Debt rollover likely be offered to self-employed

SEJONG -- Economic and financial policymakers are considering allowing self-employed people to roll over their debt as part of efforts to minimize insolvency amid the ongoing pandemic. The action comes during the meeting of chiefs from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea on Friday. They will finalize their decision by next month whether to offer a debt rollover to the self-employed and microbusiness own

EconomyFeb. 11, 2022

Renault Samsung names new CEO

Renault Samsung Motors said Friday that Renault Group has named Stephane Deblaise, the former vehicle program director at the French headquarters, as a new chief to lead the Korean business.  The 49-year-old who served Renault’s advanced project and cross-car line program director until recently will assume the new role from March 1.  Deblaise is joining the Korean unit as the first CEO with an engineering background. He also served as Renault’s chief engineer to oversee

MobilityFeb. 11, 2022

Big 4 banking groups post record earnings on lending growth

South Korea’s top four major banking groups -- KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori -- saw their combined earnings last year hit a record high, largely buoyed by robust interest and commission income. According to their separate regulatory filings, the total net profit of the firms soared 34.5 percent on-year to 14.5 trillion ($12 billion) last year, eclipsing the previous record of 10.8 trillion won in 2020. KB Financial Group outpaced rivals in terms of net profit. Its net increased 27.6 perc

MarketFeb. 11, 2022

McDonald’s Korea to raise prices on inflation fears

McDonald’s Korea announced Thursday it will raise prices of some 30 food items by an average of 2.8 percent starting from Feb. 17, in line with other fast food chains that have carried out price hikes recently. Under the new scheme, the price of the Bulgogi Burger will increase from 2,200 won to 2,300 won ($1.84 to $1.92), while a small Americano coffee will be priced at 1,900 won, up from 1,700 won. Other popular combo meals are also expected to see increases of 200 won to 300 won. 

BusinessFeb. 11, 2022

Kia tops JD Power’s reliability study

Hyundai Motor Group said Friday Kia Motors has topped JD Power’s reliability study for the first time, outpacing all rivals in the mass-market and premium segments.  Kia ranked first in JD Power’s 2022 US Vehicle Dependability Study, while its bigger sister Hyundai Motor came third. Genesis, which has become an independent luxury brand, ranked fourth overall, topping the premium segment.  The second place was taken by GM’s Buick brand.  This year’s JD P

MobilityFeb. 11, 2022

Kakao leaders desperate to win back investor trust

Kakao leaders are struggling to restore the platform giant’s brand image and win back the trust of investors after the company’s friendly reputation took a huge hit over a series of mishaps. “Looking back on the path that Kakao has walked on over the past four years, Kakao has achieved rapid growth with the support of the entire nation. But in the process, we have suffered growing pains and lost the society’s trust so I feel heavily responsible for it,” Yeo Min-so

IndustryFeb. 11, 2022

Harman acquires German auto tech startup Apostera

Samsung Electronics said Friday its subsidiary Harman, the US automotive solutions maker, has acquired German auto tech startup Apostera to bolster its leadership in the burgeoning connected car technology market. With the latest deal, Harman aims to further diversity its automotive product offerings using Apostera’s specialty in augmented reality and mixed reality software solutions. Established in 2017, the Munich-based Apostera supplies AR solutions for automotive head-up displays a

TechnologyFeb. 11, 2022

[Obituary] LS Group chairman dies at age 75

Koo Ja-hong, the chairman of LS Nikko Copper, died Friday at the age of 75. The tycoon served as South Korean conglomerate LS Group’s first chairman for nine years from 2004 to 2012 and then handed over the post to his cousin Koo Ja-yeol. After the sudden death of the cousin in 2014, Koo Ja-hong returned to the management as the chairman of LS Nikko Copper. The mogul is credited with the successful independent management of LS Group after it split off from LG Group in 2004. Also, Koo

IndustryFeb. 11, 2022

S. Korean botox maker Hugel to enter US market this year

South Korea's leading botox maker Hugel Inc. said Friday that it will make inroads into the United States, the world's largest botulinum toxin market, this year. Earlier, the company sought a marketing authorization of its botulinum toxin product, Letybo, with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of frown lines in adult patients. Hugel said it expects to receive the FDA approval sometime around the middle of this year. "There is much more opportunity in the US where t

IndustryFeb. 11, 2022

KDIC sells 2.2% stake in Woori Financial Holdings

South Korea's state deposit insurer said Friday it sold 2.2 percent of its stake in Woori Financial Holdings Co. for some 239 billion won ($199 million). The Korea Depository Insurance Corp. (KDIC) said that the pre-market sale of 15.86 million shares came in line with a decision by the country's public funds oversight committee, which handles state asset sales. Following the block deal, the KDIC has a 3.6 percent interest in Woori Financial, one of the four major financial holding firms in Asia

IndustryFeb. 11, 2022

Ex-US envoy to join Samsung as PR chief of North America

Mark Lippert, former US ambassador to South Korea who is currently working as public policy chief at YouTube Asia-Pacific, is joining Samsung Electronics as the head of corprate and government affairs in North America, industry sources said Friday. The former diplomat will begin working for the tech giant starting next month as the executive vice president of Samsung Electronics America and oversee its external relations in the region. Lippert is reportedly in the final stages of signing the

IndustryFeb. 11, 2022

Kyobo Life Insurance vows push for IPO despite court ruling

Kyobo Life Insurance, one of South Korea's leading life insurers, said Friday it will press ahead with an initial public offering (IPO), despite a court ruling that could get in the way of its move. A day earlier, a Seoul court acquitted officials of Affinity Equity Partners and accountants with Deloitte Anjin on the charge of colluding to inflate the strike price of the fund's put option. The Hong Kong-based private equity fund said it will seek a second arbitration to resolve the legal dispute

IndustryFeb. 11, 2022

S. Korea's tax revenue up W58.5tr last year amid economic recovery

South Korea's tax revenue rose 58.5 trillion won ($48.7 billion) in 2021 from a year earlier amid the economic recovery and rises in housing prices, the finance ministry said Friday. The government collected 344.1 trillion won in taxes last year, compared with 285.5 trillion won the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The country's tax revenue increased last year after the second consecutive year of decline. In 2020, the tax revenue fell 7.9 trillion won due to the

EconomyFeb. 11, 2022

Sampyo Industry booked as 1st firm accused of violating new workplace disaster law

Labor ministry officials raided the headquarters of Sampyo Industry in central Seoul on Friday in connection with a recent industrial accident in a quarry that left three workers dead, officials said. The raid came after the ministry booked Sampyo, a manufacturer of construction materials such as remicon, on Wednesday as the first firm accused of violating a newly enacted workplace disaster law aimed at better protecting workers from industrial accidents. Under the law, owners and CEOs of compan

IndustryFeb. 11, 2022

Samsung offers technological solutions to Hollywood Park

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it has joined the Hollywood Park Technology Alliance that provides cutting-edge solutions for the park's technological infrastructure and implementation. Hollywood Park, home to SoFi Stadium, is being developed into a massive retail and entertainment district. Located in Inglewood, California, it used to house a horse racing and training facility. The alliance of a technology-oriented think tank was launched earlier this month to help develop innovative techno

IndustryFeb. 11, 2022

Seoul stocks open steeply lower on estimate-beating US inflation data

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Friday due to the stronger-than-expected US inflation data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 27.95 points, or 1.01 percent, to trade at 2,743.98 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi dropped as the US consumer price index for January was up 7.5 percent, higher than the market consensus. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite decreased 2.1 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.47 percent. Tech st

MarketFeb. 11, 2022

Kakao 2021 net profit jumps tenfold on robust platform, e-commerce

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Friday that its net profit for 2021 surged nearly tenfold on-year on the back of robust growth of its e-commerce services based on its messenger platform amid the pandemic. Net profit reached 1.64 trillion won ($1.4 billion) last year on a consolidated basis, sharply up from 167.1 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales jumped by 47.6 percent on-year to reach an all-time high of 6

IndustryFeb. 11, 2022

Exports fall 12.6% in first 10 days of Feb.

South Korea's exports fell 12.6 percent on-year in the first 10 days of February due to fewer working days over the Lunar New Year holiday, customs data showed Friday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $15.7 billion in the Feb. 1-10 period, compared with $17.97 billion the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The decline came as an extended Lunar New Year holiday reduced the number of working days during the cited period by two days compared with last ye

EconomyFeb. 11, 2022

S. Korean economy faces heightened external economic risks: finance minister

The South Korean economy faces heightened external economic risks amid soaring energy costs, global inflation risks, and geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday. Hong made the remark in a meeting with the central bank chief and the top financial regulators to discuss policy coordination, market volatility and financial imbalances, and ways to stabilize consumer inflation. The minister said the Korean economy has extended its recovery momentum, b

EconomyFeb. 11, 2022

M&As slow in Korea due to tight regulations: FKI

The number of mergers and acquisitions by Korean companies that took place over the past 10 years was less than half of the average number of M&A cases in the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan in the same period. A total of 1,063 M&A cases by Korean companies took place from January 2012 through January this year, which is about 41 percent of the five countries’ average figure of 2,598 cases, according to the Federation of Korean Industries. The US topped the list with 3,350 case

IndustryFeb. 10, 2022