Samsung inheritance, a record unlikely to be broken

Samsung chief Lee Kun-hee died Oct. 25, 2020, as South Korea’s richest man, leaving behind a massive fortune that local reports have put at 30 trillion won ($27 billion) in total value. Nearly six months later, on Wednesday, his heirs -- wife Hong Ra-hee, son Lee Jae-yong, and daughters Lee Bu-jin and Lee Seo-hyun, reported an inheritance of nearly 20 trillion won to the tax authorities. The rest -- including Lee’s massive art collection, which some local reports say could be wo

IndustryApril 28, 2021

Samsung family to pay W12tr in inheritance tax

The heirs of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee on Wednesday announced what will become of the late tycoon’s assets, which amount to over 30 trillion won ($27 billion), in the country’s biggest inheritance in recent history. According to a statement released by Samsung Electronics on behalf of the family, they plan to return much of that wealth to society. The unparalleled donation will include artworks and antiques worth nearly 10 trillion won, and 1 trillion won is to

IndustryApril 28, 2021

S&P affirms S. Korea rating at AA with stable outlook

S&P Global Ratings affirmed South Korea’s credit rating at AA with a stable outlook, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday. Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s long-term sovereign credit rating has remained at AA -- the third-highest level on the agency’s rating scale -- since August 2016. “While the Korean economy contracted for the first time since 1998, growth is back on track, and the decline was less than that of most other high-income economies

EconomyApril 28, 2021

LS Group spearheads smart technologies for environment, solar industry

As the world transitions to renewable energy, demand for cables are growing as well, and LS Group is at the center of the transition. LS Group is a South Korean conglomerate in the metal and cable business that was spun off from LG Group in 2003. In his New Year’s message, LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol laid out top priorities the group should pursue in the post-pandemic era -- cash generation, greater foothold overseas, digital transition, acceleration of eco-friendly initiatives and

IndustryApril 28, 2021

Seoul stocks dip 1% ahead of FOMC meeting results

South Korean stocks dipped 1 percent on Wednesday as foreign investors offloaded local stocks to cash in recent gains ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 33.95 points, or 1.06 percent, to close at 3,181.47 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 18 trillion won ($16.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 699 to 193. Foreigne

MarketApril 28, 2021

COVID-19 self-test kits to be available at pharmacies as early as Monday

South Koreans may be able to purchase COVID-19 self-test kits as early as next Monday, industry officials said Wednesday. Coming are two types of home test kits developed by local biotech firms SD Biosensor and Humasis. The test kits will be available at local pharmacies or via online channels, according to the companies. The rollout comes after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last week gave each of them conditional-use approval. The products have been in use in several countries in Eu

TechnologyApril 28, 2021

Jaguar Land Rover’s Range Rover Evoque presents what ‘smart’ SUV looks like

Amid growing competition over “smart” technologies in the automotive industry, Jaguar Land Rover Korea has presented its latest Range Rover Evoque equipped with the newest features to meet the expectations of tech-savvy Korean customers. The Korean unit of the British automaker rolled out the revamped model of the Range Rover Evoque, a compact sport utility vehicle, earlier this month. The new Range Rover Evoque implements Pivi Pro, which is an award-winning infotainment system

MobilityApril 28, 2021

Mercedes-Benz S-Class returns with complete makeover

Mercedes-Benz Korea premiered the new 7th generation S-Class here on Wednesday, presenting the model’s first complete makeover in seven years. “More than 130-year-long heritage of craftsmanship and innovative technologies are the quintessence of the new S-Class,” said Thomas Klein, the president and the chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz Korea, said during the car’s local launch at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. The model was first unveiled globally in a dig

MobilityApril 28, 2021

Transportation safety agency to inspect extension of Subway Line 7

The Korea Transportation Safety Authority (TS) will conduct a second round of safety inspections of an extension for Subway Line 7 before it begins operations, the transportation agency said Wednesday. The extension scheme, involving the Incheon Transit Corporation and the subway line operator Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation, involves an addition of three more stations to Subway Line 7 -- Bupyeong-gu Office Station, Sangok Station and Seoknam Station. The three stations are all l

IndustryApril 28, 2021

South Korea gets ready for short selling under watchful eyes

South Korea resumes the short selling of stocks Monday, ending a 14-month ban imposed to protect investors from a sudden market fall triggered by the pandemic.  Despite the government’s cautious moves -- leaving some restrictions in place even after the temporary ban expires -- retail investors are still wary over a possible drop in stock prices, according to industry sources Wednesday. The regulator’s decision to permit short selling within limits starting May 3 came after

MarketApril 28, 2021

Lime makes Time’s list of 100 most influential companies

Lime said Wednesday it had been named as one of the world’s top 100 influential companies by Time magazine. According to the world’s leading e-scooter and e-bike operator, it has been categorized among the “disruptors,” along with 19 other companies including Tesla, Airbnb, Robinhood and Didi Chuxing. “Despite pandemic-related disruptions, the micro-mobility company announced its first profitable quarter last year and launched in dozens of new cities. In 2021,

IndustryApril 28, 2021

‘US-China conflict may accelerate US membership in trans-Pacific trade pact’

The United States, which under former President Donald Trump ditched talks toward a trans-Pacific trade order, may now be moving to rejoin the club, mostly due to the continuing conflict with China, market observers said Wednesday. Their remarks came during the second CPTPP Trade Forum, organized jointly by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the nation’s largest law firm, Kim & Chang. CPTPP stands for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partner

IndustryApril 28, 2021

Ocean freight charge hike weighs upon small exporters

Facing continuous rises in sea freight charges, South Korea’s industries have showed mixed reactions, with major shippers benefiting from surplus demand and small exporters reeling under the cost burden, industry data shows. While brokerages set to raising their target stock price for prosperous top-tier shippers, policymakers here are struggling to provide fiscal relief measures for exporters under pressure. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, showing the level of the current sea

IndustryApril 28, 2021

Serveone and Korin to sign agreement to strengthen business cooperation in Indonesia

Serveone, the largest maintenance, repair and operation procurement company in South Korea, announced April 22 that it has signed a strategic business agreement with Korin to expand business for both companies in Indonesia. The two companies agreed to promote cooperation to expand opportunities in Indonesia for raw materials procurement and logistics business through this partnership. Serveone provides professional purchase solutions based on domestic and international B2B platforms, considered

IndustryApril 28, 2021

Nexon joins Tesla in bitcoin bet

Korean-Japanese game maker Nexon on Tuesday said it spent $100 million to purchase bitcoin, joining companies like Tesla and MicroStrategy who bet on cryptocurrencies. The company listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange said it purchased 1,717 bitcoins at $58,226 on average. Bitcoin was being traded at $54,910 as of 1:35 p.m. on Wednesday. “In the current economic environment, we believe bitcoin offers long-term stability and liquidity while maintaining the value of our cash for future investme

MarketApril 28, 2021

S&P affirms stable outlook for Mirae Asset Securities

Global credit ratings agency S&P Global Ratings revised its credit rating on South Korean brokerage Mirae Asset Securities from negative to stable Tuesday, assigning the firm’s rating of BBB in the long term. S&P said its revised rating reflected its expectation that the local securities firm will likely to improve and maintain an adequate capital buffer over the next 18-24 months. “Mirae Asset Securities’ diversified business lines underpin its largely stable earni

MarketApril 28, 2021

Samsung returns to top spot in European smartphone market in Q1: report

Samsung Electronics Co. regained the top spot in the European smartphone market in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, on the back of robust sales of its new handsets. The South Korean tech giant represented 32 percent of smartphone sales in Europe in the January-March period, up 2 percentage points from a year earlier, and beat its US rival Apple Inc., which settled for 28 percent, according to market tracker Counterpoint Research. Samsung was in the runner-up spot with

IndustryApril 28, 2021

Population mobility falls for 3rd month in March

The number of South Koreans who moved to different residences in the country fell for the third straight month in March as housing transactions declined, data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences fell 4 percent on-year to 735,000 last month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the third straight month of decline after population mobility rose for the seventh consecutive month in December 2020 amid skyrocketing home prices. The fall was

EconomyApril 28, 2021

Daily retail payments grow 15.2% in 2020 amid pandemic

The value of daily retail payments grew 15.2 percent on-year in 2020 as online financial transactions increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The value of daily retail payments, which are typically made between individuals and non-financial firms on a small sum of money, stood at 80.2 trillion won ($72 billion) last year, compared with 69.6 trillion won in 2019, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). With COVID-19 spreading, more consumers are using

EconomyApril 28, 2021

Biz sentiment improves for 3rd straight month amid pandemic: poll

South Korea's business sentiment continued to improve on recovering demand in the non-manufacturing business sector, a local think tank said Wednesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 107.7 for next month, up 1.7 points from April, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. The index stayed above 100 for the third straight month after its March reading exceeded 100 for the first time in 34 months, it said. A reading ab

EconomyApril 28, 2021