Seoul to pour more money to nurture local materials, parts industries

South Korea will spend 20 billion won ($16.9 million) next year to nurture local industries for materials, parts and equipment for chips, future cars, bio products and nanotechnologies, officials said Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, unveiling a road map to identify and strengthen the weakest link in the country’s industrial value chain, said if all goes as planned, the country will see a drastic decline in imports of essential parts and equipment in backbone industries. &ldqu

TechnologyNov. 17, 2021

Yuhan to begin phase 1 clinical study for NASH treatment candidate

South Korean pharmaceutical firm Yuhan said Wednesday that the company’s nonalcoholic steatohepatitis treatment candidate YH25724 will go through a phase 1 clinical trial in Europe. The test will involve some 80 healthy overweight adults to test safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamics of the NASH drug candidate. Yuhan expects that the study to be completed by June next year. With the commencement of the trial, the Korean firm will receive a milestone payment of $10 million from Bo

TechnologyNov. 17, 2021

Chey to attend FTC meeting over SK Siltron case

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won will attend a Fair Trade Commission session next month involving SK Siltron, the antitrust body said Wednesday. The antitrust watchdog has been looking into SK Group’s 2017 buyout of LG Siltron for the past four years, following suspicions that the SK Group chairman’s personal purchase of a stake in the firm violated the law. In January 2017, the conglomerate acquired a 51 percent stake in LG’s silicon wafers manufacturing unit, now named SK Sil

IndustryNov. 17, 2021

Hyundai’s auto designer Peter Schreyer features in new book

Peter Schreyer, the renowned car designer now leading Hyundai Motor Group’s design management, is featured in a new book “Roots and Wings,” a Korean edition of which is to hit local shelves soon. Originally published in English last month, the book explores Schreyer’s life and legacy as one of the most influential automotive designers, the Korean business group behind Hyundai Motor and Kia said Wednesday, announcing the Nov. 25 release of the Korean edition. Schreyer,

MobilityNov. 17, 2021

D&C Mineun, Wanfeng Group team up for development project in Laos

  Real estate investment firm D&C Mineun has signed a business partnership with Shanghai-based Wanfeng Property to take part in the company’s development project in the Thatluang Lake Special Economic Zone in Laos, supported by the Laotian government, officials said Wednesday.  Chairmen of the two companies held the signing ceremony with Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune, president of the Lao Front for National Construction, who also serves as a politburo member of the Central Com

MarketNov. 17, 2021

Samsung’s pick for 2nd foundry fab in US seems imminent

With Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of Samsung Electronics, currently in the US, industry observers expect the company to decide on the final location for its second foundry plant in the US, according to news reports Wednesday. Some US media based in Texas reported Tuesday that the South Korean chipmaker appeared to have narrowed down its list of candidate sites for the new foundry fab believed to be worth $17 billion. It was found that Samsung has withdrawn its application filed in Ja

TechnologyNov. 17, 2021

Korea-US alliance worth up to 3,000 trillion won for South Korea: KERI

The Korea-US alliance has been estimated to possibly be worth over 3,000 trillion won ($2.53 trillion) for South Korea, according to a new study by the Korea Economic Research Institute. 　 The Seoul-based think tank estimated in a report that the bilateral alliance has generated an economic value of between 923.82 trillion and 3,041 trillion won during the 21 years since 2000. “For the stability and continued prosperity of South Korea, maintaining a strong alliance with the US is critic

IndustryNov. 17, 2021

[Behind the Wheel] Audi e-tron GT all set to turn up heat in e-sports car competition

As the wave of electrification reaches sports cars, the race is heating up among global brands to push the performance boundaries of the relatively new powertrain. In Korea, the competition is to intensify with Audi set to challenge the Porsche Taycan with its e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT. Before the official launch of the two cars, The Korea Herald had the chance to take them for a short test drive on a course involving substantial speed and a slalom test at Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeo

MobilityNov. 17, 2021

Seoul stocks dip over 1% amid inflation worries

South Korean stocks retreated more than 1 percent Wednesday, as strong US economic data raised concerns about an earlier than expected rate hike by the US Federal Reserve amid rising inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 34.79 points, or 1.16 percent, to close at 2,962.42 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 533 million shares worth some 10.5 trillion won ($8.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 730 to

MarketNov. 17, 2021

Listed firms' on-year net profit nearly triples in first 9 months

The combined net profit of listed South Korean companies rose 165.8 percent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier, the bourse operator said Wednesday. The combined net profit of 586 out of 670 firms listed on the main Kospi bourse came to 128 trillion won ($108 billion) in the January-September period, up from 48.19 trillion won during the same period of last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange (KRX). The bourse operator excluded 84 out of 670 compani

IndustryNov. 17, 2021

Analysts divided over 2022 Kospi outlook

Analysts in and out of the country remained divided on their outlooks for South Korea’s benchmark Kospi next year this week, noting volatilities stemming from inflationary pressures, a memory down cycle and Korea’s presidential election in March. Morgan Stanley analysts on Wednesday slashed their growth target for South Korea’s benchmark Kospi by 250 points to 3,000 for end-2020, citing an ongoing unfavorable environment for the equity market and pointing to the upcoming pres

MarketNov. 17, 2021

Scam warning issued over @top-sale-korea.com mail accounts

The Korean Consumer Agency on Wednesday issued a scam warning over websites and emails with a “top-sale-korea.com” URL. The institution has received a total of 66 consumer complaints regarding the address as of Oct. 20, it said. In 65 percent of the cases, the sites arbitrary canceled orders without giving a refund. The rest concerned vendors going out of contact after delivery of defective or faulty products. Customers were lured into the websites via social media advertise

IndustryNov. 17, 2021

MBK Partners reaches $1.8b close for 2nd special situations fund

Private fund house MBK Partners said Wednesday it had reached a final close for its second flagship fund at $1.8 billion to invest under a “special situations” strategy. The East Asia-focused opportunistic fund, named MBK Partners SSF II, is estimated to be the largest special situations fund managed by an Asia-based investment firm since 2019, according to market intelligence service firm Preqin. Special situations refer to an investment strategy in which a fund manager bets on a

MarketNov. 17, 2021

Kyobo Life to complete IPO by H1 2022, hints at expanding financial services

South Korean insurer Kyobo Life Insurance plans to go public on the Korea Exchange by 2022, a process stalled due to a shareholder feud over the past few years, the company said Wednesday. The initial public offering will lay the groundwork for the company to turn into a financial group with a holding company structure to offer a wider range of financial services other than insurance, setting aside its yearslong battle against minority shareholders, according to the company. The life insurer,

MarketNov. 17, 2021

App store operators to face fine of up to 2% of revenue in violation of billing law

App store operators will face a fine of up to two percent for forcing developers to use their own in-app payment systems, the country's telecommunications regulator said Wednesday. Under the enforcement decree of the revised law aimed at curbing Google Inc. and other app store operators' dominance, such app store operators will have to pay one percent of their revenue for delays in reviewing apps, according to the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). In August, South Korea made amendments to

IndustryNov. 17, 2021

Firms’ Q3 investment up 7% despite pandemic: data

South Korean companies increased their third-quarter investment by 7 percent from last year, mostly led by those in the IT and electronics sector, market data showed Wednesday.  According to an analysis by CEO Score, 336 of the country’s top 500 corporations which released their Q3 performance reports executed investments totaling 124.4 trillion won ($105 billion) from July to September.  Such figure is 8.4 trillion won higher than a year ago. By business category, IT and elec

IndustryNov. 17, 2021

Samyang partners up with UAE retailer for Middle East expansion

Samyang Foods said Wednesday it had inked a partnership deal with United Arab Emirates retailer Sarya General Trading to accelerate Spicy Buldak Ramen sales in the Middle East. Under the 2.5 billion-won ($2.1 million) deal signed on Tuesday, Sarya will be Samyang’s exclusive distribution partner in the country. The two plan to increase export volume to 50 billion won by 2023, it said. UAE is the region’s biggest market for Samyang. Currently, some 71 percent of Korean instant no

ConsumerNov. 17, 2021

4 mobile payment platforms fined over collusion

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has decided to impose a combined fine of 16.9 billion won ($14.3 million) on four mobile payment platform operators for colluding to impose excessive fees on delinquent consumers. KG Mobilians Co., SK Planet Co., and two other firms jointly introduced fees for consumers who failed to pay prices of goods via their settlement services between 2010 and 2019, and colluded to sharply hike delay charges and maintain them, according to the Fair Trade

IndustryNov. 17, 2021

S. Korea to burn hydrogen, ammonia at thermal power plants

The South Korean government announced Tuesday it will develop hydrogen and ammonia as feedstock for thermal power generation in order to gradually phase out the use of fossil fuels. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the government has launched a public-private council to lead the research, with an aim of introducing hydrogen and ammonia in the fuel mix as early as 2030. The ministry’s plan envisions more than half of South Korea’s coal-fired thermal power plant

BusinessNov. 17, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on tech, auto losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, largely by losses in tech, auto stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 9.95 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,987.26 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged down 0.14 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.45 percent, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics retreated 0.92 percent. Hyundai Motor, the country's largest carmaker, moved down 0.73 percent, with its smaller affi

MarketNov. 17, 2021