Banks' household loan growth quickens in January

South Korean banks' household loans continued to grow at a faster pace in January, driven by the strong growth of mortgage loans, central bank data showed Wednesday. The value of outstanding bank loans to local households came to 996.4 trillion won ($892.8 billion) as of end-January, up 7.6 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The January reading compares to a 6.7 trillion-won gain in December last year. The BOK said the rise in lending was

EconomyFeb. 10, 2021

New law to allow reversal of fat-finger transactions via Kakao Pay, Toss

Mistaken transactions made through mobile payment apps will be subject to aid from a state-run deposit insurer after a revision of a depositor protection legislation takes effect later this year. Starting on July 6, the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation will help reverse error remittances that have occurred not only in accounts of financial institutions but also in mobile payment services such as Toss and Kakao Pay, according to amendments to the Depositor Protection Act. However, transact

MarketFeb. 10, 2021

Korea open to Russian vaccine, GC Pharma rumored as CMO

GC Pharma has once again risen as a potential contract manufacturer to a foreign vaccine, this time for Russia’s Sputnik V. Company officials, however, refrained from commenting, citing the sensitivity of the issue. The interest for Sputnik V in South Korea was ignited after Jeong Eun-kyung, head of Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said Monday that the country was open to considering the Russian vaccine, citing uncertainties over virus variants and the supply of vaccines. &l

IndustryFeb. 10, 2021

Cafe24 to hosts webinar on global sales strategy for social media

E-commerce platform Cafe24 will host a webinar on global sales strategy for Facebook and Instagram next week, the company said on Wednesday. The platform said the event will provide viewers with strategic help in reaching over three billion online users on Facebook-owned apps using Facebook Shops. Dubbed “Facebook‘s Global Commerce Success Strategies Using Shops,” the occasion is scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. on Feb. 17, and will be offered for free to those who sign up

ConsumerFeb. 10, 2021

Samsung Heavy to demonstrate remote ship control system for large vessel

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday that it will demonstrate whether its remote autonomous navigation system can autonomously steer a large ship in August. A 9,200-ton ship will be used to demonstrate the shipbuilder's remote autonomous navigation system known as Samsung Autonomous Ship, or SAS, the company said. Mokpo National Maritime University will assess whether the system helps the ship navigate autonomously under remote control, Samsung Heavy said. If Samsung Heavy succeeds in

IndustryFeb. 10, 2021

ICT exports up 22% in January on chips, displays

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products shot up a whopping 21.7 percent on-year in January on the back of strong overseas demands for chips, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of ICT goods came to $16.3 billion in January, which marked the second-largest amount ever for any January, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The country posted record high ICT exports of $17.6 billion in 2018 for January. Imports came to $1

IndustryFeb. 10, 2021

Apple, Samsung extend lead as top semiconductor buyers in 2020: survey

Reflecting the increased demand for telecommunications amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple remained the world’s largest buyer of semiconductor chips in 2020 for the second year straight, industry data showed Wednesday. According to global research and consulting firm Gartner, Apple spent $53.6 billion on chips, up 24 percent from a year earlier, and thus accounted for 11.9 percent of the worldwide market. Next was South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, which spent $36.4 billion, up 20.4

IndustryFeb. 10, 2021

Hyundai Motor unveils unmanned mobility vehicle concept

Hyundai Motor Group on Wednesday unveiled its first "uncrewed" mobility vehicle concept as it strives to morph into a future mobility solutions provider. The TIGER robot, which stands for Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot, is designed to operate as a four-wheel drive vehicle or a four-legged walking machine to conduct scientific exploration activities, carry emergency medical kits and deliver products to inaccessible areas, Hyundai said in a statement. The vehicle with

MobilityFeb. 10, 2021

Regulator OKs taxi-hailing joint venture with Uber

South Korea's corporate watchdog said Wednesday it has approved a move by SK Telecom Co.'s mobility spinoff to launch a taxi-hailing joint venture with Uber Technologies Inc. T Map Mobility, wholly owned by SK Telecom, the country's biggest mobile carrier, plans to set up a taxi-hailing joint venture with US ride-hailing company Uber in April, as it seeks to strengthen its business in the connected mobility sector. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said it has given the green light to the

EconomyFeb. 10, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid hopes for progress in US stimulus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.55 points, or 0.08 percent, to 3,087.22 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.14 percent to a new record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.03 percent. Large caps traded mixed in Seoul. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics fell

MarketFeb. 10, 2021

Galaxy S21 posts 30% higher sales in S. Korea than its predecessor: Samsung

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday its latest smartphone line, the Galaxy S21 series, posted 30 percent higher sales than its predecessor in South Korea as the tech giant strives to boost its handset sales. Samsung said sales of the Galaxy S21 family between Jan. 29 and Monday were 30 percent higher than those of the Galaxy S20 series. By model, the entry-level S21 accounted for 40 percent of the total sales, followed by high-end S21 Ultra with 36 percent. The S21 was launched with a pric

IndustryFeb. 10, 2021

Sales of high-risk DLS dip 31% in H1 of 2020

The issuance of high-risk derivatives-linked securities (DLS) in South Korea plunged 31 percent in the first half of 2020 amid the fallout from a misselling scandal, data showed Wednesday. The local market for DLS, which doesn't guarantee the principal, came to 12.7 trillion won ($11.4 billion) as of end-June last year, compared with 16.1 trillion won six months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. A DLS tracks the performance of interest rates, currency value

EconomyFeb. 10, 2021

BOK injects W4.75tr into financial sector ahead of holiday

South Korea's central bank said Wednesday it has provided a net 4.75 trillion won ($4.25 billion) in liquidity to the financial sector to help the flow of money ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said it decreased its money injection by 15.7 percent this year from a year earlier because of social distancing rules amid the coronavirus pandemic. Health authorities have called on people to refrain from traveling for family gatherings to contain the spread of the virus. A

EconomyFeb. 10, 2021

Job loss largest in over 2 decades in January amid pandemic

South Korea reported the largest job loss in January since 1998 as a flare-up in new coronavirus cases, along with continued virus curbs, dealt a heavy blow to jobs in the service sector, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 25.8 million last month, 982,000 fewer than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest on-year fall since December 1998, when the country lost 1.28 million jobs in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financi

EconomyFeb. 10, 2021

Emart 2020 net profit up 62% on one-off revenues

  Emart Inc., South Korea's largest discount store chain by sales, on Tuesday reported a 62 percent on-year jump in net profit last year due to increased one-off revenues. Net profit for the whole of 2020 came to 362.5 billion won ($324.8 million), up from 223.8 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Emart said its sale of a 39,050-square-meter plot of land in western Seoul last year buoyed the bottom line. Emart sold the plot of land for 800 billion won in

ConsumerFeb. 9, 2021

GC Pharma posts record earnings in 2020

GC Pharma and its affiliated companies GCMS and GC LabCell posted record earnings in 2020, they announced Tuesday. GC Pharma’s consolidated earnings report showed that it made 1.5 trillion won ($1.34 billion) in revenue in 2020, up 10.8 percent on-year. It was the best figure in the company’s history since 1967. In the same period, operating profit marked 50.3 billion won, up 20.6 percent on-year, while net profit came to 89.3 billion won. GC Pharma accounted the robust gro

IndustryFeb. 9, 2021

LG Hausys expands presence in North American market

LG Hausys will unveil new high-end interior materials at North America’s largest kitchen and bath design trade show, in a move to add fuel to its overseas expansion in the region, officials said Tuesday. The industrial materials affiliate of LG Group will have an online showroom at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show 2021, a virtual event to run from Tuesday to Friday this week. The new products comprise of five types of engineered stone materials under the Viatera quartz line and s

IndustryFeb. 9, 2021

[News Focus] Record earnings, but Kakao, Naver can’t just celebrate

South Korea’s two online giants -- Naver and Kakao -- had the best year ever in 2020, benefiting from the rise of e-commerce and the contactless trend. Yet, as the pain of those less fortunate grows, they may have to part with some of their profit if policymakers push ahead with an unprecedented profit-sharing plan they have vowed to introduce. Kakao, the company behind the country’s near-ubiquitous messaging app KakaoTalk, on Tuesday reported a whopping 120.5 percent on-year jum

TechnologyFeb. 9, 2021

Race for ‘greenium’ takes off

Major South Korean firms are willingly accepting “green premium,” a price tag for tackling green issues, to accentuate their sustainability efforts. According to SK Innovation Tuesday, its subsidiary SK IE Technology will run its domestic operations 100 percent with renewable energy. SKIET, which manufactures separators for electric vehicle batteries, purchased 180 gigawatt-hours of electricity generated by renewables through the Korea Electric Power Corp.’s Green Premium p

IndustryFeb. 9, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 2nd day ahead of options expiration day

South Korean stocks finished lower for a second straight day Tuesday, as uncertainties increased, with investors seeking to take profits ahead of the expiration of stock options. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.57 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 3,084.67 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 2.1 billion shares worth some 18.1 trillion won ($16.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 362 to 474. Foreigne

MarketFeb. 9, 2021