[Tech Read] China looms over Korea (4): Is China winning in 5G?

China’s race to enter mainstream tech is intensifying against not only the US but also its neighbor South Korea. With China aggressively pushing advancements of key technologies, Korea has been forced to take up the gauntlet before it is too late. The Korea Herald’s Tech Team has looked into four key areas to measure the technological gap between Korea and China and to offers forecasts about how the competition would develop. This is the fourth installment. By IT Team (4) 5G: Is

BusinessMay 25, 2020

[Tech Read] China looms over Korea (3): Quality vs. price? Battle of batteries

China’s race to enter mainstream tech is intensifying against not only the US but also its neighbor South Korea. With China aggressively pushing advancements of key technologies, Korea has been forced to take up the gauntlet before it is too late. The Korea Herald’s Tech Team has looked into four key areas to measure the technological gap between Korea and China and to offers forecasts about how the competition would develop. This is the third installment. By IT Team (3) Batter

BusinessMay 25, 2020

[Tech Read] China looms over Korea (2): Korean display firms are 2 years ahead

China’s race to enter mainstream tech is intensifying against not only the US but also its neighbor South Korea. With China aggressively pushing advancements of key technologies, Korea has been forced to take up the gauntlet before it is too late. The Korea Herald’s Tech Team has looked into four key areas to measure the technological gap between Korea and China and to offers forecasts about how the competition would develop. This is the second installment. By IT Team (2) Displ

BusinessMay 25, 2020

[Tech Read] China looms over Korea in high-tech race (1) : Chinese firms enter memory market

China’s race to lead mainstream technology is intensifying not only against the US but also its neighbor South Korea.  President Xi Jinping has been public about China’s goals: By 2025, the country aims to domestically produce key technologies such as semiconductors, 5G equipment, robots, and self-driving and electric cars. The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t derailed its ambition to win the technology battle with the US. Instead, Beijing has turned the deadly virus outbrea

BusinessMay 25, 2020

Over 80% of auto plants back in operation on eased virus restrictions

More than 80 percent of vehicle plants in 13 major car-manufacturing countries resumed limited operations as of mid-May as new coronavirus restrictions were eased, an auto industry association said Monday. Vehicle plants in the United States and 12 other major car-manufacturing countries began to restart production, though not in full operation, since mid-April, and more lines are expected to resume operations this month. "It will take some time for the auto plants to return to full op

MobilityMay 25, 2020

BOK tipped to cut key rate this week: poll

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is widely forecast to trim its policy rate this week amid the growing economic fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak, a poll showed Monday. Twelve out of 18 analysts surveyed in a poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, forecast a rate cut this Thursday when the BOK monetary policy board holds its monthly rate-setting meeting. The central bank froze the benchmark rate at 0.75 percent in April after slashing it to a record low of 0.75 p

EconomyMay 25, 2020

[Monitor] Spending patterns change in pandemic

As expected, the spending patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed drastically, according to a report by Hana Institute of Finance under Hana Bank. Credit card use at travel agencies, airlines and duty-free shops dropped most significantly while overall online shopping spending surged during the first three months of the year. Among offline markets, less were spent at large retail stores and department stores, while spending at convenience stores and supermarkets increased. Purchas

IndustryMay 25, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on vaccine hopes

South Korean shares opened higher Monday on hopes of a new coronavirus vaccine. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.16 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,976.29 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Optimism grew after a US bio firm, Moderna, again reported positive test results from its candidate vaccine. Such reports from the US firm sparked a global stock market rally last week. Large caps traded mixed. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics lost 0.21 percent, and No. 2

MarketMay 25, 2020

Seoul to digitize visitor information at high risk venues to facilitate contact tracing

South Korea is introducing a digitized registry of visitors at businesses and establishments deemed to have high contagion risks starting early June. The Central Disaster Management Headquarters said Sunday those wishing to visit “high-risk” venues will be required to generate a QR code to be scanned upon entry, which will allow an automatic digitization of the log of all visitors.  IT companies like Naver will develop the applications for issuing the QR codes, Health Ministe

TechnologyMay 24, 2020

FSC allows online account switching between 1st, 2nd-tier banks

South Korea’s financial regulator said Sunday it will allow customers to swap their online bank accounts among first- and second-tier financial institutions for handling monthly payments. Starting Tuesday, those who wish to switch payment accounts can apply at the bank they wish to deal with or at the Pay Info website, run by the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, Financial Services Commission officials said. The service, launched in October 2015, simplified t

MarketMay 24, 2020

Korea Post introduces parcel tape with missing children info

To help search for missing children, the Korea Post said Sunday that some of the parcel tape it provides for mail packages will bear information about missing children and QR codes linked to the National Police Agency. The agency will start with tapes printed with photos and descriptions of 28 children. QR codes printed alongside the information will be useful if anyone wishes to make a report. It also links to a service where one can register fingerprints of their children in case of emergenc

TechnologyMay 24, 2020

KT introduces warehouse automation service

South Korean telecom firm KT said Sunday it has rolled out a warehouse automation solution that utilizes 5G networks and self-driving vehicles. The company has been running the solution at its warehouse located in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. It comprises of two types of self-driving warehouse carts, designed to carry large amounts of materials on their own, or to follow staff who maintain the inventory, and also comes with a computerized system that collects real-time data, through which worke

TechnologyMay 24, 2020

[Market Close-up] COVID-19 accelerates shift in South Korea’s stock market landscape

The ongoing coronavirus crisis appears to have accelerated changes in South Korea’s stock market landscape with contactless services and biotechnology firms breaking the dominance of manufacturing companies. Twenty years ago, companies focusing on manufacturing or infrastructure businesses were among the 10 largest market cap companies on the main bourse Kospi. The list included auto giants Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, steelmaker Posco and SK Telecom. The emergence of online services p

MarketMay 24, 2020

Korea Western Power recycles oyster shells to reduce fine dust

Korea Western Power (Kowepo) said Friday that it is recycling oyster shells to create a material that can transform sulfur dioxide emitted from fossil fuel plants into ashes. When released, sulfur dioxide can react with other pollutants in the air and generate fine dust. According to the state-run utility, it began operating an oyster recycling facility in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, as oyster shells -- which are made of calcium carbonate -- can react with sulfur dioxide and turn it

IndustryMay 24, 2020

Solgent’s test kit receives emergency use authorization from FDA

Solgent’s COVID-19 test kit has received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration, becoming the 10th South Korean kit to receive the green light from the agency. According to industry sources Sunday, the DiaPlexQ kit is a real-time polymerase chain reaction test kit that can produce a diagnosis in under two hours. Solgent was already exporting the test kits to the US, with the first batch of 150,000 test kits going out last month. Last month, the company a

IndustryMay 24, 2020

COVID-19 pandemic hit low-income households harder in Q1

  South Korea’s low-income households were hit hardest by the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak in the first quarter of this year, data showed Sunday.  According to a report from Statistics Korea, average household income for the bottom 10 percent bracket stood at 959,019 won ($773.09) per month, having shrunk by 3.6 percent on-year. Wages earned by the bottom 10 percent income bracket declined by nearly one-third to 165,966 won. For the country as a whole,

EconomyMay 24, 2020

Dongsuh Foods supports aspiring female writers

South Korea’s instant coffee giant Dongsuh Foods Corporation is continuing to back aspiring female writers and is donating books to libraries as part of its efforts to support the local literary scene, the firm said Sunday. The coffee and tea manufacturer also hosts an annual go competition, one of its major corporate responsibility projects for the past 21 years. Launched in 1989, Dongsuh’s biennial Dongsuh Literary Award has been at the forefront of cultivating new female writer

IndustryMay 24, 2020

Korean firms brace to bounce back from pandemic

Major South Korean companies have resumed operations at their overseas plants and are speeding up business normalization since suffering disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. This month, the nation’s two tech giants, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, restarted their production plants in India, which had been shut down due to the host government’s strict containment measures. Now, they have restarted work at more than 90 percent of the global production bases they had shut do

IndustryMay 24, 2020

FSS warns of puffed-up promotion of offshore life insurance plans

South Korea’s financial watchdog vowed Sunday to stamp out ill-advised sales promotion of offshore retirement plans through unauthorized online channels such as social media. The Financial Supervisory Service also pledged to monitor such sales activities online and issued the mildest level of alert to consumers to protect them. This comes as the online sales promotion of offshore life insurance schemes including retirement plans from outside Korea, such as Hong Kong, became widespread w

MarketMay 24, 2020

Hana Financial, Hahn & Co. agree to buy H-Line Shipping for W1.8tr

South Korea’s private equity house Hahn & Co. and Hana Financial Group have agreed to buy a 100 percent stake in H-Line Shipping, former dry bulk cargo arm of bankrupt carrier Hanjin Shipping, for 1.8 trillion won ($1.45 billion), according to sources on Sunday. The two firms will create a project fund for the leveraged buyout of H-Line Shipping, which is now fully owned by another fund of Hahn & Co. Under the plan, nearly 45 percent of the acquisition cost will be leveraged. T

MarketMay 24, 2020