Celltrion Pharm launches Remsima SC in Korea

Celltrion Pharm said Monday that it is rolling out Remsima SC in Korea for at-home treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. With Remsima SC, or subcutaneous Remsima, there is no need to visit the hospital for regular therapeutic shots for the aforementioned autoimmune diseases now. Remsima is an intravenous infliximab treatment that has to be prepared and administered by medical professionals at hospitals. Remsima SC, on the other hand, comes in pen-type autoinjecto

IndustryFeb. 8, 2021

Vietnamese apparel made with S. Korean fabric to enjoy lower tariffs in Europe

Apparel and clothing items produced in Vietnam with South Korea-made fabrics will be allowed to enjoy lower tariffs in the European Union, the trade ministry said Monday. Previously, clothes needed to be made with locally produced fabrics in order to enjoy the benefits of the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "With South Korea being the second-largest supplier of fabric in Vietnam, the latest policy will lead to stronger demand for S

EconomyFeb. 8, 2021

LG Display to invest additional $750m for its Vietnamese plant: reports

LG Display Co., a major display panel maker in South Korea, will make an additional $750 million investment in its plant in Vietnam, news reports showed Monday, as the company eyes expanding OLED panel productions. The city of Hai Phong approved LG Display's latest investment plan for its plant in northern Vietnam, according to the Vietnam News Agency. The expenditure will bring LG Display's total investment for its project in the Vietnamese port city to $3.25 billion, it added. LG Display is

IndustryFeb. 8, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding bags W152b order from Oceania

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Monday it has won a 152 billion-won ($136 million) order from Oceanian companies. Under the deal, two 40,000-cubic meter liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers will be built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. and one 40,000-ton petrochemical carrier will be built by Hyundai-Vietnam Shipbuilding Co., Korea Shipbuilding said. Korea Shipbuilding did not reveal the name of the customer. The deal for the petrochemical carrier has an option to build

IndustryFeb. 8, 2021

Doosan Infracore wins large-scale orders from emerging markets

Top construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore Co. said Monday that it has won orders of 221 units of construction equipment from emerging markets such as Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Central and South America. Doosan Infracore sold 108 units of excavators and wheel loaders in Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam this year, the company said. A total of 27 units of construction equipment were sold in Oman, while 70 units were provided to companies in Morocco and Egypt. In Colombia, Doosan I

IndustryFeb. 8, 2021

Manufacturers' domestic supply down for 3rd straight quarter amid pandemic

South Korean manufacturers' domestic supply fell for the third consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter of last year amid the fallout of the prolonged pandemic, data showed Monday. The manufacturing domestic supply index stood at 108.3 in the October-December period, down 1.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the quarterly index has fallen since the second quarter of 2020, when it declined 4.5 percent on-year, the shar

EconomyFeb. 8, 2021

S. Korea to spend over W600b on space projects this year

South Korea's science ministry said Monday it will invest 615 billion won ($549 million) in space projects this year, including launching its long-awaited first homegrown rocket and developing new satellites. The country plans to launch its first locally built Nuri rocket in October this year, committing 189.7 billion won this year to acquire technology to independently build space launch vehicles, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. While the country sent its 140-ton Naro rocket int

TechnologyFeb. 8, 2021

Google to make improvements for stable services in S. Korea

South Korea's ICT ministry said Monday that US tech giant Google will take measures to provide stable services, becoming the first company to come under the country's revised law that holds online content providers accountable for service errors. On Dec. 14 last year, multiple Google services, including YouTube, Gmail and Google Calendar, went down for around an hour globally, prompting the Ministry of Science and ICT to look into the matter. According to the ministry, Google experienced an au

TechnologyFeb. 8, 2021

Celltrion's Remsima SC lands in S. Korea

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. said Monday that its drug Remsima SC for the treatment of autoimmune diseases has begun sales in the country. The subcutaneous (SC) version of Remsima, a biosimilar copy of Janssen Biotech Inc.'s Remicade, will hit the shelves domestically following approval a year earlier. Remsima, administered through intravascular injections, is used in the treatment of a number of diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to Crohn's disease, Celltrion said. The

IndustryFeb. 8, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on auto losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday on losses by auto-related shares in the wake of a paused partnership between South Korean carmaker Kia Corp. and US tech behemoth Apple Inc. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 20.01 points, or 0.64 percent, to 3,100.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading amid strong foreign selling. Auto shares dipped following reports that Apple recently paused its partnership discussions with Kia. The US tech giant has been reportedly in talks with mul

MarketFeb. 8, 2021

Hyundai, Kia say not in talks with Apple on EV car project

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. said Monday they are not in talks with Apple Inc. over an electric car manufacturing project in response to reports of their suspended discussions. In separate regulatory filings, Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world's fifth-biggest carmaker by sales, said they are "not in talks with Apple over developing an autonomous vehicle." The carmakers said they are considering forming a partnership with foreign companies in regard to self-dr

MobilityFeb. 8, 2021

Retail investors bet big on Samsung Electronics without return

South Korean retail investors have bet big on global tech giant Samsung Electronics this year, but their investments have failed to pay off due to a recent pullback in its share price, data showed Monday. Local individual investors have purchased a net 13.4 trillion won ($11.9 billion) worth of shares of the world's leading smartphone and memory chip maker this year, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. The amount accounted for far more than half of retail investors 23.6 trillion won

MarketFeb. 8, 2021

S. Korea's kimchi exports hit record high in 2020

South Korea's exports of kimchi reached a new all-time high in 2020 thanks to its popularity amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Overseas shipments of kimchi came to $144.51 million last year, up 37.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. The amount breaks the previous yearly record of $106.61 million registered in 2012. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish normally made of fermented cabbage, salt and hot pep

EconomyFeb. 8, 2021

Foreign investors remain net sellers of local stocks in January

Foreign investors remained net sellers of South Korean stocks last month, extending their selling spree for a second consecutive month, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 2.65 trillion won ($2.35 billion) worth of local stocks in January, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). American investors sold a net 3.43 trillion won of stocks last month, while Singapore's investors net purchased 1.6 trillion won worth of stocks, according to the FSS. As of end-Janua

MarketFeb. 8, 2021

Samsung seeks Texas tax cut for foundry, claiming $8.9b boost to economy

Samsung Electronics’ plans to build semiconductor foundry plants in the US could yield $8.9 billion in the local economy, according to analysis by Impact DataSource, quoted in Samsung Electronics’ letter of intent to the Texas authorities. According to industry sources, Samsung Electronics sees the high tax rates in Texas as an obstacle to its plans for larger business in Austin, and is reviewing alternatives such as New York, Arizona and Korea for is future investment. An official

IndustryFeb. 7, 2021

[Herald Interview] ‘Stock investment: A lifelong game’

In his early 30s, Kim Dong-joo felt no need to make more money a few years after selling his own social commerce startup to the nation’s top mobile messenger operator Kakao. The 2011 sale carried out in exchange for a huge stock option turned him into a man of fortune when Kakao made a backdoor listing after merging with then Kosdaq-listed internet portal Daum Communications in 2014. But something was missing, he said. “I lost my motivation to work because my monthly salary was i

MarketFeb. 7, 2021

SK Innovation considers arbitration proceedings against Peruvian government

SK Innovation said Sunday it is considering initiating international arbitration proceedings against the Peruvian government for blocking the company’s exit from Camisea Gas Project in Peru. The South Korean battery-to-petrochemical giant inked a deal with Pluspetrol in September 2019 to sell its 17.6 percent stake in two Camisea gas fields in the Cusco region of Peru to the Argentine firm for $1.05 billion. However, the Peruvian government still hasn’t endorsed the transaction, th

IndustryFeb. 7, 2021

LG Chem brand value grows amid pandemic

LG Chem is the only firm among the world’s top seven chemical companies that saw its brand value grow amid the pandemic. According to the Brand Finance Chemicals 25 2021 report, the South Korean chemical giant’s brand value stands at $3.62 billion this year, a 2.9 percent growth on-year, maintaining the fourth position. Compared to $2.42 billion in 2018, LG Chem’s value has grown more than 50 percent just in three years. Meanwhile, the other six companies in the top seven

IndustryFeb. 7, 2021

Only 2.5% of South Korean firms utilize AI: report

South Korean companies have become familiar with using mobile devices in their businesses, but only a handful of them are utilizing new information and communication technologies including artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing. According to “2020 Yearbook of Information Society Statistics” released Sunday by the National Information Society Agency, as of December 2019, 58.3 percent of 222,218 private companies with 10 or more employees in Korea used mobile devices i

IndustryFeb. 7, 2021

[News Focus] 3 in 5 Koreans question real estate tax hikes

SEJONG -- The Moon Jae-in administration had been active in raising property taxes, claiming that the aggravated tax burden for multiple home-owners would eventually curb apartment prices. But housing prices in Seoul and some other major cities have continued to climb to record-highs. The government still maintains the policy of higher taxation on real estate, while more and more people have become skeptical about it in terms of efficacy. A recent survey suggests a dominant portion of people&

EconomyFeb. 7, 2021