S. Korea's 2022 economic growth target set at early 3% range: finance minister

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Thursday the government plans to make efforts to help the country's economy grow in the early 3 percent range next year amid heightened economic uncertainty. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the country plans to focus on boosting domestic demand and conducting fiscal spending in the fourth quarter to achieve the 4 percent range growth target for this year. The finance ministry plans to unveil its 2022 economic policy directions next week. Hong said

EconomyDec. 16, 2021

BMW Korea signs MOU to build R&D center by 2023

BMW Group Korea said Thursday it has signed an initial pact with a provincial government to build a research and development center to provide advanced mobility services to local customers. BMW Korea signed a memorandum of understanding with the Incheon metropolitan city and the Korean Free Economic Zones to build the BMW R&D Center Korea in the Cheongna Incheon Hi-Tech Park by 2023 to advance R&D projects involving autonomous driving, connectivity and electrification, the company said

IndustryDec. 16, 2021

[Graphic News] Overseas card spending down 14.8% in Q3 on weak won

　South Koreans’ overseas card spending declined 14.8 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier as the government tightened rules on withdrawals of money from automatic teller machines and the won depreciated against the dollar, central bank data showed.  　According to the data by the Bank of Korea, the amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, came to $2.88 billion in the July-September period, down from $3.37 billion

BusinessDec. 16, 2021

S. Korea's $60b currency swap deal with US to expire on Dec. 31: BOK

South Korea's $60 billion currency swap contract with the United States will expire as scheduled later this month as financial and economic situations at home and abroad remain stable, Seoul's central bank said Thursday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) and the US Federal Reserve signed the currency swap contract in March 2020 to ease financial anxiety caused by the coronavirus pandemic and had since extended the deal three times. It is set to expire on Dec. 31. "The temporary currency swap will e

MarketDec. 16, 2021

Outcome of Fed meeting to have limited impact on S. Korean market: official

The US Federal Reserve's announcement of plans to accelerate the tapering of its asset purchases is expected to have a limited impact on the South Korean financial market as the outcome was in line with market expectations, a senior government official said Thursday. After a two-day policy meeting, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday (US time) it will double the pace of tapering its bond purchases and likely end them in March. The US central bank signaled three rate hikes by the end of 2022 amid

MarketDec. 16, 2021

New tech by IBM, Samsung may allow phone battery to last for a week

A new breakthrough in semiconductor design jointly developed by global tech giants IBM and Samsung Electronics could allow phone batteries to hold a charge for a week, according to the companies on Wednesday. This architecture -- which, in essence, is to align transistors vertically on a semiconductor chip -- has the potential to reduce energy usage by 85 percent compared to a conventional scaled fin field-effect transistor by allowing greater current flow with less wasted energy, IBM said. I

TechnologyDec. 15, 2021

K Auction to go public next year

K Auction, South Korea’s second-largest auction house by revenue, said Wednesday that it plans to go public early next year, having submitted a prospectus for a 32 billion-won ($26 million) listing on the junior Kosdaq exchange. K Auction expects to offer 1.6 million shares at an indicative range of 17,000-20,000 per share, which would raise between 27 billion won and 32 billion won. The company said it will finalize the price range by December after consulting with institutional investor

IndustryDec. 15, 2021

Hyundai Glovis secures exclusive terminal in German port

Hyundai Glovis, the logistics arm of Hyundai Motor Group, became the first global shipping company to secure an exclusive shipping space in the port of Bremerhaven, Germany, Europe’s largest automobile shipping port. Hyundai Glovis announced Wednesday it will establish a 100,000 square-meter open storage yard, big enough to store around 5,000 cars, and three berths in the port of Bremerhaven. The company sealed a contract with BLG Logistics Group that manages the terminals at the port to

IndustryDec. 15, 2021

Seoul index ends higher as tech stocks gain ahead of Fed meeting

South Korea's main stock index ended higher Wednesday, aided by technology stocks, but investors remain cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision later in the global day. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.44 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 2,989.39 points, snapping a three-session losing streak. Investors are waiting on cues from the two-day Fed's meeting, which ends Wednesday, to reorganize their p

MarketDec. 15, 2021

Audi Korea launches EV, high performance models to highlight premium mobility

 Audi Korea sold a total of 21,242 cars from January to November this year, becoming the third-best-selling imported carmaker in Korea, the automaker said Wednesday. According to Audi Korea, it launched various premium and high-performance models such as sedans, SUVs, and electric vehicles this year to enhance its brand image in South Korea as a premium mobility brand. The carmaker accumulated its EV line up in South Korea by launching the Audi R8 V10 Performance in February, followed by

MobilityDec. 15, 2021

Trade Week 2021 offers export opportunities for SMEs

Trade Week 2021 ended its four-day run on Friday, connecting local small and medium sized enterprises with foreign buyers and inviting experts to share insights on globalization strategies. Organized by the Seoul Business Agency, the event offered various business opportunities for participating small enterprises through programs such as online business matching with foreign buyers, live commerce sessions and product launch events. Local daily necessities maker CM Company inked a deal with

ConsumerDec. 15, 2021

LG Chem, LG Energy Solution acquire W60b stake in Canada’s Li-Cycle

LG Group’s chemicals and battery units, LG Chem and LG Energy Solution, said Wednesday that they had acquired a 2.6 percent stake in Canadian battery recycling company Li-Cycle Holdings by investing 30 billion won ($25.3 million) each. Li-Cycle, based in Toronto, operates North America’s largest lithium-ion battery recycling facility. The firm recycles waste from the EV battery manufacturing process and recovers battery metals for reuse. The Canadian firm recently issued new shar

TechnologyDec. 15, 2021

SK chairman appears in antitrust session to defend stock purchase

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won made a rare appearance in a session held by the nation’s top antitrust watchdog to defend his controversial stock purchase in 2017, when SK acquired a silicon wafer unit from its crosstown rival LG Group.  The Fair Trade Commission has reviewed the case over allegations that SK Inc., the holding company of SK Group, deliberately helped its chairman purchase the stock at a cheaper price to benefit from hefty dividends.  The deliberation session was

TechnologyDec. 15, 2021

The robots are coming ... with your bubble tea

Baedal Minjok, also known as Baemin, began mobilizing robots for a door-to-door food delivery service, South Korea’s largest food delivery app said Wednesday. Named “Delidrive,” Baemin’s autonomous driving robot is the first of its kind in the world, according to the app operator Woowa Brothers. The robot delivery service is currently only available in the apartment complex of Alleyway Gwanggyo near Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. The company said Delidrive can freely move

IndustryDec. 15, 2021

Big tech‘s financial services fall under the same rule: top regulator

South Korea’s top financial regulator on Wednesday told tech firms here that their financial services are to operate under and comply with existing financial regulations. The remark came amid concerns of tech giants Naver and Kakao’s fast-growing online and mobile financial services as related regulations on their customer protection and data use remain unclear. “Big Tech’s foray into the finance sector will be carried out under the same financial regulations and custom

MarketDec. 15, 2021

Tally for unemployed falls to 730,000 in Nov.: data

SEJONG -- The number of employed in the nation increased by 553,000 in November, compared to a year earlier, continuing improvement in the hiring index over the past few months, state data showed Wednesday. But the number of de facto jobless -- unemployed plus underemployed -- still surpassed 3 million, with the actual jobless rate reaching 11 percent. The Ministry of Economy and Finance maintained that the “official” tally for the jobless and jobless rate stayed at 734,000 and 2.6

EconomyDec. 15, 2021

Hyundai Motor sweeps global automotive awards in 2021

Hyundai Motor Group has secured recognition at six of 10 major car of the year awards this year, stepping up its brand value and reputation on the global stage, along with securing fourth place in terms of global sales this year.  According to the Korean automaker, Hyundai Motor vehicles including an electric model, luxury car and a combustion engine vehicle have received awards. Hyundai’s Elantra sedan has been awarded as the North American Car of the Year. The company’s luxu

IndustryDec. 15, 2021

Samsung retains No.1 spot in Q3 global smartphone market: report

Samsung Electronics Co. retained the top spot in the global smartphone market in the third quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday. The world's largest smartphone maker held a market share of 20 percent in the July-September period, followed by Apple with 14 percent and Xiaomi with 13 percent, according to a report from market researcher Counterpoint Research. During the three months, the South Korean tech giant shipped 69.3 million smartphones, up 20 percent from the previous quarter

IndustryDec. 15, 2021

Race for next-gen DRAM chips heats up with SK hynix’s new release

The race for next-generation DDR5 memory chips is intensifying, with SK hynix unloading its latest chip featuring an enhanced density enough to boost performance of cloud data centers and potentially of high-performance servers. SK hynix said Wednesday it has shipped samples of 24-gigabit DDR5 dynamic random access memory chips, touting its technology leadership in commercializing a single DRAM chip that has the largest density in the industry. DDR5, or double data rate 5, refers to a newest it

TechnologyDec. 15, 2021

Kakao Brain unveils image-generating AI model

Kakao Brain, the artificial intelligence technology research and development subsidiary of Kakao, said Wednesday it has launched its second AI model that self-generates images, allowing the company to quickly expand its presence in Korea’s mammoth AI space. The AI model, dubbed “minDALL-E,” creates images the users wish to see, according to the company. For instance, when users type in requests such as “draw a picture in a Salvador Dali style” or “create an

TechnologyDec. 15, 2021