Ioniq 5 bedazzles with futuristic silhouette, expanded interior space

For South Korea’s top carmaker Hyundai Motor, the game changer for this year’s business is the launch of Ioniq 5, its first all-electric vehicle built on their exclusive EV platform. While vying against global competitors such as Tesla, the new model is expected to serve as a key barometer on whether Hyundai Motor Group manages to accommodate to the post-coronavirus market changes and transform into a sustainable, comprehensive mobility operator. Set to kick off mass production

IndustryMarch 19, 2021

[News Focus] LG Group’s spinoff decision to take center stage at shareholders meeting

At the annual shareholders meeting set for next Friday, LG Group’s plans to spin off business units and create a new holding company for them are expected to take center stage. As the meeting approaches, market experts and advisory institutions are releasing their assessments of the restructuring plan, which the group says it has had in the works since the leadership change in 2018. LG Corp., the current holding company of LG Group, announced in November that the group would spin off

TechnologyMarch 18, 2021

KCGI in predicament as hostile takeover bid for KAL fizzles out

South Korean private equity house Korea Corporate Governance Improvement appears to be in a predicament as its hostile takeover bid for Hanjin KAL is being overshadowed by the Korea Development Bank’s tighter control over the parent company of flag carrier Korean Air Lines. This comes as a KCGI-led consortium, which took issue with the “poor governance” displayed by the transportation group’s owner family and sought to bring in professional managers to replace incumbent

MarketMarch 18, 2021

S&P, Moody’s affirm stable outlook for Naver

Global credit rating agencies S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s have forecast stable growth for South Korean internet giant Naver, respectively assigning the firm ratings of A- and A3. S&P said its rating reflected the Korean internet firm’s strong position in the search engine and e-commerce segments in Korea, adding that even tech behemoth Google had only recently made headway in the Korean market with video platform YouTube due to the Korean firm’s formidable leadersh

MarketMarch 18, 2021

Suwon, home of Samsung, has highest number of 40-something male retail traders: data

Suwon in Gyeonggi Province has the highest number of male retail traders in their 40s, outpacing Gangnam, a posh residential district in Seoul, data showed Thursday. The city having the largest number of male traders perhaps has something to do with South Korean tech giant Samsung, which is headquartered in the city, observers say. According to the state-run Korea Securities Depository, a total of 34,463 male day traders in their 40s lived in Suwon as of the end of 2020, while southern Seoul&rs

MarketMarch 18, 2021

S-Oil forges partnership to capture carbon and use it for soft drinks, dry ice

S-Oil has teamed up with a local gas firm to capture carbon dioxide emitted from its facility and use it for carbonated soft drinks and dry ice. According to the South Korean refinery on Thursday, it has signed an agreement with Dong Kwang Chemical for the project, for which S-Oil will collect by-product gases from its hydrogen production process at the Ulsan plant and supply them through pipelines to the adjacent Dong Kwang facility. There, carbon will be extracted, refined and then trans

IndustryMarch 18, 2021

[Advertorial] LG Energy Solution combines climate change actions with CSR activities

LG Energy Solution’s new solar power project in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, combines the firm’s social outreach program with a mission to curb carbon emissions. Dubbed the “Power Plant for Hope Green,” the facility built at a bus transfer center in the city last year is expected to cut 4,900 tons of greenhouse gases and generate profits worth 800 million won ($712,000) over the next 20 years. All the proceeds from the 410-kilowatt facility will be donated t

IndustryMarch 18, 2021

S. Korea's economy expected to grow 3.2% in 2021: AMRO

South Korea's economy is expected to grow 3.2 percent this year as the start of vaccinations raised hopes of a solid economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a regional macroeconomic research agency said Thursday. The forecast by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) is slightly higher than the Bank of Korea's outlook of 3 percent growth for this year. The AMRO also expected South Korea's economy to grow 3 percent next year. But the AMRO warned that growth is uneven in some se

EconomyMarch 18, 2021

Seoul stocks up on eased rate hike woes

South Korean stocks rebounded Thursday on strong foreign buying, following the US Federal Reserve's reiteration that rates will remain at near zero through 2023. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 18.51 points, or 0.61 percent, to close at 3,066.01. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 14.8 trillion won ($13.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 503 to 329. Foreigners bought a net 483 b

MarketMarch 18, 2021

Nafabeltan out, but push for homegrown COVID-19 drug continues

The competition to develop the country’s second COVID-19 treatment continues among South Korea’s major pharmaceutical companies after Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical recently dropped out. South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Wednesday that it has decided not to approve Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical’s candidate, Nafabeltan, based on a review by its advisory board of its efficacy and safety. Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical’s acute pancreatitis dru

TechnologyMarch 18, 2021

Daewoong clinches W380b out-licensing deal with Chinese pharmaceutical firm

Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Thursday that the company has out-licensed its gastroesophageal reflux disease agent Fexuprazan to Shanghai Haini Pharmaceutical for 380 billion won. The deal included an upfront payment of 6.8 billion won and 13.6 billion won in milestone payments, the company added. Under the agreement, Shanghai Haini has acquired rights to conduct clinical studies for the agent used to treat a digestive disorder. Shanghai Haini would also be in charge of the entire approval pr

TechnologyMarch 18, 2021

Hanwha to sell half of stake in electric truck maker Nikola

Hanwha Group, a South Korean energy-to-defense conglomerate, plans to sell half of its stake in US electric truck maker Nikola Corp., the two companies said Thursday. Green Nikola Holdings, Hanwha's US subsidiary that holds a 5.65 percent share in Nikola, plans to sell up to 11.1 million shares over a six-month period from June, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Hanwha's stake in Nasdaq-listed Nikola is worth about $180 million as of Wednesday's closing price of $16.

IndustryMarch 18, 2021

OB releases series of new beers to maintain edge

Oriental Brewery Co. has released a series of new “high tech” beers in recent months to maintain its market lead. OB accounted for some 52 percent of Korea’s home beer market last year, according to Nielsen Korea, with its flagship beer Cass Fresh alone accounting for some 40 percent. In a statement, CEO Ben Verhaert said the company is seeking to continue to progress to accommodate changing consumer trends. All New Cass Hoping to continue its lead in the market, OB unveil

ConsumerMarch 18, 2021

Doosan Fuel Cell, KSOE to jointly develop SOFCs for ships

South Korean fuel cell maker Doosan Fuel Cell Co. said Thursday that it will team up with Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) to develop solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), energy conversion devices that generate electricity, to be used for ships. Under a preliminary deal with KSOE, the subholding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH), Doosan Fuel Cell will design and produce fuel cells, while KSOE will develop technologies to apply the fuel cells to ships, th

IndustryMarch 18, 2021

SK Bioscience makes splash on market debut, lands No. 29 on Kospi

SK Bioscience, the vaccines unit of South Korea’s No. 3 conglomerate SK Group, made its grand market debut on the nation’s main board Thursday, trading at more than double its initial public offering price. As soon as the opening bell rang, shares of SK Bioscience shot up to the daily permissible limit of 169,000 won ($150.45), up 30 percent from its opening price and its IPO price of 65,000 won. The price level maintained at the upper limit throughout the day. The opening price o

MarketMarch 18, 2021

CU launches beer subscription service

CU is launching a beer subscription service to target the increasing number of people enjoying imbibing alone and at home, the convenience store chain operator said Thursday. BGF Retail, the firm behind the convenience store chain, has teamed up with beer subscription app service Dailyshot to roll out its service where a user can get three cans of popular beer products from a nearby CU store at 6,900 won ($6.10) per month. CU is the first to launch such a service for beer in the convenience

ConsumerMarch 18, 2021

Decisions loom for Woori, Shinhan executives over Lime fiasco

The country’s two major lenders Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank have come under scrutiny again over their sale of unsound products of scandal-ridden Lime Asset Management after being called to a financial watchdog’s meeting that would decide the fate of their top executives. The Financial Supervisory Service held its second sanctions committee meeting Thursday to decide the level of sanctions for Woori Bank, Shinhan Financial Group and Shinhan Bank, major sellers of Lime funds that in

MarketMarch 18, 2021

More cosmetics firms adopt eco-friendly packaging

More cosmetics companies in South Korea are adopting eco-friendly packaging amid growing concerns and calls to reduce single-use plastic. Earlier this month, cosmetics conglomerate Amorepacific unveiled eco-friendly paper packaging which it said reduces the use of plastic by some 70 percent and can last up to 36 months. The paper tube container, which uses “nano thin film blocking” technology and will be adopted for its clean beauty brand Primera sometime in the first half of this

ConsumerMarch 18, 2021

Panel proposes legislation to better handle spent nuke fuel

An independent committee proposed on Thursday that legislation is needed to better handle and manage spent nuclear fuel as the issue has been a source of controversy over safety. The body under the industry ministry stressed a new law is necessary to proceed with the matter of building storage for spent fuel rods and other waste in a transparent and predictable way. The committee also said South Korea should set up an independent administrative body to monitor the management of waste, while he

EconomyMarch 18, 2021

Banks' bad loans edge down in 2020

Nonperforming loans at South Korean banks inched down last year, due to a slight decline in overdue corporate loans, data showed Thursday. The ratio of bad loans to total lending came to 0.64 percent at the end of last year, down 0.13 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Overdue corporate loans reached 13.9 trillion won ($12.8 billion) at the end of last year, down 1.4 trillion won from a year ago, the data showed. The regulator sai

EconomyMarch 18, 2021