S. Korea's auto exports jump 30% in January

South Korea's auto exports jumped 29.5 percent on year in January, as global demand showed signs of modest recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. The nation's auto production and domestic sales rose 24.9 percent and 18.4 percent on year in January, respectively, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It was the first time since September last year that auto exports, output and domestic sales all gained. By region, exports to North America j

EconomyFeb. 15, 2021

Samsung Heavy wins W781b order from Asia

Samsung Heavy Industries said Monday that it has signed a 781 billion won ($707 million) deal to build five liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fired container carriers. Under the deal with an Asian company, the 15,000-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container carriers will be delivered by July 2023, Samsung Heavy Industries said in an emailed statement. The shipbuilder did not reveal the name of the buyer. "This year is expected to see a rise in new orders for eco-friendly container carriers thanks

IndustryFeb. 15, 2021

[Graphic News] South Korea leads world in innovation

　South Korea returned to first place in the latest Bloomberg Innovation Index, while the US dropped out of a top 10 that features a cluster of European countries. 　Korea regained the crown from Germany, which dropped to fourth place. The Asian nation has now topped the index for seven of the nine years that it’s been published. Singapore and Switzerland each moved up one spot to rank second and third. 　The Bloomberg index analyzes dozens of criteria using seven equally weighted metri

BusinessFeb. 15, 2021

IoT subscriptions top 10m in S. Korea last year: data

South Korea's internet-of-things (IoT) device subscriptions hit over 10 million last year on the back of growing use of connected cars and remote control services. As of the end of last year, the number of mobile connections to such devices stood at 10.05 million, up around 2 million from the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. IoT devices range from connected vehicles to home appliances that exchange data with other devices over the internet, and they can pr

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2021

Samsung Engineering wins $120m deal from Thailand

Samsung Engineering Co. said Monday it has clinched a $120 million order to build facilities meant to boost propylene production in Thailand. Under a deal with PTT Global Chemical Public Co., Samsung Engineering will be responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction for an olefins 2 modification for propane feedstock project (OMP). The project calls for the construction of new facilities to change the main composition of existing feedstock from ethane to propane to increase prop

IndustryFeb. 15, 2021

Hyundai reveals interior of 1st own EV platform-based IONIQ 5

Hyundai Motor Co. on Monday unveiled the interior design of the IONIQ 5, the first all-electric model with its own electric vehicle platform, ahead of its global unveiling next week. The IONIQ 5 midsize crossover vehicle comfortably accommodates both passengers and cargo as the electric-global modular platform allows for an elongated wheelbase and flat floor unlike other midsize crossovers with internal combustion engines and conventional steer-by-wire systems, Hyundai said in a statement. &qu

MobilityFeb. 15, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on tech gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on strong advances by tech stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 35.91 points, or 1.16 percent, to 3,136.49 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI came to a strong start on foreign and institutional buying. Improved exports and eased social distancing measures against the new coronavirus also boosted hopes for a quick economic rebound. Top cap Samsung Electronics gained 2.45 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix ad

MarketFeb. 15, 2021

S. Korea's exports jump 69% in first 10 days of Feb.

South Korea's exports jumped 69.1 percent on-year in the first 10 days of February on strong shipments of chips and autos amid the pandemic, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $18 billion in the Feb. 1-10 period, compared with $10.6 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports soared 71.9 percent on-year to $20.4 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.46 billion, the data showed. By sector, outbound shipments of

EconomyFeb. 15, 2021

Restaurant's business confidence hits nadir in Q4

South Korean restaurants' business sentiment sank to an all-time low in the fourth quarter of 2020 amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in the country, a state food distribution firm said Monday. The business survey index for the country's restaurant industry came to 59.33 for the October-December period, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. It was the lowest quarterly tally since the state-run company began compiling the index in 2011. The fourth-quarter number was low

EconomyFeb. 15, 2021

S. Korea's online food market grows explosively in 2020 amid pandemic

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in 10 years in 2021 due to surging energy costs and high prices of farm products, data showed Friday, indicating a build-up in inflationary pressure for Asia's fourth-largest economy. Consumer prices rose 2.5 percent this year from a year earlier, accelerating from a 0.5 percent on-year gain in 2020, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the steepest on-year rise since 2011, when consumer inflation spiked 4 percent.

EconomyFeb. 15, 2021

S-Oil expected to continue recovery this year

S-Oil, South Korea’s No. 3 refiner, is expected to see an improvement in profits this year, continuing a recovery momentum from the final quarter of 2020, according to the industry sources Sunday. S-Oil said the company expects a recovery based on the increasing profitability of the company’s petrochemical products, including propylene oxide and polypropylene. S-Oil noted the company plans to increase production capacity for propylene oxide through which the company managed to off

IndustryFeb. 14, 2021

S. Korea’s top streamers make W671m a year

South Korea’s top 1 percent of streamers earned an average of 671 million won in 2019, according to data released Sunday by the National Tax Service. 　 According to a report by Yang Kyung-sook of the ruling Democratic Party here, the top 1 percent of tax-registered streamers by income, or 27 individuals, made a total of 18.1 billion won, accounting for around 21 percent of the total income made by all local one-person media creators registered with the tax office. The number of one-perso

TechnologyFeb. 14, 2021

Nexon provides all-time high dividends to its parent company in 2020

Nexon, South Korea’s largest game developer, has paid a record amount of cash in dividends to its parent company NXC after posting all-time high earnings last year, according to the Japanese electronic disclosure system Sunday. According to the Electronic Disclosure for Investors‘ NETwork, Nexon provided a dividend of 29.9 billion yen (320 billion won) to its parent company last year. In total, Nexon provided 61.4 billion yen of dividends through last year, up around 30 percent fr

TechnologyFeb. 14, 2021

Tesla launches Model Y in Korea

Tesla’s Model Y has officially launched in South Korea, with prices starting from 59.9 million won for the lowest trim and is eligible for government subsidy. The automaker started sales of its latest pure electric vehicle crossover here on Friday, presenting three trims -- the standard range, long range, and performance models. The Model Y’s standard range model offers up to 340 kilometers of range on a single charge, while the long range model can go up to 511 kilometers. The

MobilityFeb. 14, 2021

Hyundai’s Santa Fe, GV80 among best new cars of 2021

Four vehicles of South Korea’s leading automaker Hyundai Motor Group have been included in a ranking of 12 best new cars of 2021, compiled by a US automotive third-party car listings brand Autotrader. The four are Hyundai Motor’s Santa Fe, Genesis GV80, Kia’s Sorento and K5. Hyundai Motor, Genesis and Kia are all automotive brands owned by Hyundai Motor Group. The 12 vehicles have been selected by a team of experts, who collectively tested and scored new models using a ran

MobilityFeb. 14, 2021

Recovery of pandemic-hit labor market tipped to be modest: BOK

South Korea's job market is expected to recover modestly from the coronavirus pandemic as it will take more time for the number of people employed to recover to a pre-crisis level than to decline, according to a recent report by the Bank of Korea (BOK). South Korea has rolled out about 280 trillion won ($251 billion) worth of stimulus measures to cushion the impact of the pandemic, but companies have hired fewer workers than expected amid persistent uncertainties over the global health crisis.

EconomyFeb. 14, 2021

Tough settlement talks await SK Innovation

With a defeat after a two-year legal battle against LG Energy Solution in the United States, the only desirable option for SK Innovation to minimize impact seems to be settling with their domestic archrival, according to industry sources on Sunday. In a final ruling made by the US International Trade Commission on Wednesday, SK Innovation was slapped with a 10-year ban on importing lithium-ion battery products to the US, with a grace period up to four years, for stealing trade secrets from LG.

TechnologyFeb. 14, 2021

Telcos pin hope on further 5G adoption this year

South Korean mobile carriers are aiming for mass user migration to 5G networks this year after failing to meet their subscriber targets in 2020 amid the pandemic. The country ended last year with a total 11.85 million 5G subscribers, with SK Telecom Co., the country's largest wireless carrier, leading the pack with 5.48 million users, followed by KT Corp. at 3.62 million and LG Uplus Corp. at 2.75 million, according to ICT ministry data. The total figure fell short of initial forecasts of arou

TechnologyFeb. 14, 2021

Coupang chooses NYSE for IPO to take advantage of dual-class share

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang appears to have chosen to go public in the US, not in its home base, to keep its chief’s control over the company under a dual-class share system that is not allowed here. The initial public offering application filed at the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed that shares that will be issued by the Seoul-headquartered firm will consist of two classes of common stocks - Class A with one voting right and Class B with 29 voting rights. Only th

MarketFeb. 14, 2021

Over half of S. Koreans in favor of tax hike on high earners: poll

More than half of South Koreans are in favor of raising taxes for high income earners to mitigate the polarization that has deepened during the pandemic, a poll showed Sunday. In the survey of 1,000 South Koreans aged 18 or older conducted last week, 57.4 percent of respondents agreed to a tax hike on high earners in the face of a widening income gap, while 39.3 percent disagreed, according to Realmeter. Nearly 83 percent of the respondents said the polarization has worsened during the COVID-1

EconomyFeb. 14, 2021