Korea to develop exascale supercomputers by 2030

The South Korean government has thrown its weight behind plans to build exascale supercomputers by 2030 and nurture local talents in the sector, the finance minister said Friday. Exascale computing, a computer system that performs 1 quintillion operations per second, enables superspeed data analyses and simulations at that will pave the way for crucial discoveries in a wide range of fields, from finding new drugs against COVID-19 to predicting effects of climate change. The government plans

MarketMay 28, 2021

Number of Toss Securities subscribers surpasses 3m in three months

Toss Securities, an online brokerage firm owned by fintech firm Viva Republica, said Friday that the number of stock trading accounts on its platform has surpassed 3 million. The 3 million accounts amount to around 30 percent of 9.14 million individual investors in the nation. Launched on Feb. 3, the company attracted new customers by running a series of promotional events. More than 1.7 million new customers joined the Toss platform during a five-day event in February that handed each new c

MarketMay 28, 2021

S. Korea to levy 20% tax on cryptocurrency transactions starting next year as planned: govt.

South Korea plans to impose a 20 percent income tax on capital gains from cryptocurrency transactions starting next year as planned, the government announced Friday, despite growing investor calls for delaying the taxation plan. The government announced the plan after discussing the matter during a vice-ministerial interagency meeting chaired by Koo Yoon-cheol, head of the government policy coordination under the Prime Minister's Office. Gains from cryptocurrency transactions will be classifie

MarketMay 28, 2021

Seoul stocks increase on economic rebound hopes

South Korean stocks increased Friday on hopes for a quick economic rebound, taking a cue from improved US economic data. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 23.22 points, or 0.73 percent, to close at 3,188.73 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 954 million shares worth some 13.4 trillion won (US$12 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 596 to 262. Foreigners bought a net 139 billion won, while retail investors s

MarketMay 28, 2021

Naver aims for zero carbon emissions by 2040

Naver, the largest portal operator in South Korea, said Friday that it had a plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2040. The internet company came up with the plan, “2040 Carbon Negative,” because greenhouse gas emissions are forecast to surge for the next 10 years in line with the growing data traffic at internet data centers. The company’s plan aims to reach the same carbon neutrality goal that the government is pursuing, but 10 years earlier. As an examp

TechnologyMay 28, 2021

Apple offers trade-in program for LG phone users

Apple Korea has launched a trade-in program to attract current users of smartphones made by LG Electronics, industry sources said Friday. The move is seen as part of the US phone vendor’s efforts to expand its presence in the South Korean market. According to sources in the telecom industry, Apple is running a smartphone exchange program with three Korean mobile carriers, which pay 150,000 won ($135) to those who replace their LG phones with iPhones. People who have used LG’s 4G

TechnologyMay 28, 2021

S. Korea to decide on another extra budget after gauging tax revenue, public financing need

South Korea plans to take into account tax revenue situations and demand for increasing public finances before it decides on whether to draw up another extra budget in the latter half of 2021, a senior government official said Friday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon also said the government will focus its economic policy on underpinning an accelerating economic recovery in the second half. Talk of another extra budget emerged from the ruling party after President Moon Jae-in said Thur

EconomyMay 28, 2021

Architect of Moon’s income-led growth scheme to lead KDI

The Korea Development Institute, a state-funded think tank, has appointed the architect behind President Moon Jae-in’s income-led growth policy as its new head. Hong Jang-pyo was the chief secretary for economic affairs and led the presidential committee on income-led growth in 2018. He was said to have orchestrated policy drafts that were later blamed by Moon’s critics for failing to narrow economic disparities to which they were intended for. Hong’s three-year term will st

EconomyMay 28, 2021

Hyundai Motor seeks to sell Beijing No. 1 plant site: sources

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, is seeking to sell an idle plant site in China to a local district government, industry sources said Friday. Hyundai Motor plans to sell the site of the No. 1 Beijing plant, which has been suspended since April 2019, to the Shunyi administrative district, a person familiar with the matter told Yonhap News Agency over the phone. The plant's suspension came after Hyundai suffered years of sluggish sales in China due to the lingering impact of po

IndustryMay 28, 2021

GM Korea to resume full operation next week

GM Korea, the local subsidiary of the Detroit-based carmaker General Motors, will be resuming operations of its key manufacturing plants here, months after a global semiconductor shortage sent them reeling and halted production. The company will return to its regular operation and production level starting next week, as part of its US headquarters’ decision to normalize global productivity, officials said Friday. “But as the semiconductor shortage prolongs, we will need to assum

IndustryMay 28, 2021

Banks' lending rates inch down in April

South Korean banks' lending rates edged down in April amid a slight decline in deposit rates, central bank data showed Friday. The average interest rate charged on new bank loans came to 2.74 percent in April, down 0.03 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The BOK cut the key interest rate to a record low of 0.5 percent in May last year after delivering an emergency rate cut of half a percentage point in March to cushion the impa

EconomyMay 28, 2021

Institutions' investment in foreign securities down 1.7% in Q1

South Korean institutions' investment in foreign securities fell 1.7 percent in the first quarter as they reduced their holdings of foreign sovereign bonds, central bank data showed Friday. The combined value of foreign securities held by institutional investors came to $363 billion as of end-March, down $6.1 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and so-called Korean paper, which refers to foreign currency-denominated

MarketMay 28, 2021

S. Korea to extend consumption tax cut on passenger cars by another 6 months

South Korea plans to extend a cut in the consumption tax on passenger cars by another six months in a bid to boost domestic demand hit by the pandemic, the finance minister said Friday. A 30 percent cut in the consumption tax on the purchase of passenger cars is supposed to expire at the end of June, but the country will extend it until the end of this year, according to Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki. In July 2018, the government slashed the auto consumption tax to 3.5 percent from 5 percent an

EconomyMay 28, 2021

Samsung moves up to 2nd spot in wearables market in Q1: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the world's second-largest vendor of wearable devices in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Friday, on the back of its wireless earbuds sales. The South Korean tech giant moved ahead of China's Xiaomi Corp. for the first time to take the runner-up spot with a market share of 11.8 percent, which was up 0.6 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the latest report from market researcher International Data Corp. (IDC). Samsung shipped 11.8 millio

IndustryMay 28, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains that stemmed from strong US economic data and upcoming federal spending plans. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 18.56 points, or 0.59 percent, to reach 3,184.07 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Industrial Average gained 0.41 percent, as jobless data declined to a fresh pandemic low, and the S&P 500 edged up 0.12 percent. The world's largest economy will soon reveal

MarketMay 28, 2021

Apple to offer trade-in program for LG smartphone users in S. Korea

The South Korean unit of Apple Inc. will run a trade-in program to woo LG Electronics Inc.'s smartphone users, industry insiders said Friday, in a move to expand its presence on the home turf of Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest smartphone vendor. Apple's smartphone exchange scheme with local mobile carriers will pay the trade-in value of a mobile device and an additional 150,000 won ($135) to those who replace their LG smartphones with iPhones, according to the sources in the teleco

IndustryMay 28, 2021

Hahn & Co. set to take over scandal-ridden dairy product-maker for W310.7b

South Korean private equity firm Hahn & Co. is poised to buy a controlling  52.6 percent stake in Namyang Dairy Products which has been under public criticism for claiming that its yogurt drink helps prevent COVID-19, a filing showed Thursday. Namyang Dairy’s board has agreed to sell 378,938 common shares, owned by ex-chairman Hong Won-sik, his wife and his grandson, to the country’s second-largest private equity firm for 310.7 billion won ($278.2 million), according to th

MarketMay 27, 2021

[From the scene] Fans line up for BTS Meal at McDonald’s in South Korea

Under a light drizzle on Thursday morning, a group of young people stood outside a McDonald’s in Sinchon, Seoul, waiting in line. “Since the announcement in April, I have been waiting for the launch of the BTS Meal, and I am very glad to finally have it today,” Toni Yeptho told The Korea Herald as she stepped outside with a McDonald’s meal to go. Not just any meal, but the BTS Meal. Clad in her green BTS sweatshirt, Toni, an exchange student from India, introduced he

ConsumerMay 27, 2021

BMW Korea boosts benefits for its premium members

BMW Korea plans to add more benefits to its existing premium membership program provided to owners of its Luxury Class models, the global carmaker announced Thursday. For members of the BMW Excellence Club -- made up of owners of BMW’s New 7 Series, New 8 Series and the New X7 model -- the company is expanding its rental car service, which was previously only available in the southern island of Jeju. Beginning in August, BMW Excellence Club members can borrow a BMW X7 for 72 hours for

MobilityMay 27, 2021

[Behind the Wheel] Solid family vehicle Volvo XC90 made more eco-friendly with B6 engine

Volvo Cars Korea was once one of the back markers in South Korea’s automotive market, but it has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in recent years, thanks to its reputation for safety. As cases accumulated over time that highlighted Volvo cars’ strength, the automaker’s sales, which were still below 2,000 units in 2013, have surpassed the 10,000-unit mark for two years running, setting a new sales record of 12,798 units in 2020. Now, the automaker is charging ahead for

MobilityMay 27, 2021