Exports to China recover in March

South Korea’s exports to China have been showing signs of recovery in March, as the two nations reel from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, data from the government and the industry showed Tuesday. Korea’s daily exports to China for the period of March 1-10 reached $436 million, a 20.8 percent increase compared to the same period in February this year. Korea’s daily exports to China, however, was still 8.2 percent lower than that of the same period in last year at $47

IndustryMarch 17, 2020

Interest rates of savings products, mortgages to drop on BOK’s rate cut

South Korean banks are expected to start lowering interest rates tied to fixed deposit products and mortgages on Tuesday amid the Bank of Korea’s decision to slash its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.75 percent. The rate affects what banks pay to borrow money overnight, affecting the level of interest rates of products that they offer to customers. At the moment, the most popular and main fixed deposit products are those with a tenure of one year. Such products designed a

MarketMarch 17, 2020

[Economy in Pandemic] Coronavirus puts Korean economy into uncharted territory

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews and analysis over looming threats of COVID-19 on the Korean economy and beyond. This is the first installment. -- Ed. Despite a series of emergency actions being taken by governments around the world, the novel coronavirus -- and its resulting disease COVID-19 -- is wielding sweeping power over the global financial market and the real economy, indicating rising global recession risks. The Bank of Korea cut its policy rate Monday to a recor

EconomyMarch 17, 2020

[Chew on I.T.] Secrets to foldable devices: Samsung vs. Huawei vs. Motorola

It is the third month of 2020, and there are already three new foldable devices available in the market worldwide: the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, Huawei Mate Xs and Motorola Razr. Compared to September, when the world’s first foldable smartphone Galaxy Fold was unveiled and later joined by Huawei’s first product Mate X, the foldable category has taken a leap forward, with the latest products boasting improved durability and performances. In a bid to help potential users get familiar

TechnologyMarch 17, 2020

Kakao Bank to be led by sole CEO

South Korea’s leading online-only bank Kakao Bank announced Tuesday that Yoon Ho-young, who headed the bank as co-CEO, will now serve as the company’s sole chief. The online bank has been managed by Yoon and former co-CEO Lee Yong-woo -- who were respectively from mobile messenger firm Kakao and investment company Korea Investment & Securities. The two companies are major shareholders of the bank. Since Lee left the company in January to run for parliamentary election sched

MarketMarch 17, 2020

USITC starts probe on Samsung, LG, Apple over touchscreen patent

The United States International Trade Commission said Tuesday that it will open an investigation into global tech giants including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Apple over claims of touch-screen patent violations. The complaint was filed in February by purported Irish “patent troll” Neodron, in which the company claimed that the companies infringed on its patents related to touch-screen devices. It is not the first time Neodron has targeted such global tech firms. Last

TechnologyMarch 17, 2020

Family feud at Hanjin escalates with complaint to FSS

Hanjin KAL, holding company of South Korea’s flagship carrier Korean Air, complained to the Financial Supervisory Service on Tuesday, calling for a probe into “violations” of the Capital Market Act, amid the succession battle between siblings at the conglomerate. The company said that the alliance involving Hanjin Group heiress Cho Hyun-ah, Korea Corporate Government Improvement and Bando Engineering and Construction, have falsely posted equity statements that breach the Fina

MobilityMarch 17, 2020

Samsung Biologics to develop Aprinoia's Alzheimer’s treatment

Samsung Biologics said Tuesday it has signed a deal to develop Taiwanese bio firm Aprinoia’s Alzheimer’s disease treatment. Aprinoia Therapeutics is a bioventure with specialized technology in diagnostic devices and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. It is a leader and pioneer in the development of monoclonal antibodies against the tau protein, known to be the key trigger of Alzheimer’s. The tau protein is what binds and stabilizes the internal structures within br

IndustryMarch 17, 2020

Celltrion launches Herceptin biosimilar in US

Celltrion Healthcare launched breast cancer and stomach cancer treatment Herzuma in the US market through local partner Teva Pharmaceutical. The company said Tuesday that Herzuma (trastuzumab) will be 10 percent cheaper than the original Roche drug, Herceptin. The cost of the drug to US patients will vary depending on their individual insurance plans, Celltrion Healthcare said. The trastuzumab market in North America was worth 3.8 trillion won ($3 billion won) as of the third quarter of 2019

IndustryMarch 17, 2020

Kia Motors’ new Sorento comes back in 6 years

Kia Motors on Tuesday launched its fourth-generation midsized sport utility vehicle Sorento, with a new design, larger size and improved driving assistance functions.  The automaker said the new Sorento has kept its design identity of strong image under the concept of “refined boldness,” but gave a new look by connecting the front radiator grille and LED head lamp to offer wide, stronger design.  The new model has a vertical-type LED rear combination lamp and horizontal-

MobilityMarch 17, 2020

Samsung begins mass production of industry's fastest mobile storage

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest memory chip and smartphone maker, said Tuesday it has begun mass-producing the industry's fastest mobile storage. The 512-gigabyte (GB) embedded universal flash storage (eUFS) 3.1 is in mass production for use in flagship smartphones, according to Samsung. The latest product delivers three times the write speed of its previous mobile memory, the 512GB eUFS 3.0, with performance of 1,200 megabytes per second (MB/s), it added. Samsung's 512GB eUFS

TechnologyMarch 17, 2020

Korean-made virus test kits being sold overseas

South Korean biotech firms are exporting their novel coronavirus test kits as countries scramble to stem the rapid spread by isolating infected people, industry sources said Tuesday. Seegene, Kogene Biotech, Solgent, SD Biosensor and other companies have all received permission from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) to sell their products in South Korea, as well as in overseas markets. The products that have received permission mostly use real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR

TechnologyMarch 17, 2020

Korea's money supply grows in Jan.

South Korea's money supply continued to grow in January, partly on an increase in funds held by local households, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's M2 came to 2,927.5 trillion won ($2.36 trillion) as of end-January, up 0.7 percent from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, the reading marks a 7.8 percent rise. M2 is a measure of the money supply that counts the currency in circulation, including bank debentures and dep

EconomyMarch 17, 2020

Eximbank donates W250m to virus-hit Daegu

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea has donated 250 million won ($201,000) to nonprofit groups to support small business owners and senior residents living in Daegu, the southeastern city hit hardest by the novel coronavirus outbreak. Korea Eximbank has donated 100 million won to the comprehensive welfare center for the elderly staying at home alone, outsourced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The center will purchase food from traditional markets in Daegu and deliver them to the

MarketMarch 17, 2020

[Advertorial] LG Chem vows to enter top 5 global chemical company list

LG Chem has rolled out its plan to crack the top 5 global chemical company list by 2024 through change and innovation in its four key business areas. LG Chem ranked 10th best chemical firm in C&EN’s Global Top 50 chemical companies of 2018, published by American Chemical Society. Also, the company’s brand value surpassed 4 trillion won ($3.22 billion) for the first time, maintaining fourth place for two consecutive years, according to Brand Finance Chemicals 25 2020 report.

IndustryMarch 17, 2020

[Market Close-up] Have tech shares hit rock-bottom?

With stock prices of major tech firms plummeting, retail investors think it is a big opportunity to profit, given the ultralow interest rates. Past experience of the local stock market’s dramatic rebound -- led by the memory chip market boom -- and pervasive advisory reports by local analysts, led many individual investors to jump on the bandwagon. The stock prices are really appealing now, but is it worth it? According to the stock market operator Korea Exchange (KRX), the share pric

MarketMarch 17, 2020

Carmakers set to post poor Q1 earnings on virus fallout

South Korean carmakers are likely to post poor earnings results for the first quarter due to the escalating fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, analysts said Tuesday. The country's five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- have already suffered several weeks of output disruptions after suppliers in China halted production amid the spread of COVID-19. The coronavirus pandemic prompted many countries to impose

MobilityMarch 17, 2020

[News Focus] COVID-19 makes Korean currency cheaper

SEJONG -- A country’s interest rate generally determines the value of its currency, although this formula may not be applicable to safe havens such as the US dollar, the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen. For an emerging country whose currency depends on reserve currencies like the dollar, a low interest rate incurs an outflow of foreign capital as the currency becomes less attractive to investors. Capital flight results in a cheap local currency. Over the past few

EconomyMarch 17, 2020

S. Korea to spend W30b won to support fishery industry

South Korea said Tuesday it will allocate 30 billion won ($24.2 million) to fishing businesses hit hard by the economic fallout from the global spread of the new coronavirus. The decision came amid a sharp decrease in the consumption of seafood from home and abroad due to the COVID-19 epidemic. South Korea said it will provide 20 billion won in loans with a low interest rate of 1.3 percent to local aquaculture households whose sales have tumbled by 15 percent or more in February from a month

EconomyMarch 17, 2020

[Monitor] Korea-US trade volume expands 32% since FTA

The South Korea-US free trade agreement -- which went into effect 2012 -- has led to an increase in trade volume by 32 percent, data from the Trade Ministry and Korea International Trade Association showed. Bilateral trade increased from $101.8 billion to $135.2 billion last year, even though Korea’s overall international trade volume dropped 8.3 percent. Automakers and chipmakers gained the most from the trade deal over the eight years, with the volume of auto exports to the US increa

IndustryMarch 17, 2020