Samsung heir makes another on-site visit amid uncertainties

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday made his third on-site visit in less than 10 days to check the company's future strategy amid global uncertainties. Lee, the de facto leader of the top conglomerate Samsung Group, discussed the tech giant's business strategy with senior executives at its home appliance business division in Suwon, just south of Seoul. The heir's visit came just four days after Lee visited Samsung's chip R&D center in Hwaseong. Lee's visit comes as

IndustryJune 23, 2020

[Eye on Business] The tiny peach drink that captured Korea

Yakult, a sweet probiotic drink in a tiny pale peach bottle, has been Koreans’ favorite beverage for more than 40 years, even creating its own culture through “Yakult ajumma.” While it sounds similar to yogurt and also contains lots of probiotics -- as much as around 20 billion lactic acid bacteria per bottle -- yogurt and Yakult are different products. Yakult originates from Japan, referring to a drink brand made of skim milk powder that contains probiotic culture with su

IndustryJune 23, 2020

Celltrion chief says coronavirus vaccine to be marketable by H1 next year

Celltrion co-founder and Chairman Seo Jung-jin said Tuesday the biosimilar firm’s novel coronavirus vaccine development is on its way as scheduled, expressing confidence that the treatment will become marketable once clinical trials are complete. As one of some 200 drug developers in the world in the race to develop a treatment for COVID-19, Celltrion is poised to go through a human clinical trial with its drug candidate on July 16, following tests on lab animals such as hamsters and monk

MarketJune 23, 2020

Influencers should clarify when paid to recommend products: FTC

When social media influencers are paid to post recommendations or reviews on social media, they must clarify that fact and make sure the disclosure is easy to read, the nation’s antitrust watchdog said Tuesday. The Fair Trade Commission said it had finalized revisions to its advertising guidelines, which deal with how to disclose financial interests when posting reviews on social media. The revisions will take effect Sept. 1. The guidelines are designed to prevent violations of the law

IndustryJune 23, 2020

[News Focus] Jeju Island No. 1 in jobless growth from COVID-19

SEJONG -- South Korea saw the number of recipients of unemployment benefits surge 30.4 percent to 660,464 in only three months in the wake of the novel coronavirus. While the government paid more in benefits to those who lost their jobs in all 17 regions nationwide, data from the Korea Employment Information Service showed disparities among regions. Jeju Province had 8,286 recipients in April, compared with 5,135 in January, when the first coronavirus case was reported in Korea. That is a 61.

EconomyJune 23, 2020

Hankook Tire supports mobility service at social welfare centers

South Korea’s Hankook Tire & Technology Group said Tuesday it has been ramping up its corporate social responsibility efforts and is diversifying support for mobility services at social welfare centers across the nation.  The company established the Hankook Tire Foundation in 1990 to fulfill its responsibility to support those who experience mobility difficulties, under its slogan of “driving for happiness.” Since 2008, it has been offering a bus service for social

MobilityJune 23, 2020

US was largest destination for S. Korean investment in 2019: BOK

The United States continued to remain the largest destination for South Korea's overseas financial investment last year, accounting for nearly one-third of the country's financial investment overseas, central bank data showed Tuesday. As of end-2019, the country's financial investment in the United States came to $413.1 billion, up $63.1 billion from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The increase marks the sharpest rise among all countries and regions

MarketJune 23, 2020

Lotte, Shilla begin domestic sales of duty-free goods this week

South Korea's two leading duty-free operators started to sell duty-free products through local retail channels Tuesday, as the government has decided to temporarily permit such sales to help the pandemic-hit sector. Industry leader Lotte Duty started to release duty-free items, including about foreign luxury brands, worth 10 billion won ($8.3 million), on its integrated online shopping mall. No. 2 player Shilla Duty Free plans to sell duty-free products via its new online sales platform start

ConsumerJune 23, 2020

[Monitor] Firms weighed down by biz environment

Nearly half of the manufacturing firms in South Korea feel that business conditions have deteriorated further compared to March-April, when the COVID-19 spread was at its peak, a survey by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry showed. The survey on 308 companies showed that 45.2 percent felt business conditions were harsher this month. Some 46.3 percent said they were similar, while only 8.5 percent saw an improvement. Automobiles and shipbuilding felt the strain the most in securing

IndustryJune 23, 2020

Finance ministry again urges National Assembly to swiftly approve 3rd extra budget

SEJONG -- Vice Finance Minister An Il-whan on Tuesday urged the National Assembly to swiftly approve the third extra budget to help revive the virus-hit economy, saying the budget is desperately needed to protect jobs amid the pandemic. Earlier this month, South Korea proposed the extra budget of 35.3 trillion won ($29 billion), the third batch meant to help key industries cushion the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic and protect jobs. Lawmakers, however, have failed to begin a bu

EconomyJune 23, 2020

LG Uplus to open contactless store over pandemic concerns

LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's No. 3 mobile carrier, said Tuesday it will open a contactless store in October in line with growing demand for non-face-to-face services amid the coronavirus pandemic. The new store, which is set to open in central Seoul, will provide services such as selling USIM cards and changing cell phone plans through digital kiosks, LG Uplus said in a statement. The company plans to develop the kiosks by September. While the store will not be completely unstaffed to ensure

IndustryJune 23, 2020

Daewoong Pharmaceutical gets nod for Nabota in Taiwan

South Korean drugmaker Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. said Tuesday it has won approval from authorities in Taiwan for the sale of its botulinum toxin product. The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration accepted Daewoong Pharmaceutical's application to sell Nabota for the treatment of frown lines. Daewoong Pharmaceutical said its Taiwanese partner, Orient Europharma Co., will be in charge of the sales of Nabota in the Asian country starting in the latter half of this year. "Taiwan is one of

IndustryJune 23, 2020

East Asian nations strengthen emergency liquidity program

SEJONG -- South Korea, China, Japan and 10 Southeast Asian nations strengthened their emergency liquidity program to better cope with possible financial crises, Seoul's finance ministry said Tuesday. The move came after a revised agreement of the regional financial safety net, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), went into effect earlier in the day, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. The 13 nations agreed to revise the agreement in May last ye

EconomyJune 23, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street tech gains

South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday, taking a cue from stellar US tech gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 29.24 points, or 1.37 percent, to 2,155.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The increase was largely attributed to the gains on Wall Street, led by tech giants Apple and Microsoft. The tech-laden Nasdaq gained 110.35 points, or 1.11 percent, to close at a fresh record high of 10,056.47 Monday (US time). Apple CEO Tim Cook annou

MarketJune 23, 2020

Financial institutions' social contributions hit record high of over W1tr in 2019

Banks and other financial institutions' social contributions hit a record high in 2019, industry data showed Tuesday. The data released by the Korea Federation of Banks showed 22 financial institutions, including five major retail banks, spent a total of 1.13 trillion won ($935 million) on social contribution activities in 2019. The figure represents a 15 percent hike from 2018 and the highest since 2006, when the Korea Federation of Banks began to collect related data, according to the feder

EconomyJune 23, 2020

Govt. to resume sale process of Woori Financial in H2

The South Korean government said Tuesday it will seek to sell its 17.25-percent stake in Woori Financial Holdings Co. in the second half of this year, depending on financial market conditions. Last year, the government set up a blueprint for completing the privatization of Woori Financial by 2022 in a bid to recoup public funds that were used to bail out the financial holding group in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financial Crisis. The public funds oversight committee, which handles state ass

EconomyJune 22, 2020

Sherlock Company crafts ‘creative’ campaign helping resolve social problems

Sherlock Company said it would continue to produce creative advertising campaigns that help resolve social problems through cutting-edge technology. The company was recently selected as a finalist in integrated marketing and environmental effort categories at the 2020 New York Advertising Festival, which is considered one of the world’s top three international advertising festivals. The New York Advertising Festival, started in 1957, is a major advertising awards event that attracts pa

IndustryJune 22, 2020

S-Oil CEO buys company stocks worth W68m

S-Oil said Monday that its CEO Hussain Al-Qahtani has bought company stocks worth 68 million won ($55,970) as a sign of confidence amid the COVID-19 outbreak. He has reportedly purchased 1,000 shares to mark his first anniversary after taking the post last June and to show his confidence in the company. As of Friday, the price for S-Oil’s stock stood at 68,000 won. “Despite mounting uncertainties over management environment amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the CEO decided to purchas

IndustryJune 22, 2020

Posco International shares talent with immigrant children

Posco International said Monday that it had offered a flower arranging class for immigrant children with a South Korean stepparent, as a form of emotional support in this prolonged time of social distancing. The company said President and CEO Joo Si-bo and the employees’ flower arranging club had donated their talent to organize the event. Apart from benefiting the students, the class also helped local business owners cope with financial difficulties amid the COVID-19 crisis. To minimi

IndustryJune 22, 2020

SPC GFS cooperates with small companies to export kimchi, laver to Poland

SPC Global Food Service, the food distribution affiliate of SPC Samlip, said Monday that it is exporting to Poland a number of canned kimchi and laver products it developed with small food manufacturers. According to the company, it is launching the canned kimchi and dried laver it developed jointly with BosungilukjoKorea and Jinheon Food at Poland’s largest supermarket chain, Biedronka. They will be available at all 2,800 stores in July. The canned kimchi was designed to offer conven

ConsumerJune 22, 2020