Finance minister says crypto tax plan still on for next year

South Korea’s finance minister once again downplayed the possibility of delaying taxation on cryptocurrency earnings, while emphasizing that his ministry is gearing up to carry out its plan as scheduled. Hong Nam-ki, the minister of Finance and Economy, made such remarks during an Assembly hearing on Wednesday when asked about the preparedness of taxation infrastructure on crypto assets. Hong’s remarks came one day after a lawmaker revealed a survey result in which three crypto e

EconomyOct. 20, 2021

[Newsmaker] Edison Motors likely preferred bidder for troubled SsangYong Motor

Edison Motors, a little-known electric bus manufacturer, seems likely to emerge as the preferred bidder for SsangYong Motor, South Korea’s longest-running car brand, which has experienced debt troubles in recent years. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court said a consortium led by Edison Motors is the only remaining bidder, effectively making it the preferred buyer. Its competitor, another consortium led by EV firm Electrical Life Business and Technology, was excluded from the list as it failed

IndustryOct. 20, 2021

Fitch keeps S. Korea’s credit rating at AA-

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings said Wednesday that it would maintain South Korea’s stable credit rating and keep its economic growth projection positive, citing the country’s economic resilience. During a webinar hosted by Fitch on assessing regional outlooks, Jeremy Zook, a director at Fitch Ratings, reaffirmed the credit rating for Asia’s fourth-largest economy at AA-, the fourth-highest level in the agency’s system, in line with its July projection. It has rema

EconomyOct. 20, 2021

BlackRock becomes 3rd-largest shareholder of Hanwha Solutions

US-based investment manager BlackRock has become the third-largest shareholder of energy services company Hanwha Solutions, a filing showed Wednesday. BlackRock’s 11 affiliated entities were holding a combined 5.08 percent stake in Hanwha Solutions -- which is dedicated to petrochemicals, advanced materials and solar energy -- as of Friday, according to the disclosure filed with the Financial Supervisory Service. Solely on Friday, BlackRock had invested 65.4 billion won ($55.6 million)

MarketOct. 20, 2021

Nuri rocket’s launch to go ahead as scheduled Thursday

South Korea’s first domestically developed satellite launch vehicle has been moved to the launch pad for liftoff as scheduled on Thursday, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday. As favorable weather is forecast for Thursday, the launch will go on as scheduled at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, the ministry added. The three-stage liquid fuel rocket, also known as Korean Space Launch Vehicle II or Nuri, will blast off at 4 p.m., with the moment to be live

TechnologyOct. 20, 2021

Kumho Group looked into most times by antitrust watchdog for violation

Among major Korean conglomerates, Kumho Group has been under the microscope of Korea’s Fair Trade Commission the most, a lawmaker revealed Wednesday. According to data submitted by the FTC to Rep. Kim Hee-gon of the main opposition People Power Party, the state-run antitrust watchdog’s Business Group Bureau in charge of overseeing company irregularities has conducted 10 investigations into Kumho over the past four years. Since September of 2017 when the bureau was established up

IndustryOct. 20, 2021

SK Hynix introduces Gen.4 HBM product for data centers

In an industry first, SK Hynix has developed the fourth generation of high bandwidth memory, or HBM3, the company said Wednesday. HBM is a high value DRAM product with fastened data processing, which combines multiple DRAM chips vertically. Demand for HBM products has been growing from high-performance data center businesses as well as machine learning platform operators. SK Hynix has three previous HBM products, HBM, HBM2 and HBM2E, and the latest development is an update to the HBM2 by in

TechnologyOct. 20, 2021

Seoul stocks retreat on institutional selling

South Korean stocks retreated Wednesday, led by strong institutional sell-offs. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 15.91 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 3,013.13 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 668 million shares worth some 11 trillion won ($9.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 521 to 337. Institutions sold a net 208 billion won, while retail investors bought 284 billion won. Foreigners offloaded

MarketOct. 20, 2021

K Shipbuilding to join forces with Norwegian firm for smart ships

Midsized shipyard K Shipbuilding Co., formerly known as STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co., said Wednesday it has signed a preliminary deal with Kongsberg Digital AS to cooperate on digital technologies for smart ships. Under the deal with the Norwegian company that has technologies for autonomous ships, K Shipbuilding will narrow the technology gap with large shipbuilders in the area of smart ships, the company said. K Shipbuilding also showed its autonomous navigation system called K-ADIS o

IndustryOct. 20, 2021

Only 15% of Kospi firms pursue ESG management: survey

Despite industrywide efforts to promote sustainable corporate management through environmental, social and governance aspects, many South Korean companies appear to be struggling to integrate the values into their businesses, a survey suggested Wednesday. Only 123 companies, or 15 percent of all Kospi-listed firms, have established committees to deal with ESG issues, according to the survey conducted by CEO Score, a local corporate tracker. Most of the ESG management committees included chief

MarketOct. 20, 2021

Gmarket promotes Korean products with Mega G sales event

With the Netflix hit “Squid Game” spurring interest in all things Korean, e-commerce giant Gmarket said it is offering discounts on various South Korean products for international consumers next month. The platform’s annual Mega G sales event will take place Nov. 1-12, as part of its year-end promotion Big Smile Day. A record-breaking number of Korean brands will participate in the discount event this year, the company said. Gmarket’s global shop is also becoming a h

ConsumerOct. 20, 2021

[Feature] Is a year-end spending spree on the horizon?

For a year and a half, South Korea’s tourism, cosmetics and liquor businesses endured the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, hope is on the horizon. As early as next month, the country shifts to “living with COVID-19” mode. Accordingly, many of the virus containment measures that restricted gatherings and human contact are set to be eased. “I literally can feel the eagerness of people to have a party and enjoy the things that have been taken away from their

ConsumerOct. 20, 2021

Analysts upbeat over Kakao Pay’s valuation

South Korean mobile payment app operator Kakao Pay embarked on a two-day book building process targeting institutional investors Wednesday, following delays due to local authorities’ requests. The result will determine at which price a share of Kakao Pay, the Ant Group-backed financial technology firm, would be offered, as well as the proceeds Kakao Pay will be able to attract through the initial public offering, ahead of its proposed market debut on Nov. 3. Korean analysts are valuing

MarketOct. 20, 2021

[Newsmaker] Airlines to resume, expand flights between Korea and Hawaii

Korean Air said Wednesday it would resume flights to Hawaii starting Nov. 3 while Hawaiian Airlines announced plans to expand flights on the route to four times a week. Korean Air’s operation on the route was suspended in April last year due to COVID-19. The Incheon-Honolulu KE053 flight will operate three days a week, departing from Incheon International Airport every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday night. The KE054 flight departing from Honolulu for Incheon will also operate on the same

MobilityOct. 20, 2021

KOGAS propels new LNG businesses

As part of its long-term vision to shift to eco-friendly energy, Korea Gas Corp. plans to push ahead with four new businesses using liquefied natural gas. LNG is considered an eco-friendly fuel as it emits 100 percent less sulfur oxides and dust compared to existing fuels for ships, 20 percent less carbon dioxide and up to 99 percent less fine dust. As the International Maritime Organization limited the sulfur content of ships’ fuel oil to 0.5 percent, global demand for LNG-powered ships

IndustryOct. 20, 2021

Korea’s exports to emerging markets to slow after US tapering: KITA

Once the US Federal Reserve begins to pull back next year the stimulus they have provided during the pandemic, it could slow South Korea’s exports to emerging economies that are fiscally fragile, a state-run think tank has warned. A report by the Institute for International Trade under the Korea International Trade Association showed that the US “tapering” after global financial crises in the past increased uncertainties in emerging economies and affected Korea’s exports

IndustryOct. 20, 2021

HMM to launch new service linking S. Korea, S. America in December

South Korean shipper HMM Co. said Wednesday that it will start its new regular container shipping service linking the country's port city of Busan and the eastern coastal cities of South America in December. A 5,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container carrier will be deployed for the service to be launched on Dec. 7, HMM said. It will take 84 days for the container carrier to make a round trip on the Busan-Montevideo route, the shipper said. HMM said the launch of new South Korea-Sout

BusinessOct. 20, 2021

KB Kookmin acquires remaining stake in Cambodia’s Prasac Microfinance

South Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank said Wednesday that it has acquired the remaining stake in Prasac Microfinance Institution, to wholly own Cambodia’s largest microfinance deposit-taking firm. KB Kookmin had acquired 70 percent stake in Prasac Microfinance for $603.4 million from Sri Lanka-based nonbanking lender LOLC Holdings in April 2020, becoming the majority and largest shareholder of the institution. The price of the 30 percent stake which KB Kookmin recently acquired has yet t

MarketOct. 20, 2021

Genesis GV70 named Motor Trend SUV of the Year

The 2022 Genesis GV70 has been named Motor Trend's SUV of the year, beating a list of high profile contenders from Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis, Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday. The GV70 outshined 35 competing models such as the Ford Bronco, Ford Mustang Mach-F, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Wrangler 392 and 4xe in terms of design, sporty performance, value and safety features, Hyundai said in a statement. Stellantis is a 50:50 joint venture recently set up through the merger of US carmaker

IndustryOct. 20, 2021

Number of retail investors' overseas stock accounts soars 74% in H1

The number of overseas stock accounts held by South Korean retail investors jumped 74 percent in the first half of the year from six months earlier amid their brisk investment in foreign shares, data showed Wednesday. Local individual investors held about 3.31 million overseas stock accounts as of end-June, up from some 1.89 million at the end of last year, according to the data submitted to the National Assembly for an annual parliamentary audit by the Financial Supervisory Service. The numbe

MarketOct. 20, 2021