[KH Explains] EV scare building up in Korea over a series of battery fires

Early this month, an electric vehicle caught fire in Busan, sparking safety concerns among drivers of battery-powered cars. It was an Ioniq 5, Hyundai Motor’s all-electric model, that went up in flames just three seconds after crashing into a highway toll gate. The driver and one passenger in the car died in the accident, but investigations are ongoing to figure out whether they died from the crash or whether they were not able to escape from the fire that broke out so quickly. While th

MobilityJune 16, 2022

Seoul stocks snap 7-day losing streak on eased Fed policy uncertainty

South Korean stocks rebounded slightly Thursday, ending their seven-day losing streak, as uncertainty over the future course by the US Federal Reserve eased somewhat after its sharpest rate hike in almost three decades. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 4.03 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 2,451.41, after erasing most of its earlier gains. The index hit an intraday high of 2,500.36. Trading volume was moderate at 567.50 millio

MarketJune 16, 2022

Yoon to carry out deregulations, tax reform to pursue market-oriented economy

SEJONG -- The Yoon Suk-yeol administration on Thursday unveiled a five-year plan to pursue a business-friendly and market-oriented economy by carrying out intensive deregulatory measures and alleviating the corporate tax burden. In a major shift from the previous administration‘s liberal agenda of an income-driven economy, the new government also vowed to minimize state intervention in the market. In addition, the plan includes a series of reforms, such as restructuring the national pensi

EconomyJune 16, 2022

Posco International expands eco-friendly energy business in Australia

Posco International, the trading arm of Posco Group, is seeking to triple sales at two of its gas fields in Australia by 2025 by leveraging its recently acquired Australian energy company Senex Energy, the Korean firm said Thursday. Posco International CEO Joo Si-bo visited the Senex Energy headquarters on Tuesday and Wednesday to look around the natural gas plants and meet with employees there, the company said. Joo also met with Posco International’s partner firm, Hancock Energy, to di

IndustryJune 16, 2022

Legal logic takes new twist in SK-Netflix dispute

Litigation in the high court between internet provider SK Broadband and global streaming service Netflix is taking a twist, as Netflix invokes new logic to argue it has no obligation to pay network usage fees to the South Korean company. Legal representatives of Netflix argued in a Seoul High Court trial Wednesday evening that the two companies had consented to the principle that the interconnection of separate internet networks, also known as “peering,” would involve zero payment

TechnologyJune 16, 2022

Korean retail investors’ fears grow on stock, crypto meltdown

Retail investors who enjoyed record-low borrowing costs and abundant market liquidity during the COVID-19 pandemic have quickly come to face growing risks from plummeting stock and crypto markets hit by 40-year high inflation in the US and the rapid rate hikes that have followed. The benchmark Kospi on Thursday closed at 2,451.41, 0.16 percent higher from the previous close, when it dipped to its lowest closing price in 19 months at 2,447.38. The secondary, tech-heavy Kosdaq closed 0.34 percen

MarketJune 16, 2022

Kepco demands Q3 electricity rate hike

The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. demanded an electricity rate hike for the three months starting July amid rising fuel costs and record losses. The company on Thursday submitted its rate outline to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which will make the decision. Electricity rates consist of a basic fuel cost, a climate environment fee and a fuel cost adjustment fee. Kepco is proposing a fuel cost adjustment fee hike of 3 won (0.2 cent) p

IndustryJune 16, 2022

Global startup fair NextRise kicks off in Seoul

The largest fair in South Korea for startups wishing to go abroad kicked off on Thursday in Seoul. The aim is to help the nation‘s budding enterprises attract investment and forge partnerships with big corporations. The annual event titled NextRise is hosted by the Korea International Trade Association and Korea Development Bank. This year’s event will be held for two days, starting on Thursday and ending Friday. The event, taking place at COEX, Samseong-dong, Seoul, features pres

IndustryJune 16, 2022

SK Geocentric teams up with French, Canadian firms on plastic waste recycling

SK Geocentric Co., a chemical unit under South Korea's SK Group, said Thursday it has signed an initial deal with France's Suez S.A. and a Canadian partner to build a joint plastic waste recycling plant in the European country. The agreement with the French water management company and Loop Industries, a Quebec-based plastic waste recycling firm, commit the three to work together to build an annual 70,000-ton plastic recycling plant in France, SK Geocentric said in a release, without p

IndustryJune 16, 2022

S. Korea's national debt tops W1,000tr for 1st time

South Korea's national debt surpassed the 1,000 trillion won ($781.07 billion) mark for the first time ever amid the government's expansionary fiscal spending to support the economic recovery, data showed Thursday. The total government debt hit an all-time high of 1,001 trillion won as of end-April, up by 19.1 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data compiled by the finance ministry. The managed fiscal balance, a key gauge of fiscal health, posted a deficit of 37.9 trillion won

EconomyJune 16, 2022

[Exclusive] Samsung Biologics to join RE100

SAN DIEGO -- Samsung Biologics, the world’s largest contract development and manufacturing organization by production capacity, will join the global RE100 renewable energy initiative as early as next month, a source familiar with the matter said Wednesday.  Led by the Climate Group in partnership with CDP, formerly known as Carbon Disclosure Project, the RE100 initiative commits members to using 100 percent renewable electricity.  Among the 372 members of the RE100 as of Wednes

IndustryJune 16, 2022

Seoul shares open sharply higher as Fed's rate hike comes within market estimate

Seoul shares got off to a strong start Thursday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street, after the US Federal Reserve delivered a rate hike that met market expectations. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 45.43 points, or 1.86 percent, to 2,492.81 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares closed higher after the Fed hiked the key rates by 0.75 percentage point, the largest increase since 1994, to tame high-flying inflation. There had been worries that t

MarketJune 16, 2022

S. Korea to closely monitor market after Fed's aggressive monetary tightening

South Korea will keep close tabs on the financial market following the Federal Reserve's overnight rate hike decision as worries are growing over heightening volatility from the US' aggressive monetary tightening, the country's top financial policymaker said Thursday. On Wednesday (US time), the Fed decided to hike its interest rate by 0.75 percentage point in the latest move to tighten monetary policy and tame soaring inflation. It marked the first such steep rate increase since November 1994.

EconomyJune 16, 2022

BMW, Volvo, Maserati to recall over 8,000 vehicles in S. Korea over faulty parts

BMW Group Korea and three other carmakers will voluntarily recall around 8,200 vehicles to fix part defects and software errors, Seoul's transport ministry said Thursday. BMW will recall 6,684 cars of 23 models, including the X4 xDrive20d M Sport Package, after detecting a problem with their fuel filter heater, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Volvo Trucks Korea will also recall a total of 1,295 vehicles from four models, as software errors in their communica

IndustryJune 16, 2022

Samsung chief visits ASML HQ as race for high-end chip intensifies

Samsung Electronics top executives on Tuesday held talks with representatives of chip photolithography equipment maker ASML, including its Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink, the South Korean tech giant said Wednesday. Representatives of Samsung, including Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman and de facto leader; and Kyung Kye-hyun, co-chief executive officer in charge of Samsung’s semiconductor business, visited the headquarters of ASML in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Samsung said in a state

TechnologyJune 15, 2022

Rocket Nuri launch indefinitely postponed due to technical glitch

The launch of South Korea's homegrown rocket Nuri has been indefinitely postponed due to technical glitches found during the final round of preparations before its planned launch on Thursday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday the Korea Aerospace Research Institute found a problem in one of the sensors in the oxidizer tank that measures the amount of oxidizer there. According to KARI, the sensor was failing to point to the correct level of oxidizer in the tank. “Once we ack

TechnologyJune 15, 2022

Kospi slumps in 7-day losing streak

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi fell 45.59 points, or 1.83 percent, from a day earlier to 2447.38 Wednesday, marking a seventh straight negative session as investors dramatically raise their bets on a US Fed hike of 75 basis points on Wednesday there, steeper than the 50 basis points it had indicated. The main board slid to an intraday low of 2436.04, a new 52-week low, as foreign investors carried on a sell-off for a ninth session straight, outweighing purchases by institutional and retai

MarketJune 15, 2022

Seoul stocks dive to fresh 19-month low amid woes over Fed's rate decision

South Korean stocks sank to a fresh 19-month low Wednesday to extend their losing streak to a seventh day ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision amid high inflation and concerns over a global recession. The local currency also fell against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 45.59 points, or 1.83 percent, to close at 2,447.38. It is the lowest figure since Nov. 10, 2020, when the index closed at 2,452.83. Trading volume was moderate at 700.92

MarketJune 15, 2022

Cargo truckers end strike; damage bill tops W2.5tr

The country’s unionized cargo truckers ended a weeklong strike and returned to work Wednesday after reaching a tentative late-night agreement with the government on the extension of a minimum wage system based on a freight rate. The sit-in protest, which caused a major supply disruption across the country, has left industrial businesses with a damage bill worth some 2.5 trillion won ($1.93 billion), companies said. Of them, steelmakers saw the most damage at 1.15 trillion won, followed b

IndustryJune 15, 2022

Job increase hits 22-year high of 930,000 in May

SEJONG -- The number of people employed in South Korea increased by more than 900,000 in May from a year earlier, which marked the largest job increase in 22 years for that month. But figures showed that men in their 60s or older made up more than 30 percent (32.4 percent) of the total increase, state data showed Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea, the number of jobs came to 28.48 million as of last month, up 935,000 on-year. This posted the largest growth since May 2000, when an increas

EconomyJune 15, 2022