LG, Kakao team up for future mobility

LG Electronics and Kakao Mobility have teamed up to create a new ecosystem for future mobility as they jointly develop services like delivery robots and in-car infotainment systems. The two firms recently signed a memorandum of understanding, with their chief technology officers in attendance, they said in a statement Wednesday. Their partnership involves a slew of new projects on in-car user experience, delivery robots, connected home appliances, vehicle communications for passenger safety

TechnologyJune 22, 2022

GS Group unveils sustainability goals in its first ESG report

South Korea’s energy-to-retail conglomerate GS Group said Wednesday that it has published its first environmental, social and governance report which contains three key execution plans under a slogan of “Grow Sustainably, GS.” The company said the slogan illustrates the firm’s willingness to make long-term growth which is flexible to social changes in terms of its sustainability execution plans. The plan seeks to reduce, improve and innovate rather than chasing after ef

IndustryJune 22, 2022

Seoul stocks dip almost 3 pct on recession fears; Korean won at 13-year low

South Korean stocks fell again, shedding almost 3 percent Wednesday as recession woes made investors avoid risky assets amid hawkish monetary policy in major economies. The local currency fell to the lowest point against the US dollar in 13 years. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 66.12 points, or 2.74 percent, to close at 2,342.81. Trading volume was moderate at 520.87 million shares worth 8.50 trillion won ($6.54 billion), with decliners far outpacing gainers by 870 to 40.

MarketJune 22, 2022

Nuri’s satellite completes link-up with ground control

Nuri rocket's performance test satellite launched into the Earth’s 700-kilometer orbit has successfully made its first two-way communication with the ground control center, completing the final steps of the launch mission, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday. According to the ministry, the satellite that was sent into space on the Nuri rocket yesterday made two-way communication with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s ground control center in Daejeon at around 3 a.m

TechnologyJune 22, 2022

[Photo News] Empty Myeong-dong

Shops in Myeong-dong, which has been a popular shopping district in Seoul for decades, are seen vacant despite growing numbers of foreign tourists visiting Korea, Wednesday.

IndustryJune 22, 2022

Korea’s household, corporate debt twice size of GDP: BOK

Debt owed by South Korean households and companies in the first quarter of this year reached a combined 3,468.4 trillion won ($2.6 trillion), or 219.4 percent of South Korea’s gross domestic product, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday, warning a rate hike could worsen repayment burdens and hurt people’s purchasing power. The central bank, set to raise borrowing costs in July amid red-hot inflation, said in a report on financial stability that household and company debts fell by 0.1 pe

EconomyJune 22, 2022

First annual trade deficit since 2008 expected this year

South Korea is expected to record this year its first annual trade deficit since the global financial crisis in 2008, the Korea International Trade Association said in a report released on Wednesday. The country is projected to post an annual trade deficit of $14.7 billion due to high oil prices, with $703.9 billion in exports and $718.5 billion in imports, KITA’s Institute for International Trade said. Exports are likely to rise above $700 billion for the first time ever, or up 9.2 perc

IndustryJune 22, 2022

Citibank partners with KB, Toss Bank for W8tr performing loan portfolio transfer

Citigroup’s South Korean subsidiary has said it will cooperate with local financial giant KB Kookmin Bank and the internet-only Toss Bank on transferring its unsecured personal loan portfolio worth some 8 trillion won ($6.1 billion). The move is part of Citibank Korea’s decision announced in October last year to shut down its retail banking operations in phases, after its monthslong attempt to find a buyer of the business failed. Its parent firm and US banking giant Citigroup decide

MarketJune 22, 2022

Lotte Mart adopts AI system for quality control of fruits

South Korean retail giant Lotte Mart said Wednesday it has adopted an artificial intelligence-based screening system for better quality control of fruit products, an industry first here. The AI screening system, using near-infrared light, collects and analyzes data from fruits ranging from weight and sugar content to water content and ripeness. The new technology also allows to detect internal defects such as browning, overripening or cracked seeds that could speed up the fruit rotting. Curr

IndustryJune 22, 2022

GM Korea to launch GMC pickup brand in H2

INCHEON -- GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., said Wednesday it will launch the GMC brand in the second half, with the Sierra Denali set to be released as the brand's launch model in the Korean market. GM's decision to launch the GMC brand is part of the Detroit carmaker's multi-brand strategy in which the Korean unit produces compact SUVs in Korea and brings in large-sized SUVs and pickups from the United States. GMC is GM's premium SUV and pickup tru

IndustryJune 22, 2022

BOK chief to attend BIS meeting

South Korea's top central banker will head to Switzerland this week to attend the general assembly of the Bank for International Settlement (BIS), his office said Wednesday. BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong will leave for Basel on Thursday to attend the annual BIS meeting over this weekend, according to the BOK. Rhee is to meet with top central bankers of other countries and exchange views on the latest economic and financial market situations, it added. He will also attend a BIS board meeting duri

EconomyJune 22, 2022

Foreign currency deposits up in May amid increased corporate savings

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea grew in May due to increased corporate savings, central bank data showed Wednesday. Residents' outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits reached $89.17 billion as of end-May, up $2.18 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Residents include local citizens, companies, foreigners staying here for more than six months and foreign firms. The data excludes interbank foreign currency deposits.

MarketJune 22, 2022

Childbirths hit record low in April; deaths jump to all-time high

The number of babies born in South Korea fell to a record low in April amid the chronically low birthrate, while that of deaths hit an all-time high due to rapid aging and the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Wednesday. A total of 21,124 babies were born in April, down 7 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest for any April since 1981, when the statistics agency started compiling related data. South Korea is struggling with a chronic declin

EconomyJune 22, 2022

Line Plus to allow remote work from abroad

Line Plus, the global arm of messaging app provider Line Corp., said Monday that it will implement a new work system called “Line Hybrid Work 2.0” in July, which includes guidelines on working remotely from abroad. Starting July 1, Line Plus employees will be able to work remotely from anywhere in the world that has a time difference of less than four hours with Korea, for up to 90 days. This will allow employees to work from the company’s major markets including Japan, Taiw

IndustryJune 22, 2022

Internet-only Toss Bank to raise W100b via stock offering

Internet-only bank Toss Bank said Tuesday that it will sell stocks to raise 100 billion won ($77.2 million) to fund business expansion. In a regulatory filing, the company said it will issue a total of 15 million common shares and 5 million convertible stocks at a price of 5,000 won per share. With the stock offerings, Toss Bank's total paid-in capital will amount to 950 billion won. Since its launch, Toss Bank has sold stocks worth 600 billion won to beef up its capital base. Launched in 2

EconomyJune 22, 2022

Samsung expected to announce mass production of 3nm chip next week

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to announce mass production of 3-nanometer semiconductors next week, sources said Wednesday, beating its foundry rival TSMC in advanced chipmaking process. The next-generation 3nm chips will be built on the Gate-All-Around (GAA) technology, which Samsung said will allow up to 45 percent area reduction while providing 30 percent higher performance and 50 percent lower power consumption, compared with the existing FinFET process. The South Korean tech giant show

IndustryJune 22, 2022

Seoul shares open lower despite Wall Street gains

Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday despite Wall Street's overnight rebound, as investor sentiment remained fragile amid bold monetary tightening in major economies and fears about a recession. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.71 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,400.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Wall Street made a comeback overnight, following a brutal week in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's rate hike of 0.75 percent, its steepest increase since 1994, to

MarketJune 22, 2022

Nuri opens new space era

GOHEUNG, South Jeolla Province -- In its second attempt, South Korea successfully launched the nation’s first domestic rocket into orbit on Tuesday, a landmark step that opens a new era of homegrown space technology and lays the foundation for outer space excursion. After spending eight months on improving technical problems that caused an early shutdown of the third-stage rocket engine, the Nuri rocket (KSLV-II), weighing 200 metric tons, once again flew to outer space at the state-run

TechnologyJune 21, 2022

Over 300 Korean companies serve as building blocks of Nuri success

Tight collaboration of all parties concerned is key to a rocket launch, as a minor technical glitch could botch years of efforts. Behind Tuesday’s successful launch of South Korea’s first homegrown rocket Nuri were the joint efforts of over 300 companies at home. Korea Aerospace Industries, based in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, was the effective leader of the pack. KAI has been in charge of the assembly of all rocket parts supplied since joining the Nuri project in 2014. K

TechnologyJune 21, 2022

S. Korea joins elite space club as 7th member

The successful launch of South Korea’s homegrown space rocket Nuri, officially the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II, on Tuesday added the country as the seventh nation in the world to have developed a space launch vehicle that can carry a satellite of more than 1 ton. The list begins with Russia, the US and France. China, Japan and India later joined the exclusive club of spacefaring nations. Since initiating its first space rocket development mission in the early 1990s, it took nearly 30 y

IndustryJune 21, 2022