Fintech groups set to thrive in e-signature market

With the National Assembly likely to pass revisions to the Electronic Signature Act on Wednesday, fintech groups and mobile carriers are projected to dominate the related market with their existing online identification services. The revision bill -- likely to be among a set of legislations that the 20th National Assembly will pass at its last plenary meeting –- is projected to fuel privatization of the e-signature industry by abolishing the nation’s public e-certificate system, a

MarketMay 19, 2020

S. Korea to drastically ease rules for stalled local liquor industry

South Korea plans to alleviate liquor regulations to assist struggling manufacturers and distributors, officials said Tuesday. 　 The new rules, if approved by the National Assembly, will allow alcoholic drink companies to partly consign their production to original equipment manufacturers and also to produce non-alcoholic by-products at their facilities. When it comes to minor changes in products, the current approval process would be replaced by a simple reporting requirement for efficiency. 　

EconomyMay 19, 2020

Seoul stocks jump over 2% on hope of vaccine development

South Korean stocks closed sharply higher Tuesday, joining other Asian and global stock markets in a rally that came on hopes of a vaccine for COVID-19. The local currency sharply rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) spiked 43.50 points, or 2.25 percent, to close at 1,980.61, extending its winning streak to a third day. Trading volume was moderate at some 762 million shares worth about 11.7 trillion won ($9.55 billion), with gainers outnumbering l

MarketMay 19, 2020

W550b Lotte Mart properties deal in legal dispute

South Korea’s Ryukyung PSG Asset Management and retailer Lotte Shopping are facing legal action from entities that proposed to buy four Lotte Mart discount stores for some 550 billion won ($448.4 million) in 2019, according to industry sources on Tuesday. The prospective buyers, real estate developer Moon Development Marketing and subsidiary the Korea Asset Investment Trust, filed a lawsuit in April against Ryukyung PSG -- a local asset management company that oversaw some 1.59 trillion

MarketMay 19, 2020

KRX provides remote learning program for foreign institutions

The Korea Exchange (KRX) said Tuesday it has started providing remote learning program to facilitate untact -- non-face-to-face contact -- services for foreign institutions in the wake of the prolonged coronavirus outbreak. The nation’s sole stock market operator used to offer offline education programs to offshore institutions such as stock exchanges, supervisory authorities and financial companies, but it has now launched online services by providing video clips on its official English

MarketMay 19, 2020

Shift of roster among listed biopharma firms in Q1

Major tectonic shifts were noticed in the rankings of top 10 South Korean biologics and pharmaceutical firms in the first quarter this year, according to latest data Tuesday. Almost every company had their placements readjusted based on their first-quarter earnings reports. Celltrion soared to the top with revenue of 372.8 billion won ($304 million) from last year’s seventh spot at 221.7 billion won. Yuhan, which sat on the top last year with 345 billion won revenue, slid to the second

IndustryMay 19, 2020

Samsung Biologics’ 3rd plant gets business continuity certificate

Samsung Biologics, the world’s largest contract development and contract manufacturing organization for biologics drugs, said Tuesday that its third plant complies with international standards for business continuity management systems. The plant is certified for compliance with ISO22301, a global standard set by the British Standard Institution, meaning the company’s business operations would experience minimal disruptions in the event of an accident or natural disaster. Samsung

IndustryMay 19, 2020

Samsung heir meets Shaanxi leader to solidify cooperation

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with Hu Heping, Communist Party Secretary of Shaanxi province, during his two-day visit to Xian, China, the tech giant said Tuesday. Lee held a meeting with the provincial leader after visiting Samsung’s memory chip plant in Xian. He was the first foreign business mogul to visit China after the COVID-19 outbreak. Hu expressed gratitude over Samsung’s provision of quarantine aid for Chinese citizens, including those working for

TechnologyMay 19, 2020

ECCK shares industrial concerns with FTC head

The European business community in Korea shared their opinions with the nation’s antitrust watchdog head on industrial issues and the business environment here, the organization representing their interests here said Tuesday. The European Chamber of Commerce in Korea said it hosted a breakfast meeting with Fair Trade Commission Chairperson Joh Sung-wook, which was attended by around 50 representatives of member companies and European embassies. European business leaders, including Dirk

IndustryMay 19, 2020

Individuals replenish cash bullets for direct stock investments

Individual investors are flocking to direct stock investment, choosing to bet on their own picks over brokerage houses' funds, data showed Tuesday. Outstanding margin loans came to 9.95 trillion won ($8.14 billion) as of Friday, up 10.1 percent from a month ago, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA). Margin loans refer to those that retail investors take out from brokerage houses to invest in stocks. A rise in outstanding margin loans usually points to

MarketMay 19, 2020

Home transactions dip over 30% in April amid slump, virus fallout

SEJONG -- Home transactions in South Korea sank more than 30 percent in April from the prior month due to tougher property rules and the coronavirus impact, government data showed Tuesday. The number of homes changing hands nationwide stood at 73,531 last month, down 32.3 percent from the previous month, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Yet the figure was up roughly 29 percent from the same month a year earlier, when housing transactions were ane

EconomyMay 19, 2020

S. Korea develops ASF test kits

South Korea said Tuesday it has developed a new test kit for the African swine fever (ASF) that can pave the way for the country to speed up its battle against the fatal animal disease and reduce its dependency on imported tools. The state-run Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency has completed the development of a kit that can test acute forms of ASF, under the cooperation with the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology and Korea University. The country, which has been depen

EconomyMay 19, 2020

[Monitor] Automobile demand in major markets drops

Although automakers are resuming operations of their plants worldwide since the COVID-19 outbreak from May, full normalization remains uncertain as demand continues to stay low. Market watchers predict demand to bottom out and start to bounce back from the second quarter. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

IndustryMay 19, 2020

Global TV market sinks 16% in Q1 on virus impact

The global TV market shrank nearly 16 percent in the first quarter of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, with only South Korean makers reporting slight growth, a market tracker said Tuesday. Worldwide TV shipments stood at 43.29 million units in the January-March period, down 16.4 percent from a year earlier, according to Omdia, formerly IHS Markit. TCL and other Chinese TV manufacturers saw their sales dip 14.4 percent to 15.13 million, with those of Sony and other Japanese players tu

EconomyMay 19, 2020

April air passengers fall to lowest level since 1997

The number of South Korean air travelers fell to the lowest level in more than two decades in April due to entry restrictions and lower demand amid the coronavirus pandemic, industry data showed Tuesday. The number of air passengers on domestic and international routes here plunged to 1.35 million last month, down 22 percent from 1.74 million a month earlier and down 87 percent from 10.14 million a year earlier, according to Air Portal, an aviation data provider operated by the Korea Civil Avi

MobilityMay 19, 2020

Seoul stocks open sharply higher on hopes of virus vaccine

South Korean shares opened sharply higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that followed reports of positive results from a vaccine development test. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 40.35 points, or 2.08 percent, to 1,977.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The stock market rally follows overnight gains on Wall Street, where hopes of COVID-19 vaccine development and a pledge from US Fed chief to support the economy helped boost investor sentim

MarketMay 19, 2020

SoCar teams up with startup to launch Jeju self-driving car shuttle service

South Korea's leading car-sharing app operator SoCar has teamed up with a local vehicle tech startup to launch an autonomous car shuttle service on the resort island of Jeju, the company said Monday. The collaboration with RideFlux Inc., which officially began earlier in the day, marks the first time that a so-called demand responsive transport service is being offered in the country. "Past operations were carried out under 'test conditions' with restrictions placed on traffic," SoC

MobilityMay 18, 2020

ICT minister visits local 5G equipment manufacturer

ICT Minister Choi Ki-young visited South Korea’s 5G equipment manufacturer OE Solutions’ facility on Monday as part of the government’s efforts to encourage small and medium-sized firms here. OE Solutions is a local supplier of optical transceiver solutions for both wired and wireless network equipment. It provides parts to major players in the market, including Samsung, Ericsson and Huawei. “The nation’s efforts to become the first in the world to provide 5G net

TechnologyMay 18, 2020

Doosan Heavy to put about 400 employees under paid suspension amid slump

Doosan Heavy & Construction Co., South Korea's top power equipment maker, said Monday that it will put about 400 employees under paid suspension as part of its self-rescue efforts amid a prolonged slump. The suspension is part of the company's efforts to tide over its liquidity crunch. The company drew up a 3 trillion-won ($2.4 billion) self-rescue plan last month. Workers subject to the paid suspension from this Thursday through the end of the year will be paid 70 percent of their monthl

IndustryMay 18, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Long-term views are critical to survive crisis like coronavirus’

Since its first outbreak was reported in South Korea in January, COVID-19 has been wreaking havoc on the nation’s economy, forcing factories to suspend operations and claiming jobs in a wide range of sectors. The investment segment has also been affected as face-to-face meetings have been delayed or called off over growing concerns of infections. In times of crisis such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, investors need to maintain long-term perspectives, according to Chae Jung-hoon, m

MarketMay 18, 2020