Korea signs 20-year LNG procurement deal with Qatar

South Korea’s state-run Korea Gas Corp. has signed an agreement with Qatar to purchase an additional 2 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas for 20 years starting from 2025, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Monday. Qatar supplies 9 million tons of LNG to Korea annually through multiple long-term deals with Kogas, the country’s sole LNG wholesaler. In 2024, contracts worth 4.9 million tons will end. The new deal starting from 2025 will make up for some of tho

IndustryJuly 12, 2021

[News Focus] Korea to curb malicious reviews on food delivery apps

South Korea plans to introduce a set of policy measures aimed at protecting restaurant owners against malicious food app reviewers, amid a rapid increase of online food orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s top telecom regulator said. The Korea Communications Commission said Sunday it would push for new guidelines to prevent malicious reviews on food delivery apps and step up monitoring of major platform operators involved. “Now that people carry out many activities

TechnologyJuly 12, 2021

Kospi faces short-term volatility in face of 4th wave

Now that the government has placed the Greater Seoul area under Level 4 social distancing rules, the toughest level there is, South Korean stocks are likely to face increased volatility, according to market watchers Monday. Despite investor sentiment worsening, they say the impact on the market will be limited amid hopes for strong second-quarter corporate earnings and promising economic indicators. Major brokerage houses foresee the Kospi falling within the range of 3,220 and 3,350 points this

MarketJuly 12, 2021

Auto chip shortage expected through 2022, reliance on TSMC to surge: report

A global shortage of automotive chips is expected to last through next year, while efforts to localize production are not advancing fast enough, a local auto industry think tank said Monday. The Seoul-based Korea Automotive Technology Institute, in a report, predicted the situation will slowly get better for automakers, starting in the second half of this year. But, the supply will remain constrained by 2022. A global lack of chips has forced many automakers to suspend car production, includ

TechnologyJuly 12, 2021

LG Group in Vietnam left out from COVID-19 vaccine support despite donation

LG Group affiliates operating in Vietnam have yet to receive any COVID-19 vaccines despite donating billions of won to help the Southeast Asian country secure the jabs, Korean media outlets reported Monday. Citing sources in Vietnam, the reports said LG Group employees working at the home appliance plants in Haiphong City have not received any vaccines. The parent group has contributed 1.55 billion won ($1.4 million) to Vietnam’s national vaccine fund. This is in stark contrast to oth

IndustryJuly 12, 2021

Executives at top Korean conglomerates getting younger

One in 4 executives at South Korea’s top conglomerates is 50 or younger, according to a report released Monday. According to local market analysis company Leaders Index, the number of executives under 51 increased to 3,360 at 334 companies that reported financial results in the first quarter of the year. They made up 24.7 percent of the total, an increase of 1 percentage point on-year. The 334 firms are among the country’s top 500 companies. The proportion of executives under 5

IndustryJuly 12, 2021

KakaoBank’s success threatens traditional banks: Moody’s

KakaoBank’s rapid growth underscores the threat Big Tech poses to incumbent banks in Korea, Moody’s Investors Service on Monday said. The global credit rating agency said that local lenders face mounting competition and will have to strengthen their online platforms as KakaoBank expands its loan portfolio and capital base. Moody’s said KakaoBank, the banking arm of mobile giant Kakao, now has the largest number of users and attributed the internet-only bank’s rapid as

MarketJuly 12, 2021

[ESG Talk] Expediting Korea’s ESG capacity

South Korean corporates and government authorities are dynamically reorienting toward environmental, social and governance factors. Yet, this enthusiasm can quickly turn into a myopic facade if not channeled effectively. To establish truly impactful ESG practices, a deep-thought approach to transforming the individual lifestyles of consumers is necessary. Achieving this change is possible only if companies and governments align business and policy priorities that cater to the fundamental needs o

MarketJuly 12, 2021

Shinhan invests W77b into delivery, pet grooming services

Shinhan Financial Group will invest in a delivery service provider and an autonomous transportation service startup to upgrade its banking platform and find new revenue streams amid increasing competition in the financial industry for digital transformation, the banking group said Monday. The lender has pledged to make an investment worth 77 billion won ($67.21 million) into three digital platform companies by using a 300 billion-won fund launched by Shinhan affiliates including its credit ca

MarketJuly 12, 2021

Seoul stocks snap 3-day losing streak on bargain hunting, recovery hopes

South Korean stocks rebounded to snap a three-day losing streak Monday as investors sought to buy oversold stocks after the benchmark index took a breather the previous session amid escalating virus concerns. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) advanced 28.52 points, or 0.89 percent, to close at 3,246.47 points. Trading volume was light at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 11.1 trillion won ($9.7 billion), with gainers outnumberi

MarketJuly 12, 2021

[Feature] Bus of the future could charge itself while moving

It has been some time since wireless charging became a part of the everyday life of smartphones users, which begs the question: Could the same be possible for electric cars? In the early 2010s, a team of South Korean researchers took up this question seriously and developed what’s called the online electric vehicle system, enabling cars to source power from the very roads they drive on. In August 2013, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology team led by professor Yoon

IndustryJuly 12, 2021

Fresh COVID-19 wave hits department stores

After a cluster of COVID-19 infections was reported at a department store in Seoul, large retail outlets are fearing it will cause a ripple effect and scare shoppers away. As of Sunday, nearly a week after the first infection was identified at Hyundai Department Store’s branch at Coex, Gangnam, at least 118 cases have been found to be linked to the store. The first patients were two staffers who tested positive on July 4. They worked on the basement floor, where the supermarket and fo

ConsumerJuly 12, 2021

Woori Financial to invest W100tr in ESG-related products by 2030

Responding to rising demand for sustainability in corporate management, Woori Financial Group has decided to invest 100 trillion won ($87.3 billion) in financial products associated with environmental, social and governance, or ESG factors, including credit loans and bonds, by 2030, the banking giant said Monday.  The envisioned plan is part of the group’s mid-and long-term ESG strategies to promote sustainable growth under a new company vision titled “Good Finance for the Ne

MarketJuly 12, 2021

11st to release all Built New York’s BTS tumblers in Korea

E-commerce platform 11st will begin selling an entire line of BTS tumblers and bottles produced by New York-based design company Built New York in collaboration with the South Korean pop group, in Korea on Monday. Though a bottle and a tumbler inspired by BTS’ video for “Idol” were released in June, a total of 16 items will be sold for the first time in the country through a live show known as “Live 11,” the platform said. With each design representing a member of

ConsumerJuly 12, 2021

Small businesses devastated by prolonged pandemic, survey says

Sales and net income for small businesses in South Korea dropped nearly 20 percent during the first half of this year, with a majority of business owners expecting worse later this year, a new survey has revealed. Nearly 8 in 10 owners of small businesses, including restaurants, cafes and supermarkets, said their revenue had taken a hit so far this year, the survey released by the Korea Economic Research Institute on Monday showed. It was down by an average of 21.8 percent. Clothing, flower an

ConsumerJuly 12, 2021

SK hynix rolls out first Gen.4 10-nm mobile DRAMs with EUV

  SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip provider, said Monday it has started mass-production of the fourth-generation 8-gigabit low power double data rate 4 chips for mobile devices based on the 10-nanometer process using the extreme ultraviolet technology. The announcement puts SK hynix ahead of its bigger rival Samsung Electronics in the race to develop next-generation DRAM chips. And SK hynix has now become the world’s first firm to commercialize “1anm D

TechnologyJuly 12, 2021

[Behind the wheel] BMW’s New Mini both practical and powerful

South Korea has been known as a tough market to crack for global compact car brands. But that’s not the case for BMW Group’s Mini. Since its debut in Korea in 2005, the premium compact car brand under BMW has posted steady growth rates each year. In 2019, sales volume hit 10,000 units -- a major milestone for foreign car brands here. Last year, the figure grew more than 10 percent from the previous year. Its latest lineup -- the New Mini Family -- consists of three models, the

MobilityJuly 12, 2021

Large banks' social contributions above W1tr in 2020 amid pandemic

South Korean banks' social contributions exceeded 1 trillion won ($871 million) for the second straight year in 2020 amid a coronavirus-caused economic downturn, a trade association said Monday. The Korea Federation of Banks said its 22 members, including lenders and other financial institutions, spent about 1.1 trillion won on social contribution activities last year. Their social contributions topped the 1 trillion-won mark for the second consecutive year, but the amount was a tad lower than

EconomyJuly 12, 2021

S. Korean banks to tighten lending in Q3 amid pandemic: poll

South Korean banks are likely to tighten their grip on fresh loans in the third quarter of the year amid tougher lending rules and rising household credit risks due to the coronavirus pandemic, a central bank poll showed Monday. The Bank of Korea said its index measuring the banks' attitude toward fresh lending stood at minus 3 for the July-September period, compared with 7 for the previous quarter. The lower the reading, the more likely banks will tighten their restrictions on lending. A read

EconomyJuly 12, 2021

LG Innotek cuts emissions by 11 percent in 2020

LG Group’s materials and components maker LG Innotek managed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 11 percent last year, from the previous year, the company said in a report released Monday. According to the firm’s 2020-21 Sustainability Report, it reduced emissions by an estimated 45,000 tons, which is equivalent to what 3.9 million trees would have absorbed over a year. In addition to that, the company was able to cut water usage by 7 percent from 2019, by expanding investment in

TechnologyJuly 12, 2021