K-water pledges ESG framework to tackle climate change

The state-run Korea Water Resources Corp., also known as K-water, pledged Tuesday to adopt an environmental, social and corporate governance framework to reform the way it operates. In a discussion with private experts, influencers and green activists on how water can reverse climate change, K-water CEO Park Jae-hyeon revealed that the company had joined the Renewable Energy 100, a global initiative to source 100 percent of the electricity that businesses consume from renewable energy source

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

Kosdaq lobby group chief calls for incentives to lure blue-chip firms

The new chief of an association representing listed firms on South Korea’s tech-heavy bourse said Tuesday that the second-tier Kosdaq needs various incentives to attract more blue-chip companies and investors and prevent the exit of unicorn companies to bigger markets. “The Kosdaq market has been regulated stricter than the Kospi market. Regulations such as issuing an ‘investment alert’ to protect investors unintentionally cause the market to be undervalued,” said

MarketMarch 16, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding wins W265b order for 3 LPG carriers

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Tuesday that it has signed a 265 billion-won ($234 million) deal to build three liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers. Under the deal with a European company, Daewoo Shipbuilding will deliver the 91,000-cubic meter LPG carriers by October 2023, it said. With the latest order, the shipbuilder has obtained orders worth $1.79 billion to build 19 ships, representing 23 percent of its 2021 order target of $7.7 billion. (Yonhap)

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

Global LCD capacity to fall in 2023 on Korean makers' shutdown: report

The global capacity of liquid crystal displays (LCD) is likely to fall in 2023, a report showed Tuesday, as major South Korean display panel makers will exit from the business dominated by Chinese players. Samsung Display Co. and LG Display Co. -- South Korea's top 2 players -- have announced they will scale down their LCD businesses, with the former pushing its migration to quantum-dot displays, while the latter expands its organic light-emitting diode production. Such moves are expected to d

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

Card spending growth slows sharply in 2020 due to pandemic

The pace of growth of payments made with cards in South Korea slowed sharply last year as consumer spending remained tepid amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards reached a daily average of 2.52 trillion won ($2.22 billion) in 2020, up 0.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The growth rate slowed from a 5.7 percent on-year gain in 2019, the BOK said. The central bank said card spending

EconomyMarch 16, 2021

Residents' foreign currency deposits rise in February

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea rose in February, mainly due to a gain in corporate holdings of US dollar deposits, central bank data showed Tuesday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents amounted to $90.03 billion as of end-February, up $650 million from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Residents include local citizens, foreigners staying here for more than six months and foreign companies. The data exclude

MarketMarch 16, 2021

20 ready-mixed concrete producers fined W2.5b over price fixing

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to fine 20 ready-mixed concrete manufacturers a combined 2.51 billion won ($2.2 million) for colluding to fix prices of construction-related material. Sanha Industry Corp. and 19 other companies colluded to fix their sales prices and supply of ready-mixed concrete between 2012 and 2017 that was used to build houses in the greater Seoul area, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). The commission ordered them to take cor

EconomyMarch 16, 2021

S. Korea creates 12-inch chip wafer test bed

South Korea's ICT ministry said Tuesday a 12-inch semiconductor wafer test bed was established here in line with the country's efforts to boost development of homegrown chip technology. Previously, the absence of the test bed had led many local small and medium-sized chip component companies to rely on overseas testing facilities, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The country's major chipmakers, such as Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., require evaluations of chip componen

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

Number of stock investors soars 49% in 2020 amid market rally

The number of stock investors jumped nearly 49 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid a bullish market run, industry data showed Tuesday. A total of 9.19 million investors held shares in 2,352 companies listed on the country's main and secondary bourses, up 48.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. Those investors owned a combined 99.1 billion shares, with per-capita holdings standing at 10,779 shares. Retail investors in those firms closi

MarketMarch 16, 2021

S. Korean air exports soar amid pandemic

South Korea's airfreight exports jumped to account for 36 percent of the country's overall exports last year, industry data showed Tuesday, on higher demand for chips and biohealth products. Of the country's combined exports of $512.5 billion in 2020, air transport accounted for $183 billion, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). While maritime transport still accounted for the majority of $325.8 billion, the portion of air cargo rose 5.4 percentag

EconomyMarch 16, 2021

S. Korea to help exporters further utilize FTAs with new support centers

South Korea on Tuesday said it will open new facilities overseas to help exporters better capitalize on free trade agreements (FTA) amid the coronavirus pandemic. Under the plan, the country plans to spend 11.9 billion won ($10.4 million) this year to open new FTA support centers in Southeast Asia and provide customized consulting programs, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country currently operates 18 FTA support centers for exporters nationwide, along with 15 othe

EconomyMarch 16, 2021

T'way Air to add 3 A330-300s for post-pandemic demand

T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, said Tuesday it will begin introducing three A330-300 chartered planes late this year to prepare for the post coronavirus era. T'way Air plans to inject the three A330-300s into mid- and long-haul international routes to Kyrgyzstan, Australia and Croatia, the company said in a statement. The budget carrier has 27 B737-800 chartered planes and currently serves six international routes and six domestic routes. It served 47 international and three domes

MobilityMarch 16, 2021

[Newsmaker] Kakao founder pledges to donate half of assets

The founder of South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp. said Tuesday that he will donate half of his wealth -- currently estimated to be more than 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion). "Through this pledge today, we commit to give more than half of our wealth back to society during our lifetime," Kim Beom-su said in a message posted on the website of the Giving Pledge. Giving Pledge, created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, is a global campaign by the world's we

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

Samsung Display to aggressively target gaming display market with OLED panels

Samsung Display Co., a major display maker in South Korea, said Tuesday it targets to expand its presence in the gaming display market with its OLED panels for smartphones. Samsung Display said its 6.78-inch OLED panel is used in Asus' Republic of Gamers (ROG) Phone 5 launched last week, and it aims to sell more OLED displays to those who make gaming IT devices. "With more people practicing social distancing by staying at home, the number of online gamers has surged, and end-product manuf

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher as US Treasury yields fall

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight advances on Wall Street amid falling Treasury yields. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.72 points, or 0.42 percent, to 3,058.43 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.05 percent, as the yield on the US 10-year Treasury note fell, easing investor concerns over earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics gaine

MarketMarch 16, 2021

Samsung to supply 5G network equipment to Canada's SaskTel

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it has been selected as the sole vendor to supply 5G network equipment and solutions to a Canadian telecommunications firm. Under the deal with Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. (SaskTel), Samsung will provide the Canadian company with the 4G/5G radio unit, massive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) radio technology, network virtualization software and maintenance services. The South Korean tech giant said it is also the first time that the

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

Market value of cryptocurrencies in S. Korea spikes tenfold over 3 years

The market value of cryptocurrencies in South Korea has shot up nearly 10 times over the past three years amid keen investor interest, industry sources said Tuesday. According to local cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, its market index stood at 9,742.62 points as of 5:45 p.m. Monday, almost 10 times the level of 1,000 points on Oct. 1, 2017, when the index was first calculated The Upbit Market Index covers all cryptocurrencies traded in the exchange's won-denominated market and shows changes in t

MarketMarch 16, 2021

Samsung ranks third in Q4 wearables market: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the third-largest vendor of wearable devices in the fourth quarter of 2020, a market report showed Tuesday, amid soaring global demand for wearbles despite the pandemic. The South Korean tech giant shipped 13 million units of wearable devices in the October-December period, up 20.5 percent from a year earlier, although its market share dropped to 8.5 percent from 9 percent a year ago, according to the latest report from market tracker International Data Corp. (IDC).

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

S. Korea's export prices rise for 3rd month in February

South Korea's export prices rose in February, marking the third straight monthly gain helped by a modest recovery in exports, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's export price index, in terms of the local currency, rose 3.1 percent in February from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the third consecutive month of an on-month rise. In January, the index rose 1.8 percent on-month. From a year earlier, the index rose

EconomyMarch 16, 2021

Google Korea to lower in-app commission rate for developers

The South Korean unit of Google Inc. has decided to lower its planned commission rate for app developers, parliamentary and industry sources said Monday, amid complaints from software makers over steep fees. Google Korea reported to parliament's committee on science and technology that it will cut the 30 percent rate on in-app purchases to 15 percent for app developers whose annual sales generated from its Play store are less than US$1 million, according to the sources. The new policy will take

TechnologyMarch 15, 2021