Netflix subsidiary to invest $100m in S. Korea

A subsidiary of Netflix will invest $100 million in South Korea over the next six years to build special visual effects facilities in a move that will help turn the country into an Asian hub for high-tech content creation, Seoul's industry ministry said Friday. Scanline VFX will carry out the investment plan by 2027, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. An event to officially announce the plan took place in central Seoul, with Stephan Trojansky, the head of the global vi

IndustryMay 20, 2022

S. Korea to face 'grave' inflation risk for time being: official

South Korea is expected to face a "grave" risk from rising inflation for the time being, as the recovery of consumption will further add price pressure amid high energy costs, a senior government official said Friday. The government plans to beef up its monitoring of key items, including cooking oil and petroleum products, in a bid to ease the burden from elevated inflation, according to First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun. "Price situations facing the South Korean economy are

EconomyMay 20, 2022

[Graphic News] Imports of home furnishings hit record high last year amid pandemic

　South Korea’s imports of home furnishing products hit an all-time high last year on the back of demand by consumers staying home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. 　The imports of eight kinds of home furnishing goods, including sofas and lamps, came to $3.5 billion last year, up 15.6 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. 　It rose 26.1 percent from the pre-pandemic year of 2019. 　By country, inbound shipments from China were the largest wi

BusinessMay 20, 2022

Producer prices up for 4th month in April on energy, raw material price hikes

South Korea's producer prices grew for the fourth straight month in April as hikes in energy and raw material prices drove up costs of manufacturing products, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 118.02 in April, up 1.1 percent from a revised 116.70 tallied a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, the index jumped 9.2 percent, faster than the previous month�

EconomyMay 20, 2022

Seoul stocks open higher on tech, auto gains

South Korean shares opened higher Friday, buoyed by strong advances by tech and auto heavyweights, despite overnight falls on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 25.64 points, or 0.99 percent, to trade at 2,617.98 points as of 9:15 a.m. On Thursday, the index dipped 1.28 percent. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined, largely on continued pressure on inflation hikes. KOSPI's top cap Samsung Electro

MarketMay 20, 2022

S-Oil’s Ulsan refinery explosion leaves one dead, nine injured

An explosion at an S-Oil refinery in Ulsan, some 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, left one person dead and nine others injured, firefighters said Friday.  Firefighters were notified of an explosion at the S-Oil refinery at 8:52 p.m. on Thursday. The injured workers were transported to a hospital nearby. While the exact cause has yet to be determined, fire authorities said the accident occurred inside S-Oil’s refinery at Onsan industrial park while crude oil was being processe

IndustryMay 19, 2022

Hyundai Glovis enters Thai market

Hyundai Glovis, a supply chain management arm under Hyundai Motor Group, said Thursday that it has launched an overseas corporation in Bangkok, as part of its business expansion strategy in the Southeast Asian market. Hyundai Glovis Logistics Thailand, a joint venture that has been formed with local auto parts manufacturers and logistics firms, will be responsible for creating synergy with its existing logistics points in Vietnam and Indonesia, the company said in a statement.  According

IndustryMay 19, 2022

[Newsmaker] Hanwha builds Korea's first beehive monitored by using solar energy

To honor the United Nation’s World Bee Day, Hanwha Group said Thursday that it has created the country’s first solar beehive which has been designed with a photovoltaic low-carbon structure that uses electricity generated through solar panel. Hanwha Group said it has installed the solar beehive at the Korea National University of Agriculture and Fisheries (KNUAF) as a part of its pilot program. At this beehive, about 40,000 bees will help pollinate the fruit trees on campus and vege

IndustryMay 19, 2022

[Test Drive] Toyota’s manual sports car GR86 returns with enhanced engine

INJE, Gangwon Province - Toyota’s iconic motorsports car Gazoo Racing 86 is back, 10 years after its second-generation model was launched in South Korea. And while other models are sold on green credentials, the carmaker has made a play for petrolheads with the third generation of the car, increasing the size of the engine by 20 percent to 2.4 liters, and offering a maximum torque of 25.5 kilogram-meters. Design-wise, the GR86 is unremarkable, looking like a typical sports car that can b

MobilityMay 19, 2022

Proptech startup Zigbang to launch global metaverse office

Zigbang, a South Korean proptech startup, said Thursday it will launch a global metaverse office platform that allows closer virtual interaction among staffers working for companies in the world. Soma is named after the ‘South of Market’ neighborhood in San Francisco, the home ground of Twitter and Airbnb. Zigbang has high hopes to build a business complex in the metaverse for innovative global startups, according to a company official. The new platform is an upgraded version of M

TechnologyMay 19, 2022

Seoul shares dip over 1% on inflation woes

Seoul shares dropped by over 1 percent to snap their two-day winning streak, as investors' appetite for risky assets fell amid fears about high-flying inflation pressure that sparked a massive sell-off on Wall Street. The Korean won steeply fell against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 33.64 points, or 1.28 percent, to close at 2,592.34 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 663 million shares worth some 9.7 trillion won ($7.6 billion), with loser

MarketMay 19, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘Korea can be Silicon Valley for blockchain’

As South Korea looks ahead into the next five years under the new Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the fourth-largest economy in Asia finds itself at a critical juncture with the inevitable advent of the second era of the digital age based on blockchain technology. Don Tapscott, a leading thinker on blockchain, said in an interview with The Korea Herald that he believes Korea can be the next Silicon Valley if the country has the right national blockchain strategy and a good regulatory environment.

TechnologyMay 19, 2022

Korea has nearly 100,000 investors holding crypto worth over W100m

Some 100,000 retail investors in South Korea each held over 100 million won ($78,000) in deposits at cryptocurrency exchanges here as of end-2021, government data showed Thursday, fueling concerns as the recent crash of Korean-made terraUSD and luna cryptocurrencies has decimated the value of digital assets. As of end-December last year, a total of 5.58 million investors were registered with local crypto exchanges, including those provide won-denominated and coin trading, according Financial S

MarketMay 19, 2022

[From the scene] KT SAT seeks multi-orbit strategy for 6G connectivity

GEUMSAN, South Chungcheong Province -- As the world shifts toward the next generation of connectivity for more immersive experiences and real-time communications, more sophisticated satellite connections will be needed, as simple single-orbit approaches are likely to struggle with the data processing in the future. KT SAT, a South Korean satellite communication services provider, was the latest to express a bid to implement a multiorbit strategy -- combining geostationary and lower-Earth orbit

TechnologyMay 19, 2022

Scholar says Korea should overcome fear of embracing innovation

Digital innovation in South Korean industries faces a major hurdle from the country‘s older generation weary of technological changes having unexpected side effects, said professor of mechanical engineering at Sungkyunkwan University Choi Jae-boong on Wednesday. “We as a society need to be more tolerant of people who may create side effects while leading the digital civilization,“ Choi said at the Global Business Forum hosted by The Korea Herald in Seoul on Wednesday.　 &ldqu

IndustryMay 19, 2022

Oriental Brewery’s new TV ad roots for get-togethers

Oriental Brewery began a new television advertisement campaign to encourage get-togethers after two years of social distancing. The commercial “Let’s meet now" shows words of greetings and ends with friends and family toasting and having a good time. Major OB brands such as Cass, OB Lager, Hanmac and FiLGood are shown in the ad as something that connects people. OB beer accounted for more than 50 percent of the beer bought from convenience stores and supermarkets in the first

IndustryMay 19, 2022

S. Korea's tax revenue up W10.4tr in March

South Korea's tax revenue increased 10.4 trillion won ($8.16 billion) in March from a year earlier, as the collection of corporate and value-added taxes rose amid the economic recovery, the finance ministry said Thursday. The government collected 41.1 trillion won in taxes in March, compared with 30.7 trillion won the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. South Korea has continued to log a surplus of tax revenue, as the economy has been on a recovery track. The co

EconomyMay 19, 2022

Seoul shares open steeply lower after US stock plunge

Seoul shares opened steeply lower Thursday, tracking an overnight plunge on Wall Street that stemmed from fears about high-flying inflation pressure. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 47.02 points, or 1.79 percent, to 2,578.96 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The S&P 500 sank 4.04 percent Thursday, the sharpest drop since June 2020, as high inflation and lackluster earnings by giant retailers stoked concerns about a possible recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

MarketMay 19, 2022

SsangYong signs conditional investment deal with KG consortium

SsangYong Motor Co. said Wednesday it has signed a conditional investment deal with a local consortium ahead of the auction later this month to find a new investor for the carmaker.  The Seoul Bankruptcy Court recently selected the consortium led by chemical-to-steel firm KG Group as the preliminary bidder for SsangYong Motor.   The new auction comes two months after local electric bus maker Edison Motors Co. failed to make a full payment of 304.8 billion won ($249 million) fo

IndustryMay 18, 2022

Justice minister revives financial fraud team

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office said Wednesday that it has reinstated the joint team on financial and securities fraud that was disbanded by the previous Moon government, a day after the new justice minister called for it at his inauguration. The joint team, which was set up in 2013 but dissolved in 2020 amid criticisms that prosecutors abused their authority, epitomized the power and influence wielded by the prosecution. The team, dubbed the market’s “angel of death,

MarketMay 18, 2022