Korea's minting agency sees sales rise 9.1% in 2019

South Korea's state-run minting agency said Monday its sales rose 9.1 percent on-year in 2019, as it expanded overseas sales of gold and silver bar products. The Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. reported sales of 524.6 billion won ($454.1 million) last year, the company said in a statement. It was the first time that annual sales of KOMSCO had exceeded 500 billion won, according to the statement. The agency has sought to bolster its overseas sales of gold and s

EconomyJan. 13, 2020

Samsung’s top executives ink compliance pledge

Top executives of Samsung Electronics have vowed to abide by the law ahead of the launch of an in-house anti-corruption committee, officials said Monday. The firm’s three chief executives -- Kim Ki-nam, Kim Hyun-seok and Koh Dong-jin -- signed a compliance pledge at an event held in Samsung Digital City, Suwon. Other top executives also joined the pledge with their digital signature.They pledged to comply with local and foreign laws and company regulations, not to tolerate any violation of

IndustryJan. 13, 2020

KT&G Welfare sends 60 college volunteers to Cambodia, Myanmar

KT&G Welfare Foundation has sent a total of 60 college student volunteers to Cambodia and Myanmar to improve the educational environment in the countries, the tobacco company said Monday. KT&G said the volunteering activities will be done for nearly two weeks at Siem Reap, a town in northwestern Cambodia, and the suburbs of Yangon in Myanmar, which have poor educational environments. Since 2005, the foundation has dispatched 1,390 international volunteer groups to improve the educat

IndustryJan. 13, 2020

Starbucks Korea to hire handicapped baristas for regular employment in Q1

Starbucks Korea said Monday that it had begun its recruitment process for baristas with disabilities for the first quarter of this year.According to the coffee chain, it will accept applications starting from Monday until 5 p.m. on Jan. 23. The process includes document screening, interviews and field tests in the form of five weeks of training, before the final results are announced. Starbucks first began its hiring program for baristas with disabilities in 2007, and began running the program o

ConsumerJan. 13, 2020

Korean realty investments in Europe jump 122%

South Korean investments in European commercial real estate assets in 2019 jumped 122 percent on-year to 12.5 billion euros ($13.9 billion), on the back of Korean investors’ foreign exchange hedging against the euro and lower borrowing costs, data showed Monday.The acquisition binge also signals Korean investors’ need to digest the earlier deals in the region, according to global real estate consultancy Savills.By countries, France boasted the largest volume of Korean investments at

MarketJan. 13, 2020

Beauty firms, duty-free operators soar amid hopes for lifting of China sanctions

Major South Korean cosmetics and duty-free operators traded higher Monday amid hopes that China may lift its retaliatory economic measures under way for years against Seoul's decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system here. Amorepacific Corp., the country's top cosmetics maker, closed at 232,000 won($200), up 5.22 percent from the previous session's close, after touching as high as 236,000 won, the highest mark since April 24 last year. Shares in LG Household & Health Care, the second-lar

IndustryJan. 13, 2020

Hyundai Mobis to spend big for for future car technologies

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's biggest auto parts maker, will secure 9 trillion won ($7.8 billion) in the next three years for investment in future vehicle technologies, a company executive has said.  In a group interview with South Korean reporters on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, Hyundai Mobis Vice President Ko Young-suk briefed on how the company will secure the capital and where it will be spent, according to a company spokesperson.  "

IndustryJan. 13, 2020

Korea's hydrogen economy drive going smoothly

South Korea's bold drive to promote the use of hydrogen for power generation, vehicles and other industires is witnessing progress as sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars increased sharply last year and more charging stations were installed, the industry ministry said Monday.Seoul unveiled its so-called hydrogen economy drive last year, seeking to utilize the resource as the main source of energy for power generation, vehicles and other daily uses, while reducing reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear

IndustryJan. 13, 2020

Korean drugmakers accelerate phase-3 clinical trials in China

Major South Korean pharmaceutical companies are ramping up the phase-three clinical trials of their key products in China as they seek to tap deeper into the world's second largest bio market.Samsung Bioepis Co. said it is awaiting approval from Chinese health authorities for the final stage of clinical development for its SB8, a biosimilar candidate referencing Avastin.Samsung Bioepis expects the China National Medical Products Administration to give it the green light this year, making SB8 the

IndustryJan. 13, 2020

Kia Motors, 2 others still haunted by labor disputes

Labor disputes are still posing a major hurdle for some of the country's carmakers as they have yet to finish wage deals for the year of 2019 amid a still murky outlook, industry sources said Monday.Of the country's five carmakers, Hyundai Motor Co. and SsangYong Motor Co. sealed their wage deals last year without strikes. But three carmakers -- Kia Motors Corp., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and GM Korea Co. -- have had difficulties in narrowing a gap over wages and working conditions with their

IndustryJan. 13, 2020

S. Korea's ratio of unemployed in late 20s ranks highest among OECD nations

The proportion of unemployed people aged 25-29 in South Korea has ranked the highest among member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a report showed Monday. According to the report by the Bank of Korea, the 25-29 age bracket accounted for 21.6 percent of unemployed people in South Korea in 2018, marking the highest ratio among OECD members.It marked the seventh consecutive year that the proportion of unemployed people aged 25-29 in South Korea ranked highest am

EconomyJan. 13, 2020

BOK tipped to keep policy rate steady at record low: poll

The Bank of Korea is widely expected to keep its policy rate frozen at a record low of 1.25 percent this week, a poll showed Monday, amid growing signs of recovery in the global chip market that could finally end the steady decline in the country's exports after 13 months.All 19 analysts surveyed in a poll by Yonhap Infomax forecast a rate freeze this Friday when the BOK monetary policy board holds its first rate-setting meeting of the year. "We expect the BOK to keep the rate steady f

EconomyJan. 13, 2020

Korea's exports up 5.3% in first 10 days of January

South Korea's exports rose 5.3 percent in the first 10 days of January, mainly due to rising shipments of semiconductors, customs data showed Monday.The country's exports stood at $13.3 billion in the January 1-10 period, compared with $12.7 billion in the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service. By product, exports of semiconductors and petrochemical goods rose 11.5 percent and 30.6 percent, respectively. In contrast, outbound shipments of passenger cars and wireless

EconomyJan. 13, 2020

Kakao Bank co-CEO joins ruling party, forfeits W2.6b stock option

Lee Yong-woo, co-chief executive of South Korea’s largest neobank Kakao Bank, said Sunday he had agreed to join the ruling Democratic Party in an apparent bid to run in the general elections here in April.The accompanied move to quit the mobile-only lender comes at the cost of his stock option -- 520,000 shares in the commercial lender that may be converted to at least 2.6 billion won ($2.2 million) starting March 2021.  “I’m confident that the Moon Jae-in administration&r

MarketJan. 12, 2020

Lime Asset fund fiasco intensifies amid snowballing petitions, imminent lawsuit

The fiasco surrounding Lime Asset Management is likely to escalate further as investors have filed related complaints and banks which sold its fund options are gearing up to file a lawsuit.From end-October to Friday, the Financial Supervisory Service received over 100 investor petitions concerning the disputed fund sales by Lime Asset Management, according to the financial watchdog Sunday.“We are currently looking into individual cases,” said an official of the FSS. “Upon every

MarketJan. 12, 2020

Samsung’s market cap rises to world’s 18th

Blue chip Samsung Electronics, listed on South Korea’s main bourse Kospi, hit a record high last week pulling its market cap to the top 20 global list.The tech giant is expected to extend its winning streak on a widely optimistic forecast of its 2020 performance on the back of the recovering semiconductor market, according to industry sources.According to Bloomberg’s data, the total market valuation of Samsung as of Thursday last week came at $301.6 billion, the 18th-highest worldwid

IndustryJan. 12, 2020

S. Korean policymakers on tenterhooks ahead of key economic data

A series of key macroeconomic data due to be released this week is giving cold sweat to fiscal policymakers, as they could throw light on South Korea’s economic outlook this year.Market watchers are paying close attention to whether employment in the manufacturing sector will show an uptick, along with a recovery in exports and construction investments.  On Wednesday, Statistics Korea will present its employment report for December and for the entire year.The number of newly added job

EconomyJan. 12, 2020

[Monitor] Long labor strikes in South Korea on decline

The number of working days lost due to labor strikes dropped to the lowest point last year since 2000, data from the Employment and Labor Ministry showed last week.A total of 402,000 days were lost last year, down 27.2 percent from 2018. The figure was calculated based on the total number of workers participating in strikes, the duration of the strikes, and businesses that have suffered from strikes for at least eight hours per day. The ministry attributed the decline to the deal reached between

IndustryJan. 12, 2020

Hanjin KAL proxy fight looms as new investor comes to light

Hanjin KAL, the holding company of South Korea’s No. 1 air carrier Korean Air, is likely to face a proxy fight over its management, after it welcomed affiliates of builder Bando Group as major stakeholders.Eyes are fixed on whether Bando will act in favor of either of late Hanjin Chairman Cho Yang-ho’s scions in the shareholders meeting in March.Incumbent Chairman Cho Won-tae’s tenure is set to expire by March 2020. The successor’s reappointment appears to be facing uncer

MarketJan. 12, 2020

Green Cross eyes W200b acquisition of EMR software vendor

A consortium led by South Korean biopharmaceutical company Green Cross has been selected as the preferred bidder for the majority stake sale of UBCare, the nation’s No. 1 electronic medical records system vendor. The investor group, composed of Green Cross and Synaptic Investment, is looking to buy some 52 percent stake in UBCare from venture capital firms STIC Investment and Kakao Investment, according to investment banking sources on Friday. The shares are roughly valued at 200 billion w

MarketJan. 12, 2020