Naver reshuffles internet cartoon business, seeks global expansion

Naver on Thursday said that it plans to make its US-based unit Webtoon Entertainment the head office for online cartoon businesses. The latest restructuring plan comes amid the South Korean internet giant’s efforts to expand its online cartoon business abroad. As part of the plan, California-based Webtoon Entertainment will purchase all stocks of Line Digital Frontier, the company’s Japanese internet cartoon unit. It will cost the US unit some 232 billion won ($187 million). The t

TechnologyMay 28, 2020

Hyundai E&C begins sales of new smart apartment complex in Songdo

Hyundai Engineering & Construction said Thursday it is starting sales of units in the third Hillstate Lake Songdo apartment complex in Songdo, Incheon. The new residential complex will comprise of eight 49-story buildings with 1,100 housing units. When the construction is completed, all three Hillstate Lake Songdo apartment complexes in the Songdo area will form a residential cluster of around 5,000 households. The area has easy access to public transport, according to the firm, as Inche

IndustryMay 28, 2020

SK Broadband launches ‘ZEM Kids’ on B tv

SK Broadband said Thursday it has launched children-targeted “ZEM Kids” content on B tv Cable, the new name of Tbroad cable television that has been merged with the operator last month. ZEM Kids is a self-learning content aimed for children from toddlers to elementary school students. The content carries some 4,000 programs that include story-telling, English classes and sessions for parents. The story-telling program, for instance, has over 350 story options for kids aged 3 and u

TechnologyMay 28, 2020

Amorepacific opens pop-up store to support single mom biz owners hit by COVID-19

Amorepacific said Thursday it has opened a pop-up store selling products made by single mom business owners at its headquarters to boost their sluggish sales amid the coronavirus outbreak. According to the South Korean cosmetics giant, some 250 staff and executives purchased a total 550 products at the store, which was stocked with items from Hope Stores run by single mom owners and delivered profits worth 27.5 million won ($20,180). Amorepacific paid half the price for every purchase made

IndustryMay 28, 2020

Hanwha Q Cells to sponsor Korea’s solar power competition

Hanwha Q Cells said Thursday it will sponsor a local green energy competition to raise awareness on solar energy and deal with fine dust and climate change. According to South Korea’s No. 1 solar module maker, it will sponsor the 2nd K-Solar League, the Korean version of Germany’s Solar Bundesliga, a renewable energy drive since 2003 that ranks all regions in Germany by the amount of electricity generated by solar power and solar heat. This year, 17 regional local governments, 2

IndustryMay 28, 2020

Samsung’s health app slips into TVs in Korea, US, UK

Samsung Electronics said Friday it has expanded its mobile device-based health platform to televisions as demand for in-home fitness content and services is growing in the wake of the global pandemic. The Samsung Health app is now available on the company’s smart TVs launched this year in South Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom. The app is designed as a wellness management platform that enables users to customize their personal health journeys by connecting them to premi

TechnologyMay 28, 2020

WeWork Korea modifies floor layouts for safety amid coronavirus crisis

WeWork Korea has modified floor layouts of its offices as part of efforts to prevent COVID-19 infection, the company said Thursday. It has also installed more digital signage devices to notify members of the maximum number of people allowed in meeting rooms and to show the walking direction of one-way paths in hallways, it added. These are follow-up preventative measures taken since earlier this year as the company has been measuring body temperature across all locations along with a wide r

MarketMay 28, 2020

Seoul stocks close lower on coronavirus cluster infections

South Korean shares closed lower Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak, on the largest number of daily infections of the new coronavirus in nearly two months. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 2.66 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 2,028.54. Trading volume was high at about 1.15 billion shares worth some 14.2 trillion won ($11.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 689 to 177. Foreigners bought a net 42.8 b

MarketMay 28, 2020

Posco uses slag to form sea forests off coast of Ulleungdo

Posco said Thursday it has started cultivating sea forests ahead of the Oceans Day, which falls on May 31. The steelmaker said it has installed 100 Tritons -- the firm’s artificial reef brand made of steel slag -- and 750 Triton blocks approved by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, in waters off Namyang-ri, southern Ulleungdo, to create a 0.4-hectare sea forest. The 100 Tritons will be installed on the edge of the sea forest, where seaweed will grow, and 750 Triton blocks will be piled u

IndustryMay 28, 2020

Pandemic to bring big change in electronics, mobility: KITA

Companies should grab opportunities in electronics and mobility industries in the post-pandemic era as they will undergo vast changes, experts said during a two-day on-line seminar hosted by the Korea International Trade Association from Wednesday to Thursday. Among those attending the seminar broadcast live on YouTube were Hi Investment & Securities head of the center Ko Tae-bong, Kookmin University professor Jeong Gu-min and Future Designers CEO Choi Hyung-wook. They spoke on prospects

IndustryMay 28, 2020

Gold, silver funds shine as investors seek low-risk assets

Gold and silver funds in South Korea are shining on rising demand for safe investments amid lingering uncertainties in markets over the pandemic and renewed Sino-US conflict, data showed Thursday. The annual average return rate of 12 local gold funds with assets of 1 billion won ($808,000) or more came to 43.41 percent as of Wednesday. The figure outpaced the median return rate of 1.07 percent for domestic stock funds in the cited period, according to data compiled by FN Guide. As investors s

MarketMay 28, 2020

S. Korea’s economy to contract this year amid COVID-19 impact: BOK

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday slashed the country’s economic growth outlook for this year, forecasting a 0.2 percent on-year contraction amid the persisting COVID-19 pandemic. It also cut the policy rate to an unprecedented 0.5 percent, further down from the previous record low of 0.75 percent, keeping pace with the government’s expansionary fiscal actions to shore up the virus-hit economy. The Bank of Korea’s decision-making body -- Monetary Policy Board --

EconomyMay 28, 2020

S. Korea to set aside W500b in guarantee fund program for auto parts firms

South Korea’s government will establish a guarantee fund program worth 500 billion won ($405 million) to provide extra loans to auto parts firms amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the nation’s fiscal chief on Thursday. “(The government) will protect the automobile industry’s ecosystem by providing cash to small and medium-sized auto parts firms that struggle to secure loans in spite of outstanding technology or sound contract delivery performances,” Deputy

EconomyMay 28, 2020

Number of paid employee jobs rises 3.2% in Q4 last year

The number of jobs for wage and salary workers in South Korea gained 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year thanks to increased social welfare and public administration jobs, government data showed Thursday. South Korea's economy had 19.08 million paid worker jobs in the October-December period, up 592,000 from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Jobs in the social welfare sector came to 2.02 million, up 8.6 percent from a year ago, with public administration

EconomyMay 28, 2020

S. Korea launches W40tr fund for backbone industries

South Korea on Thursday launched a fund worth 40 trillion won ($32.2 billion) to provide timely financial assistance to the country's backbone industries amid the economic fallout of the new coronavirus. The government has said airlines, shippers and others hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible for the fund's financial support if they have more than 500 billion won in debt and more than 300 employees per company. Among others, South Korea's two full-service carriers -- Korean Air Lin

EconomyMay 28, 2020

‘Spider Man 3’ to feature Hyundai’s mobility tech

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it has clinched a partnership deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to allow customers experience its future mobility and new technologies via the latter’s platforms such as movies, animations and digital contents.  According to the automaker, its latest mobility technology will be featured in Sony Pictures’ movie “Uncharted” and “Spider Man 3,” which will be released in July 2021 and November 2021, respectively. 

MobilityMay 28, 2020

[Monitor] Air transport hit hardest by pandemic

The production performance of many Korean companies was found to have deteriorated in the first quarter this year due to the global economic downturn and the impact of the pandemic, latest data showed Wednesday. Local corporate tracker CEOScore surveyed 127 companies, which submitted quarterly reports and disclosed their production capacity and performance, among the nation’s top 500 companies. According to the survey, the air transport sector was hit hardest as demand for travel a

IndustryMay 28, 2020

Full text of BOK statement on monetary policy decision in May

The following is the full text of the Bank of Korea's statement on its monetary policy decision. The central bank's monetary policy board decided Thursday to cut the base rate by a quarter percentage point to a fresh record low of 0.50 percent. Monetary Policy Decision The Monetary Policy Board of the Bank of Korea decided today to lower the Base Rate by 25 basis points, from 0.75% to 0.50%. Currently available information suggests that the global economy has contracted significantly due to co

EconomyMay 28, 2020

Govt. urged to brace for virus-caused weaker growth, job losses

South Korea should map out measures to help cushion the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its economic growth and employment, a private think tank said Thursday. The novel coronavirus outbreak, which started in China in December, has led to lockdowns across the globe, crippling economic activity and touching off concerns over mass job cuts. "The outbreak of COVID-19 is feared to eat into South Korea's production base and lead to job losses," said the Korea Economic Research Inst

EconomyMay 28, 2020

Creditors call on Korean Air to raise capital following financial aid

Creditors of Korean Air Lines Co. have demanded the cash-strapped airline raise capital of 2 trillion won ($1.62 billion) by end of the next year in return for fresh financial support, officials familiar with the issue said Thursday. The Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Exim Bank) recently signed an agreement with South Korea's biggest national flag carrier to extend 1.2 trillion won in new liquidity to help the company hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Th

MobilityMay 28, 2020