Will KAMCO buy cash-strapped Korean Air’s land?

With no companies bidding for the sale of Korean Air’s land in Songhyeon-dong, Seoul, the government unveiled plans to launch a corporate asset purchase program worth 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion), raising expectations that the carrier may have a new option.　 According to industry sources, there were no participants in the preliminary bidding for Korean Air’s land, which closed Wednesday. That outcome was deemed to have been influenced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s p

IndustryJune 12, 2020

[Monitor] Disaster relief funds mostly used for dining out, shopping

The emergency disaster relief funds for citizens provided by the government to combat the impact of COVID-19 pandemic were mainly used for dining out and shopping while sales for opticians, hospitals and pharmacies grew the most last month, data showed. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety data, which analyzed the use of credit and debit cards for availing the emergency funds from May 11-31 by eight companies, including KB Kookmin, NongHyup, Lotte, BC, Samsung, Shinhan, Hana and Hyundai

IndustryJune 12, 2020

S. Korea says downside risks to economy slightly recede

South Korea's finance ministry said Friday that downside risks to the nation's economy have slightly receded but warned that risks of global recession have weighed on an economic recovery. In a monthly report, called the "Green Book," the Ministry of Economy and Finance painted a somewhat positive picture of the economy, compared with its May report.    "With a decline in domestic consumption showing signs of easing and employment indices recovering, downside ri

EconomyJune 12, 2020

Seoul stocks open sharply lower as US market plunges over virus fears

South Korean stocks nosedived over 4 percent at the opening bell Friday, taking a cue from overnight plunges in US markets over renewed fears about the new coronavirus pandemic, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 80.33 points, or 3.69 percent, to 2,096.45 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Seoul shares closed lower to snap a nine-day winning streak Thursday, as investor sentiment was hurt by a bleak economic outlook by the US Federal Reserve. Overnig

MarketJune 12, 2020

Vice finance minister sees 'relatively good' sign of recovery in exports

SEJONG -- South Korea's vice finance minister said Friday the nation's exports showed a "relatively good" sign of recovery in the first 10 days of this month, but warned of risks over a second wave of coronavirus infections. Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom made the remarks a day after South Korea reported a 20.2 percent jump in exports for the June 1-10 period. The sharp rise was mainly attributed to a calendar effect because there were more working days, but it raised hopes fo

EconomyJune 12, 2020

[Exclusive] WeWork Korea offers voluntary retirement to employees

Shared working space operator WeWork’s Korean subsidiary has offered its employees a voluntary retirement last week as part of its restructuring plan, sources with knowledge about the matter told The Korea Herald on Thursday. “The voluntary retirement scheme was offered to the entire staff last week,” said a source on condition of anonymity. The scheme is in line with WeWork headquarters’ bid “to shut down the Korean operations,” another source told The Kor

MarketJune 11, 2020

FSC vows to innovate personal identification in financial services

The Financial Services Commission said Thursday it will innovate the current personal identification system in a way that consumers can enjoy diverse authentication services other than face-to-face method when using financial services. “Most of the current ID verification measures in the financial sector are based on face-to-face system, which given rise to the need to diversify verification services,” Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo told the reporters during a

MarketJune 11, 2020

Celltrion acquires a unit in Takeda's APAC business

Celltrion announced on Thursday that it acquired the Primary Care unit in Japanese multinational pharmaceutical firm Takeda's Asia Pacific business. The deal, worth 332.4 billion won ($278 million), will give Celltrion the rights to 18 of Takeda’s patented drugs in the APAC region that covers nine countries including Korea. Takeda has 12 prescription drugs and six over-the-counter drug brands distributed in the Asia Pacific region. Celltrion said that this global merger-acquisition deal

IndustryJune 11, 2020

Lawmakers call for eased rules for conglomerates’ investments in startups

A group of lawmakers, professors and industry officials on Thursday urged the government to relax regulations that have prevented the marriage between industrial and financial capital, stressing that they hinder the growth of corporate venture capital. The South Korean government has long prevented non-financial holding companies from wholly owning financial entities due to concerns about the excessive influence of business titans over both the industrial and financial segments. Though the

MarketJune 11, 2020

SK E&C slapped with $68.4m fine in US

SK Engineering and Construction was handed a $68.4 million penalty by a US court Thursday on charges of bribing an official to win an Army contract. The Department of Justice said in a press release that the Court for the Western District of Tennessee has ordered SK E&C to pay $60.6 million in criminal fines along with $2.6 million in restitution to the Army and serve three years of probation. The fine is the largest ever imposed against a criminal defendant by the federal district court.

IndustryJune 11, 2020

Diageo Korea releases Johnnie Walker 200th Anniversary Edition

Celebrating the 200th anniversary of its flagship scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker, Diageo Korea said Thursday it will roll out a limited edition in retail shops across the country. Founded by John Walker in Scotland in 1820, Johnnie Walker is the world’s No. 1 scotch whisky brand selling over 100 million bottles annually in about 200 countries across the globe. Marking the anniversary, the South Korean branch of British liquor firm said it will present a limited edition of Johnnie

IndustryJune 11, 2020

Samsung's foundry biz market share to rise in Q2: report

Samsung Electronics Co.'s market share in the global foundry industry is expected to increase in the current quarter from the previous three months, a report showed Thursday, with growth in the 5G smartphone market. Samsung's share of the foundry business was estimated at 18.8 percent in the April-June period, 2.9 percentage points higher than three months earlier, according to a report from industry tracker TrendForce. The South Korean tech giant's revenue from the foundry business was expec

IndustryJune 11, 2020

Finance minister warns against housing prices amid COVID-19 countermeasures

While continuing efforts to activate investments and create jobs amid the COVID-19 crisis, South Korea’s top fiscal policymaker once again vowed to stabilize the real estate market, viewing the country’s overheated housing costs as a key economic challenge. The warning tone hinted that the current Moon Jae-in administration prolonging its tight grip over the bubble-prone housing market, regardless of the separate struggle to stimulate the economy at all means. “The regula

EconomyJune 11, 2020

Hyundai Oilbank develops oil leak detector

Hyundai Oilbank said Thursday it has developed a new system that can detect oil leaks from underground pipes at gas stations to help prevent environment pollution. According to the South Korean refiner, Hyundai Oil Leakage Monitoring Expert System, or Holmes, can detect and locate oil leaks from old pipes buried underneath gas stations, preventing possible soil contamination that can cost millions of dollars for restoration. “Leaks from oil tanks can be easily checked by gauges, but l

IndustryJune 11, 2020

Seoul stocks end 9-day winning streak ahead of Fed outlook, won falls

South Korean shares closed lower to end its nine-day winning-streak on Thursday, with a gloomy outlook from the US Fed for the pandemic-hit economy spooking investors. The Korean won fell against the US greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 18.91 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 2,176.78. Trading volume was high at about 814 million shares worth some 16.6 trillion won ($13.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 660 to 218. The index opened in negati

MarketJune 11, 2020

[Economy in Pandemic] US Fed’s rate freeze to affect S. Korea’s monetary policy, stock market

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided to keep its interest rates near zero, adding that it doesn’t expect to raise it until at least 2022, as the economy recovers from the repercussions of the novel coronavirus. As the Fed’s rate decision has fundamentally sent ripples across the global economy including South Korea in the past -- with the US being the world’s largest economy -- the latest move is also expected to have mixed effects on Asia’s fourth-largest econo

EconomyJune 11, 2020

Korean foodmakers roll out offbeat products via co-branding

It's not just funny or tongue-in-cheek wordplay. Rather, it is a highly calibrated marketing strategy ironed out by South Korean foodmakers here to mainly target the important clan of young customers. Brand collaboration is not something new in the segment, but the food industry is currently expanding the scope of partnership with other sectors -- sports, fashion and cosmetics, you name it. CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea's largest food company, has teamed up with the Hanwha Eagles, a profe

IndustryJune 11, 2020

SKT to expand use of new quantum-powered security solutions

SK Telecom said Thursday it has signed deals with major tech firms to develop security products for self-driving vehicles, internet of things-devices and smartphones using its new quantum-powered security chipset. Names of the partners were not disclosed. Since 2018, SKT and Switzerland-based ID Quantique have been developing the quantum random number generator (QRNG) chipset for Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy A Quantum, together with fabless Korean company Btree, which specializes in des

TechnologyJune 11, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Time is ripe for Korean pharmas to go global’

“We must strike the iron when it’s hot,” said Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association Chairman Won Hee-mok, referring to the overseas expansion of Korean pharmaceutical firms. “In more ways now than ever, people are sharply aware of the importance of health care due to the coronavirus pandemic,” Won said in an interview with The Korea Herald. This year will be remembered as a fork in road where the blueprints for future growth took a turn to

IndustryJune 11, 2020

Kia Motors suspends 2 plants near capital over coronavirus

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker by sales, halted its two domestic plants Thursday, as two workers at the plants near the capital were confirmed to have contracted the new coronavirus. The suspension came after the two worker at the plants in Gwangmyeong, just southwest of Seoul, tested positive for COVID-19. South Korean health officials tested workers who came into contact with the virus patients. The test results are due as early as Friday morning. Kia Motors and he

MobilityJune 11, 2020