but there is a possibility that the negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial system may come to the surface,&q

EconomyJune 24, 2020

[Monitor] Non-regular workers lose jobs six times more amid pandemic

South Korea’s non-regular workers lost jobs more than six times as much as regular workers amid the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. A local civic group Gabjil119 surveyed 1,000 office workers about how COVID-19 has changed work life from June 5-10. According to the survey, 12.9 percent of the respondents said they became unemployed regardless of their will over the past six months. Of the total, 26.3 percent of non-regular workers said they lost jobs, 6.7 times more than 4 percent of

IndustryJune 24, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 19.76 points, or 0.93 percent, to 2,151.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Major indexes in the United States closed higher Tuesday on recovery hopes, led by a jump in tech shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.58 percent to end at 26,156.1, while the tech-laden Nasdaq gained 0.74 percent to close at a fresh record high of 10,131.

MarketJune 24, 2020

Samsung heir reiterates urgency during visit to consumer electronics unit

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday highlighted the importance of timing again during his visit to the consumer electronics headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Lee met with Kim Hyun-suk, CEO of the consumer electronics business, and other top executives to discuss artificial intelligence and internet of things strategies, sales expansion of the premium lineup and reinforcing online businesses. “The business environment is testing our limits,” Lee said.

TechnologyJune 23, 2020

Korea sees delays in ‘real 5G’ commercialization

Despite a steady growth in the number of 5G mobile network subscribers who pay higher bills than with LTE services, South Korea’s plan for its full-fledged commercialization seems to be facing delays, according to industry sources Tuesday. The so-called “real 5G,” which requires operation of the higher-frequency bandwidth of 28 gigahertzes to make data processing 20 times faster than the 4G LTE, is still not ready for commercialization, due to unexpected circumstances such a

TechnologyJune 23, 2020

LG Chem retrieves deadly gas from India

In the aftermath of a deadly styrene gas leak at an LG Polymers plant in India last month, LG Chem said Monday that it has shipped the toxic gas back to Korea. According to LG Chem, of the 14,000 metric tons of styrene gas stored in India, it disposed of 8,000 tons by selling it to China and brought the remaining 6,000 tons back to its petrochemical plant in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, following an order made by Indian authorities to remove the gas out of the country. “LG Chem will

IndustryJune 23, 2020

Member nations reaffirm signing of RCEP this year

Trade ministers from 15 nations on Tuesday reaffirmed that a mega Asia-Pacific trade pact will be signed later this year, but India again skipped the negotiations, according to Seoul's trade ministry. ASEAN members and their dialogue partners -- South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand -- effectively reached an agreement on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) last November, with the goal of signing the pact within this year. However, India did not join last Nov

EconomyJune 23, 2020

[News Focus] Tokyo’s bid to replace HK threatens Seoul’s dream of becoming financial hub

Turning Seoul into a new financial hub in Asia has for long been a campaign promise of local politicians cutting across party lines. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who is now in his third term, is no exception. He had even announced plans to replace old apartment buildings with high-rises of up to 50 stories and create more parks and leisure spaces to reinvigorate the city’s financial district Yeouido. But the city’s progress in realizing these yearslong dream is being questioned as

EconomyJune 23, 2020

S. Korea vows to toughen sanctions on illegal private lenders

The South Korean government on Tuesday unveiled measures to slap sanctions on illegal private lenders to protect local financial consumers from related fraud.  The Financial Services Commission and relevant government agencies announced that they will compose a pangovernmental group to jointly implement countermeasures against illegal private lending here, which normally targets low-income and desperate families, charging high interest rates.  The move came as the country’s il

EconomyJune 23, 2020

Posco, partner firms up efforts to boost local economy

Posco said Tuesday it is promoting “good consumption” with its partner companies by making advance payments in traditional markets for vouchers to revive local economies depressed by the COVID-19 outbreak. On May 21, Posco Group and its 90 partner suppliers that provide equipment in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, and Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, bought grocery vouchers from traditional markets there to donate to the socially vulnerable. Posco said the group and its partn

IndustryJune 23, 2020

Coupang vows to sterilize millions of Rocket Delivery orders

Coupang, an e-commerce giant, said Tuesday it will reinforce hygiene measures to cleanse and sterilize millions of products ordered through its Rocket Delivery. Before the products are delivered to customers, the delivery worker will use a portable disinfectant to sterilize the product. The disinfectant is approved by the food and drug administrations of both Korea and the US, the company said. To allow the customers to double check, Coupang said it developed an alert system to notify the d

ConsumerJune 23, 2020

Social contributions by financial groups hit record high in 2019

The combined spending by Korean financial institutions on social contributions hit a record high in 2019, data showed Tuesday.  A total of 22 financial institutions in Korea, including five major local lenders and Korea Credit Guarantee Fund as well as Korea Housing Finance Corp., spent 1.3 trillion won ($935 million) on social contribution activities last year, the highest figure since 2006 when the Korea Federation of Banks started compiling relevant data. The figure jumped 15 percent

MarketJune 23, 2020

After choppy session, Seoul stocks end higher on eased Sino-American trade woes

South Korean shares traded higher Tuesday on eased concerns related to the US-China trade dispute. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 4.51 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 2,131.24. Trading volume was high at about 906 million shares worth some 13.3 trillion won ($11 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 586 to 262. Foreigners sold a net 55.6 billion won, while retail investors purchased a n

MarketJune 23, 2020

Cyworld’s fate hinges on court’s decision

The future of Cyworld, a social media platform that was very popular years ago, depends on a final court ruling on CEO Jeon Jae-wan, according to industry sources Tuesday. Jeon has been indicted on charges of failing to pay a total of 1 billion won ($830 million) to his former employees after the company suffered financial difficulties. The trial is scheduled on July 25 at Seoul Eastern District Court. If the court next month rules that Jeon is largely responsible for the payment delays, it

TechnologyJune 23, 2020

Celltrion shares upbeat after Italian COVID-19 patient recovers with Remsima

Celltrion shares rose 7.58 percent on Tuesday, following news that an Italian COVID-19 patient tested negative for the virus a week after being treated with Celltrion’s autoimmune disease treatment Remsima. Celltrion Healthcare, the global distributing arm of biologics drug manufacturer Celltrion, said that a patient in an Italian national hospital in Milan who had symptoms of pneumonia due to SARS CoV-2 infection, was treated with Remsima, and was discharged a week later after recovery.

IndustryJune 23, 2020

BOK, Kakao Enterprise sign AI technology development deal

South Korea’s central bank said Tuesday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Kakao’s artificial intelligence solutions subsidiary and will adopt the technology for its business and policymaking. The partnership -- which came as part of the Bank of Korea’s mid- to long-term development plan, announced to commemorate its 70th anniversary this year -- marks the first time the central bank has cooperated on technology with a private firm. It has also built antic

EconomyJune 23, 2020

Boryung’s innovative cancer treatment ‘more potent’ than existing PI3Ks

Boryung Pharmaceutical presented the outcomes of the preclinical tests of its innovative blood cancer treatment on Tuesday at the American Association for Cancer Research, saying that the BR101801 pipeline showed more potency than existing phosphoinositide 3-kinase drugs in animal models. BR101801, a targeted cancer treatment and immuno-oncology drug that is being independently studied by Boryung Pharmaceutical, can simultaneously suppress the activities of PI3K and DNA-dependent protein kinase

IndustryJune 23, 2020

How far will Samsung Biologics’ shares soar?

Biologics companies are receiving more investor attention than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the question remains if the sudden buoyance is a bubble that can burst at any moment. Among the publicly traded Korean biologics companies, market watchers are especially eyeing Samsung Biologics, Celltrion and soon-to-be listed SK Biopharmaceuticals. Samsung Biologics shares especially soared past the 800,000 won ($660) after the Seoul Central District Court denied an arrest warrant for Samsu

IndustryJune 23, 2020

Korea Investment & Securities teams with KT to build AI platform for financial services

Korea Investment & Securities has joined a local alliance to build an artificial intelligence platform for the digital transformation of the financial sector, according to the brokerage firm on Tuesday. The network operator and stock brokerage firm signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop AI systems, a project led by Korean telecommunications giant KT. Launched in February this year, the alliance, dubbed AI One Team, consists of tech giants, universities and state-run res

MarketJune 23, 2020

SD Biotechnologies expands presence in overseas markets

South Korea’s SD Biotechnologies is rapidly fueling its business overseas through online and offline channels, according to officials. The beauty and health care company boasts six growing brand lines -- skin care brand SNP, standing for “shining,” “nature” and “purity”; colored makeup cosmetics brand Celebeau; urban pollution-tackling dermatologic cosmetic brand hddn=lab; professional barber grooming brand for men M’Solic; organic cotton-covered

IndustryJune 23, 2020