[Photo News] May the fourth be with you

A man stares at a life-sized Darth Vader made of lego cubes on display at E-Mart Wangshimri branch in Seoul in collaboration with Walt Disney Korea on Wednesday, celebrated as Star Wars Day among fans.

TechnologyMay 4, 2022

Fractional investment in K-pop, art trending among young S. Koreans

Low borrowing cost during the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed millennials and Generation Z in South Korea to invest in stocks and cryptocurrencies. It was then that fractional investment platforms began to catch the eyes of the young investors, luring them with trendy items and the idea they could profit off of their pocket money. Musicow, the nation’s first music copyright trading platform that has amassed more than 1 million users as of February has become a major fractional investment pl

MarketMay 4, 2022

Battery, K-pop, virtual currency firms rise on top 500 list

The list of South Korea’s 500 biggest companies by sales saw significant changes last year, with the rise of battery, K-pop and virtual currency firms, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. Battery maker LG Energy Solution jumped from No. 343 in 2020 to No. 44 last year on the annual list released by CEO Score as its shipments of pouch- and cylinder-type batteries surged on growing global demand for electric cars. Camera module supplier LG Innotek went from No. 68 to No. 48 in the same per

TechnologyMay 4, 2022

Cha Biotech’s US subsidiary opens CGT production facility

Cha Biotech’s US subsidiary Matica Biotechnology has opened a new cell and gene therapy production facility to boost its contract development and manufacturing organization business on the global stage, officials said Wednesday. With a 500-liter bioreactor, the new CDMO facility, based in College Station, Texas, will produce various types of viral vectors that are the essential basis of cell and gene therapy, according to Cha Biotech. The company said that Matica Biotechnology is curre

TechnologyMay 4, 2022

Samsung unveils memory card that records video for 16 years non-stop

Samsung Electronics unveiled Wednesday a long-lasting nonvolatile micro SD card for surveillance cameras that can deliver up to 16 years of continuous recording time without replacement. The product, branded as “Pro Endurance,” can last up to 33 times longer than typical speed-focused SD cards, for its largest 256-gigabyte capacity variant, according to the South Korean tech giant. The micro SD card can be used for surveillance cameras like closed circuit televisions, dashboard ca

TechnologyMay 4, 2022

Samsung to back Dish’s 5G rollout in US

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it was selected by Dish Wireless, the fourth-largest telecom carrier in the United States, to jointly deploy a commercial fifth-generational network across the country. Samsung said it would become the second-largest network equipment supply deal in the US if signed, following a $6.6 billion contract with Verizon announced in 2020. The size of the deal was not disclosed, but local reports speculate the deal to be as large as 1 trillion won ($794 million). The

TechnologyMay 4, 2022

BOK expected to deliver 4 more rate hikes by year's end amid inflation woes: JP Morgan

South Korea's central bank is expected to hike its key interest rate four more times by year's end considering its hawkish stance shown in the minutes of its latest rate-setting meeting, global investment bank JP Morgan said Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Bank of Korea (BOK) disclosed the minutes of its monetary policy board meeting on April 14, showing that its members called for further rate increases to tame inflation. The BOK raised the rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.5 percent during th

EconomyMay 4, 2022

Hanjin eyeing W1tr in global biz sales by 2025

South Korean logistics company Hanjin Transportation Co. said Wednesday it will strengthen its global business to nearly triple the segment's revenue in the next three years. The company said in a statement it is targeting to boost sales from the global business division to 1 trillion won ($789 million) by 2025 from 375.5 billion won in 2021. To that end, Hanjin will seek to establish a digital forwarding platform, bolster its cross-border e-commerce through the expansion of its global dist

IndustryMay 4, 2022

Imported car sales fall 9.8 pct in April amid chip shortages

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 9.8 percent last month from a year earlier as chip shortages continued to affect vehicle production, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 23,070 units last month from 25,578 units a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models last month were Mercedes-Benz's E 350 4MATIC sedan, BMW's 520 sedan and Merc

EconomyMay 4, 2022

Kakao Q1 net swells by over fivefold on gains from Dunamu stock disposal

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Wednesday its first-quarter net profit jumped by more than fivefold from a year earlier, due to one-off gains from the disposal of its stocks in a local crypto exchange operator. Net income reached 1.32 trillion won ($1 billion) in the January-March period, compared with 239.8 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its fourth-quarter net profit in 2021 was 224 billion won. Operating p

IndustryMay 4, 2022

Samsung keeps No. 1 spot on S. Korea's top 500 firms' list

Global tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. retained the No. 1 spot on the list of South Korea's top 500 firms by sales, with 39 businesses newly making the list, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. Samsung Electronics, the flagship unit of South Korea's leading family-controlled conglomerate Samsung Group, remained the biggest company last year, with its top line coming to 279.6 trillion won ($221 billion), according to CEO Score. Leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co., the marquee unit of automakin

IndustryMay 4, 2022

Hyundai, Kia's April US sales fall 18% amid chip shortages

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their combined sales in the United States fell 18 percent last month from a year earlier due mainly to the prolonged chip shortages. Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 120,731 vehicles in the US in April from 147,700 units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. Hyundai's sales declined 20 percent on-year to 61,668 units last month from 77,523 a year ago, while Kia's dropped 16 percent to 59,063 from 70,177 during the same per

IndustryMay 4, 2022

Foreign reserves down in April for 2nd month on strong dollar

South Korea's foreign reserves shrank for the second straight month in April as the strong dollar resulted in a fall in converted value of non-dollar holdings and the government unloaded the greenback to defend the local currency, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's foreign reserves stood at $449.3 billion as of end-April, down $8.51 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the second straight month of on-month declines

MarketMay 4, 2022

Annual EV expo in Jeju kicks off; aims to add UAMs next year

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island -- The International Electric Vehicle Expo, an annual exhibition of green cars, kicked off Tuesday for its ninth run bringing around 200,000 industry experts and visitors from around 50 countries to the South Korean island of Jeju. While the expo preparation committee had promised to expand the participation of finished car brands this year, only two, Tesla and Polestar, took part in this year’s event. But the chairman stressed that they must also focus on giving S

IndustryMay 3, 2022

Korean Air president urges to scrap PCR testing upon departure, arrival

The president of South Korean flag carrier Korean Air on Tuesday called for lifting rules that obligate passengers to submit PCR test results before departure and on arrival here. Referring to other countries that have entirely scrapped COVID testing for travelers from April, Woo Ki-hong, the president of Korea Air, said the South Korean government has hampered local air carriers’ efforts in resuming their international operations. “Other airlines have expanded up to the 90 percent

IndustryMay 3, 2022

Consumer price growth hits 13-year high in April

SEJONG -- Korea’s consumer prices climbed the fastest in more than 13 years last month in the wake of a spike in international raw materials prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as sharply rising global demand for goods, state data showed Tuesday. According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices rose 4.8 percent last month, compared to a year earlier. This marked the highest since October 2008, when the same figure of 4.8 percent was reported. The surge came despite a Ba

EconomyMay 3, 2022

New tech, new war: Naver, Kakao race for AI dominance

With digital technology becoming the key drivers for growth across industries, South Korea’s tech behemoths Naver and Kakao are going all-in to win the tech war using artificial intelligence through AI-powered search engines and logistics solutions businesses. Naver announced Tuesday it has made upgrades to its AI search engine, called “Airsearch,” now offering more optimized search results for users. “Since the Naver mobile app has access to users’ personal info

TechnologyMay 3, 2022

Seoul shares end slightly down amid market uncertainty ahead of Fed meeting

South Korean stocks finished slightly lower Tuesday amid inflation woes and uncertainty over this week's US Federal Reserve meeting. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 6.99 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 2,680.46. Trading volume was moderate at about 869 million shares worth some 9 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 475 to 368. Institutions sold a net 214 billion won, while foreign and reta

MarketMay 3, 2022

[Photo News] Bank while you shop

KB Kookmin Bank opened a unmanned branch within top retailer Emart‘s No Brand store in Express Bus Terminal in Seoul on Tuesday. The branch, launched in partnership with Emart, connects users with bank tellers through video calls and provides basic services including wiring, issuance of debit cards and more.

IndustryMay 3, 2022

Korean scientists develop world’s 1st photothermal filters that kill coronavirus

South Korean scientists have developed the world’s first photothermal-effect-based high efficiency particulate air filter -- also known as HEPA filter -- that can take out 99.9 percent of influenza and COVID-19 viruses, the Korea Institute of Energy Research said Tuesday. The photothermal effect, which refers to the mechanism of how a substance absorbs light energy and turns it into heat energy, is used in various areas such as drug delivery, cell death, sensor and solar battery. The re

TechnologyMay 3, 2022