S. Korea’s economy will face less contraction than peer economies: OECD

  Despite the unprecedented economic crisis triggered by COVID-19, the contraction of South Korea’s economy will remain limited due to its effective strategy to contain the spread, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Also, while recognizing the record-low performances anticipated for the second quarter, the Paris-based organization predicted that the global economy will enter a slow and gradual recovery by the latter half of this year. “Th

EconomyJune 10, 2020

Study finds risk factors of severe COVID-19

Certain markers may help predict a patient’s chance of developing a severe case of novel coronavirus disease at the point of hospital admission, according to a Korean study published last week. This is a first local study identifying risk factors for severe COVID-19 caused by the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. The findings were based on observations of 110 confirmed patients hospitalized between Feb. 19 and April 15 at Yeungnam University Medical Center in Daegu -- a city accounting for 57

TechnologyJune 10, 2020

HiteJinro to export Jinro soju to 7 countries

South Korean liquor maker HiteJinro said Wednesday it will start exporting its hit soju brand Jinro Is Back to seven countries, marking the first anniversary of its release. According to the company, it will export 1.3 million bottles of Jinro in the first batch to Japan, China, the US, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore. “We decided to export (Jinro) to mark the first anniversary, as there have been consistent demands for exports from the global markets, especially centering on

ConsumerJune 10, 2020

Stock recovery puts Woori privatization plans back on track

Woori Financial Group’s privatization plan, which has been stalled due to the novel coronavirus outbreak here coupled with its plunge in stock price, is likely to move forward again, on account of its recent stock price recovery, government sources said Wednesday. The Public Fund Oversight Committee under the policymaking Financial Services Commission, overseeing Woori’s privatization, plans to discuss the sell-off of the state-run Korea Deposit Insurance’s stake in Woori in

MarketJune 10, 2020

KITA calls on US to exclude Korean transformers from probe

The Korea International Trade Association said Wednesday it has submitted an official opinion to the US Department of Commerce to exclude Korean electric transformers from its investigation on imported transformers and parts. According to the business association, the US launched an investigation into imported transformers and parts, viewing them as national security threats under Article 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. Imports make up around 85 percent of transformer and relevant parts supp

IndustryJune 10, 2020

KAI to finalize assembly of next-gen KF-X fighter jet in H2

Korea Aerospace Industries said Wednesday it will finalize the assembly of its next-generation KF-X fighter jet in the second half of this year. South Korea’s sole aircraft manufacturer is currently assembling each of the top, middle and bottom parts of the fuselage of its fifth-generation fighter and the final assembly is scheduled for the second half of the year. "To introduce a prototype next year, KAI is looking forward to a final assembly of the jet in the period,” a

IndustryJune 10, 2020

S-Oil donates W100m to bereaved Coast Guard families

S-Oil said Wednesday it has delivered 100 million won ($83,900) to families whose members suffered injuries or death while serving as Coast Guard officers. According to the South Korean refiner, it held a donation ceremony with the Korea National Council on Social Welfare at the Korea Coast Guard headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, and distributed the amount among 21 children of officers who died in the line of duty and 25 officers who were injured during anti-illegal fishing operations and emerg

IndustryJune 10, 2020

Seoul stocks extend winning streak to 9th session ahead of FOMC meeting

South Korean stocks closed higher for the ninth consecutive session Wednesday, while investors sat on the sidelines before the outcome of the US Federal Reserve meeting currently in progress, analysts said. The Korean won gained against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 6.77 points, or 0.31 percent, to finish at 2,195.69. Trading volume was moderate at 695 million shares worth 12.6 trillion won ($10.6 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 500 to 34

MarketJune 10, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Retail investors’ impact grows more powerful in Korea’

South Korea’s stock market still remains more vulnerable to global crises than its neighboring country, namely Japan. But its fast recovery from the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was buttressed by the powerful influence of local individual investors, dubbed ant warriors, and that was an impressive event to mark, a foreign analyst in Seoul has said. As global stock markets rallied on rising hopes on a possible exit from the coronavirus shock, South Korea’s stock market r

MarketJune 10, 2020

Samsung Asset creates feeder fund to invest in Man AHL’s signature fund

Samsung Asset Management said Wednesday it has launched a fund to pool South Korean retail investor’s money into a signature fund by London-based quantitative hedge fund manager Man AHL. By investing in Man AHL’s TargetRisk fund, the Korean feeder fund is expected to offer capital growth through a long-only exposure, under which the fund manager takes advantage of profit opportunities by betting solely on undervalued assets. The Korean feeder fund, dubbed Samsung MAN Investment Ba

MarketJune 10, 2020

Korea prepares trade measures to support exporters: KITA

As the private and public sectors join hands to increase trade during the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korean exporters are expected to see wider access to trade financing, as well as increased cargo shipments and fast-track entry procedures for major trading partners. At the forefront of these efforts is the Korea International Trade Association, which recently surveyed 722 exporters to better understand their concerns and draw up policy suggestions for the government. According to the survey, c

IndustryJune 10, 2020

McDonald’s Korea posts 9% growth despite pandemic

McDonald’s Korea said Wednesday that despite the COVID-19 pandemic it posted sales growth of 9 percent from January to April on-year, thanks to its Best Burger initiative. The announcement was made by Managing Director Antoni Martinez, who was appointed to the position in February, in his first public message via a video on its official YouTube channel, titled “Invitation to Best Burger: Antoni Martinez’s Message.” Unable to hold a physical press conference due to th

ConsumerJune 10, 2020

Cleanwrap selling flagship sanitary gloves on Amazon

Cleanwrap, a leading food packaging company in South Korea, said Wednesday that its flagship Clean Gloves are now available through the US shopping website Amazon. The company’s sanitary gloves received attention during the general election, held April 15, when 1.25 million packs (or 60 million gloves) were supplied to polling stations across the country to prevent voters from contracting COVID-19. According to the company, its sanitary gloves and plastic bags are made of nontoxic mate

ConsumerJune 10, 2020

S. Korea suffers steepest job losses in 10 years amid pandemic

   The number of unemployed in South Korea in May hit the highest level in more than a decade as businesses continued to freeze jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday.  According to data released by Statistics Korea, the number of employed totaled at 26.93 million last month, shedding 392,000 jobs compared with a year earlier, which marked the third consecutive monthly loss.  This was the first occurrence since the country reported job losses for four s

EconomyJune 10, 2020

NH Bank forges consortium for cryptocurrency services

NH NongHyup Bank announced Wednesday its partnership with a local law firm as well as blockchain developer to set up a consortium for jointly developing financial services using virtual assets. The bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with law firm Bae, Kim & Lee and Hexlant, a blockchain technology laboratory, to launch a joint institution for the research and development of cryptocurrency exchanges.  The move came as the revised bill of the Act on Report and Use of Specif

MarketJune 10, 2020

Hyundai Rotem looks to hydrogen equipment for new growth

Hyundai Rotem Co., a South Korean railway system and plant equipment maker, said Wednesday it will venture into the hydrogen infrastructure market to secure a new growth driver. Hyundai Rotem plans to supply hydrogen-charging facilities after completing the technology transfer of hydrogen reformers, equipment that extracts hydrogen from natural gas, from Japan-based Osaka Gas Engineering within this month, the company said in a statement. The company has received orders to supply three hydrog

IndustryJune 10, 2020

SK Plasma wins $900,000 deal to supply albumin to NATO

SK Plasma, a blood plasma-derived biopharmaceutical products manufacturer under SK Group, said Wednesday that it has won a $900,000 deal to supply the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with albumin. It is the first Korean biologics company to source pharmaceuticals to NATO. “In order to be selected as a supplier to a multinational organization such as NATO, trust on the technological sureness is of utmost importance,” said SK Plasma CEO Kim Yun-ho. “This deal is evidence

IndustryJune 10, 2020

Galaxy users vent over unwanted ads on default apps

Some Samsung Galaxy smartphone users have complained over the unwarranted banner advertisements on default applications like the weather app. Multiple complaints have been posted by users on the Samsung Members site, lamenting about the discomfort of being exposed to banner ads on the weather app in Samsung’s Android-run Galaxy phones. One screenshot posted by a user showed an image of a red pepper ad with the phrase: “Why hot weather brings appetite for sour and spicy food.&rdq

TechnologyJune 10, 2020

KAIST develops pandemic tracking app with enhanced privacy protection

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said Wednesday that it had developed “black box” software for smartphones that would facilitate the tracking of COVID-19 patients’ movements without encroaching on their privacy. KAIST calls it “PreSPI,” short for Prevention System for Pandemic Disease Infection. The idea that carrying a movement tracker in a phone is conducive to safeguarding personal data may sound counterintuitive, but the new system is mor

IndustryJune 10, 2020

Nissan Korea’s last batch of cars with discount sold out in a day

Nissan Korea, which is shutting down its business operations in South Korea from 2021, has sold out the last batch of its cars with discount promotions in a day, market sources said Wednesday. According to industry insiders, Nissan Korea sold its flagship sedan Altima at a 10 million ($8,383) to 13.5 million won cheaper price, while Maxima was priced 14.5 million won lower. They are about 35 percent cheaper than the original prices, which were around 29.1 million won and 45.2 million won, res

MobilityJune 10, 2020