Electricity bills likely to rise in Q4 as fuel prices soar

South Koreans may face higher electricity bills later this year, as the government is mulling a response to compensate for rising fuel prices. According to industry sources Sunday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will decide on Sept. 23 whether to raise electricity rates for the fourth quarter. A price hike seems inevitable, as the ministry and state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. already froze power bills twice in the second and third quarters in reflection of ongoing C

IndustrySept. 12, 2021

Green wave pushes indebted state-run firms to edge

Amid the climate change response actions underway in South Korea, the nation’s state-run companies dedicated to fossil fuel energy resources are barely hanging on. The Korea Resources Corp., or Kores, merged into the newly established Mine Reclamation Corp., called Mireco, under new rules that took effect Friday. The birth of Mireco was foretold in 2018, when a task force within the Energy Ministry recommended that the debt-saddled Kores be restructured. Kores, considered a major culpri

EconomySept. 12, 2021

Home shopping rises as new way to buy a car

The ways to buy a car are expanding into the non-face-to-face realms of home shopping TV networks and dedicated websites, taking the hassle out of having to visit a dealership for a new set of wheels. Renault Samsung Motors said Sunday it is launching the Master van on GS Retail’s home shopping channel GS My Shop after it saw successful sales of its electric vehicle Zoe in July. The automaker said they decided to expand the sales route to home shopping programs for the 15-person van am

MobilitySept. 12, 2021

Online shopping in Korea expands 105 percent since 2017

SEJONG -- The market volume of online shopping in South Korea, which has been sharply growing in recent years, has been further boosted by the pandemic, as more consumers rely on internet retailers, data shows. Shopping via the internet is estimated to have contributed largely to private consumption, and eventually the gross domestic product. According to Statistics Korea, monthly online shopping transactions reached an all-time high of 16.19 trillion won ($13.8 billion) in July. This marked 2

EconomySept. 12, 2021

Samsung to defend top spot in semiconductor sales in Q3: report

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to defend its top spot in global semiconductor sales in the third quarter of the year, a report showed Sunday, on the back of strong memory demand. Samsung, the world's largest memory supplier, was projected to log $22.32 billion in semiconductor sales in the July-September period, up 10 percent from a quarter earlier, and maintain its lead against Intel Corp., according to the latest McClean Report from market researcher IC Insights. Intel was estimated to co

IndustrySept. 12, 2021

[Newsmaker] Retail investors sweep W1tr Kakao shares hit by short attack, regulation

　Retail investors bought more than 1 trillion won ($854 billion) worth of Kakao shares for three days from Wednesday to Friday, when they fell 15 percent amid record short-selling triggered by mounting concerns over tightening regulations.   The country’s fifth-biggest in market capitalization has been targeted for massive short selling due to a rapid price fall last week over the political move to regulate platform giants,  Foreign investors also dumped shares worth 749.8 bill

MarketSept. 12, 2021

[Law Talk] Recent legislative changes over online platform businesses in Korea

Big tech companies grew quickly in the pandemic-hit year of 2020, with many people working from home and purchasing more online, as well as tech giants cutting costs where it matters less and investing in areas that extend their advantage. The growth of the IT industry and increasing power of the tech giants called for tightened regulation of the online platform market worldwide. The US administration appointed Lina Khan, who first attracted attention as a critic of Amazon, as FTC chair. US Pr

MarketSept. 12, 2021

Monitoring strengthened on crypto exchanges facing shutdown this week

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit said Sunday that it was looking closely at cryptocurrency exchanges on the verge of shutting down. The unit is under the Financial Services Commission, the country’s financial regulator. The regulator, in cooperation with the police and financial institutions, aims to prevent those exchanges from walking away with users’ money parked in their accounts. Any exchanges that fail to register with the FSC by Sept. 24 must inform users by Friday th

MarketSept. 12, 2021

LG Chem to produce biodegradable plastics with TK Chemical

LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's biggest chemical firm, said Sunday it will produce biodegradable plastics after joining hands with a smaller local chemical company in a move to expand its presence in the eco-friendly product market. Under the partnership with TK Chemical Corp., LG Chem will develop and produce poly butylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT). PBAT are synthetic polymers based on fossil resources and can naturally degrade within six months after buried in soil. The two companies said th

IndustrySept. 12, 2021

Genesis' SUV sales exceed 100,000 units in 18 months

  Genesis, the independent luxury brand of Hyundai Motor Co., sold more than 100,000 sport utility vehicles (SUV) globally in just 1 1/2 years since its SUV market debut, thanks to brisk sales at home and in North America, data showed Sunday. Genesis' SUV sales totaled 107,700 units from the launch of its first SUV, GV80, in January 2020 until the end of July this year, according to Hyundai Motor's investor relation data. Genesis rolled out its second and smaller SUV flagship GV70 in Janua

IndustrySept. 12, 2021

Korean firms' interim dividends surge to record high

South Korean listed companies' half-year dividends surged to a record high this year as their businesses posted strong performance, market data showed Sunday. A total of 62 local listed firms paid out 4.39 trillion won ($3.75 billion) in interim dividends in June, up 66.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from market tracker FnGuide. It marks the first time that listed companies' half-year dividends surpassed the 4 trillion-won mark. Half-year dividends from South Korean firms r

IndustrySept. 12, 2021

Seoul stocks to face selling pressure on virus, regulation woes

South Korean stocks are likely to come under selling pressure next week amid concerns about the spreading virus variant and regulation fears that had led to massive sell-offs of giant platform companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,125.76 points Friday, down 2.35 percent from a week ago. The weekly loss came as an increase in the country's new coronavirus cases raised concerns of an economic slowdown, in addition to regulatory move against fintech compa

MarketSept. 11, 2021

Kakaopay to suspend car insurance comparison service

Kakaopay, a financial unit of tech giant Kakao Corp., will suspend its car insurance comparison service later this month after providing an unauthorized brokerage service, industry sources said Friday. Kakaopay's service to help customers find the best deal among six partnered car insurers, including Hyundai Marine and Fire Insurance Co. and DB Insurance, will be suspended from Sept. 25, according to the sources. The Financial Services Commission said the online program is not advertising tha

TechnologySept. 10, 2021

Doosan Infracore to raise 800 bln won via stock selling

Doosan Infracore on Friday announced that it will sell stocks to raise 800 billion won ($682 billion). The proceeds from the stock sale will be used mainly to pay off its debts and for other purposes, the company said in a regulatory filing. Doosan Infracore will issue some 115.1 million common shares at a price of 6,950 won per share. The stocks will be sold to the firm's existing shareholders. Hyundai Genuine, the holding company of Doosan Infracore, will buy up to 28.8 percent of the sto

IndustrySept. 10, 2021

Apple snubs Epic's request to allow return of 'Fortnite' in S. Korea after law revision

Apple Inc. on Friday rejected US game maker Epic Games Inc.'s request that its hit title "Fortnite" be rereleased in South Korea in a case that highlights a tug-of-war over lucrative payment systems on the app market. The video game maker earlier tweeted that it asked Apple to restore its "Fortnite" developer account and that it plans to relaunch the game on Apple's mobile operating system in the country in light of a new legislation that effectively allows alternative in-ap

IndustrySept. 10, 2021

New FSC chief, financial giants mull loan maturity extension

Koh Seung-beom, the new chairman of the policymaking Financial Services Commission, met with the heads of South Korea’s five biggest banking groups on Friday to discuss whether to further put off loan repayment schedules for households and companies reeling from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. No conclusion has been reached yet, but Koh and the group executives agreed on the importance of inclusive financial policies to boost “cooperation between economic players for mutual

EconomySept. 10, 2021

Talks fall through, keeping local carmakers out of secondhand car market

Talks between major automakers and the secondhand car industry have fallen through, stalling the process of opening the market to carmakers, sources close to the matter said Friday. Final negotiations took place Thursday, mediated by a committee dedicated to finding common ground, but to no avail. The issue will now be handled by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The committee was launched in June in hopes of an agreement between carmakers and used car businesses within three months. Though

MobilitySept. 10, 2021

Lotte Confectionery to release special BTS edition for Xylitol chewing gum

Lotte Confectionery said Friday that it will release a special BTS edition of its popular Xylitol chewing gum next month. The new edition will come in 10 packaging options -- seven representing each member of the septet and the other three featuring the group in its entirety. The gum has two flavors, Apple Mint and Purple Mix, which is a mixture of grapefruit and blueberries. With the volume of the package double the regular size, the company said the new special edition will make them more

ConsumerSept. 10, 2021

FTC to keep eyes on unfair practices in e-commerce sector

Amid growing scrutiny of online giants Naver and Kakao, South Korea’s antitrust watchdog chief on Friday spoke of the need to regulate massive online platforms in order to better protect small vendors and consumers. “E-commerce platforms have brought new benefits and convenience, but concerns over side effects have newly arisen,” Joh Sung-wook, chairperson of the Fair Trade Commission, said during a breakfast meeting organized by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea.

TechnologySept. 10, 2021

[Newsmaker] Demand for apartments on rise despite loan restrictions

Demand for apartments in South Korea’s capital and the surrounding areas continued to rise for two consecutive weeks, despite the central bank’s latest rate hike and financial institutions’ efforts to cut back lending, data showed Friday. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, the index measuring supply and demand for apartments in Seoul and the surrounding area inched up 0.4 points on-week to 112.1 as of Monday, extending gains for two consecutive weeks. It had gained 0.9

MarketSept. 10, 2021