MZ generation's debt surges: data

The bank debt of millennials and Generation Z -- together including those born from the 1980s forward -- spiked as they increased investments in real estate, stocks and cryptocurrencies, data showed Thursday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service data released by Rep. Kim Han-jeong of the Democratic Party of Korea, millennial and Gen Z household debt from local banks surged to 26 trillion won ($22.7 billion) in March, up 4.47 trillion won from a year ago. Home-backed lending increased

EconomyJuly 8, 2021

GeneOne Life Science to start phase 2a clinical study of DNA vaccine

South Korean drug firm GeneOne Life Science announced Thursday that the company will begin a phase 2a clinical trial of the company‘s self-developed DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate GLS-5310. The phase 1 clinical trial, conducted at Korea University Guro Hospital with 45 participants, has produced positive results and was reviewed and confirmed by a data safety monitoring board, the firm said. A DSMB is a group of independent experts who monitor patient safety and treatment efficac

TechnologyJuly 8, 2021

Hyundai Heavy, labor union in dispute over wage deal

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major shipbuilder here, said Thursday it has sought a court order against unionized workers occupying a shipbuilding crane, the latest development in a drawn-out wage dispute with the labor union. The crane occupation by unionized workers at its shipyard in Ulsan started Tuesday after the management did not propose tangible proposals to solve the two-year-long wage dispute. "The workers plan to go on strike until Friday, but how long the situation will go o

EconomyJuly 8, 2021

Posco Chemical to build 60,000-ton cathode plant in Pohang

Posco Chemical will establish a new cathode plant with an annual production of 60,000 metric tons in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, the company said Thursday. According to the refractory and secondary battery materials arm of South Korean steel giant Posco, it will invest 600 billion won ($524.1 million) starting next year to construct the cathode plant on a 120,000-square-meter site inside an industrial complex of the coastal city. Once completed, the Pohang plant will be Posco Chemic

IndustryJuly 8, 2021

Class action lawsuit starts against SK Telecom over 5G service quality

A class action lawsuit against SK Telecom, filed by a group of 5G mobile service users in South Korea, formally started Thursday, amid conflicting claims about the quality of the mobile service. In the lawsuit, 237 people who signed up for SK Telecom’s 5G service presented their case at the Seoul Central District Court through local law firm Serim. In February, the law firm recruited Korean 5G users who experienced problems with the service and wanted to join the class action suit. On

TechnologyJuly 8, 2021

Seoul stocks slump nearly 1% amid virus resurgence

South Korean stocks plunged nearly 1 percent Thursday as investors turned risk-averse amid a surge in new coronavirus cases. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 32.66 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 3,252.68 points. The figures mark the steepest daily fall since May 13. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.5 billion shares worth some 16.5 trillion won ($14.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 777 to 106. F

MarketJuly 8, 2021

Financial authority puts brake on banks’ co-investing in art

Local lenders have decided to stop providing access to customers looking for fractional art ownership via a mobile application after facing regulatory hurdles, according to sources Thursday. 　 Shinhan Bank recently notified customers that it will terminate its service partnership with Seoul Auction Blue, an online auction house that sells contemporary paintings, art toys and luxury goods, from July 30. Since January, the lender had offered online access to co-investing in art by embedding the

MarketJuly 8, 2021

S. Korea delays launch of comprehensive data service

The scheduled launch of South Korea’s comprehensive data service project next month has been delayed, financial authorities said Thursday, with the COVID-19 pandemic stalling its development. The government-led MyData project, when launched, will allow licensed service providers to collect and analyze personal data scattered across the finance sector. The service providers must collect consumers’ consent before they can access their data, currently held separately by different finan

MarketJuly 8, 2021

Bithumb stops accepting new foreign users

  Bithumb, one of South Korean major cryptocurrency exchanges, will stop accepting registrations of overseas users and block access from traders in four more countries that have been added to a money-laundering watch list. The cryptocurrency exchange will no longer receive applications for trading from overseas users starting 3 p.m. on Aug. 13. The same rule will be applied to foreign citizens in South Korea who do not have an alien registration card, it said. Both registrations and t

MarketJuly 8, 2021

DoubleDown Interactive picks new IPO underwriter for Nasdaq listing

South Korean social casino game developer and publisher DoubleDown Interactive has accelerated an initial public offering push to debut on the tech-heavy Nasdaq bourse in the US by picking an additional lead manager, its parent company DoubleU Games said Thursday. According to the officials, DoubleDown Interactive chose B. Riley Securities as its new joint underwriter for the IPO along with the previously selected Macquarie Capital. The update on the underwriting company has been made through

MarketJuly 8, 2021

Homeplus taps ex McDonald’s Korea CEO as new CMO in executive shakeup

South Korean supermarket chain Homeplus has appointed former CEO of McDonald’s Korea Cho Ju-yeon as its new chief marketing officer, in an executive reshuffle announced on Thursday. Cho made headlines in 2016 when she became the first female CEO at the South Korean unit of the fast food restaurant. Hwang Jeong-wook, who formerly served as the chief financial officer at the Korean unit of AstraZeneca, will become the new chief financial officer at Homeplus. The move comes as the company

ConsumerJuly 8, 2021

Samsung Display workers end strike

Samsung Display Co. on Thursday signed a wage agreement with its labor union as some of its unionized workers have been staging strikes for the first time in the company's history. The union on Monday accepted the company's proposal of a 4.5 percent raise, which was approved by 83 percent of its members in a vote. The agreement came after six union representatives began industrial actions on June 21, demanding a 6.8 percent hike in base pay, in the first-ever walkout at the world's largest mob

IndustryJuly 8, 2021

More than 30 firms newly have market value of over W1tr in Q2

The number of South Korea's listed firms with a market capitalization of 1 trillion won ($875 million) or more rose by more than 30 in the second quarter amid a stock market rally, a corporate tracker said Thursday. A total of 274 listed companies were worth 1 trillion won or more as of end-June, up 32 from three months earlier, according to a survey of 2,357 corporations by CXO Institute. The total market capitalization of the companies came to 2,604 trillion won as of the end of June, up 8 p

MarketJuly 8, 2021

Surging apartment prices prompt exodus from Seoul

With apartment prices soaring in the South Korean capital of Seoul, a growing number of residents are leaving the city for its surrounding areas, data showed Thursday.  According to data from Statistics Korea, from January to May, an average of 8,823 people moved out of the city each month. The agency forecast that the total net outflow for 2021 would reach 100,000. This contributed to overall changes in population. While Seoul‘s population declined 102,475 in the last six months,

MarketJuly 8, 2021

Households' excess funds fall in Q1 amid pandemic

Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies fell in the first quarter from a year earlier as banks tightened lending rules, the central bank said Thursday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by local households and nonprofit organizations serving households amounted to 44 trillion won ($38.5 billion) in the first quarter, down from 65.9 trillion won a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea

EconomyJuly 8, 2021

Tax revenue up W10.8tr in May amid economic recovery

South Korea's tax revenue increased 10.8 trillion won ($9.5 billion) in May from a year earlier amid an accelerating economic recovery and a boom in property and stock markets, the finance ministry said Thursday. The country collected 28.4 trillion won in taxes in May, compared with 17.6 trillion won the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The government said capital gains tax income rose amid a boom in asset markets and corporate tax income also extended gains. I

EconomyJuly 8, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on easing tapering woes

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as the US Federal Reserve's minutes signaled that the world's largest economy would not hurry its timeframe for tapering its asset purchasing program. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 7.43 points, or 0.23 percent, to trade at 3,292.77 points as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.3 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 adding 0.01 percent and 0.34 percent, respecti

MarketJuly 8, 2021

Samsung takes nearly half of smartphone memory market in Q1: report

Samsung Electronics Co. accounted for nearly half of the global smartphone memory market in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Thursday, as it tries to boost its presence in 5G devices. The South Korean tech giant, the world's top memory chip producer, dominated the market with a 49 percent share in the January-March period, according to a report from industry tracker Strategy Analytics. Samsung was followed by its South Korean compatriot SK hynix Inc. with a 23 percent share and U

IndustryJuly 8, 2021

[News Focus] Competition heats up for a share of noise-canceling earbud market

Samsung, LG, Apple and Sony usually engage in fierce competition in electronics and IT gadgets. In recent years, they’ve also shown their willingness to tap into a small device with big potential: wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation. Headphones and earphones with ANC functionality used to serve a small group of tech-savvy users and those working in environments where noise levels were too high. But this specialty label for ANC gear changed drastically in 2019, when Apple hit i

TechnologyJuly 7, 2021

Authorities tighten grip on financial crimes using fintech platform, crypto

South Korean authorities are zeroing in on new types of financial crimes using financial technology platforms and digital assets still operating under vague legal boundaries. Seoul Main Customs, the regional office of the country’s customs agency, said Wednesday that it has discovered unlawful foreign exchange dealings in which dozens of people had tried to take advantage of the “kimchi premium.” “Kimchi premium” refers to the gap in cryptocurrency prices on dom

EconomyJuly 7, 2021