Doosan to showcase hydrogen, robot innovations at CES 2022

South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group said Thursday it will unveil innovations centered on hydrogen and robotics technologies at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show. Under the theme “delightful life,” Doosan Group and its major affiliates will showcase their latest innovations at a 450-square-meter booth at the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center from Jan. 5-8, local time. The West Hall is where mobility, auto and self-driving companies are grouped. Doosan Group Chairm

IndustryDec. 23, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 3rd session amid tech, auto gains

The South Korean stock market extended its winning streak to a third session Thursday, buoyed by advances by tech and auto issues. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) advanced 13.69 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 2,998.17 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 476 million shares worth some 9.2 trillion won ($7.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 477 to 358. Foreigners bought a net 224 billion won and instituti

MarketDec. 23, 2021

Posco sets new vision with holding company scheme

Aiming to more than triple its corporate value by 2030, Posco Group plans to have its steel business focus on eco-friendliness and global growth, while fostering new growth engines such as materials for rechargeable batteries and hydrogen. The holding company will be llisted, while the steelmaking unit Posco, as well as other corporations to be set up under the holding company will remain unlisted to allow quick decision-making. This is to prevent undermining existing shareholder value and a

IndustryDec. 23, 2021

AMAXG aims to become global top-tier

　Blockchain company AMAXG plans to build a more competitive and convergent blockchain platform next year, declaring it “the year of global culture, environment and technological innovation via evolution into hyperconnected, hyperconverged and hyperintelligent society.” 　The new platform will unite blockchain-based big data, artificial intelligence, metaverse and non-fungible tokens to preemptively tackle socioeconomic uncertainties. 　Last month, AMAXG Group chief executive Choi Jeo

IndustryDec. 23, 2021

Apgujeong regains luster as popular commercial district

The commercial district surrounding Apgujeong Station -- one of South Korea’s richest neighborhoods -- recorded a daily sales average of 13.6 billion won ($11.4 million), the highest in the country, SK Telecom said Thursday. Using its big data analysis platform Geovision, SK Telecom listed the top 100 commercial districts nationwide. Each area’s sales figures were estimated based on credit card transactions, floating population and level of business concentration. The daily float

IndustryDec. 23, 2021

Govt. to improve regulations for commercial adoption of self-driving cars

The government unveiled a revised road map on improving regulations for self-driving cars Thursday to hasten their commercial adoption starting next year. The road map, confirmed at an interagency government meeting earlier in the day, came as South Korea is expected to see a fast adoption of autonomous driving for commercial vehicles beginning in 2022, starting with the launch of Level 3 self-driving cars -- made for conditional driving automation that requires human intervention. The governm

IndustryDec. 23, 2021

Huawei looks to empower low-carbon ICT

Huawei Technologies‘ low-carbon projects across the world and its climate-related track record are now in the spotlight, amid growing regulatory hurdles and customer demand regarding green technologies in South Korea. Introducing its technologies to promote clean energy at a recent press conference held in Seoul, Karl Song, vice president of Huawei’s corporate communications department, said the company is ready to play a role in empowering its Korean partners‘ pursuit of low-

TechnologyDec. 23, 2021

BOK to end corporate bond-buying program as scheduled amid stabilizing market

South Korea's central bank said Thursday it will end a special program to buy corporate bonds, including low-rated debts, at the end of this month as planned as the financial market has stabilized. The Bank of Korea (BOK) and the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) launched a 10 trillion-won ($8.4 billion) program in July last year to purchase corporate bonds and commercial paper, a move aimed at easing a corporate funding squeeze. The program has been extended twice and is set to end on Dec

EconomyDec. 23, 2021

BOK able to borrow short-term dollar funding from Fed by using Treasury holdings

South Korea will be able to borrow up to $60 billion from the US Federal Reserve's "repo facility," designed to help countries secure overnight dollar funding by using their holdings of US Treasury securities, the central bank said Thursday. The deal reached with the Federal Reserve on Tuesday (US time) will allow the Bank of Korea (BOK) to exchange its US Treasury holdings for dollars through the Foreign and International Monetary Authorities (FIMA) Repo Facility at an interest rate

MarketDec. 23, 2021

Corporate earnings hit 6-year low in 2020 amid pandemic

South Korean firms' earnings plunged to a six-year low in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday. The combined pretax net profit of 13,429 companies came to 97.7 trillion won ($82 billion) in 2020, down 3.9 percent from the prior year and marking the third straight year of decline, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It was the lowest level since the 91.4 trillion won recorded in 2014 and represented the first time for their total bottom l

EconomyDec. 23, 2021

S. Korea begins trial run of hydrogen heavy duty trucks

A trial run of hydrogen-powered heavy duty trucks kicked off Thursday as part of South Korea's broader efforts for a shift to eco-friendly vehicles in line with the carbon emission cut initiative. Five 11-ton fuel cell trucks, including Hyundai Motor Co's Xcient, will run on roads in the Seoul metropolitan area and the southern region for the next 12 months, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a release. Two logistics companies -- CJ Logistics Corp., Hyundai Glovis Co. -

TechnologyDec. 23, 2021

Housing prices, debt are major risks to financial stability: BOK

South Korea's financial system has remained stable, but a rise in housing prices and high household debt serve as major potential risks to financial stability, a central bank report showed Thursday. In a biannual report on financial stability, the Bank of Korea (BOK) called for policy efforts to stabilize the housing market and curb the growth of household debt, raising the need to ease the high level of financial imbalances. "Since the first half of this year, the country's financial sy

EconomyDec. 23, 2021

Seoul stocks open slightly higher on auto, chemical gains

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Thursday, led by advances of auto and chemical heavyweights. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged up 2.58 points, or 0.09 percent, to trade at 2,987.06 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor moved up 1.58 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia added 0.36 percent. Chemical giant LG Chem advanced 0.8 percent, and steelmaker Posco climbed 0.71 percent. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics traded fl

MarketDec. 23, 2021

Hyundai Motor takes robotics tech to center stage at CES

Hyundai Motor Group will present what robotics technology will bring to human life in the future at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show 2022, in line with its vision of pushing mobility beyond the limits of physical movement, time and space, the automaker said Thursday. Transforming itself from a transportation maker to a smart mobility service provider, Hyundai Motor said the key message of its presentation will include the company’s purpose and direction of expanding robotics techno

IndustryDec. 23, 2021

Main stock market's turnover hits 19-month low in Dec.

Turnover of South Korea's main bourse plumbed a 19-month low in December as retail investors flee stocks for higher returns, data showed Thursday. The average daily turnover of the KOSPI market stood at slightly over 10 trillion won ($8.39 billion) for 16 trading sessions till Wednesday, according to the data from the Korea Stock Exchange. It was the lowest tally since May 2020, when the daily turnover came to 9.9 trillion won. The figure was also down 15 percent from November and nearly half

MarketDec. 23, 2021

Bristling over virus restrictions, small businesses stage protest

Hundreds of small business owners took to the streets in Seoul on Wednesday to express their pent-up anger over the government‘s retightening of COVID-19 protocols nationwide. Chants of “Stop politically-motivated quarantine measures that kill all business owners” resounded throughout Gwanghwamun Plaza in central Seoul, as the large group of protesters demanded an immediate lift of gathering bans and operation hour limits. “The more than three-month long level four so

ConsumerDec. 22, 2021

Will Oppo’s foldable challenge Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold?

Chinese smartphone brand Oppo’s Find N, the first flagship foldable phone unveiled the previous week, suggests how premium electronic gadget fans have been thirsty for a seamless end-user experience. With Find N, Oppo is looking to prove that consumers can find a foldable phone attractive with creaseless inner screens. But it is unlikely that Oppo’s release would directly challenge Samsung’s leadership in the market, especially since it already has a similar foldable phone, th

TechnologyDec. 22, 2021

China finally greenlights SK hynix’s buyout of Intel NAND biz

Chinese authorities have finally approved SK hynix’s acquisition of Intel’s NAND and SSD business, the company said Wednesday. Though SK hynix and Intel signed the $9 billion deal in October last year, it has been waiting for approval from China for more than a year due to tensions with the US. In the chip industry, to prevent one company from dominating the market, mergers and acquisitions require antitrust approval from the US, the European Union, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, t

IndustryDec. 22, 2021

Don’t throw away Glo devices, return them, says BAT Rothmans

BAT Rothmans, the Korean business arm of British American Tobacco, is ramping up its recycling campaign in Korea to encourage people not to throw away used Glo devices, the company said Wednesday. The Seoul office of the London-based tobacco company said it has installed return bins for Glo tobacco heating devices at 50 convenience stores in cities nationwide with heavy foot traffic, with more to be added in the coming year. Customers can go to either a 7-Eleven, CU or GS25 convenience store

ConsumerDec. 22, 2021

CEO war heats up among big three battery makers

The latest battlefield for the nation’s top three battery makers -- LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On -- is their new leaderships. High-profile executives, including a chaebol scion, have stepped in to nurture the battery-making units of LG, Samsung and SK as new growth engines. The Korean trio has seen a surge in battery output capacity this year amid soaring demand for electric vehicles around the world, especially in the all-important US market. Their market share reached

TechnologyDec. 22, 2021