Card use grows in 2021 on spending recovery, less reliance on hard currency

Card use for settlement in South Korea jumped 9.4 percent last year as consumption rebounded from a pandemic-caused slowdown and people reduced reliance on hard currency, central bank data showed Tuesday. The daily average settlement made through credit card and other card services came to 2.76 trillion won ($2.26 billion) last year, up from 2.52 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The growth was driven mostly by a spike in settlement through credit

EconomyMarch 22, 2022

Sales at franchise outlets fall 5.5% in 2020 due to pandemic

Sales at franchise outlets in South Korea declined 5.5 percent on-year in 2020 due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, led by a slump in sales at dining-out brands, the corporate watchdog showed Tuesday. Sales at franchise outlets averaged 311 million won ($254,400) in 2020, compared with 329 million won the previous year, according to the Fair Trade Commission. Average sales at dining-out franchise brands fell 9 percent on-year to 283 million won. Service providers, including education

EconomyMarch 22, 2022

Banks' bad loans decline in 2021 amid debt rollovers

South Korean banks' nonperforming loans shrank in 2021 due in part to debt rollovers aimed at helping pandemic-hit businesses, data showed Tuesday. Bad loans at local banks came to 11.8 trillion won ($9.7 billion) at the end of December, down from the previous year's 13.9 trillion won, according to the preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The regulator attributed the decline to a fall in overdue corporate loans, which totaled 10.2 trillion won as of end-December, down f

EconomyMarch 22, 2022

Seoul shares up late Tues. morning on tech gains

Seoul shares extended gains late Tuesday morning, buoyed by institutional buying despite Wall Street losses on rising oil prices and the Fed's hawkish comments on inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.27 points, or 0.64 percent, to trade at 2,703.32 points as of 11:20 a.m. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Monday (local time) the US central bank would raise its benchmark short-term interest rate faster than expected if that is needed to contain ramp

MarketMarch 22, 2022

Hyundai Heavy Industries sells $300m in green bonds

Major South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday it has successfully sold green bonds worth US$300 million to overseas investors. The five-year green bonds carry an interest rate equaling to the yield on five-year US Treasuries plus a spread of 0.95 percentage point, 0.20 percentage point lower than its original offer. The shipbuilder's first overseas public sale of five-year green bonds, guaranteed by the state-run Korean Development Bank (KDB), has been two times oversubsc

IndustryMarch 22, 2022

Regulator OKs convenience store operator Korea Seven's takeover of Ministop

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to approve a deal by Korea Seven Co., the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores, to buy its smaller rival Ministop Korea Co. In January, the country's retail giant Lotte inked a deal to acquire a 100 percent stake in Ministop Korea for 313.3 billion won ($257 million). Korea Seven, an affiliate of Lotte, eventually bought Ministop Korea. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it has given the green light to the deal, saying that the t

MarketMarch 22, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on auto, tech gains

Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday on institutional and individual buying amid uncertainties involving the Ukraine-Russia peace talks and US interest rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 5.71 points, or 0.21 percent, to trade at 2,691.76 points as of 9:15 a.m. Institutions and individuals' stock purchases worth 89.7 billion won ($74 million) helped offset 90 billion won worth of foreign selling. Auto and tech stocks led gains. Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. rose 2

MarketMarch 22, 2022

Yoon vows to remove obstacles hindering businesses

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol vowed Monday to remove all institutional obstacles hindering businesses, saying economic growth should be led not by the government but by companies. 　Yoon made the remark during a lunch meeting with the chiefs of six major business lobbies, stressing he is a strong believer in a free market economy. 　“The government‘s job is to remove institutional obstacles so that businesses can decide more freely, invest freely and grow,” he said. “Our

IndustryMarch 21, 2022

‘Retro’ Pokemon Bread craze shows no sign of stopping soon

The craze over Pokemon Bread shows no signs of abating, as the popular pastry series that has recently been revived has induced scenes of people waiting in line at supermarkets and adults posting their search to social media. According to manufacturer SPC Samlip, the supermarket pastry that comes with a sticker of one of the characters from the global hit anime and video game series Pokemon had sold 6.1 million rolls as of Monday. That means some 234,000 rolls were sold each day on average

ConsumerMarch 21, 2022

Apple supplier in talks to acquire LG’s in-car wireless charging business

BH, a local display parts supplier for Apple and Samsung Electronics, said Monday it is in talks with LG Electronics to acquire the tech giant’s in-car wireless smartphone charging business. “Discussions are underway to acquire the in-car wireless smartphone charging business as part of efforts to diversity business portfolio and bolster competiveness,” the firm said in a regulatory filing in response to a news report earlier in the day. According to the report, BH is seeki

TechnologyMarch 21, 2022

Overseas travel demands to pick up as self-quarantine-upon-arrival lifted

Overseas travel demands in South Korea are expected to increase starting Monday as the government has exempted those vaccinated from the seven-day long self-quarantine when back in the country. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that those that have gotten their first dose of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine within 14 days before arrival to South Korea and those that have completed their second or third dose of other vaccines are to be exempt from self-quarantin

IndustryMarch 21, 2022

Seoul stocks down on uncertainty over Ukraine, Fed rate hike

South Korean stocks ended lower Monday, snapping their three-day winning streak, weighed down by uncertainty over the Ukraine-Russia conflict and worries over the US monetary policy. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 20.97 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 2,686.05 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 495 million shares worth some 8.6 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 454 to 394. Ins

MarketMarch 21, 2022

Yoon’s pledge for seniors, soldiers, married couples to cost W68tr

SEJONG -- The three major cash payment pledges made by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol are drawing wide attention, as the support targets make up a large portion of the population: seniors, soldiers and young parents. Yoon pledged that he, if elected, would raise the basic pension (also known as age pension) payouts for the elderly and wage for draftees. He also promised to pay parents with newborns wages for a certain period. Market insiders have raised concerns over how to fund Yoon‘s ca

EconomyMarch 21, 2022

CJ ENM to pump W100b into KT’s media arm in K-content push

South Korea’s entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM is investing 100 billion won ($82.3 million) in KT StudioGenie, a media arm of the domestic telecommunications firm, in a bid to establish bilateral ties for media content targeting global audience, a filing showed Monday. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding the same day, setting a deadline for the acquisition 90 days after the announcement. As a result, CJ ENM will become a minority shareholder with nearly a 10 percent sta

IndustryMarch 21, 2022

Low-income households suffer more from inflation: report

South Korea’s low-income households in the bottom 20 percent have been hit harder by COVID-19-induced inflation than high-income households in the top 20 percent, due to a sharper surge in essential spending on food, housing and utilities than in discretionary spending, a local think tank said Monday. Between 2018-2019 and 2020-2021, consumer prices rose 2.7 percent for the bottom 20 percent, about 1.4 times more than that of the top 20 percent at 1.9 percent, according to the Korea Econo

EconomyMarch 21, 2022

Korean banks expand financial services for foreigners

South Korean banks are notorious among foreign residents here seeking loans and other financial products for their stricter screening and frequent rejections compared to Korean customers. But they have recently started to acknowledge that foreigners here could diversify their revenue sources. At the vanguard of the change is JB Financial Group, a more regional business compared to the four major commercial banking groups here -- KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori -- but nonetheless has a strong net

MarketMarch 21, 2022

Naver Webtoon to set up branch in France

Naver Webtoon, South Korean tech giant Naver’s web-based cartoon platform, said Monday it will open a European branch in France by June in a bid to further expand its presence in the global market. “The branch, tentatively called 'Webtoon EU,' will oversee webtoon services in France, Germany and Spain, and discover new business opportunities in other European countries,” a Naver official said. “With Webtoon EU, Naver Webtoon will foster a strong foothold overseas with

IndustryMarch 21, 2022

When Jjapaghetti meets Shin Ramyun

South Korea‘s top instant noodle maker Nongshim announced Monday the launch of Shinbok-ghetti Big Bowl, a cup noodle that combines two of its top-selling ramyun, Shin Ramyun Fried Noodles, Nongshim’s spicy flagship noodle but without broth, and Jjapaghetti, instant black bean ramyun. “Having monitored social media mentions from last October through this February, we learned that Jjapaghetti was the word most frequently paired with Shin Ramyun Fried Noodles. So we officially b

IndustryMarch 21, 2022

SK ecoplant takes steps for IPO next year

SK ecoplant Co., the eco-energy unit of SK Group, said it has begun taking steps for an initial public offering next year by sending requests for proposal to major stock brokerage firms. After receiving proposals from the brokerage houses, the company said it will select preliminary candidates and finalize next month the firms that will manage its IPO process. “Based on an economy of scale strategy, we have pulled off several mergers and acquisitions of environmental companies, and have

IndustryMarch 21, 2022

Brokerage firms see 2021 net profit jump on increased transaction fees

Brokerage firms in South Korea saw their net profit grow sharply last year thanks to increased transactions fees, data showed Monday. According to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service, 58 brokerage firms reported 9.09 trillion won ($7.5 billion) in their combined net profit last year, up 54.2 percent from a year earlier. The spike stemmed in part from increased transactions fees that expanded 23.2 percent on-year to 16.8 trillion won last year, the data showed. Their earnings from fee

EconomyMarch 21, 2022