Hyundai Motor buys US robotics firm from Softbank for $880m

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday its three affiliates and its chief have acquired a controlling stake in US-based robotics firm Boston Dynamics for $880 million. The investment is part of the South Korean automaking group‘s broader plans to strengthen its competitiveness in future mobility solutions. In December, the board of directors at the three affiliates -- Hyundai Motor Co., Hyundai Mobis Co. and Hyundai Glovis Co. -- approved the plan to acquire a combined 80 percent stake in Bosto

IndustryJune 21, 2021

Coway aims to go net-zero by 2050

Coway, a South Korean home appliance rental firm, will gradually reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and go net-zero by 2050, the company said Monday. Reiterating its commitment to its environmental, social and corporate governance initiative, the firm said it aimed to cut its emissions in half by 2030. By 2050, the company plans to operate entirely on renewable energy sources. To that end, Coway is using solar power at its three factories and one distribution center, with plans to invest f

ConsumerJune 21, 2021

S. Korea's exports of cosmetics products ranked third in the world last year

South Korea’s combined exports of cosmetics products increased 16.1 percent to 8.28 trillion won ($7.28 billion) in 2020, ranking third in the world, following France and the US, data showed Monday. According to the data released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, China was the biggest importer of South Korean cosmetic products last year at $3.8 billion, followed by Hong Kong with $714 million, the United States with $640 million and Japan with $639 million. Vietnam’s imports

IndustryJune 21, 2021

Celltrion founder's eldest son joins boardroom of Iksuda

Celltrion founder Seo Jung-jin’s eldest son Seo Jin-seok has obtained a seat in the boardroom of Iksuda Therapeutics, a UK-based antibody-drug conjugates developer, according to industry sources Monday. The latest change in Iksuda‘s boardroom came after Celltrion and Mirae Asset Group announced earlier this month a $47 million joint investment in Iksuda to acquire a controlling stake of the British company. According to Celltrion, Iksuda has agreed with the appointment of Seo Jin

TechnologyJune 21, 2021

Hyundai Motor launches car subscription service in Busan

Hyundai Motor is expanding its mobility subscription service Hyundai Selection to Busan, the second largest city here after Seoul, the company said Monday. Similar to a lease contract, Hyundai Selection allows subscribers to choose a car to use from its portfolio of vehicles at their preferred time and pick-up location through an app. The Busan extension will offer two service packages -- regular and special -- for 14 Hyundai Motor vehicles, the firm said. For the regular package, a month

MobilityJune 21, 2021

State-led R&D expenditures near W24tr in 2020

South Korea spent nearly 24 trillion won ($21.26 billion) on state-led research and development (R&D) projects last year, up 16 percent from the previous year, the science ministry said Monday. The country's R&D expenditures last year amounted to 23.88 trillion won, up 15.8 percent from the previous year and the fastest rise in 15 years, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. State-led R&D spending has increased by 7.2 percent on average annually from 2017 to 2020 under the

TechnologyJune 21, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding wins W1.1tr orders for 10 ships

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Monday that it has signed 1.1 trillion won ($1 billion) of deals to build 10 ships. Under the 438 billion won deal with an Oceanian company, KSOE will deliver two 174,000-cubic meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to be constructed by its unit Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. by the end of 2023, the company said in a regulatory filing. Another deal worth 106 billion won inked with a European company calls for KSOE's unit Hyundai

IndustryJune 21, 2021

[Time to Play] Second Country: Cross Worlds offers something extra

In every sport, there is a moment when you must score. Netmarble, whose operating margin fell to single digit -- 9.5 percent -- in the first quarter of this year amid the lackluster performance of its much-anticipated release Seven Knights 2, definitely needed a point to turn things around. Second Country: Cross Worlds, a mobile role-playing game with Studio Ghibli-style graphics, arrives against this backdrop and may just be the one that delivers the much-needed new momentum. Released on

IndustryJune 21, 2021

[AUTO & MOBILITY] Who drives electric vehicles in South Korea?

The once-futuristic idea of a car running purely on electricity is no longer a dream. More and more battery-powered electric vehicles are being spotted on the road, as EVs or hybrid cars together form a chunk of new product launches from major automakers these days. . Though their market share is still tiny, battery electric vehicles are widely expected to overtake conventional gas-fueled cars in the foreseeable future as governments and industries seek a transition to cleaner energy to cut ca

MobilityJune 21, 2021

Seoul stocks retreat on Fed's early tapering concerns

South Korean stocks retreated Monday as the US Federal Reserve's hawkish tone last week increased market worries about an early tapering of its accommodative monetary policies. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slumped 27.14 points, or 0.83 percent, to close at 3,240.79 points after dipping to as low as 3,225.56 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.5 billion shares worth some 17.1 trillion won ($15.1 billion), with lose

MarketJune 21, 2021

Construction of S. Korea’s 1st liquid hydrogen plant underway

Construction of South Korea’s first liquid hydrogen plant kicked off on Monday, textile and chemical conglomerate Hyosung Group said. The 300 billion-won ($264.6 million) Ulsan plant will be built by Linde Hydrogen, a joint venture formed in February by Hyosung Group’s machinery affiliate Hyosung Heavy Industries and German chemical firm Linde. Set for commercial operation in May 2023, the envisioned plant would be the world’s single largest liquid hydrogen facility with a

IndustryJune 21, 2021

Upbit and PicaProject clash over delisting

Upbit, South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, said on Monday it would take legal action against PicaProject, which accused the exchange of misusing its coins to prompt a delisting. PicaProject’s digital coin Pica was among 24 digital tokens that Upbit removed from its platform on Friday. In response, PicaProject accused the exchange of misusing the funds to the tune of 5 million Pica coins intended for marketing events when it went public in January this year. According

MarketJune 21, 2021

S. Korea to soften mortgage rules for first-time buyers from July

South Korea will ease mortgage rules for first-time homebuyers starting next month as part of a raft of real estate measures aimed at helping young people move up the property ladder, according to a real estate service provider on Monday. Applying for a mortgage will become easier for both couples and individuals seeking to purchase a home for the first time, the Zigbang report said. From July, couples with a combined annual income of less than 90 million won ($79,141) -- compared with the c

EconomyJune 21, 2021

[News Focus] Coupang bets on Olympics to grow streaming service

E-commerce platform operator Coupang has once again surprised the market by winning the exclusive rights to broadcast the Tokyo Olympics online, apparently beating out local tech giants Naver and Kakao. For the deal, which has not yet been officially announced, Coupang may have agreed to pay up to 50 billion won ($44 million), industry observers said Monday, adding that it testifies the Nasdaq-traded firm’s strong intent to expand into the over-the-top content business. Since launching

TechnologyJune 21, 2021

Korean asset managers bank on virus recovery

South Korea’s asset managers are counting on the global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic as vaccination gathers momentum. This, in turn, is adding fuel to Korean managers’ efforts to revisit industrial sectors that were hardest-hit by the virus impact. Shinhan Asset Management, an asset management arm of Korea’s banking group Shinhan, said Monday it plans to launch a second batch of its hybrid fund next week, in order to target companies reeling from the pandemic amid

MarketJune 21, 2021

Brokerage houses raise target prices for Kakao on business expansion

Backed by aggressive moves to go beyond its platform business, South Korean brokerage firms have painted a rosy outlook for Kakao and raised their target prices on the company, reports showed Monday. Some analysts predicted the popular mobile messenger KakaoTalk operator’s stock price to rise as high as 200,000 won ($175.80), up from their prior target prices. The adjustment came after the company jumped to the third most valuable stock on the nation’s main board Kospi. “Kaka

MarketJune 21, 2021

SK Bioscience to invest W150b to beef up vaccine production capacity

SK Bioscience Co., a major South Korean pharmaceutical firm, said Monday it plans to invest 150 billion won ($132 million) through 2024 to expand its production capacity of COVID-19 vaccines. SK Bioscience said the investment is meant to increase the production capacity of the production line based in Andong, about 270 kilometers south of Seoul. The investment will also be spent on building facilities to develop vaccines utilizing the so-called messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which recently c

IndustryJune 21, 2021

Samsung Display workers launch 1st strike in company history

Representatives of the labor union at Samsung Display Co. on Monday launched their first-ever strike after failing to reach a compromise on a wage hike, and the walkout marks the first after group chief Lee Jae-yong promised to abolish the conglomerate's "no labor union" policy. Around 40 representatives of Samsung Display's labor union staged a walkout at its plant in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, after their wage negotiations with the company did not reach an agreement. The uni

IndustryJune 21, 2021

Eximbank inks $5b loan agreement with UAE’s oil company

To provide financial support for South Korean companies with overseas contracts in the Middle East, the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea has signed a loan agreement worth $5 billion, or nearly 6 trillion won, with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates, officials said Monday.  The framework agreement was made at a meeting between Eximbank CEO Bang Moon-kyu and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of the UAE's ADNOC, held Sunday at the oil company

MarketJune 21, 2021

S. Korea becomes world's 3rd-largest cosmetics exporter in 2020

South Korea became the world's third-largest exporter of cosmetics products in 2020 with its trade balance in the sector remaining in the black for nine straight years, government data showed Monday. The country exported $7.57 billion worth of cosmetics goods last year, up 16.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. South Korea's exports were third in the world, trailing France and the United States. Asia's fourth-largest economy posted a

EconomyJune 21, 2021