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

Lotte Shopping to sell 121 stores this year due to virus impact

Lotte Shopping Co., the operator of South Korea's biggest department store chain, said Sunday it will sell 121 brick-and-mortar stores within this year amid the new coronavirus impact on the retail industry. Lotte Shopping runs about 700 department stores, large discount stores, supermarkets and LOHB's online shopping mall's offline stores, and was originally planning to sell 200 of them over the next three to five years to strengthen the e-commerce business. "The company has decided t

IndustryMay 24, 2020

S. Korea's consumer goods imports from Japan fall 37% in April

South Korea's imports of consumer goods from Japan plunged 37 percent in April from a year earlier due to Japan's export curbs and the new coronavirus impact on consumer spending, government data showed Sunday. The value of imported Japanese consumer goods fell on-year to $249 million last month as Korean consumers still opt not to buy Japan-made products amid trade tensions between Seoul and Tokyo, and the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS). In particular, impor

EconomyMay 24, 2020

Korean telcos promote baseball content to attract fans at home amid pandemic

South Korean telecommunication firms said Saturday they have released various services and content related to the country‘s professional baseball league as they try to attract baseball fans at home amid the coronavirus pandemic. The new Korea Baseball Organization season started May 5 after South Korea managed to flatten the curve of new virus cases, but games have been played without spectators due to infection risks. As fans are not allowed to see games from the stands, the country&

IndustryMay 23, 2020

KEB Hana, Woori appeal regulator's penalty decision

KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank said Friday they have appealed the levying of penalties by state financial authorities on the lenders' improper sale of derivatives-linked products.     The two lenders have raised an objection to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), which imposed fines of 19.71 billion won ($16 million) on Woori Bank and 16.78 billion won on KEB Hana Bank on Jan. 30. "We filed the objection to the financial authorities as we want the court to review

MarketMay 22, 2020

Air carriers move to relaunch international routes, expand domestic flights

South Korean carriers are moving to relaunch their long-waited international routes as well as expand domestic flights, slowly recovering from the impact of COVID-19 outbreak, industry sources said Friday. According to the country’s largest LCC by sales Jeju Air, it will resume operation of Incheon-Manila route once a week from June 6.  The airliner said it was due to the demand from Korean residents living in the Philippines.  Jeju Air currently runs service to three oversea

MobilityMay 22, 2020

S. Korea’s 2020 economic growth to depend on Q2 output: vice finance minister

As South Korea is likely to face a severe economic shock in the second quarter under the novel coronavirus pandemic, the quarterly performance will determine the nation’s growth for the entire year, Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said Friday. “Shocks are expected to be concentrated in the second quarter,” Kim said during a meeting with senior ministry officials. “As the risks stemming from (the pandemic) prolong, it could evolve into a bigger risk that could sha

EconomyMay 22, 2020

Celltrion to reinforce HIV drug development

Celltrion Pharm, a chemical drugs unit under the wing of Celltrion Group, has vowed to push harder to advance its human immunodeficiency virus drug pipeline, to move ahead of competitors that face a slowdown in pharmaceutical supply due to COVID-19. Celltrion Pharm said Friday that it will increase its workforce by 15 percent for its plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, to run the facility around the clock for an expanded attention to its HIV treatment pipeline, CT-G7. This is a stra

IndustryMay 22, 2020

Samsung sends additional 300 engineers to Xian memory plant

Samsung Electronics has sent around 300 semiconductor engineers to Xian, China, to accelerate the work to expand the second NAND flash line there, the company said Friday. The workforce departed from Incheon International Airport Friday morning through the fast-track corridor allowed for businesses under an agreement between the South Korean and Chinese governments. Samsung has sent the engineers just five days after its de facto leader Lee Jae-yong visited the plant in addition to some 20

TechnologyMay 22, 2020

Pulmuone opens LEED-certified food research institute

South Korean food company Pulmuone said Friday it has completed the construction of Pulmuone Institute of Technology, the first research and development center that has received certification from the US-based Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. According to the company, its new institute received a “Gold” level in LEED, which is one of the widely used green building rating system. Built in the designated biotechnology zone, in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, the R&a

ConsumerMay 22, 2020

Tmon vows to turn profit by 10th anniversary

Tmon, an e-commerce platform in South Korea, promised Friday to turn profit this year as it marks its 10th anniversary. With the goal of going public, the firm’s Chief Executive Officer Lee Jin-won revealed his ambition to lead the e-commerce market. “Tmon is a company that has been labeled the most as ‘the industry’s first,’ in Korea’s e-commerce market. We started as the country’s first social-commerce (provider), and now created the title ‘

ConsumerMay 22, 2020

Seoul stocks snap 5-day winning streak on US-Sino dispute

South Korean stocks closed lower Friday, ending a winning streak of five consecutive sessions on an escalating dispute between the United States and China that may further undermine the country's exports. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 28.18 points, or 1.41 percent, to close at 1,970.13. Trading volume was moderate at about 832 million shares worth some 9.3 trillion won ($7.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 719

MarketMay 22, 2020

S. Korea readies for upcoming ADB annual meeting, chairs online pre-session

Preparing for the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting to be held in Songdo in September, South Korea’s government on Friday chaired a pre-session to handle key agendas in advance. During the 30-minute teleconference, presided by Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, the board of directors approved the ADB’s annual financial report and reiterated joint efforts for regional prosperity according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Earlier in Mar

EconomyMay 22, 2020

Samsung Biologics bags CMO deals worth W468b

Samsung Biologics has bagged two contract manufacturing deals worth 468 billion won ($378 million) combined, according to its regulatory filing Friday. The total value of the latest deals is equal to two-thirds of the company’s revenue for last year at 701 billion won. According to the biopharmaceutical unit of Samsung, it inked a contract manufacturing deal worth 284 billion won with global biopharma GlaxoSmithKline to manufacture the latter’s lupus treatment Benlysta. Benlyst

IndustryMay 22, 2020

Financial circles should secure loss-absorbency capacity amid COVID-19: FSS chief

The chief of South Korea’s financial watchdog urged financial circles to be wary of business expansion and to secure capital reserves, assuming that the COVID-19 pandemic will drag on. “The financial circles should maximize their total loss absorbency capacity, bracing for a prolonged fallout of COVID-19,” Yoon Suk-heun, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, said in a financial supervision advisory committee meeting held Friday at the Korea Federation of Banks headqu

MarketMay 22, 2020

Nearly 550,000 cars recalled from automakers including Hyundai, BMW

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Friday that it would recall 549,931 units of 126 models from automakers including Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, BMW Korea, Mercedes-Benz Korea, FCA Korea and Audi Volkswagen Korea over defects.  According to the ministry, 294,622 Hyundai Motor vehicles, including Santa Fes, were found to have foreign substances like oil and moisture inside their braking modules. The defect poses a fire hazard, the ministry said.  Cracks were found

MobilityMay 22, 2020

Samsung unveils first outdoor QLED 4K TV The Terrace

Samsung Electronics unveiled this year’s Lifestyle TV lineup, led by the first outdoor QLED 4K TV The Terrace, through an online showcase amid the prolonging COVID-19 impact, the company said Friday. Samsung showcased The Terrace, featuring ultra-bright picture quality, as the latest Lifestyle TV model that will provide new viewing experiences for users outside. Samsung says it is designed to bring the full indoor entertainment experience outside. The Terrace offers a crystal-clear

TechnologyMay 22, 2020

OLED TV market may post relatively small growth this year: report

The global OLED TV market, led by South Korea's LG Electronics Inc., is expected to post relatively small growth this year, compared with the QLED TV sector, following a disruption in panel supply caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, a market report showed Friday. The global OLED TV shipment is expected to increase 7.8 percent on-year to 3.375 million units this year, according to display market tracker WitsView, a research division of TrendForce. The figure was a 26.1 percent decrease f

EconomyMay 22, 2020

Consumption, small merchants' revenues rise as people use emergency handouts

South Korea's provision of emergency relief funds began to boost private consumption, raising revenues of small merchants hit hard by the new coronavirus pandemic in the first week of the payout, data showed Friday. In a one-off aid program, the government began offering the relief funds totaling 14.3 trillion won ($11.6 billion) to all households last week to help them cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 outbreak. Mom-and-pop shops still are suffering from business setbacks due to

EconomyMay 22, 2020

[Monitor] Korea’s exports sink 20% in first 20 days of May

South Korea’s exports dropped 20.3 percent in the first 20 days of May compared to the same period last year, data from the Korea Customs Service showed Thursday. Disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the value of exports reached $20.3 billion, compared to $25.5 billion a year ago. By sector, exports of memory chips increased 13.4 percent, while shipments of automobiles sank 58.6 percent. By country, exports dropped 1.7 percent to China and 27.9 percent to the United States. So far this

IndustryMay 22, 2020