Kakao emerges as No. 5 conglomerate in terms of market cap

Kakao Corp., which operates South Korea's most popular mobile messenger Kakao Talk, emerged as the country's fifth-largest conglomerate in terms of market cap on the back of the recent gains from the main bourse, data showed Sunday. The combined market cap of Kakao and its affiliates came to 73.9 trillion won ($65.2 billion) as of Friday, according to Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. It marked a sharp rise from just 13.2 trillion won tallied in end-2019. The marke

IndustryJune 20, 2021

LG Electronics launches 83-inch OLED TV

LG Electronics Inc. said Sunday it has launched an 83-inch OLED TV as the South Korean tech giant tries to beef up its presence in the premium TV market. LG's 83-inch OLED TV, the 83C1, will be first available in South Korea and the United States this month. In South Korea, its list price has been set at 10.9 million won ($9,630). LG is the first TV maker to release an OLED TV with an 83-inch size display. The 83C1 is also the industry's largest OLED TV with 4K resolution. The latest TV expan

IndustryJune 20, 2021

[Photo News] Eco-friendly consumer goods attract visitors at trade fair in Seoul

Seoul International Sourcing Fair 2021, a platform for discovering new business partners and carrying out business-to-business transactions through networking, is currently being held at Coex. With the environmental, social and governance sector gaining momentum, some 150 small and medium-sized enterprises and startups are displaying eco-friendly consumer goods in various categories, including gifts, living, beauty, smart devices and wellness.  Participants browse a variety of eco-friendl

IndustryJune 19, 2021

Watching ‘meokbang’ can lead to health issues such as obesity: report

“Meokbang” (also known as “mukbang”), a compound word for “eating” and “broadcast” in Korean, is a popular form of content found on video platforms such as Youtube, AfreecaTV, Twitch, and Kakao TV. Meokbang streamers show themselves consuming large platefuls of junk food while simultaneously interacting with viewers. Along with the rise of one-person households in the country, people have gotten in the habit of watching meokbang while eating alon

TechnologyJune 19, 2021

Seoul stocks tipped to face selling pressure next week on inflation woes

South Korean stocks are likely to come under selling pressure next week, as investors could take to the sidelines amid weakening local currency and uncertainties from the Fed's earlier-than-expected timeline for policy tightening, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,267.93 points Friday, up 0.57 percent from a week ago. The KOSPI set a new all-time high Wednesday on strong individual buying, backed by speculation that the US Federal Rese

MarketJune 19, 2021

S. Korea to speed up efforts to bag Czech nuclear plant project

South Korea's industry ministry said Saturday it will spare no efforts to win a nuclear plant project from the Czech Republic as the European country is open to have Asia's No. 4 economy as a potential partner. The remark came after Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook visited the European nation, where he met Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Friday (Czech time) to discuss the two countries' possible cooperation in the nuclear energy segment. During the meeting, Babis pointed out that South Ko

IndustryJune 19, 2021

“Hasty delisting of digital coins negatively impacts investors”

Coming under increasing pressure from financial regulators, local cryptocurrency exchanges have hastily delisted dozens of digital coins, but the removals create negative impact on investors, experts said on Friday. Since Upbit announced its decision to discontinue the trading of five coins on June 11, two more exchange - Bithumb and Coinbit - joined the move with sudden delisting and investment warnings. “Inadequate digital tokens certainly have to be removed from the market but hasty d

MarketJune 18, 2021

Celltrion's COVID-19 treatment shows promise in variant cure

South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion’s monoclonal antibody treatment Regkirona, or CT-P59, has shown initial promise in treating patients infected with COVID-19 variants, the company said Friday, quoting preclinical results from its recent animal test. Celltrion said it found that the injection of its COVID-19 treatment Regkirona significantly reduced viral titers in 50 experimental mice infected with the South African variant. The mice injected with Regkirona showed a 100 p

TechnologyJune 18, 2021

Asiana Airlines, Air Busan, Asiana IDT face review on possible delisting

South Korea’s No. 2 carrier Asiana Airlines and its two affiliated companies face possibilities of being delisted from the nation’s main bourse Kospi, according to industry sources Friday. The country’s bourse operator Korea Exchange announced Thursday that it has decided to examine the air carrier’s listing eligibility in line with the former Kumho Asiana Group chief’s arrest over allegedly unfair interaffiliate deals. The KRX has made an additional decision to

MarketJune 18, 2021

Seoul stocks rebound on hopes of economic recovery

South Korean stocks rebounded Friday as hopes for an economic recovery offset concerns over an earlier-than-expected tapering move by the US Federal Reserve. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 2.97 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 3,267.93 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 17.1 trillion won ($15.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 464 to 382. Foreigners sold a net 823 bil

MarketJune 18, 2021

S. Korea to develop over 100 mini satellites by 2031

South Korea said Friday it will develop over 100 miniature satellites over the next decade with the aim of establishing a national security monitoring system and testing next generation network communications in its latest push to strengthen its space industry. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it would pursue such satellite development to encourage the private sector's involvement in the space industry as the mini satellites can be manufactured in a short amount of time at a relatively low

TechnologyJune 18, 2021

Hanwha, SPC to co-develop biodegradable plastic packaging material

Hanwha Solutions said Friday that its wholly-owned subsidiary Hanwha Compound has signed an agreement with SPC Pack to co-develop a biodegradable plastic material and use it for packaging SPC’s products. SPC Group is a South Korean food and confectionery conglomerate owning some 40 brands including Paris Baguette, Shake Shack Korea, Baskin Robbins Korea, Dunkin’ Donuts Korea, among others. The new packaging material will be based on poly lactic acid, which is made from fermented

IndustryJune 18, 2021

S.Korea to accelerate carbon-neutral efforts through smart water management

South Korea, which aims to go carbon neutral by 2050, will expand its smart water management by installing floating solar farms near dams and applying hydrothermal energy technologies to data centers. The Ministry of Environment said Friday that it will conduct six water management projects reflecting discussion results on carbon-neutral water management for climate resilience at the P4G Seoul Summit held last month. As part of the projects, the government will begin the construction of eigh

IndustryJune 18, 2021

LG Electronics’ US headquarters receives highest grade for green building

LG Electronics’ North American headquarters in New Jersey has been granted an eco-friendly certification from the US Green Building Council, according to the company’s newsroom Friday. At the USGBC Leadership Awards held this month, LG Electronics received a Platinum New Construction certification, the highest grade in USGBC’S Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, which measures how buildings promote employee well-being, are energy and water efficient,

IndustryJune 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Kakao T officially registered as transportation operator

South Korea’s government has officially approved three major taxi-hailing service brands as platform operators, in a gesture to diversity transportation means, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport said Friday. Under the revised Automobile Transport Business Act, transportation platform operators are to register themselves at the Land Ministry in order to charge brokerage commission to users. The three brands are Kakao T, run by Kakao Mobility; Banban Taxi by Kornatus; and

IndustryJune 18, 2021

S. Korea's power consumption nearly rebounds to pre-pandemic level in April

South Korea's electricity consumption nearly rebounded to the pre-pandemic level in April amid the recovery of industrial and business activities, data showed Friday. Asia's fourth-largest economy used 41,900 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power in April, up 3.5 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO). South Korea's power consumption earlier dropped 4.6 percent on-year in April 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a harsh blow to the economy. The

EconomyJune 18, 2021

Samsung may hold developer conference this year

Samsung Electronics Co. is considering holding its technology conference this year despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, industry insiders said Friday. The South Korean tech giant is reviewing a plan to hold the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) in October or November as vaccinations pick up pace around the globe. Samsung, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone vendor, is reportedly looking to hold an in-person conference this year but is also considering online options for the even

IndustryJune 18, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US tech rebound

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on overnight tech gains on Wall Street, with investors digesting the impact of the Fed's faster-than-expected timeline for policy tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) increased 7.75 points, or 0.24 percent, to 3,272.71 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks opened with mild gains after the key stock index snapped its five-session winning streak the previous session. The rebound came amid the ongoing tussle between a

MarketJune 18, 2021

Hyundai, Kia's Europe sales more than double in May

Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia said Thursday their combined sales in Europe more than doubled last month from a year earlier on robust demand and lower base effect. Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 88,171 vehicles in Europe in May, sharply up from 42,492 units in the same month a year ago, the companies' sales data showed.  The monthly result got a boost from strong sales of Hyundai's Tucson and Kona sport utility vehicles and Kia's Sportage SUV and Cee'd crossover utility vehicle, a

MobilityJune 17, 2021

Cross-trading, transaction of own coins banned for cryptocurrency exchanges

The regulatory Financial Services Commission on Thursday said that it will add detailed measures to the legislation governing cryptocurrency exchanges in an effort to tame their attempts at price fixing. Cryptocurrency exchanges will be banned from handling digital tokens issued by themselves or affiliated people, according to a pre-announcement of the revisions made to the enforcement decree of for the Specified Financial Transaction Information. Executives and employees of an exchange are ba

MarketJune 17, 2021