Many Korean firms plan to cut hiring in H1: report

A quarter of South Korea’s large companies are expected to cut recruitment in the first half of this year due to worsening economic and business conditions, according to a local economic research firm Wednesday. The Korea Economic Research Institute surveyed recruitment plans of the nation’s 500 largest companies with 300 employees or more between Feb. 5-19. The survey results showed that 27.8 percent of the 126 companies surveyed said they would reduce hiring or not hire at all i

IndustryMarch 11, 2020

Virus credit negative for Korean transportation firms: Moody's

Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday the spread of the coronavirus in South Korea is credit negative for its rated transportation companies amid declining traffic volumes. The extent of the virus' adverse impact on the transportation industry will depend on the duration of disruptions and evolving public sentiment, Moody's said in a statement. "Given the spread of the coronavirus, people in Korea will be less likely to commute and go out for social and business gatherings, thereby

MobilityMarch 11, 2020

40% of S. Korean firms support work from home amid coronavirus scare: poll

Four out of 10 companies in South Korea are willing to allow their employees to work from home on hopes of containing the coronavirus outbreak, a poll showed Wednesday. The South Korean government has urged local communities to take part in social distancing, a series of tactics designed to keep people from gathering in large crowds, including working from home and avoiding in-person meetings. A survey released by the online job portal Saramin showed about 40.5 percent of the 1,089 local firm

IndustryMarch 11, 2020

Korea's ICT exports increase for 1st time in 16 months in Feb.

South Korean exports of information and communication technology (ICT) goods grew for the first time in 16 months in February on brisk shipments of chips and smartphones, government data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of ICT products expanded 8.5 percent on-year to $13.74 billion last month, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. February marks the first month since November 2018 that the country's ICT exports have increased from a year earlier. Asia's fourth-larg

EconomyMarch 11, 2020

SK Telecom establishes digital health care joint venture with local PEF

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's leading mobile carrier, said Wednesday it has established a digital health care joint venture with a local private equity fund (PEF) after spinning off its health care business unit. Invites Healthcare Co. will aim to drive growth of the health care industry using its advanced information and communication technology (ICT), according to SK Telecom. Newlake Alliance Management, a local private equity firm, will serve as the largest shareholder of the joint venture

TechnologyMarch 11, 2020

Korea's exports up 21.9% in first 10 days of March

South Korea's exports rose by more than 20 percent from a year earlier in the first 10 days of March, customs data showed Wednesday, but the new coronavirus outbreak may limit the growth of its exports and economy. The country's outbound shipments came to US$13.3 billion in the March 1-10 period, up 21.9 percent from the same period last year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The daily average, however, slipped 2.5 percent on-year to $1.78 billion. The customs office note

EconomyMarch 11, 2020

Samsung No. 3 vendor of wearable devices in 2019: report

 Samsung Electronics Co. was the third-largest vendor of wearable devices last year, a market report showed Wednesday, amid soaring global demand for wearables. Samsung shipped 30.9 million units of wearable devices last year, more than doubling from a year earlier, according to the latest report from market tracker International Data Corp. (IDC). The South Korean tech giant took a 9.2 percent share in the global wearables market in 2019, up 2.3 percentage points from a year earlier, I

TechnologyMarch 11, 2020

Korea's jobless rate at 4.1% in February, 492,000 jobs created

South Korea's jobless rate fell in February and job creations rose by more  than 400,000 for the third straight month, with the outbreak of the new coronavirus dealing a harsh blow to some sectors, such as the retail and wholesale segment, data showed Wednesday. The unemployment rate fell 0.6 percentage point to 4.1 percent last month, and the number of employed people reached 26.83 million, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. South Korea added 492,000 jobs in the month.

EconomyMarch 11, 2020

Fitch sees limited impact of coronavirus on memory chip market

Global rating agency Fitch Ratings Inc. said Tuesday the global memory chip market will suffer a limited risk of supply disruptions in the short term from the spreading coronavirus outbreak. The memory semiconductor market is likely to continue to recover as weakening demand for memory chips used in smartphones and PCs will be offset by stronger demand for those used in servers, Fitch said in a statement.  "This is because the industry's manufacturing facilities are highly automated

MarketMarch 10, 2020

NPS to be no barrier for Hyosung chairman to extend term

Despite the National Pension Service’s efforts to actively interfere in the management decisions of scores of domestic companies as a major shareholder, it is likely to leave Hyosung Group untouched. The NPS has yet to change the shareholding purpose of Hyosung Corp., holding firm of the family-controlled conglomerate, to “general investing” from “nonengagement investing,” which would otherwise have allowed it to have a say in issues related to executive salaries

MarketMarch 10, 2020

[Monitor] Passenger traffic on Korea-Japan routes nosedives

The number of passengers on flights between South Korea and Japan nosedived this month, as the two countries enforced entry restrictions over the coronavirus spread. As of Monday morning, Japan suspended its visa-waiver program for Korean citizens, on top of asking arriving passengers to stay at designated facilities for two weeks. In response, Korea also suspended its 90-day visa-free entry program for Japanese. Incheon International Airport Corp. estimated that 318 passengers traveled on th

IndustryMarch 10, 2020

Samsung, LG eye Japan’s 5G smartphone market

South Korean tech firms said Tuesday they are gearing up for the commercialization of 5G services in Japan with plans to roll out latest smartphone models as SoftBank Telecom is set to launch operations this month. Samsung Electronics is likely to launch the Galaxy S20 lineup, introducing 5G phones for the first time in Japan. SoftBank will be the first Japanese mobile carrier to launch 5G services on March 27, with other Japanese carriers like NTT and KDDI are also planning to launch soon.

TechnologyMarch 10, 2020

S. Korea to tighten grip over stock short selling as emergency action

South Korea vowed Tuesday to tighten regulations on stock short selling to stabilize the market amid increased volatility caused by the spread of the new coronavirus, and also the sudden drop in global oil prices. “As a market stabilizing action, (the government) will alleviate the requisites for (designating) overheated short selling and expand the transaction ban period (for these stocks),” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki was quoted as saying in a minist

EconomyMarch 10, 2020

Students' private education spending surges to 10-year high in 2019

Young South Korean students' spending on private education spiked to a 10-year high in 2019, data from the Ministry of Education and Statistics Korea showed Tuesday, reflecting undiminished parental enthusiasm for their children's academic achievements. Elementary, middle and high school students spent 20.99 trillion won ($17.6 billion) on private education last year, up 7.8 percent from the previous year's 19.48 trillion won and marking the largest amount since 2009, when 21.6 trillion won wa

EconomyMarch 10, 2020

Korean Air offers voluntary leave program amid virus fallout

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's national flag carrier, has offered a voluntary leave program to its employees, sources here said Tuesday, as the company suffers a sharp drop in travel demand amid growing angst over the novel coronavirus. Korean Air's flight attendants who have worked for the company for at least two years can take up to three months of voluntary leave starting this month, according to sources. This is the second time that the air carrier has offered such a program to its

MobilityMarch 10, 2020

[Newsmaker] Basic income scheme of W51tr spurs controversy

With the novel coronavirus outbreak dealing a major blow to South Korea’s economy, a far-reaching welfare measure to give every citizen 1 million won ($839,00) is igniting a heated debate. Suggested as a temporary scheme, primarily designed to support citizens financially crippled by the rapid spread of COVID-19, politicians and liberal-leaning opinion leaders claim it could also stimulate the sluggish economy. There are mixed responses, with some questioning who the beneficiaries sho

EconomyMarch 10, 2020

Hyosung ITX to implement quarterly dividend system

Hyosung ITX, an information technology affiliate of Hyosung, will strengthen its shareholder return policy by increasing dividends and buying treasury shares, the firm said on Tuesday. The company said it would implement a quarterly dividend system -- from the current one-time dividend per year -- starting this year and increase dividend payments by 30 percent. It also plans to increase shareholder value by purchasing its treasury shares and encouraging the electronic voting system. Hyosung

IndustryMarch 10, 2020

Passenger traffic at Korea’s gateway airport drops 80%

The number of passengers using Incheon International Airport in the first week of March dropped by 80 percent on-year, the lowest since 2003, according to the airport operator Tuesday. Incheon International Airport Corp. said that from March 1-8 the number of passengers who transited South Korea’s gateway airport came at 298,307, less than one-fifth of 1,536,594 last year.  During the first week of March, an average number of passengers using Incheon airport was around 37,000. 

MobilityMarch 10, 2020

Despite worsened ties, Korea, Japan hold talks on export controls

South Korean and Japanese government officials held a video conference Tuesday to discuss issues related to Tokyo’s export regulations on local firms -- the first in three months amid worsened bilateral relations. The meeting was aimed at resolving the restrictions imposed in July on three key materials of chips and display panels made against Korea last year, as well excluding the country from its export control whitelist, according to the Trade Ministry. The Trade Ministry’s t

IndustryMarch 10, 2020

Shinhan Card to buy Hyundai Capital’s W500b assets for rental car biz

Shinhan Card said Tuesday it is poised to buy parts of Hyundai Capital’s assets related to its long-term car rental services for around 500 billion won ($417.3 million). The assets will be composed of vehicles under the South Korean carmaker -- Hyundai, Kia and Genesis -- which Hyundai Capital rents to consumers, as well as rental consumers. The final acquisition price will differ depending on shareholder approval. The two companies signed the deal Monday for the transaction scheduled

MarketMarch 10, 2020