Housing market continues to stabilize on regulations: minister

South Korea's housing market has been stabilizing with home prices not just in Seoul but also many other local areas on a downward trend on higher taxes and stricter lending rules, the finance minister said Wednesday. The recent downward trend comes after the government adopted dozens of measures to curb skyrocketing home prices in recent years as more people rushed to take out bank loans to buy homes in anticipation of further price hikes. "The pace of stabilization in the recent home tr

EconomyJan. 5, 2022

Wine imports jump 76% in 2021 amid pandemic

South Korea's wine imports soared over 70 percent in 2021 as more people enjoyed drinking at home and alone amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy imported $506.2 million worth of wine in the January-November period of last year, up 76 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. It marks the first time that the country's wine imports have surpassed the $500 million level. South Korea's wine

EconomyJan. 5, 2022

Hyundai, Kia's US sales soar 19% in 2021

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their combined sales in the United States spiked 19 percent in 2021 from a year earlier despite the prolonged pandemic and chip shortages. The corporate duo sold a total of 1.44 million vehicles in the world's most important automobile market last year from 1.21 million units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. Hyundai's US sales climbed 19 percent to 738,081 units from 622,269 over the cited period and Kia's also jum

IndustryJan. 5, 2022

Samsung Display to produce QD OLED TV displays in 1st half of 2022

Samsung Display Co., the display panel-making arm of Samsung Group, said Tuesday it will roll out QD OLED TV displays in two sizes as well as a monitor display in the first half of the year, ending industry speculations regarding the timing of the commercial debut of the company's next-generation display. The announcement was made during the media preview of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held at Encore At Wynn in Las Vegas where the display maker is showcasing its innovative new products

IndustryJan. 5, 2022

[Graphic News] Bio sector output, exports grow at fastest pace amid pandemic

　Output and exports of South Korea’s bio industry expanded at the fastest clip ever in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Output of the local bio industry was estimated at 17.5 trillion won ($14.7 billion) in 2020, up 38.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Trade Ministry. 　It was the highest on-year growth rate to date. The bio industry’s production had been growing at a double-digit rate

BusinessJan. 5, 2022

S. Korea's foreign reserves shrink for 2nd month in December

South Korea's foreign reserves declined for the second straight month in December as the country redeemed some of the maturing foreign currency stabilization bonds, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's foreign reserves came to $463.12 billion as of end-December, down $790 million from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the second straight month that the foreign reserves have contracted. In November, the amount dropped $5.3 bi

MarketJan. 5, 2022

Banks start lending again, but borrowers face stricter rules

Banks have started lending again as of Tuesday after months of temporarily suspending their household and mortgage loans, but strict standards from last year are likely to remain or get even tighter this year. NongHyup Bank, one of the five major commercial banks here, normalized lending of its entire household loan products, including mortgages on Monday. It has also decided to raise its lines of credit from the previous 20 million won ($16,700) to 100 million won. NongHyup had suspended le

MarketJan. 4, 2022

In face of omicron scare, Korean tech firms make bigger presence at CES

The Consumer Electronics Show will be back in-person this week after going fully online last year, with a record number of Korean exhibitors flaunting their technological prowess. Kicking off its three-day run Wednesday in Las Vegas, the number of participating companies overall this year have been reduced by almost half to some 2,200 due to the protracted coronavirus pandemic. But facing the virus risk, a record number of 502 Korean companies, including 292 startups, are set to test their pot

TechnologyJan. 4, 2022

Korea’s FEZs attract $20b since 2003

SEJONG -- Foreign direct investment in the nine free economic zones in South Korea surpassed a cumulative $20 billion mark since the nation started operating the FEZs 18 years ago in 2003. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the nine FEZs attracted FDI worth $1.31 billion in 2021, up 42 percent from a year earlier. This was a bounce-back after recording declines for two consecutive years -- from $1.69 billion in 2018 to $1.02 billion in 2019 and $910 million in 2020. Col

EconomyJan. 4, 2022

Edison to sign final deal to acquire SsangYong by Monday

A consortium led by South Korean electric carmaker Edison Motors Co. said Tuesday it aims to sign a final deal to acquire the embattled SsangYong Motor Co. by Monday. In April, SsangYong was placed under court receivership for the second time after undergoing the same process a decade earlier. Its Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. failed to attract an investor due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and its worsening financial status. The Edison-led consortium is on track to take over

IndustryJan. 4, 2022

[CES 2022] LG adds larger, smaller OLED TVs for 2022, hails newcomers

LG Electronics said Tuesday it plans to roll out new self-lit television models that come in both the largest and smallest size in the world, as early as March this year. The latest strategy appears to have been laid out to solidify its industry leadership amid dozens of electronics rivals making their TV market entries with organic light-emitting diode displays. The company, which ships over 60 percent of OLED TVs globally, showcased the world‘s largest 97-inch OLED TV model, and at the

TechnologyJan. 4, 2022

CJ CheilJedang sets up global unit for overseas business

CJ CheilJedang, a food manufacturer under Korea’s CJ Group, said Tuesday it will reorganize its business units and refine global market strategies in a bid to efficiently promote its Korean food products worldwide. According to the food giant, it plans to divide its headquarters business into global and regional food unit. Namely the Global Headquarter will take charge in promoting its food products such as dumpling, chicken, kimchi, Korean hot sauce and dried laver overseas. The region

ConsumerJan. 4, 2022

Posco opens new R&D center

Posco Group said Tuesday that it has opened a new research and development center, called Posco N.EX.T Hub, to work on AI, secondary battery materials and hydrogen and low-carbon energy.  The establishment of the R&D center will become a platform for the group to secure the related technology and nurture the next-generation talent in line with the steelmaker‘s focus on low-carbon and eco-friendly business, the group said.  Posco N.EX.T Hub, located in Samseong-dong, will ov

IndustryJan. 4, 2022

ShinhanCard launches ‘first’ NFT service

ShinhanCard said Tuesday it had launched a nonfungible token service for clients to store their pictures using the digital assets -- a first by a local financial company. NFTs are authenticated by blockchain, a record of transactions kept on networked computers that serves as a public ledger for verifying ownership. Each NFT has a unique digital signature and digital objects, like images and videos, are traded as NFTs. “Our clients wouldn’t have to worry about making the actual tra

EconomyJan. 4, 2022

Regulator to speed up review of Korean Air's Asiana takeover deal

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it will accelerate the review of a deal by Korean Air Lines Co., the country's biggest carrier, to buy the debt-ridden Asiana Airlines Inc. In November 2020, Korean Air inked a deal to acquire a 63.88 percent stake in its smaller rival Asiana Airlines, a deal valued at 1.8 trillion won ($1.5 billion) that could create the world's 10th-biggest airline by fleet. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said in its 2022 policy plan that it will "swiftly

IndustryJan. 4, 2022

GC Cell inks 1st licensing agreement with Indian firm

South Korean cell therapy developer GC Cell Corp. said Tuesday that it has signed the company's first licensing agreement with India-based Rivaara Immune to develop its liver cancer treatment. Under the agreement, Rivaara Immune has obtained the exclusive right to develop and commercialize Immuncell-LC, immunotherapy for liver cancer, in India. In return, GC Cell is entitled to receive an undisclosed upfront payment, as well as payments for the achievement of commercial milestones, in addition

IndustryJan. 4, 2022

Online shopping hits record high in Nov.

Online shopping in South Korea hit a fresh record high in November, data showed Tuesday, in the latest sign that a growing number of people are using computers and mobile devices to buy things, ranging from clothes to electronic goods amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 17.5 trillion won ($14.7 billion) in November, up 16.5 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The November data marked the highest level

EconomyJan. 4, 2022

Korea Shipbuilding wins ship orders worth W1.67tr

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Tuesday it has received 1.67 trillion won ($1.39 billion) worth of ship orders. Korea Shipbuilding obtained an order from a Europe-based shipper to build six 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) liquefied natural gas-powered container ships, the company said in a statement. The container carriers will be gradually delivered to the client from the first half of 2024, it said. In other deals, the company said it will build one LN

IndustryJan. 4, 2022

[EXCLUSIVE] In Year of Tiger, Samsung lays out 'Tiger' strategy to beat Apple

LAS VEGAS -- In the Year of the Water Tiger, Samsung Electronics has set out its own “Tiger” strategy to seek a more aggressive push in the North American market and narrow its gap with Apple in the cutthroat smartphone market. Two days ahead of the opening of the CES electronics show in Las Vegas, some 40 Samsung executives gathered at a meeting in the US city to discuss this year‘s smartphone strategy with the acronym “Tiger.” The letters individually stand for:

IndustryJan. 4, 2022

[CES 2022] Samsung’s virtual housekeeper at your service

LAS VEGAS -- Samsung Electronics’ artificial humans unveiled virtually last year might return as a personal assistant and housekeeper at CES 2022. According to the South Korean tech giant Monday, it will unveil an artificial intelligence-based “avatar” at CES 2022. The AI avatar will visualize a home into a digital world like a metaverse, locate users’ location in the real world and connect them with surrounding devices. “The AI avatar is a ‘life assistant

IndustryJan. 4, 2022