LG Chem to reuse oil extracted from plastic waste

LG Chem will extract oil from plastic waste and reuse it for plastic production starting in 2024. According to South Korea’s leading chemical company Tuesday, it will establish a facility in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, where the plastic waste will be chemically recycled with extremely hot and pressurized steam. Once completed in the first quarter of 2024, the facility, with an annual capacity of 20,000 tons, will utilize the extracted oil to produce raw materials for plastic pro

IndustryJan. 18, 2022

Swedish EV firm launches Polestar 2 in S. Korea

Swedish premium electric carmaker Polestar on Tuesday launched the Polestar 2, its first fully electric, high-volume model, in South Korea to gain a share in the local EV market. The Polestar 2 electric performance fastback is equipped with a 78kWh battery and can travel up 417 kilometers on a single charge, the company said in a statement. Volvo Cars owns a controlling stake in Polestar, the former Volvo performance division-turned-electric car brand. The model with a single-motor powertrain

IndustryJan. 18, 2022

23 shippers fined W96.2b for collusion on freight rates

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to impose a combined fine of 96.2 billion won ($80.7 million) on 23 Korean and foreign shippers for their 15-year-long collusion to fix freight rates. Since 2018, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has been looking into allegations that the country's top shipper, HMM Co., and 22 local and foreign shipping lines colluded to fix higher freight rates for Southeast Asian sea routes. The shippers -- 12 South Korean and 11 foreign -- collude

EconomyJan. 18, 2022

Hyundai Capital launches joint venture to provide auto finance in France

Hyundai Capital Services Inc., South Korea's leading auto finance company, said Tuesday it has launched a joint venture with CGI Finance, a subsidiary of France's Societe Generale Group. Hyundai Capital France will provide auto finance, including lease, loan and insurance, for customers of Hyundai Motor Group -- Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. -- and financing services for dealers in France, the company said. The joint venture is Hyundai Capital's 10th overseas financial entity and fifth in Eu

IndustryJan. 18, 2022

Seoul stocks open slightly lower amid inflation uncertainties

South Korean stocks opened a tad lower Tuesday, weighed down by persistent inflation woes at home and in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged up 1.08 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,973.56 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a lackluster start after the key stock index retreated for the previous three straight sessions amid jitters over the US Federal Reserve's faster-than-anticipated tapering and rate hikes to tame inflation.

MarketJan. 18, 2022

ABS issuance down 22% in 2021

The issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) in South Korea shrank 22 percent on-year in 2021 due to declined sales of government-led mortgage securities, data showed Tuesday. The ABS issued last year were valued at 61.7 trillion won ($51.8 billion), down 17.4 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). ABS refer to securities based on such assets as mortgages, auto loans, credit-card receivables and student loans. The decline stemmed

EconomyJan. 18, 2022

Finance Minister vows to raise accuracy in tax revenue

SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki has expressed his commitment to raising accuracy and transparency in generating figures on tax revenue, reiterating his apology for the government’s excess revenue beyond its earlier estimate. In his meeting with reporters on Monday, Hong said the Finance Ministry would “focus on raising transparency (in operation and forecast of tax revenue) as well as revising the calculating system.” If the coming calculation

EconomyJan. 17, 2022

Investor disappointments continue for Kakao

Started as a mere app developing company, South Korea’s platform giant Kakao has been on the fast track of success, becoming the nation‘s fifth-largest business entity just in 11 years. Founded by Kim Beom-su, who used to run a PC room and work at Samsung SDS, the dominant takeover of the messenger app KakaoTalk laid the groundwork for the Kakao group’s expansion in the last decade. According to the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Kakao had 158 affiliates and subsidiaries in the

IndustryJan. 17, 2022

Air carriers expand mileage services before merger

Korea’s two leading carriers, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, plan to expand mileage services to encourage customers to spend their points that would otherwise be left unused over travel restrictions. The plan is to cut down liabilities on their balance sheets by incentivizing customers to use up mileage points which is counted as “debt.“ Reducing debts on their balance sheets is a must for the two, as they are awaiting for authorities‘ approval for their merger. Korea

IndustryJan. 17, 2022

Number of self-employed falls by 18,000 in 2021

SEJONG -- The number of self-employed workers declined by 18,000 in South Korea last year, despite improvement in employment indices, state data showed Monday. Self-employed workers refers to non-salaried people who operate businesses without hiring employees or do so with several employees, mostly less than five. The country has a dominant portion of self-employed people engaging in sectors such as food service, lodging, wholesale and retail. According to Statistics Korea, the tally for self-

EconomyJan. 17, 2022

Seoul stocks hit 7-week low on inflation risk

South Korean stocks dropped to their lowest in almost seven weeks on Monday as investors dumped holdings on concerns about mounting inflationary pressure. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 31.82 points, or 1.09 percent, to close at 2,890.1 points. The reading marked the lowest closing since Nov. 30. Trading volume was moderate at about 571 million shares worth some 9.8 trillion won ($8.2 billion), with losers outnumbering g

MarketJan. 17, 2022

KT, Shinhan ink cross-shareholding deal to forge digital alliance

South Korea’s No. 2 telecom carrier KT and the nation’s second-largest banking group Shinhan Financial Group said Monday that they have forged a new alliance to spur collaborations on futuristic technologies in a cross-shareholding deal. Under the deal worth 437.5 billion won ($367 million), KT will acquire a 2.08 percent stake in Shinhan Financial Group, while Shinhan Bank, the group’s banking unit, will in return acquire a 5.46 percent stake in KT. As the result of the tr

TechnologyJan. 17, 2022

Banks turn to richest clients for 2022

With government restrictions on loans getting tighter and financial technology firms expanding their presence, South Korean banks are turning to their wealthiest clients and their asset management as a survival tactic this year. NongHyup Bank CEO Kwon Joon-hak pledged Monday to adopt a new model that connects customers with wealth managers through its own digital channel. He said he plans to provide professional and quality services to customers using its digital wealth management channel, in

MarketJan. 17, 2022

Retail subscriptions open for LG Energy Solution IPO

LG Energy Solution is offering retail investors the opportunity to submit bids for its shares ahead of what could potentially be South Korea’s biggest-ever initial public offering next week, having already attracted vastly oversubscribed institutional bids to the tune of some 15,000 trillion won ($12.6 trillion). The world’s second-largest battery maker for electric vehicles is offering a little over 10 million shares -- nearly a quarter of the 42.5 million shares in total -- to ret

MarketJan. 17, 2022

Finance chief calls for stern actions against property-related tax evasion

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki called Monday for stern actions against tax evasion related to real estate deals as he renewed the government's commitment to stabilizing the housing market this year. Hong made the remarks during his meeting with the chiefs of the country's four major agencies under the finance ministry -- the National Tax Service (NTS), the Korea Customs Service, the Public Procurement Service, and Statistics Korea. "As this year is an important turning point in stabilizing

EconomyJan. 17, 2022

Korea’s kimchi exports soar to all-time high

South Korea’s exports of kimchi recorded an all-time high last year, reaching a trade surplus for the first time in 12 years, data showed Monday. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish made of spicy sauce and fermented cabbage. According to the Korea Customs Service, exports of kimchi surged by 10.7 percent on-year to $159.9 million last year. The figure surpassed the record-high exports of $144.5 million in 2020. More than half of last year’s exports went to Japan, followed by

ConsumerJan. 17, 2022

HDC chairman resigns over series of Gwangju accidents

Hyundai Development Company Chairman Chung Mong-gyu stepped down Monday, apologizing for two fatal accidents at the builder‘s construction sites in Gwangju.  “I apologize deeply to the family members of the victims in the accident in Gwangju and to the public,” he said during a press conference at its headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul.  “I promise to give all effort and support to amend the situation at the accident site and regain public trust.” The HDC c

IndustryJan. 17, 2022

Louis Vuitton to shut downtown duty-free shops in Korea

French luxury brand Louis Vuitton is closing shops at all downtown duty-free stores in South Korea by March 2023. Having stopped running its store at Lotte Duty Free Jeju in December, Louis Vuitton will close three more -- at the Shilla Duty Free in Jeju, Lotte Duty Free in Busan and Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, Seoul -- in March, according to UK travel retail media outlet Moodie Davitt Report. Louis Vuitton also plans to pull out from the three remaining downtown duty-free stores -- Lotte Du

ConsumerJan. 17, 2022

Lotte Hotel to launch boutique hotel in Chicago next year

Lotte Hotel, the hotel chain owned by Korea’s retail giant Lotte Group, said Monday that it will open a new hotel in Chicago next year, the first overseas launch under its lifestyle boutique hotel brand L7. Lotte said it completed an acquisition of Kimpton Hotel Monaco Chicago for 42.8 billion won ($35.9 million) on Friday (US time) in a joint investment with the state-run Korea Overseas Infrastructure Development Corp. The 13-story hotel with 191 rooms is expected to be refurbished int

ConsumerJan. 17, 2022

TSMC prepares $44b investment to shake off Samsung in foundry race

The goal of Samsung Electronics becoming the No. 1 foundry player by 2030 is facing a major hurdle as its rival TSMC prepares a whopping $44 billion investment in 2022 to consolidate its lead, according to industry sources Monday. “Last year, Samsung Electronics spent roughly 40 trillion won ($33.5 billion) in memory, foundry and infrastructure investments. This year, TSMC plans to spend more than 50 trillion won solely for the foundry business,” said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at

IndustryJan. 17, 2022