Amid K-pop boom, instant noodle exports break $70m mark in March

Exports of Korean instant noodles, or “ramyeon,” last month broke the $70 million mark for the first time amid continued global popularity of Korean pop culture and the pandemic. March exports of ramyeon grew 20 percent from a year ago to $71.58 million, up 35.8 percent from February, according to the Korea Customs Service and food industry sources. The previous monthly record for ramyeon exports was $66.66 million in December last year. The export volume of ramyeon also surpassed

IndustryApril 25, 2022

Asiana Airlines to reopen route to India, offer more to Japan, others

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest carrier, said Monday it will reopen the route to India this week as eased virus restrictions unleash pent-up demand. Asiana will offer one flight a week on the Incheon-Delhi route starting Friday after it suspended the route 33 months ago on July 8, 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a statement. The company will also expand the number of flights on routes to Sydney, Los Angeles, Osaka, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and M

IndustryApril 25, 2022

Samsung Card net swells 16.2% in Q1

Major South Korean credit card issuer Samsung Card Co. said Monday that its earnings rose more than 16 percent in the first quarter of the year on the back of a recovery in consumer confidence. Consolidated net income stood at 160.8 billion won ($129.2 million) in the January-March period, up 16.2 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit climbed 16.8 percent on-year to 216.4 billion won, with revenue increasing 1.4 percent to 930.8 billion won. Samsu

IndustryApril 25, 2022

Instant noodle exports jump 20% in March

South Korea's exports of instant noodles soared 20 percent on-year in March on the global popularity of Korean pop culture amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy exported $71.58 million worth of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, last month, up from $59.62 million a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. From the previous month, overseas shipments of ramyeon shot up 35.8 percent. March mar

EconomyApril 25, 2022

[Photo News] Food tasting is back

A staff prepares for drink tasting at a discount store chain in Seoul on Sunday, as eating food at public places including movie theaters, indoor sports centers and department stores become available starting on Monday.

TechnologyApril 24, 2022

Pokemon craze extends to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3

Samsung Electronics said Sunday that it is launching its limited smartphone package, Galaxy Z Flip 3 Pokemon edition on Monday. The package was co-designed with the Pokemon franchise and Nintendo to include a wide range of Pokemon themed accessories such as a Pikachu key ring, a Pokemon palette, a Pokedex design pouch, a Monsterball Pop socket and a selection of five different Pokemon stickers. The electronics giant has worked with 40 different brands to create accessories for its electronic

IndustryApril 24, 2022

Korean battery industry on alert as material prices skyrocket

South Korean battery cell makers and the materials industry are seeking supply chain vigilance as prices of key materials such as lithium and nickel continue to skyrocket due to geopolitical uncertainties such as Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, officials of the Korea Battery Industry Association are to fly to the United States to discuss ways to stabilize the battery supply chain for electric vehicles with the Office of the United States Trade Representative and US lawmakers. T

IndustryApril 24, 2022

Self-driving car market race heats up; S. Korean regulations lag behind: report

South Korea is lagging behind in revising regulations to prepare for the commercialization of autonomous vehicles compared to other major countries such as the US, Germany and Japan, a Seoul-based think tank said Sunday. The market size of autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles is expected to grow from $7.1 billion in 2020 to $1 trillion by 2035, a report by the Korea Economic Research Institute showed. More than half of the newly launched cars to be sold in 2030 are expected to be equipped with

MobilityApril 24, 2022

Inflation in S. Korea 2nd highest in region: IMF

The International Monetary Fund said inflation in South Korea would hit 4 percent this year, second behind only New Zealand in a list of eight advanced economies in the Asia and Pacific region, in part because of the war in Ukraine. The projection was made public this month as Asia’s fourth-largest economy is seen as sliding into stagflation, a condition where rising inflation and shrinking economic growth coexist. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF forecast inflation of

EconomyApril 24, 2022

SC Bank offers 2% interest rate for savings by new customers

Standard Chartered Bank Korea said on Friday that it will offer an annual before-tax interest rate of 2 percent on savings for new bank customers subscribing to its My Signature Account. The promotional event will last through May 31. My Signature Account, launched in July 2021, is a checking account that specializes in residual fund management. It has provided customers with high and stable interest rates since its release despite unstable market conditions, said bank officials. 　 Account ho

IndustryApril 24, 2022

What does rise of metaverse hold for future?

As the metaverse becomes more prevalent across all industries on the back of greater investments and technological advancements, The Korea Herald and the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea are co-hosting a forum to discuss what the next web revolution holds for the future. The joint forum, slated to be held on May 2 at Four Seasons Seoul, has invited a number of business leaders and experts in the metaverse sector to share their insights on the ascending metaverse and how it will play an in

TechnologyApril 24, 2022

[Weekender] Foreign vacations are back, but come with hefty price tags

Attention travel-starved Koreans. The cost of air travel is rising, with more upward pressure building from high jet fuel prices and soaring tourism demand. If you are fixed on an overseas vacation, don’t wait too long to book it, experts say. “Airlines are selling their flight tickets well and there is a supply shortage. We are in a situation where prices are forced to go up,” an Asiana Airlines official told The Korea Herald. “The number of flights in operation has

MobilityApril 23, 2022

S. Korea requests MSCI to put its stock market on watch list for developed market status

South Korea’s top economic policymaker has requested the global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International to place the country’s stock market on the watch list for the developed market status during its review in June, his office said Saturday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks during his meeting with senior officials from MSCI in New York on Friday (local time) as South Korea is pushing again to win the MSCI developed market status. MSCI has classified the So

EconomyApril 23, 2022

[Interactive] National brand positively impacts foreign buyers’ purchases of Korean goods

　Nearly 7 in 10 foreign buyers think that South Korea’s national brand is having a positive impact on their purchases of products from Asia‘s fourth-largest economy, a poll showed. 　According to the survey of 213 foreign buyers, 72.9 percent of the respondents replied that their imports of South Korean goods have been affected positively by the country’s national brand. 　Slightly over 25.4 percent said South Korean products remind them of high quality, followed by reasonable

BusinessApril 23, 2022

KB outpaces banking rivals in Q1 with record earnings

South Korea’s KB Financial Group outperformed its local rivals, posting a record net profit for the first three months of the year as the banking industry’s overall performance was bolstered by a surge in interest and fee revenue, regulatory filings showed Friday. KB’s net income gained 14.4 percent on-year to 1.45 trillion won ($1.17 billion) in the January-March period. Operating income gained 8.9 percent on-year to 1.9 trillion won in the cited period. Interest income inc

MarketApril 22, 2022

Naver ditches acquisition plans for SM Entertainment

South Korean tech giant Naver said Friday it is not joining a bidding war for SM Entertainment, the K-pop powerhouse behind EXO and aespa. “The company is looking into various options to bolster business competitiveness, but it has decided not to participate in the deal,” Naver’s Chief Financial Officer Kim Nan-sun said in a regulatory filing. The statement comes after months of rampant speculation that crosstown rivals Naver and Kakao had been competing to acquire a 19.21

MarketApril 22, 2022

Seoul stocks dip on hawkish US Fed

South Korean stocks retreated Friday as the US Federal Reserve chief signaled interest rates would be aggressively raised. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 23.5 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 2,704.71 points. The key stock index gained 0.32 percent from a week ago. Daily trading volume was moderate at about 1.21 billion shares worth some 11.9 trillion won ($9.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 550 to 313. Inst

MarketApril 22, 2022

Finance minister expresses worries over rebound in home prices

SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki expressed worries over the nation’s real estate market during his stay in Washington, D.C. for international ministerial meetings, saying that home prices are rebounding. Hong said Friday (Korean time) that the government had failed to tame housing prices during the early part of his term since December 2018, when he took office, despite a variety of policy attempts. “(Later), I was encouraged by the situation that ho

EconomyApril 22, 2022

Posco pours W1tr to ramp up production of eco-friendly electrical steel

Posco said Friday that it has kicked off construction of a new 1 trillion won ($804 million) electrical steel manufacturing plant in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, in response to growing demand for the eco-friendly steel in vehicles and home appliances.  The steel giant said based on its 40-year expertise in producing electrical steels, the new plant will be producing 300,000 tons of high-efficient, non-oriented electrical steels annually, which are used as core materials in rotating ma

IndustryApril 22, 2022

Stock settlements nose-dive 32% in Q1 amid slumping market

The value of stock settlements in South Korea plunged nearly 32 percent in the first quarter of the year as the stock market remained in the doldrums, a local clearing house said Friday. The Korea Securities Depository (KSD) said stocks worth 1.85 trillion won ($1.49 billion) were settled through the agency per day in the January-March period, down 31.8 percent from a year earlier. Yet the first-quarter figure was up 4.6 percent from three months earlier. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Pric

EconomyApril 22, 2022