98% of Koreans won’t be affected by higher comprehensive real estate tax: ministry

  Most taxpayers will not be subject to the comprehensive real estate holding tax, which was earlier raised to prevent speculative property purchases, the government said Friday in a bid to ease growing public concerns as this year’s payment period approaches.  “Criticism has risen that a large number of ordinary people will be charged with higher rate taxes. As for such exaggerated concerns, I would say bills of comprehensive real estate holding taxes will not be delivere

EconomyNov. 19, 2021

CJ ENM acquires Hollywood studio Endeavor Content for W920b

South Korea's media and entertainment giant CJ ENM said Friday it has acquired a managerial stake in Hollywood studio Endeavor Content in a record 920 billion won ($775 million) deal to strengthen its overseas business. CJ ENM purchased an 80 percent stake in the content production-distribution unit of US sports and entertainment group Endeavor Group Holdings. Endeavor Group will retain the remaining 20 percent stake in Endeavor Content, whose management, including co-CEOs Chris Rice and Graha

IndustryNov. 19, 2021

Philips Foundation donates vehicles for disabled in Korea

Philips Foundation and Philips Korea have provided four special compact cars equipped with wheelchair lifts in collaboration with the Korea Association of Welfare Institutions for Persons with Disabilities, the multinational group said Friday. Philips Korea held a donation ceremony at Kyonam House of Hope, a welfare facility for the disabled located in Gangseo district, Seoul, on Nov. 12. Kim Dong-hee, country leader of Philips Korea and Jung Seok-wang, chairman of the Korea Association of W

TechnologyNov. 19, 2021

S. Korea calls for swift negotiations to revise Trump-era steel tariffs

South Korea's top trade official called on the United States on Friday to launch negotiations swiftly to revise the Section 232 tariff rules on Seoul's steel exports. South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo made the request to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai during in a joint committee meeting of the bilateral free trade agreement. It is the first time in 10 years that a US top trade official has visited South Korea. She arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a four-day visit that includes a m

EconomyNov. 19, 2021

S. Korea to lift ban on Boeing 737 Max flights

South Korea decided to lift the flight ban on Boeing 737 Max later this month, the land ministry said Friday, more than two years after its grounding following the crashes involving the same model in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said its flight will be cleared for passage through the territorial sky, landing and takeoff, from Nov. 22. South Korea put a ban on the B737 Max on March 2019, after the one operated by Ethiopian Airlines plunged to the g

IndustryNov. 19, 2021

Air Premia to focus on cargo biz amid pandemic

South Korean budget carrier Air Premia Co. said Friday it has partnered with French air cargo services agent ESG Group to focus on the cargo business to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic. Air Premia opened the Gimpo-Jeju Route in August, one month after it obtained government approval for offering commercial flight services. But it has temporarily halted the Jeju route this month.  "The deal with ESG Group is part of the company's two-track strategy in which the cargo business divisio

IndustryNov. 19, 2021

FSC chief voices concerns over global debt, calls for cooperation to stem crisis

The head of South Korea's financial regulator has called for more vigilance on growing global debt, warning excessive accumulation of debt could spark a global financial crisis, his office said Friday. Koh Seung-beom, chief of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), made the remark on Thursday as he joined a virtual plenary meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), an organization made up of regulators from the Group of 20 countries to discuss cooperation. "There has always been ex

EconomyNov. 19, 2021

Jeju Air to resume flights to Bangkok amid easing entry restrictions

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest budget carrier, said Friday it is resuming flights to Bangkok starting later next month on the back of eased entry curbs in the Southeast Asian country. Jeju Air will operate four flights per week for the Incheon-Bangkok route from Dec. 22, about 18 months after it suspended the route on the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the flight suspension, it has only been running chartered planes to fly South Korean citizens traveling for essential reasons su

IndustryNov. 19, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, as investors sought to buy oversold stocks after the key index's three straight days of losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.44 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,959.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech, auto and bio stocks led the market advance. Top cap Samsung Electronics added 0.28 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix increased 1.36 percent, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics climbed 2.26 percent. Leadi

EconomyNov. 19, 2021

Producer prices up for 12th month in October amid high energy prices

South Korea's producer prices grew for the 12th straight month in October as a rise in oil and energy prices drove up the costs of factory products, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 112.21 in October, up 0.8 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the 12th consecutive month of a rise. Compared with a year earlier, it also jumped 8.9 percent, the

EconomyNov. 19, 2021

Financial regulator to hold emergency meeting with major banks amid steep rate hikes

South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday that it will convene an emergency meeting this week with officials of major banks to look into how they determine interest rates on lending amid worries over recent steep hikes in borrowing costs. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will hold the meeting on Friday with officials handling credit affairs at eight banks, including Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori and Hana, according to the regulator. A top FSS official will preside over the meeting. The

EconomyNov. 18, 2021

Absence of cryptocurrency funds puts investors in danger: Hashed CEO

An absence of funds that consist of cryptocurrencies has put individual investors in danger, blockchain industry-focused investment firm Hashed founder and CEO Simon Kim said Wednesday. “I believe this current situation of not being able to establish a cryptocurrency fund despite its popularity and high transaction volume is abnormal and contributes to market distortion,” Kim said. Kim added that the cryptocurrency market, whose transaction volume sometimes exceeds that of the

MarketNov. 18, 2021

Gov't to launch 'early warning system' on key raw materials amid supply shortage woes

The government said Thursday it will launch a system to monitor some 20 key raw materials, such as magnesium and tungsten, to ensure stable supplies and prevent the recurrence of a crisis similar to the urea solution supply crunch. The "early warning system" for the designated raw materials is aimed at prioritizing the supply management of materials highly dependent on imports so as to prevent shortages. The system intends to expedite the process in which the government takes necessa

EconomyNov. 18, 2021

POSCO unveils ‘Space Walk’ in Pohang

Posco on Thursday unveiled Korea’s largest walkable art installation named Space Walk in the southeastern port city of Pohang, where the company is based. The 333-meter curved steel track that looks like a roller coaster stands in the city’s Hwanho Park, and the Pohang steel mill, Youngil Bay and Youngildae Beach can be seen while walking on it. Some 317 tons of steel, all produced by Posco, were used to create the sculpture by German artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth. Space W

IndustryNov. 18, 2021

GS Caltex, LG Chem to co-work on mass production of eco-friendly raw materials

Energy company GS Caltex and leading chemical firm LG Chem are jointly developing technology to mass produce eco-friendly raw materials, the firms announced Thursday. The top officials of the two companies met at LG Science Park in Seoul to sign a joint development agreement aimed at developing and mass producing a biodegradable plastic material called 3HP (Hydroxypropionic acid). 3HP is an eco-friendly substance produced through microbial fermentation of glucose and amorphous glycerol. It i

IndustryNov. 18, 2021

Shinhan Financial chief joins UNEP FI’s Leadership Council

South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung was elected as a member of the Leadership Council, under the United Nations sustainability initiative between the organization and the global finance sector, the firm said Thursday. The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative was created in 1992 between the UNEP and the financial sector to better encourage the adoption of sustainability in financial institutions around the world. So far 450 global financial in

MarketNov. 18, 2021

[Photo News] Samsung meets Moderna

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong poses with Noubar Afeyan, co-founder of Moderna, at the headquarters of Flagship Pioneering, a biopharmaceutical investment firm invested by Afeyan in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Tuesday.  Lee discussed cooperation measures for the COVID-19 vaccine with the Moderna co-founder, as Samsung Biologics is currently bottling Moderna’s vaccine at its plant in Songdo, Incheon, Samsung said.

TechnologyNov. 18, 2021

Samsung unveils foundry tech crucial for 3-nm chip manufacturing

 Samsung Electronics unveiled its strategy to strengthen the foundry industry ecosystem as it announced new design tools and technologies crucial for 3-nanometer process for its foundry customers at a forum on Thursday. At its third annual Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem forum held online, the chipmaker‘s foundry unit said it has also secured over 80 electronic design automation tools and technologies optimized for semiconductor design infra and package solution. It is pivotal

IndustryNov. 18, 2021

Hanwha Solutions invests $160m in US low-carbon polysilicon firm

Hanwha Solutions said Thursday that the company has invested $160 million in securing low-carbon photovoltaic materials amid a growing demand for renewable energy in the United States. The energy affiliate of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group said it agreed to purchase a 16.67 percent stake in REC Silicon for $160 million. The investment will make the Hanwha company a co-leading shareholder of the polysilicon manufacturer along with Aker Horizons, a Norway-headquartered investment fir

TechnologyNov. 18, 2021

Hyundai Livart starts operation of Asia’s first smart furniture plant

Hyundai Livart’s first smart furniture production plant and distribution center has begun operations, according to Hyundai Group’s furniture arm Hyundai Livart on Thursday. Located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the 85,950-square-meter Smart Work Center hosts an automated furniture production plant and massive distribution facilities. It is the first smart furniture factory not only in Korea, but in all of Asia, the company said. The smart factory is controlled by an IT system t

ConsumerNov. 18, 2021