S. Korea seeks to introduce tighter rules to improve fiscal health

South Korea's finance ministry said Tuesday it will push to introduce fiscal rules that would mandate a sharp drop in the deficit in case the national debt exceeds 60 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The move came in line with the Yoon Suk-yeol government's push to implement a belt-tightening policy as part of effort to improve the country's financial soundness following years of expansionary fiscal spending. During the emergency economic ministers' meeting, the government decided to pus

EconomySept. 13, 2022

Seoul shares open higher ahead of US inflation data

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday as investors await the new US inflation data ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate-setting policy meeting next week. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 43.34 points, or 1.82 percent, to 2,427.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks rallied Monday (local time) amid hopes that the likely slowdown in the August inflation would prod the Fed to go easy on its future rate hikes if it were to stick to its third consecut

MarketSept. 13, 2022

Exports down, trade deficit widens during first 10 days of Sept.

South Korea's exports fell 16.6 percent on-year in the first 10 days of September due mainly to fewer working days over the Chuseok holiday, with its trade deficit widening on high energy costs, data showed Tuesday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $16.25 billion in the Sept. 1-10 period, compared with $19.48 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports also went down 10.9 percent on-year to $18.69 billion during the cited period, resul

EconomySept. 13, 2022

SK hynix to run overseas working program for employees

SK hynix Inc. said Tuesday it will start an overseas working and training program to help its employees have a broader perspective of the global semiconductor industry. The Global eXperience Program (GXP) will run for five weeks from the end of October at SK hynix's overseas branches as well as at the offices of other chip companies, including Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML, the world's second-largest memory chip maker said. Employees can pick their destination from the list

IndustrySept. 13, 2022

Number of 'marginal firms' jumps nearly 24% in 2 years

The number of South Korean firms unable to service their debts with earnings soared nearly 24 percent in 2021 from two years earlier amid the prolonged coronavirus outbreak, a report showed Tuesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy had 2,823 "marginal companies" last year, up 23.7 percent from 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, according to the report by the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). Marginal companies refer to corporations whose interest coverage ratio

IndustrySept. 13, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘Huge amount of future will be happening through Asia’

Grand plans laid out by Seoul and Busan show how South Korea will play a major role as Asia's influence grows, according to futurist Richard Yonck. “One of the things that are very apparent to me is that a huge amount of the future is going to be happening through Asia,” Yonck, founder of Intelligent Future Consulting, told The Korea Herald in Seoul on Sept. 5. Mentioning the Seoul Vision 2030 plan and the government efforts to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan, the futurist said t

TechnologySept. 13, 2022

Korea’s economic growth ebbs on US, China slowdown

South Korea’s gross domestic product -- the value of all goods and services created in the country -- improved slightly in the second quarter but underperformed that of most OECD countries on the US and China slowdowns, the latest Bank of Korea data showed Monday. The central bank found that the GDP rose 0.7 percent on-quarter in the April-June quarter, an incremental improvement from the 0.6 percent in the previous quarter. The latest growth rate ranks 20th among 35 countries -- including

EconomySept. 12, 2022

Renault QM6 enhances luxury appeal

Renault Korea has enhanced the luxury appeal of its popular sport utility vehicle QM6. One distinctive feature is the use of Alcantara fabric for the highest Premiere trim. Alcantara is a suedelike fabric noted for its durability and carbon-neutral manufacturing process. A substitute for leather and vinyl, the fabric is increasingly being used in luxury vehicles. For the QM6, seats and armrests are covered in black Alcantara. Driving assistance features have also been bolstered. From the midrang

MobilitySept. 12, 2022

Korean Air in talks with Asian airlines to share US route

South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air is reportedly in talks with multiple Southeast Asian airlines to share its Incheon-Los Angeles route in an apparent attempt to get antitrust approval from US regulators in its acquisition of the cash-strapped crosstown rival Asiana Airlines, according to industry sources on Monday. The unprecedented talks come in response to the US requiring Korean Air to submit plans on how to ensure competition by giving a specific name of the air carrier that will o

MobilitySept. 12, 2022

Memory down cycle to unseat Samsung

Samsung Electronics is projected to see a 19 percent drop in quarterly sales during the July-September period, which will drop the tech giant to the second place in the world's semiconductor market by sales following Taiwan-based foundry company TSMC's swift rise to the top, data showed Monday. The third-quarter revenue of Samsung's chip business -- which oversees memory products, foundry services and non-memory products like mobile processors -- is forecast to amount to $18.29 billion, down 19

TechnologySept. 12, 2022

Jeju Air raises W320b to modernize fleet

Jeju Air, South Korea’s leading budget carrier, said Monday it has raised a combined 320 billion won ($232 million) as part of a new fleet modernization plan. The airliner said it secured the funds by selling 273 million new common shares starting Aug. 26. This paid-in capital increase will be used to boost the company's facility budget, it added. AK Holdings, Jeju Air’s largest stakeholder, issued 130 billion won-worth of exchangeable bonds to partake in the paid-in capital increase

IndustrySept. 12, 2022

Samsung chief visits Mexico during Chuseok holiday

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong has held talks with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Thursday and visited key locations of Samsung's business ranging from electronics to construction during the four-day Chuseok holiday in South Korea, the tech giant said Monday. During the talks, the 54-year-old discussed Samsung Electronics' current business affairs in Mexico and the long-term partnership with Samsung and Mexican companies, while expressing an appreciation

TechnologySept. 12, 2022

Foreigners dump W12tr Korean stocks this year

A net selling by foreign investors in stocks traded on South Korea’s main board Kospi since January has reached 11.96 trillion won ($8.6 billion) Thursday, according to data from the Korea Exchange Monday. The data showed shares of Samsung Electronics accounted for a little over 9 trillion won, with Naver, LG Energy Solution and Kakao roughly making up the remaining purchases at over 1 trillion won, respectively. That contrasts sharply with a net buying by individual investors, who in the

MarketSept. 12, 2022

Part-timers refuse to be confined by time, space

Kim Min-soo, a senior college student, stands next to his bicycle as he waits for a delivery order on a bustling street in Hongdae, western Seoul, on a Saturday afternoon. After a few minutes of waiting, his phone, adjusted to the handle of his bike, lights up with a message and notifies him of a delivery call from a to-go restaurant. With the app’s artificial intelligence navigation system showing him the optimal route to the restaurant, Lee gets on his bike to pick up the food. “I

EconomySept. 12, 2022

Samsung Electronics likely to announce carbon neutrality road map this week

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to announce its road map this week to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, sources said Monday, as the tech behemoth bolsters its net zero transition in line with the global industrywide trend. The company is also likely to declare a plan to join the RE100, a global corporate initiative designed to shift energy use to renewable sources as a way to respond to climate change and other environmental issues, according to industry sources familiar with the matter. Sa

IndustrySept. 12, 2022

[From the Scene] China’s TCL no longer an underdog

BERLIN -- At this year’s IFA trade show in Berlin, the world’s top two TV makers -- Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics -- both stressed that they will focus on upgrading the user experience and not the hardware itself. The South Korean tech rivals said they aimed to meet different consumer demands, especially those of younger generations, by offering more diverse products like a rotating TV for horizontal viewing or a bendable TV for gamers. Their emphasis on user experience is a

TechnologySept. 10, 2022

[Weekender] From eggs to stocks: Chuseok gifts evolve in reflection of the time

Shin Jeong-eum, a 61-year-old Seoulite, remembers her childhood when her family was delighted with beef wrapped in a simple paper package and a carton of eggs held together by straw as Chuseok gifts. As for her, Shin's favorite moments in the 1970s were receiving new clothes from her relatives as they celebrated the traditional mid-autumn harvest festival, honoring their ancestors. “Nowadays, it’s all about gifting luxury items and we can just send the gifts after purchasing them t

EconomySept. 9, 2022

Naver indicted for allegedly violating fair trade law

Internet portal giant Naver Corp. was indicted Thursday for allegedly violating fair trade law by abusing its market dominant position in dealing with a real estate market information partner. 　 　The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office charged Naver over allegations that it blocked the unspecified market information provider from selling data to Kakao Corp., Naver‘s main rival, between May 2015 and September 2017. 　 　The case was launched following a criminal complaint filed by the

IndustrySept. 8, 2022

Big firms join forces to help Busan host World Expo

South Korea’s business giants have joined hands in a nationwide campaign to promote Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. The government formally submitted Busan’s bid to host the expo in 2030 to the Bureau International des Exposition (BIE) in Paris, the international body with 170 member states that coordinates the hosting of world expos. Rome, Riyadh and Ukraine’s Odesa have also made bids to host the event. Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, LG and other conglomerates hav

IndustrySept. 8, 2022

HLB’s anticancer drug candidate shows world’s longest survival duration against liver cancer

HLB’s precision cancer drug Rivoceranib has demonstrated the world’s longest median overall survival, or mOS, in phase 3 clinical trials of liver cancer, the South Korean biopharmaceutical company said Thursday. According to HLB, Rivoceranib’s mOS recorded 22.1 months to mark the first drug in the world to break the 20-month barrier against liver cancer. The company earlier released the abstract of phase 3 concomitant clinical trials of Rivoceranib and anticancer drug Camreli

TechnologySept. 8, 2022