Luxury imported cars see record sales in August

Consumer appetite for expensive imported cars is bigger than ever in South Korea. According to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association on Monday, total sales of imported cars with a retail price exceeding 100 million won ($85,156) as of August jumped 65.5 percent on-year. The total number of vehicles in that price range sold in the first eight months of the year was 45,042. This exceeds the total number of high-end imported cars sold in all of 2020, when sales

MobilitySept. 13, 2021

Bithumb, Bucket Studio to launch shopping platform

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb said it has joined hands with Bucket Studio, a local mobile content provider, to launch a commerce platform where customers can purchase products and services in bithumb cash. By incorporating Bithumb’s blockchain payment technology, the commerce platform, named Bithumb Live, will serve as a new online marketplace. Customers will watch a live show promoting a product -- similar to TV homeshopping -- and pay with its currency, bithumb cash, later on, o

MarketSept. 13, 2021

Korea sees more self-made superrich

South Korea, which has long relied on a few family-controlled businesses for its growth, has recently seen an increase in the number of people entering the league of the nation’s wealthiest, data showed Monday. The average age of entrepreneurs among the 50 richest also has come down during the pandemic, accelerating a generational shift in the corporate world, according to Leaders Index, a local corporate tracker. Leaders Index analyzed the 50 richest stockholders in each of the US, Korea

MarketSept. 13, 2021

Samsung Bioepis says its trastuzumab biosimilar as safe, effective as original

South Korean pharmaceutical company Samsung Bioepis said Monday its breast cancer treatment biosimilar Ontruzant is proven to be just as safe and effective as the original drug. The Korean drugmaker conducted a follow-up study lasing five years, tracking 367 patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive breast cancer. The patients received several cycles of trastuzumab biosimilar Ontruzant or the reference medicine along with chemotherapy and surgery during the period. S

TechnologySept. 13, 2021

Kakao founder under FTC probe for failing to report properly on key affiliate

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is probing Kakao Group founder Kim Beom-su for alleged misreporting of the company’s de facto holding company in violation of the country’s fair trade act. According to industry insiders on Monday, the antitrust watchdog recently conducted site investigations at Kakao Corp. and K Cube Holdings, after finding that the group has left out necessary information or falsely reported about K Cube Holdings, an investment firm fully owned by Kim, o

IndustrySept. 13, 2021

Finance chief calls for beefed-up monitoring of housing markets

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Monday raised the need to strengthen the monitoring of the property market as the latest rate hike and the talks of US tapering could increase market volatility. The minister also called for ways to encourage the private sector to take part in the government's efforts to increase the home supply. "There is a need to strengthen the monitoring of the housing market due to changes in real estate market conditions," Hong told a meeting with senior government

EconomySept. 13, 2021

Nearly half of public companies see staff numbers drop this year: report

Nearly half of publicly traded companies in South Korea saw their number of staff drop during the first half of this year, signaling the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, a new report has revealed. Among those 1,816 companies listed on either the main bourse Kospi or tech-loaded Kosdaq between 2018 and 2021, 859 reduced the number of staff from a year ago, according to the report released Monday by the Korea Economic Research Institute. The drop in employee numbers was

IndustrySept. 13, 2021

Samsung Heavy in talks with Russian customers to build ice-breaking LNG carriers

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday that it has been in talks with contractors to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to transport the LNG to be produced in northern Siberia of Russia. But "nothing has yet to be determined in the talks," Samsung Heavy said in a regulatory filing. Samsung Heavy's announcement came shortly after a report by a local newspaper that the shipbuilder is likely to win orders estimated at about 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion)

IndustrySept. 13, 2021

Pandemic cuts S. Korea's 2021-22 potential growth rate by 0.2% point

The COVID-19 pandemic slashed South Korea's 2021-22 potential growth rate by 0.2 percentage point to 2 percent, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Monday. South Korea's potential growth rate, which refers to the maximum possible rate an economy can grow without triggering inflation, has been on a steady decline due to a shrinking working-age population and mounting household debts. But the pandemic prompted the nation's potential growth rate to further decline as it dealt a heavy blow to small merchan

EconomySept. 13, 2021

Electronic payments hit record high in H1 amid pandemic

The amount of payments made electronically hit a record high in the first half of this year, central bank data showed Monday, as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted more people to engage in contact-free commerce. The daily average amount of electronic financial transactions came to 863.5 billion won ($738 million) in the January-June period, up 12.8 percent from six months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the highest amount since the central bank started

EconomySept. 13, 2021

S. Korea proposes digital trade pact with ASEAN

South Korea on Monday proposed a new pact on digital trade with Southeast Asia to cope with the changing global business environment and forge deeper economic ties with the region. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held a virtual meeting of economic ministers with his ASEAN counterparts to share opinions on various issues, covering trade and the environment, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Th

EconomySept. 13, 2021

S. Korea designates more hydrogen-focused businesses

South Korea's industry ministry on Monday designated eight additional hydrogen-focused businesses eligible to receive state financial support, in line with the country's goal to slowly phase out conventional resources and go carbon neutral by 2050. The country launched a new law on promoting the hydrogen economy in February, under which companies whose business portfolio covers the sector can receive state subsidies of up to 150 million won (US$128,000). So far, 19 companies have been tapped to

IndustrySept. 13, 2021

Hyundai restarts local plant on resumed parts supply

Hyundai Motor Co. said Monday it has restarted production at a local plant on the resumed supply of electronic components. Hyundai Motor halted the Asan plant on Sept. 9 and 10 due to lack of chip parts, resulting in production losses of 2,000 vehicles, the company said in a regulatory filing. The 300,000-unit-a-year Asan plant produces the Sonata sedan and the Santa Fe SUV. Previously, the Asan plant suspended operations from July 13 to Aug. 6 to upgrade the facilities before it begins producti

IndustrySept. 13, 2021

Exports rise 31% in first 10 days of Sept.

South Korea's exports rose 30.7 percent on-year in the first 10 days of September on the back of robust demand for petroleum products and autos, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $19.5 billion in the Sept. 1-10 period, compared with $14.9 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports soared 60.6 percent on-year to $21 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.46 billion during the cited period, the data showed. By sect

EconomySept. 13, 2021

LG Innotek develops eco-friendly magnet with enhanced strength

LG Innotek Co., a major electronics parts maker in South Korea, said Monday it has developed an environmental friendly magnet that boasts enhanced magnetic strength. LG Innotek said the latest magnet, which it developed together with Sunglim Group Industry Co., reduces the use of heavy rare-earth (HRE) metals, a key ingredient of magnets, by 60 percent compared with previous ones. Such a magnet is installed in products that need power with its magnetic pushing and pulling force. The company said

IndustrySept. 13, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat on US stock slump

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday as investors braced for a fall on Wall Street last week amid concerns over rising inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 1.17 points, or 0.04 percent, to 3,124.59 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a slow start, following North Korean state media saying Monday the communist state had successfully test-fired a new type of long-range cruise missile over the weekend. Local stocks also came under

MarketSept. 13, 2021

Luxury imported car sales soar 65.5% this year

Sales of high-end imported cars spiked nearly 66 percent in the first eight months of the year amid the popularity of big-ticket eco-friendly models among local motorists and a post-lockdown shopping spree, industry data showed Monday. A total of 45,042 imported vehicles with price tags of 100 million won ($85,700) or higher were sold in South Korea in the January-August period, up 65.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Associ

IndustrySept. 13, 2021

Foreign investors remain net sellers of Korean stocks in August

Foreign investors remained net sellers of South Korean stocks last month, extending their selling spree for a fourth consecutive month, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 7.81 trillion won ($6.68 billion) worth of local stocks in August, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). British investors sold a net 1.3 trillion won of stocks last month, while investors from Switzerland net purchased 400 billion won worth of stocks, according to the FSS. As of end-August,

MarketSept. 13, 2021

[Larry Corey] What we know about delta and vaccination

Sobering findings of the past few weeks have shaken both the American and scientific psyche. People have had to reassess their perceptions about the COVID-19 vaccines, and the reemergence of an epidemic many thought was over. Many of us have had to come to terms with how life can sometimes just be complicated. It’s been a scientific and emotional roller coaster. In the spring, we saw the alpha variant, which was two times more infectious than the ancestral strain. That was followed by be

TechnologySept. 12, 2021

[Herald Interview] Homegrown rocket may be ticket to join new space order

This is the first installment in a series of interviews with executives of Korean companies with space ambitions. -- Ed.  In 2013, South Korea celebrated the launch of its first rocket -- the “Naro” Korea Space Launch Vehicle 1 -- from its own soil. The country’s first spaceflight success was, however, an effort that largely relied on Russian experts. Eight years later and amid an intensifying space race among superpowers, the country will attempt to launch a tru

IndustrySept. 12, 2021