Container cargo volume at seaports up 7.2% in July

The volume of container cargo processed at South Korea's seaports rose 7.2 percent in July from a year earlier, data showed Sunday, as trade increased amid the global economic recovery. Container cargo processed at the seaports reached 2.58 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) last month, compared with 2.4 million TEUs the previous year, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The ministry attributed the increase to an accelerating global economic recovery from the fallout of

EconomyAug. 22, 2021

Fashion powerhouse Handsome launches high-end beauty brand oera

South Korean fashion company Handsome Corp. said Sunday it will launch a cosmetics brand for the first time. Handsome, an affiliate of Hyundai Department Store Group, said high-end skin care brand oera will open its first store at the department store's Apgujeong outlet in southern Seoul. The skin-care line with lotion, skin, serum and cream are all manufactured in Switzerland, Handsome said, adding it will add more beauty products to the lineup later this year. Major products come with a hef

IndustryAug. 22, 2021

Foreign investors sell W31tr of Korean stocks in 2021

Foreign investors have been on a selling spree of South Korean stocks so far this year, selling nearly 31 trillion won ($26 billion) of local shares, data showed Sunday. Offshore investors sold a net 30.72 trillion won between Jan. 1 and Friday, compared with net selling of 24.7 trillion won for the whole year of 2020, according to the data compiled by the bourse operator, the Korea Exchange (KRX). Offshore investors have been net sellers of local shares for seven straight months this year, ex

EconomyAug. 22, 2021

GM to recall another 73,000 Bolt EVs over fire risks

American automaker General Motors said it will expand the recall of Chevy Bolt electric vehicles equipped with South Korean supplier LG's batteries over fire risks, which is expected to additionally cost about US$1 billion. The latest recall covers 73,000 Bolt EVs and EUVs from model years 2019 through 2022 sold in the United States and Canada to replace the defective battery modules. It is on top of about 69,000 Bolt EVs from 2017-2019 model years included in the previous recall in July over

MobilityAug. 21, 2021

Incheon airport's passenger traffic hits high for 2021 in early Aug.

The number of daily passengers at Incheon International Airport, South Korea's main gateway, rose to the highest point this year in early August as more people traveled during the summer holiday season amid the vaccination drive, data showed Saturday. An average of 10,987 passengers used the Incheon airport a day from Aug. 1-19, up 47 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the data by the Incheon International Airport Corp. On Aug. 13, two days ahead of Liberation Day, 15,55

MobilityAug. 21, 2021

Namyang Dairy chairman breaks pledge to resign, paid W808m in H1

Namyang Dairy Products Chairman Hong Won-sik, who pledged to resign from the top post of the dairy firm due to a scandal in May, turns out to have reversed the decision to maintain his post, the company’s half-year report showed Thursday. According to the report, Hong remains registered as the chairman of the company as a full-time employee, and he was paid a total of 808 million won ($682,685) in the first half of this year. On May 4, Hong publicly announced he would resign after the

ConsumerAug. 20, 2021

LG Electronics to spur robot biz with Hyundai Elevator

LG Electronics said Friday it has forged a business partnership with Hyundai Elevator, seeking joint opportunities to integrate robotics technologies into buildings such as residential apartments, office buildings or hospitals. The home appliance giant signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hyundai affiliate that provides various kinds of elevators for both residential and corporate buildings during a ceremony held at LG Science Park in western Seoul. “LG will partner with Hyund

TechnologyAug. 20, 2021

Korean banks temporarily halt mortgage lending over household debt worries

South Korean banks have started to temporarily halt their home-backed loans under pressure from financial authorities seeking to rein in the nation’s snowballing household debt, sources said Friday. NH NongHyup Bank, one of the country’s top five commercial banks, decided to suspend all mortgage lending from next week until Nov. 30. Switching and renewals of mortgages will be halted as well. Extension of personal loans will be tightened as well, with customers able to borrow up

MarketAug. 20, 2021

Seoul stocks slump more than 1% in US tapering worries

South Korean stocks retreated more than 1 percent Friday as concerns about the possibility of the US Fed's earlier-than-expected tapering pulled down the stock prices. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) dipped 37.32 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 3,060.51 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 660 million shares worth some 16.1 trillion won ($13.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 829 to 70. Foreigners sold a

MarketAug. 20, 2021

S. Korea to cut real estate broker fee amid concern over hefty costs for housing trade

South Korea said Friday it has decided to place a new cap on commissions earned by real estate agents from October, as the nation’s heated housing market has led to a spike in broker fees, instigating public concern on the additional burden. The new measure will target broker fees on property purchases valued over 600 million won ($508,000) and lease deals over 300 million won, according to the latest announcement by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The commission rat

EconomyAug. 20, 2021

Hyundai Heavy completes takeover of Doosan Infracore

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH), the world's largest shipbuilding group, said Friday that it has completed the process to acquire South Korea's top construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore Co. HHIH formed a consortium with KDB Investment Co., a private equity firm wholly owned by the state-run Korea Development Bank, to buy Doosan Infracore from cash-strapped Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. for 850 billion won ($720 million) late last year. In July, HHIH establ

IndustryAug. 20, 2021

Korean Air to replace A380, 747-8I with smaller planes for efficiency: CEO

Korean Air plans to replace its A380-800 and B747-8I aircraft with smaller planes to increase efficiency, the carrier’s chief executive officer said Thursday. Cho Won-tae, the chairman of Hanjin Group and Korean Air CEO, said he has confirmed the plan to ditch the Airbus A380-800 in the next five years and Boeing’s 747-8I over the next 10 years in an interview with FlightGlobal. Korean Air currently owns 10 units of both the A380-800 with 407 seats and the B747-8i with 368 seats.

MobilityAug. 20, 2021

Conglomerate investments rise 4.6% in H1, led by chipmakers

South Korea’s large business groups increased their investments by nearly 5 percent in the first half of 2021, according to data by a local market researcher on Friday. Including the country’s biggest tech giant Samsung Electronics, the top 332 Korean companies invested a combined 82.8 trillion won ($70.3 billion) in the January-June period, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier, showed figures released by CEO Score. The investment amount surged 12.6 percent in the first half of 201

IndustryAug. 20, 2021

KakaoBank outpaces Hyundai Motor in market cap

KakaoBank, South Korea’s largest digital-only bank, beat out Hyundai Motor, one of the world’s largest carmakers, in terms of market capitalization on Friday morning, becoming 8th most valuable company here. Shares of KakaoBank rose 1.85 percent to 92,300 won ($77.98) during the morning trade to surpass the 44 trillion won-mark before it closed at 1.09 percent lower to 91,000 won. Hyundai Motor shares, meanwhile, declined more than 1 percent to 204,000 won apiece, losing

MarketAug. 20, 2021

Seoul stocks turn to losses late Fri. morning on U.S. tapering worries

South Korean stocks turned to losses late Friday morning as concerns about the possibility of US Fed's earlier-than-expected tapering pulled down stock prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 20.52 points, or 0.66 percent, to 3,077.31 points as of 11:20 a.m. Stocks opened with mild gains after the Kospi retreated nearly 2 percent Thursday, marking the biggest daily loss since Feb. 26 and the lowest closing price since early April. But stocks fell back below t

MarketAug. 20, 2021

LG Electronics joins hands with Hyundai Elevator on smart building solutions

LG Electronics Inc. said Friday it has joined hands with Hyundai Elevator Co. to seek business opportunities in smart home and building solutions. LG will work with the country's largest elevator manufacturer to develop robot logistics services in which autonomous bots deliver parcels and food at apartments, office buildings and hospitals with elevators. Under the agreement, the two sides will also cooperate in making premium elevators equipped with LG's OLED signage. The partnership came as

IndustryAug. 20, 2021

S. Korea to unveil steps to curb inflation ahead of Chuseok holiday: official

South Korea plans to unveil a set of measures later this month to stabilize consumer prices ahead of next month's fall harvest Chuseok holiday, a senior government official said Friday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the government will take actions to curb rising prices of farm products, if needed, in the run-up to the holiday scheduled for Sept. 20-22. Demand for vegetables, eggs and other foodstuffs usually rises in South Korea ahead of the Chuseok holiday as people prepare h

EconomyAug. 20, 2021

Samsung retakes No.1 spot in Q2 chip sales: report

Samsung Electronics Co. regained the No.1 spot in chip sales in the second quarter of the year, surpassing its archrival Intel Corp. for the first time in almost three years, on the back of robust sales of memory semiconductors, a report showed Friday. The South Korean tech giant logged $20.29 billion in chip sales in the April-June period, up 19 percent from a quarter earlier, according to the latest McClean Report released by market researcher IC Insights. Samsung, the world's largest memory

IndustryAug. 20, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as bargain hunters sought oversold stocks after the benchmark index plunged by almost 2 percent the previous day. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 5.68 points, or 0.18 percent, to 3,103.51 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks rebounded after the Kospi retreated nearly 2 percent Thursday, marking biggest daily loss since Feb. 26, and the lowest closing price since early April. Investors remained wary for market j

MarketAug. 20, 2021

Tougher regulations cast shadow over crypto markets in S. Korea

Ko Kwang-nam invested 5 million won ($4,251) in cryptocurrencies but lost about half of his holdings as the nation's cryptocurrency markets showed signs of cooling down ahead of tougher regulations. As things stand, Ko, a 30-something office worker in Seoul, is likely to lose most of holdings because he made big bets on smaller or "alternative" coins. "I am not going to cut my losses because I believe that prices will go up again if regulatory issues are over," Ko said. Ab

MarketAug. 20, 2021