Faced with shortage, Korea limits mask exports

The South Korean government has decided to restrict the export of face masks until April 30, amid concerns that supplies are running short as COVID-19 spreads nationwide.  Manufacturers will be allowed to export up to 10 percent of the masks they produce each day.  The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Tuesday that the measure is authorized under Article 6 of the Price Stabilization Act, which stipulates that regulations can be adjusted in emergency situations. Mask manufacture

IndustryFeb. 25, 2020

Threee Kumho Tire products win Good Design Award

Kumho Tire said Tuesday three of its products had won 2019 Good Design Awards in the transportation design category.  The Good Design Awards is a global design competition which began in 1950, awarded by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design for the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial products and graphic designs of the year.  The Korean tire manufacturer said its tires Majesty 9, Ecsta PA51 and WinterCraft Wi51 have won the awards.  Majesty 9 is a ne

MobilityFeb. 25, 2020

Samsung retains top spot in Q4 domestic smartphone market: data

Samsung Electronics Co. retained the top spot in the domestic smartphone market in the fourth quarter of last year, but its market share fell sharply as its archrival Apple Inc. doubled its presence in South Korea, data showed Tuesday. Samsung had a 57 percent market share on its home turf in the last three months of 2019, down 14 percentage points from three months earlier, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research. Apple was the No. 2 player with a 28 percent share in the fourth

IndustryFeb. 25, 2020

Huawei unveils new foldable online amid coronavirus scare

Huawei unveiled its second foldable smartphone, the Mate Xs, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, in an online broadcast to prevent spreading the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The out-folding Mate Xs has a display the same size as that of its predecessor -- 8 inches diagonally when unfolded -- but features an improved hinge mechanism, called a “falcon-wing hinge,” and a stronger wraparound screen. Huawei’s mobile business head, Richard Yu, said during the launch presentati

TechnologyFeb. 25, 2020

LG Chem announces cylindrical battery deal with Lucid Motors

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading lithium-ion battery maker, said Tuesday that the company will start supplying cylindrical batteries this year for the Lucid Air, the first electric vehicle to be commercialized by Lucid Motors. The supply deal is expected to enhance the firm’s electric vehicle battery portfolio, along with its proprietary pouch-type batteries. The company is focusing on supplying pouch batteries and has order backlogs worth 150 trillion won ($124 billion). But the

TechnologyFeb. 25, 2020

Samsung to provide fastest-ever mobile memory

Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday that it had begun mass production of the industry’s first 16-gigabyte DRAM for premium smartphones. The 16 GB low-power DDR5 DRAM, based on Samsung’s second-generation 10-nanometer-class (1y) process technology, offers a data transfer rate of 5,500 megabits per second, which is about 1.3 times faster than the previous mobile memory LPDDR4X. It also offers an energy savings of over 20 percent while providing twice the capacity. The advance wi

TechnologyFeb. 25, 2020

Seoul allocates W380b to support agricultural exports amid virus spread

South Korea said Tuesday it will spend 380 billion won ($311 million) to support local exporters of agricultural goods amid fears the global spread of the new coronavirus will deal a heavy blow to sales this year. "The spread of the COVID-19 virus has led to a slump in demand (for agricultural goods) from China, Hong Kong and Singapore," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement. The virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed more

EconomyFeb. 25, 2020

S. Korea's power generation drops 1.5% in 2019

South Korea's electricity generation fell for the first time in more than two decades in 2019 amid an economic slowdown and favorable weather conditions, data showed Tuesday. The amount of electricity generated by the nation's power plants came to 562,239 gigawatt hours last year, down 1.5 percent from the prior year, according to the data from state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation. It was the first on-year drop since the 4.1 percent decrease in 1998, when South Korea was in the heat of

EconomyFeb. 25, 2020

LG Electronics unveils new budget smartphone

LG Electronics Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a new budget smartphone in South Korea, hoping that the latest handset can help its struggling mobile business. The LG Q51 will come with a price tag of 319,000 won ($260) and a 6.5-inch screen, according to LG. The mobile device will go on sale in South Korea on Wednesday. The LG Q51 sports a 13-megapixel (MP) main camera, along with a 5-MP ultra-wide lens and a 2-MP depth sensor, on the back. It also has a 13-MP selfie camera on the front. The pro

IndustryFeb. 25, 2020

[Graphic News] Beer imports down for first time in decade

　South Korea’s beer imports fell sharply in 2019 from a year earlier due mainly to a boycott of Japanese products here amid a bilateral trade row, data showed. 　Beer imports reached $280 million in 2019, down 9.3 percent from $309 million a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service - the first on-year decrease since 2009. 　The drop was largely attributable to the ongoing “No Japan” campaign by Korean consumers, who have been boycotting Japanes

BusinessFeb. 24, 2020

Hit by COVID-19 fears, Seoul stocks plunge

South Korean stocks plunged about 4 percent Monday, after the number of new coronavirus cases confirmed here nearly tripled over the weekend. The local currency closed at 1,220.2 won against the US dollar -- down 11 won from the previous session’s close -- marking the weakest won since Aug. 13 last year, when the trade spat between the US and China had escalated. The benchmark Kospi opened sharply lower at 2,114.04 -- plummeting 48.8 points, or 2.26 percent, from the previous session. Th

MarketFeb. 24, 2020

Company K Partners launches W124b later-stage venture fund

South Korean venture capital firm Company K Partners said Monday it has launched a 124 billion won ($101.7 million) vehicle that targets startups at the later stage of growth, bringing its assets under management to over 560 billion won. The vehicle, dubbed Company K High Growth Fund, is backed by major institutional investors including Korea Teachers’ Credit Union and Korea Scientists & Engineers Mutual-aid Association; state-owned risk capital firm K-Growth, as well as Company K&rs

MarketFeb. 24, 2020

ECCK donates W10m to Daegu citizens to help fight COVID-19

The European Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Monday it has made an emergency donation of 10 million won ($8,210) to Daegu to help combat the spread of COVID-19. The donation was delivered to the Daegu Branch of Korean Red Cross. It will be used to help obtain masks for the most vulnerable people in the Daegu region. “As a responsible member of Korean society, the ECCK has decided to provide an emergency donation of 10 million won to Daegu city region in order to support to quickly ov

IndustryFeb. 24, 2020

With delivery boom, services on alert over COVID-19 spread

With more people choosing to stay at home amid the rising fear of the fast-spreading COVID-19, delivery apps are seeing a surge in the number of daily orders. But at the same time, many delivery persons are increasingly worried, as food deliveries, in particular, often require direct contact with customers. “It will be a road to disaster if delivery persons get infected with the coronavirus,” an anonymous delivery person said in the open chatroom of a labor union on mobile messeng

IndustryFeb. 24, 2020

LH plans projects worth W20.5tr to stimulate economy

State-run Korea Land & Housing said Monday it plans to place a series of housing and land development project orders worth 20.5 trillion won ($16.8 billion) across the peninsula this year, in order to prop up the nation’s shrinking economy hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. The amount is double that of the previous year. Of the total, 34 percent of the total budget will be spent within the first half of this year, in a bid to address the economic downturn as Korea struggles to contain the

MarketFeb. 24, 2020

S. Korea to take ‘special actions’ to counter COVID-19 impact on economy

The government said Monday it would soon announce “special actions” to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, defining the current situation as an “economic emergency.” It added that it would take necessary measures in case of increased volatility in the currency market while maintaining a wait-and-see approach. “Under the awareness that the current circumstances correspond to an economic emergency, the government will respond in a swift,

EconomyFeb. 24, 2020

Posco creates social project fund with US’ Xcoal

South Korea’s leading steelmaker, Posco, said Monday that it had established a matching fund called “Emerald” with Xcoal Energy and Resources, a US-based coal producer, as part of Posco’s GEM matching fund initiative. The two companies signed the agreement Monday, with each promising to pay $50,000 a year into the one-on-one matching grant system. The money will be used for social causes in the two countries on an alternating basis. Posco started its GEM matching fund

IndustryFeb. 24, 2020

[Monitor] High GVC participation implies Korea’s vulnerability to external factors

According to a recent report by the Korea International Trade Association, South Korea’s participation in global value chain trade reached 55 percent as of 2017, placing it at No. 6 out of 18 major countries within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. GVC refers to international production where the different output stages take place across various countries. With the rise of transnational corporations, firms from different countries tend to divide their production

IndustryFeb. 24, 2020

Delta hikes stake in Hanjin KAL in support of chairman

Delta Air Lines, the third-largest shareholder of Hanjin KAL which owns Korean Air, has bought 1 percent additional stake to support Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, industry sources said Monday.  The US air carrier reportedly bought 114 shares of Hanjin KAL stake on Thursday and Friday via Goldman Sachs for around 60 billion won ($49 million). Delta now owns 11 percent stake in the holding firm of Hanjin Group.  Currently, local activist fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvemen

MobilityFeb. 24, 2020

Special unit launched to probe illegal real estate brokers

South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday that it has launched a squad with investigative powers to effectively crack down on illegal or unfair practices in the real estate market. According to the ministry, the “special judicial police” will probe long-existing issues such as real estate contract frauds and illegal transfer of bank accounts that gives its holders unfair priority. It will also look into new issues including unregistered brokerin

EconomyFeb. 24, 2020