S. Korean economy could contract over 2% in Q2: finance minister

South Korea‘s economy may contract by more than 2 percent in the second quarter of this year as the country reels from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s top economic policymaker said Wednesday. 　 In a interview with Yonhap News TV, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said while the country‘s real gross domestic product (GDP) posted minus 1.3 percent growth in the first quarter of 2020, compared with three months earlier, that number could fall into the lower negat

EconomyJune 3, 2020

Audi launches new models of midsized sedans A4, A5

Audi Volkswagen Korea said Wednesday it has launched four new models each of its premium midsized sedans Audi A4 and Audi A5. The new Audi A4 is the fifth-generation face-lifted model and comes in different versions -- A4 40 TFSI, A4 40 TFSI Premium, A4 35 TDI Premium and A4 40 TDI Quattro Premium -- depending on the engine type. The gasoline engine model, TFSI model, exerts up to 190 horsepower and torque of 32.6 kilogram meters.  The two TDI diesel engine models, TDI Premium and TDI Q

MobilityJune 3, 2020

Kospi hits 3-month high in hopes of economic recovery

South Korea’s main bourse Kospi on Wednesday rose 2.87 percent to 2,147 points, the highest in more than three months, with foreign and institutional investors scooping up local shares anticipating an economic recovery. It was the first time that the index moved above the 2,100-point mark since Feb. 25, when it closed at 2,105.49. Kospi also saw a 47 percent increase since it hit rock bottom at 1,430 during a trading day in March under market pressure over COVID-19. A record high of 16.8

MarketJune 3, 2020

Ardian vows more Asian investments as historic secondary fund closes

France-based international private investment house Ardian said Wednesday it seeks to accelerate its push for more secondary investments in Asia, as the company has reached a historic-high $19 billion commitments to its new secondary fund from global investors. Secondary investment refers to a purchase of existing private assets and is considered a source of liquidity for institutional investors. The latest fundraising is expected to underpin Ardian’s position as a lead secondary investo

MarketJune 3, 2020

Merck launches integrated semiconductor solutions unit

Science and technology firm Merck announced Wednesday the launch of Performance Materials, a newly integrated body comprising of recently acquired US-based chemicals and materials firms and its existing semiconductor solutions unit. Merck had acquired Intermolecular, a California-based company for advanced materials innovation in September last year. The following month, Merck completed the acquisition of Versum Materials, an Arizona-based company and a major materials supplier to the semicondu

IndustryJune 3, 2020

Korea allows emergency imports of remdesivir

South Korea’s Drug Ministry said Wednesday it was negotiating with US-based Gilead Sciences for emergency imports of remdesivir, a drug candidate that has shown clinical efficacy in treating COVID-19. Remdesivir is Gilead Science’s proposed drug candidate for Ebola, which has been circuited to test its effect on the latest coronavirus pandemic. In a pan-global clinical trial encompassing 73 institutes across 10 nations targeting over 1,000 COVID-19 patients, patients who were give

IndustryJune 3, 2020

Celltrion aims to commercialize insulin pen by 2025

Biologics drug developer Celltrion said Wednesday it will accelerate its insulin pen biosimilar development along with medical device manufacturer Poonglim Pharmatech. Celltrion will begin developing the insulin biosimilar this year with aims to commercially launch the product in 2025. The global insulin pen market is deeply dominated by foreign pharmas, Celltrion said in a press release, drawing a line under Korea’s need to have domestic capabilities for the drug. Celltrion said that i

IndustryJune 3, 2020

Coupang dragged down by virus outbreak, labor issues

The rapid growth of e-commerce giant Coupang has been clipped recently upon the recent outbreak of COVID-19 infections at its logistics centers in addition to sudden deaths of its workers in the past months. On Wednesday, a civic group filed a complaint against Coupang’s founder and CEO Kim Bom-suk, claiming that his firm failed to inform customers properly about the COVID-19 cases of its employees. The civic group, named “People’s livelihood solution committee (directly tr

ConsumerJune 3, 2020

SPC Group to open Shake Shack store in Daegu

SPC Group said Wednesday it will open a Shake Shack store in Daegu in July, its first in the city. According to the company, the new Daegu store will be located in Dongseongno Spark, a shopping mall with a theme park. It is the second outlet to be launched outside Seoul metropolitan area, after the store in Busan, which opened in July 2019. The lot is currently covered with a colorful hoarding art depicting the city’s skyline, for which the company cooperated with Xeva a graffiti arti

ConsumerJune 3, 2020

Pernod Ricard renews Ballantine’s bottle design

Pernod Ricard Korea said Wednesday it has renewed the bottle design of Ballantine’s 30-year, its flagship scotch whisky, and presented a limited edition of a drink ritual kit. According to the liquor maker, the new packaging design has added modern tint to strengthen Ballantine’s 30-year iconic luxuriousness. The new bottle boasts a sleek exterior, and the golden label design stresses its best quality. All of Ballantine’s 17-year, 21-year and 30-year products come with a ren

ConsumerJune 3, 2020

Homeplus launches raw fish delivery service on app

Homeplus said Wednesday it has partnered with Badajari, a seafood company, to launch a raw fish delivery service on its mobile shopping app. The app, dubbed Homplus Fish market, is a service linked to Noryangjin Fish Market, aimed to expand the distribution network for the traditional market, the company said. The new service offers a same-day delivery of raw fish menus prepared from the Noryangjin Fish Market. An order made before 2 p.m. would be delivered to the customer by 6 to 8 p.m. on

ConsumerJune 3, 2020

LG Chem batteries to power Vietnam’s first-ever EV

LG Chem said Wednesday it will power Vietnam’s first-ever electric vehicle, which can travel up to 500 kilometers on a single charge. According to LG Chem and local media, Vietnam’s first domestic carmaker VinFast will load its first EV models with lithium-ion batteries manufactured by LG Chem. “We expect to officially debut the model at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2020; launch a test program in January 2021 and mass produce the cars by July 2021,” a VinFas

IndustryJune 3, 2020

Mirae Asset Global Investments seeks 1st REITs IPO in Q3

South Korea’s investment firm Mirae Asset Global Investments said Wednesday it is eyeing its first initial public offering for its real estate investment trust followed by a listing on the nation’s main bourse Kospi. The REIT is designed to invest in a commercial space of the commercial-residential complex dubbed Gwanggyo Central Prugio City. The real estate asset is located in a planned city of Gwanggyo in Gyeonggi Province, located some 25 kilometers south of Seoul. The REIT is e

MarketJune 3, 2020

Seoul stocks spike to over 3-month high amid recovery hopes, Korean won sharply up

South Korean shares extended their winning streak to a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, hitting a more than three-month high amid economic recovery hopes. The Korean won sharply rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 59.81 points, or 2.87 percent, to close at 2,147.00, the highest since Feb. 25. Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares worth a record high of 16.8 trillion won ($13.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering loser

MarketJune 3, 2020

Extra budget to push debt-GDP ratio to record-high, rattle fiscal soundness

Despite the rosy picture painted by the government about its third supplementary budget of 35.3 trillion won ($29 billion) announced Wednesday, concerns are rising about the nation’s fiscal soundness as national debt will increase by around 100 trillion won, propelling the debt-gross domestic ratio to a record-high. The proposal follows the first and second supplementary budgets worth a combined 23.9 trillion won, allocated in recent months, to minimize the economic fallout from the COVI

EconomyJune 3, 2020

Korean tech firms join forces to reinforce AI capabilities

South Korea’s tech companies are moving to create coalitions to reinforce artificial intelligence technologies under the government’s initiative to make the country an AI powerhouse, according to industry sources Wednesday. Two competitive AI coalitions have been formed so far: One led by SK Telecom involving Samsung Electronics and Kakao, and the other by KT with LG Electronics and LG Uplus.  On Wednesday, KT, LG Electronics and LG Uplus announced they will make an open in

TechnologyJune 3, 2020

Hyundai opens 1st hydrogen-charging station for commercial cars

Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it has opened the country's first charging station for hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles in South Korea. Hyundai established the charging station at its Jeonju plant, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. It is the carmaker's first charging station for hydrogen-powered commercial cars and its ninth hydrogen charging station, the company said in a statement. "Hydrogen buses and trucks, as well as hydrogen passenger cars, can charge themselves in the hydrogen

MobilityJune 3, 2020

S. Korea unveils W35.3tr extra budget plan to brace for post-coronavirus era

South Korea has finalized the single-largest supplementary budget worth 35.3 trillion won ($29 billion), marking its third set of extra fiscal spending in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday. The supplementary budget bill was approved in an extraordinary Cabinet meeting held at Seoul Government Complex to overcome the economic crisis and brace for the forthcoming post-coronavirus era. It is slated to be submitted to the National Assembly on T

EconomyJune 3, 2020

Social casino gaming firm DoubleDown Interactive eyes $100m US IPO

South Korean social casino game developer and publisher DoubleDown Interactive is seeking to get listed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq bourse in the United States, according to its prospectus Wednesday. For its initial public offering, the Seoul-based company plans to issue 400,000 new common shares. Also up for subscriptions will be 360,000 existing shares, or 19.4 percent stake as of current, owned by STIC Investment. DoubleDown Interactive said the book building process to confirm the offered pri

MarketJune 3, 2020

KGCCI’s female leadership group kicks off 3rd mentorship program

The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Wednesday its female leadership group Women in Korea has kicked-off the third edition of its mentorship program. The KGCCI WIR group started in 2017 as a cross-industry, cross-national network of female executives to help Korean females in middle management to unlock their leadership potential and accelerate value-driven leadership with a focus on gender, generations and geography. The WIR mentorship program was created in 2018, aiming

IndustryJune 3, 2020